Marry Me Soup Recipe with Chicken and Basil
Marry Me Soup is a creamy tomato and chicken soup with sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan and basil. One pot, 40 minutes, and it tastes like a restaurant dish.
Marry Me Soup is the soup version of the famous Marry Me Chicken: a creamy tomato broth with tender chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan and a lot of fresh basil. It comes together in one pot in about forty minutes, costs very little, and tastes like something you would pay for in a restaurant. It is rich enough to serve as a full dinner with nothing more than bread on the side, and it reheats well the next day, which makes it a quiet favourite for busy weeks.
| Prep Time | 10 | Cook Time | 30 |
| Servings | 4 | Calories | 480 kcal |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon from the sun-dried tomato jar
- 600 g (1 1/4 lb) boneless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 80 g (1/2 cup) sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and sliced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes, or less for a mild soup
- 1 litre (4 cups) chicken stock
- 250 ml (1 cup) heavy cream
- 60 g (3/4 cup) finely grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
- 150 g (5 oz) small pasta such as ditalini, optional
- A large handful of fresh basil leaves, torn
Chicken thighs stay juicier through a simmer and are the better choice if you have them, but breasts work if you cut them a little larger and keep the simmer short. Buy sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil rather than the dry ones: the oil is already flavoured and you will use a spoonful of it in the pot. Use real parmesan grated from a block, because the pre-grated kind contains anti-caking starch that can leave the broth slightly gritty.
Essential Kitchen Tools
| Large heavy pot | Browning the chicken and simmering the broth without scorching |
| Wooden spoon | Scraping the brown bits off the bottom, where the flavour is |
| Sharp knife and board | Even pieces of chicken cook at the same speed |
| Fine grater | Parmesan melts into the broth instead of clumping |
| Ladle and deep bowls | Serving without losing half the soup on the counter |
A heavy pot matters more here than anything else on the list. A thin pan scorches the tomato paste and the cream, and once something burns on the bottom, the whole soup tastes of it.
Why This Recipe Works
Marry Me Chicken has been passed around kitchens for years: chicken in a cream sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan, supposedly good enough to win a proposal. This is the same idea turned into a soup, and it loses nothing in the translation. The broth carries all the flavour the sauce had, and one pot feeds more people for the same money.
What makes it work is the layering. The chicken is browned first and the brown bits are scraped into the onion. The tomato paste is cooked until it darkens. The sun-dried tomatoes bring a concentrated sweetness that fresh tomatoes cannot give in thirty minutes. By the time the cream goes in, the broth already tastes finished, and the cream simply makes it round.
It is also forgiving. Everything happens in one pot, nothing needs precision, and the only real rule is to keep the heat gentle once the dairy is in.
Pro Tips for Better Results
Brown the chicken properly. Crowding the pot drops the temperature and the meat releases water instead of colouring. Work in two batches if your pot is small.
Cook the tomato paste. Two minutes in the hot pot removes the tinny taste and doubles the depth of the broth. It is the cheapest improvement in the whole recipe.
Keep the heat low after the cream. Boiling cream in an acidic tomato broth is what makes a soup look curdled. A bare simmer is enough.
Add the pasta carefully. Pasta cooked in the soup keeps absorbing liquid as it sits, and leftovers can turn into a stew overnight. If you plan to keep some, cook the pasta separately and add it to each bowl.
Season at the end. Between the stock, the sun-dried tomatoes and the parmesan, this soup salts itself more than you expect.
Basil goes in off the heat. Boiled basil turns dark and loses its perfume; torn in at the last moment it stays bright.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
| Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Fiber |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 480 kcal | 38g | 14g | 31g | 2g |
Figures are for one of four servings, without pasta. Adding the ditalini brings it to roughly 610 kcal and 44 g of carbohydrate per bowl.