Marry Me Chicken Tortellini
Creamy, tomato-forward sauce, lots of spinach, juicy chicken and little tortellini pillows- this one pan Marry Me chicken tortellini is quick, balanced and oh, so yummy.
- 1 Erica’s thoughts
- 2 This marry me chicken tortellini is:
- 3 The simple ingredients you’ll need to make marry me chicken tortellini:
- 4 How to make:
- 5 Expert tips and variation ideas:
- 6 FAQs
- 7 If you love this marry me chicken tortellini recipe, you’ll love these other easy recipe ideas for dinner!
- 8 Marry Me Chicken Tortellini
Erica’s thoughts
I must be on a sun-dried tomato kick. I cannot get enough creamy sun-dried tomato sauce to coat anything and everything. First I made this amazing Marry Me salmon with smashed potatoes and then this creamy sun-dried tomato couscous and kale and now we’re using similar ingredients to make this easy cheesy tortellini pasta.
I feel like “marry me” recipes are having a moment right now. And what is a “marry me recipe” you ask? According to ChatGPT, it is “a dish so delicious and impressive that it’s said to have the power to win over someone’s heart and prompt a marriage proposal.”
There seems to be a common thread of ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes and cream in many of these recipes but I’ve definitely seen recipes like “marry me brownies” or “marry me mac and cheese” that deviate from the sun-dried tomato vibe.
I love a tomato cream sauce, so this dish is right up my alley. And I can’t say my whole family loved it (*cough cough* very selective 4-year-old) BUT my husband and 2-year-old were absolutely about it.
This reminds me of a meal I’d want to take to someone who’s just had a baby. Creamy, comforting and delicious but also balanced with lean protein, satisfying carbohydrates and nutrient-dense veggies is exactly what a recovering mama and sleep-deprived family need. AND you make it all in one pan, making it super easy to transport and reheat. I’m making a mental note for the next time I sign up for a meal train.
I serve this up with a green salad and/or some roasted broccoli and a loaf of garlic bread and woof. SO GOOD.
This marry me chicken tortellini is:
1) an easy weeknight meal
2) a crowd pleaser and good enough to serve for guests
3) a perfect romantic dinner for a date night in
4) a great idea for a meal train!
The simple ingredients you’ll need to make marry me chicken tortellini:
Chicken breast: I used two large boneless skinless chicken breasts from the package of organic chicken breasts from Costco. You can also use chicken tenderloins or chicken thighs.
Seasonings: smoked paprika, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes are the seasonings for the chicken and to add flavor to the sauce.
Flour: just a light coating of all-purpose flour helps the chicken brown up beautifully and helps thicken the sauce.
Butter and oil: butter for taste, oil to help increase the overall smoke point of the butter. The combo is perfect for browning the chicken breast and aromatics like shallot and garlic.
Shallot: shallot is a type of onion with a mild, delicate flavor with hints of garlic. Find it with the other onions in the produce section of the grocery store.
Garlic: I always recommend buying whole, fresh garlic but in a pinch you can of course use about two teaspoons of jarred minced garlic.
Sun-dried tomatoes: I recommend buying the sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil (the julienned kind to minimize chopping!) You can find sun-dried tomatoes with the other tomato products (tomato sauce, tomato paste) in either the canned vegetable aisle or pasta aisle.
Tomato paste: this recipe gets an extra tomato boost from tomato paste. Tomato paste adds concentrated flavor to make a beautifully creamy tomato sauce.
Chicken broth: chicken broth makes up the bulk of the sauce- you can also use vegetable broth.
Cheese tortellini: fresh cheese tortellini is found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, usually next to the mozzarella and ricotta cheese. You can usually also find frozen tortellini in the frozen foods aisle or dried tortellini in the pasta aisle. (I recommend fresh cheese-filled tortellini for this recipe!)
Heavy cream: of COURSE there is a hefty splash of cream to make the creamy sun-dried tomato sauce. Heavy cream is also called whipping cream or double cream.
Spinach: lots of fresh spinach provides color and nutrition boost.
Parmesan cheese: if you can, buy the block of parmesan and grate it yourself. I promise, the difference between those pre-grated little sticks of Parmesan and freshly grated Parmesan is WILD.
