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.
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.
