My First Ever Marry Me Chicken Recipe
In my ten years of food blogging, I’ve somehow never made any form of “marry me” chicken. But after coming across a marry me white bean soup in a new cookbook from The Defined Dish, Everyday Eats, I figured it was time to give it a whirl.
My take combines lean ground chicken breast with a can of great northern beans and a lot of the marry me chicken staples. Sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, basil, parmesan cheese, and a creamy base.
I was always a bit reluctant to make “marry me” anything because of the high calorie heavy cream based sauce. But I learned from my coconut curry chicken soup that reduced fat coconut milk can still make a soup that’s plenty creamy without all the fat.
Don’t worry about any coconut flavor, it’s very much in a supporting role to the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and other strong flavors in this soup.
The overall nutrition profile is pretty solid, with only 26g of carbs and 390 calories per serving (nearly 2 cups). That leaves you plenty of room to serve some form of bread on the side. A slice of toasted sourdough qualifies this soup for my 40g of protein and <500 calories recipe collection.
Two more soups in this collection: ground chicken minestrone and creamy Italian chicken soup
Hope I’ve convinced you to give it a go. Be sure to let me know in a recipe review if you do!
Marry Me Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 16 oz Ground Chicken Breast
- 1 small Sweet Onion, finely diced
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ½ cup (40g) Sun-Dried Tomatoes, no oil
- 4 Frozen Crushed Garlic Cubes, or 4 cloves fresh
- 2 Tablespoons Chopped Calabrian Chili Peppers, or tomato paste
- 2 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
- 1 can (15 oz) Great Northern Beans, drained
- 4 cups Chicken Bone Broth
- 1 can (14 oz) Reduced Fat Coconut Milk
- 3 cups Baby Spinach
- 1-2 handfuls Fresh Basil, roughly chopped
- ½ cup (2 oz) Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the ground chicken and cook on one side for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Break the chicken apart and fully cook, another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the diced onion, salt, and pepper to the pot. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until the onion softens.
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, chili peppers, vinegar, Italian seasoning, and lemon zest. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the beans, broth, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil before reducing the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Add the spinach, chopped basil, grated parmesan, and lemon juice. Cook until the spinach wilts, another 5 minutes or so.
- Salt to taste before serving. Garnish with more fresh basil and parmesan, chili flakes or black pepper, a bit more lemon juice, and some form of crusty bread, if desired.
FYI it won’t come out that really pretty color if you don’t use the tomato paste 😞 the taste was good but it was watery and I was hoping for creamy
If I caught you in time and it happens to still be on the stovetop, keep simmering. It will reduce/thicken. You can do it with leftovers if you’ve already packed them up.
Absolutely amazing! I left out the lemon. Easy to follow recipe and delicious!
This was amazing!!
This was very good. I used tomato paste then added red peppers flakes for some spice. Also, added some Goodles protein pasta shells. I cooked them separately and added them as I ate the soup through the week so it didn’t soak up all the broth. Really enjoyed how the recipe was quick and easy. Will be on repeat this winter!
This was soooo good! And I loved that it was so nutritious. Will be making this often.