How to make:
Season and dredge chicken
Cube the chicken, I like to cut it into pretty small chunks, and place in a medium bowl. Season with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and smoked paprika and toss to get the chicken coated in the seasonings. Add the flour and gently toss so the chicken is lightly coated.
Cook chicken
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the butter and one tablespoon olive oil. When the oil is hot add the chicken in an even layer. Cook the chicken, tossing two or three times, until browned and cooked through. Remove it to a bowl or plate.
Saute aromatics and build sauce
Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the garlic, shallot and sun-dried tomatoes. Saute for three minutes, stirring often, until softened and fragrant. Season with the red pepper flakes and another pinch of salt and pepper. Add the tomato paste and broth. Stir to combine, use your spatula to scrape up all those yummy bits on the bottom of the skillet.
Simmer tortellini
Stir in the uncooked tortellini, bring to a simmer and reduce heat to maintain a low simmer. Cover and let simmer for 3-4 minutes until tortellini is cooked. Stir halfway through, at the 2-minute mark, to make sure tortellini is cooking evenly.
Finish it up
Remove lid and stir in the chicken, spinach, cream and parmesan cheese until everything is well combined. Serve hot with fresh basil, more parmesan, freshly cracked black pepper. Beyond good.
Expert tips and variation ideas:
- Cube the chicken small– it makes for a more cohesive pasta.
- Buy a block of fresh Parmesan cheese and grate it yourself!
- Mince the shallot, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes small so they blend into the sauce seamlessly.
- You could switch up the protein and use chicken thighs or mild Italian sausage.
- I’m always a fan of adding more veggies so feel free to add whatever vegetables you love!
FAQs
To make this gluten-free use a different type of pasta (gluten-free of course) and a 1:1 gluten-free flour alternative to coat the chicken. With a different pasta, the cook time will likely be longer than tortellini so follow the package instructions.
Omit the chicken and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. You could also make with your favorite meat alternatives like a veggie-based Italian sausage.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. The tortellini will expand and absorb the sauce. I add a splash of water when reheating to loosen and adjust the consistency of the sauce.
Yep! It won’t be quite as creamy, thick and rich, but it’ll still be delicious. I personally wouldn’t use anything lower in fat than half and half, but if you’d like it to be lower in calories, you could try 2% or whole milk.
If you love this marry me chicken tortellini recipe, you’ll love these other easy recipe ideas for dinner!
If you try and like this recipe, please don’t forget to leave a comment and star rating down below! For more lifestyle, behind-the-scenes and ‘eating in real life’ type of content, come find me over on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Facebook, or Youtube – I love connecting with you all there!
Marry me please.
Print
Marry Me Chicken Tortellini
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25-30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
This marry me chicken tortellini is so good you’ll be falling in love. Luxuriously creamy and decadent but also balanced and nutritious- this is the perfect weeknight meal!
Ingredients
- 1lb chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 shallot, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup (3oz) tomato paste
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1lb (16oz) cheese tortellini
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 cups spinach, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- For serving: Fresh basil, black pepper, red pepper flakes, parmesan
Instructions
Season the chicken: Cube the chicken, I like to cut it into pretty small chunks, and place in a medium bowl. Season with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and smoked paprika and toss to get the chicken coated in the seasonings. Add the flour and gently toss so the chicken is lightly coated.
Cook chicken: Heat a large cast iron skillet or ceramic-coated nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the butter and one tablespoon olive oil. When the oil is hot add the chicken in an even layer. Cook the chicken, tossing two or three times, until browned and cooked through. Remove it to a bowl or plate.
Build the sauce: Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the garlic, shallot and sun-dried tomatoes. Saute for three minutes, stirring often, until softened and fragrant. Season with the red pepper flakes and another pinch of salt and pepper. Add the tomato paste and broth. Stir to combine, use your spatula to scrape up all those yummy bits on the bottom.
Add pasta: Stir in the tortellini, bring to a simmer and reduce heat to maintain a low simmer. Cover and let simmer for 3-4 minutes until tortellini is cooked. Stir halfway through, at the 2-minute mark, to make sure tortellini is cooking evenly.
Finish it up: Remove lid and stir in the chicken, spinach, cream and parmesan cheese until everything is well combined. Serve hot with fresh basil, more parmesan and freshly cracked black pepper. Are you ready to propose!? 😍
Notes
A note on reheating: I find that the tortellini soak up the sauce quite a bit. To enjoy leftovers add a splash of water, reheat in the microwave or stovetop, stir, and voila! The water loosens the sauce slightly returning the tortellini to saucy gloriousness.
The package size of tortellini can vary anywhere from 12-20oz. I used exactly 1lb (16oz) for this recipe but honestly, it’s pretty flexible. Use a smaller or larger amount of tortellini and adjust with a splash more or splash less of broth.
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 recipe (10oz or 285g)
- Calories: 479
- Sugar: 3.3 g
- Sodium: 902.6 mg
- Fat: 19.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 44 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 32.6 g
- Cholesterol: 121.1 mg
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I made this the other night and the family LOVED it! My one son is picky and I got a VERY GOOD out of him! Will definitely make this again!!! Thank you!!!
I did use frozen tortellini and frozen chopped spinach, next time I will make with refrigerated tortellini and fresh spinach, but frozen was great as well!
Made this for dinner tonight, used bone broth to bump up the protein. It was perfect as it is but next time I’ll add sautéed mushrooms just for fun!
What a lovely idea, thanks for making it Ashley!
DUH-LISH!😋 This turned out soooo well! I love the rich flavors and creamy sauce! My family loves it! It took a little bit of time to make, but it’s worth it because there are leftovers for tomorrow! Thank you!
It was really flavorful. Made the recipe to the exact specifications. My husband loved it and told me to put it in the keep pile!
Yay, so happy to hear this Lori! Thanks for making it!
You made it very easy to follow. I added a small can of sliced mushrooms also. It was just as delicious as you stated!!!
Wonderful Brad, thanks for making it!
Yum!! My husband and 2.5 year old also enjoyed it! I look forward to trying the marry me salmon recipe as well!
Only note/tip would be it can be easier to overcook the tortellini this way (at least for me, compared to the normal boiling in water method), so watch closely!
The whole family love this! Have made it multiple times!
Delicious. !!!!!!
Delicious. !!!!!!
We made this recipe for supper tonight. It was delicious! We doubled the recipe because there are 5 adults and we wanted leftovers. I used the dried Barilla Three Cheese Tortellini instead of fresh. I cooked the tortellini for 8 minutes by itself to rehydrate before adding it in as directed in the recipe. Everyone loved it! Thank you for sharing this recipe. It’s a keeper!
Hi Julia, thank you so much for this review and the tip on cooking dried tortellini! Glad you and the fam enjoyed it 🙂
Dang! This was delicious. I forgot to pick up basil, which was sad but this was still a huge hit with the family! Will make it again for sure! Thank you, Erica!
I’m not to fond of trying new foods but we have tried a couple different ones. We just ate this and I can honestly say it’s really good. If you try it eat it with baguette 🥖
Woohoo!! Thanks for branching out and trying this Stormi! I appreciate your review, thank you!
This is just amazing! I have a dairy allergy so subbed the heavy cream for oat milk, used Kite Hill dairy free tortellini, and omitted the parmesan and it was AMAZING! I topped my husband’s portion with fresh parmesan. We loved it so much, I made this for back to back meals. Since I didn’t use heavy cream, I just reduced the mixture down for about 2-3 minutes before adding the tortellini.
So much flavor! One of my new favorites, especially given the quick clean up with it being a one-pan dish. I don’t usually write reviews, but had to for this!
Woohoo! Thank you for the great dairy-free suggestions! I appreciate your thoughtful review Sierra 🙂
I made this dish for the first time tonight and it was delicious and easy to make! Another recipe of yours that I love!
Erica, thanks for this! I think what makes a good recipe great is when it works even though I don’t quite have everything indicated (welcome to my world). As we are all about using what we have, I made the following subs:
Half the meat from a Costco rotisserie chicken
Half and half instead of the heavy cream
Onion in place of the shallot
Broccoli instead of spinach
Did not have sun-dried tomatoes handy, delicious without
Thanks again and bon appetite!
Happy to hear you loved this Tom! And yaaay for a versatile recipe to use up what you have on hand!