Marry Me Chicken Soup

You know it, you love it, now let’s make it into a soup.

All the flavors you know and love in Marry Me Chicken are infused into this creamy and quick soup. Bursting with sun-dried tomato flavor and Parmesan cheese, this soup features cheesy tortellini, tender chicken, and hearty kale. Ready in under an hour, this soup is perfect for a family weeknight dinner or for meal prepping for the week ahead.

WHAT IS MARRY ME CHICKEN?

Marry Me Chicken is a chicken dish featuring a super creamy sun-dried tomato sauce seasoned with garlic and herbs such as oregano, basil and thyme, and sometimes cheese. It is rich, savory, and bursts with flavor. Similar to Tuscan chicken, it is relatively quick and easy to make. The dish earns its name, ‘Marry Me Chicken,’ as it’s believed to be so incredibly delicious that it might inspire your partner to propose after tasting it

“Marry Me Chicken” has exploded in popularity on social media in recent years, leading to countless variations such as Marry Me Chicken pasta and Marry Me Chicken gnocchi. Here, we’re going to transform it into a delicious soup just in time to say goodbye to soup season. While this soup leans on all the flavors you love in the original, it isn’t nearly as heavy. So, rest assured, you can enjoy bowl after bowl without feeling weighed down.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED FOR MARRY ME CHICKEN SOUP

• Chicken – This soup is a great weeknight dinner option. Why? Because we’re taking a shortcut here. Do yourself a favor and buy a rotisserie chicken. You’ll need about 3 cups of shredded chicken breast, which is roughly the amount of breast meat from a medium-sized chicken.
• Sun Dried Tomato Paste or Sun Dried Tomatoes – Surprisingly, it’s actually really hard to find sun-dried tomato paste. If you can get your hands on some, grab it; it will make this recipe slightly easier to make. If you can’t, the paste can be substituted with sun-dried tomatoes. The preferred choice of sun-dried tomatoes is those in olive oil, yet unseasoned; these are softer and easier to mince finely. If you can’t find those, then whole sun-dried tomatoes will work, but you may end up with larger chunks in the soup than with the two previous options. Take note that quantities vary in the instructions and the recipe below. Whole sun dried tomatoes will have more flavor than the paste, so you need to adjust the quantity.
• Parmesan Rind – My secret weapon: Adding a Parmesan rind to the soup infuses a ridiculous amount of flavor without making it overly cheesy. What some people consider trash, I believe is an absolute gem. If you don’t have a rind lying around, you can buy them cheaply at most major supermarkets.

INGRIDENTS CONT…

• Tortellini – Cheese-filled tortellini is recommended, but buy what you love best. Tortellini can be found in a few places in major supermarkets. The first option is fresh tortellini located near the cheese section, and the second option is frozen.
• Parmesan Cheese – Completely optional for finishing and serving the soup.
• Kale – This recipe calls for Dino or Lacinato kale. This variety is easily identified by its dark, bumpy, leafy greens, as opposed to the more traditional common curly kale. I love using Dino kale in soups as it holds up well to simmering.
  • Substitute: You can also substitute this out of baby spinach, but add at the very very end if you are making that switch. Kale needs slightly more time to cook down than spinach.
• Chicken Broth – Pick a good, flavorful broth for this recipe. My go-to is always Better Than Bouillon, as it has a great deep roasted chicken flavor and you can control the intensity.
• Heavy Cream – Needs to be heavy cream to get the consistency right.
• Garlic – Fresh only!
• Onion – Yellow, Spanish, or Vidalia work for this recipe.
• Fresh Thyme
• Dried Oregano
• Fresh Basil

HOW TO MAKE MARRY ME CHICKEN SOUP

Prep the Sun Dried Tomatoes – You have a few options here:

• Paste – No need to prep, just use 4-5 tbsp in the recipe.
• Sun Dried Tomatoes in Oil – Chop 10 as finely as possible trying to make it into a paste.
• Dried Sun Dried Tomatoes – I like to take 10 sun dried tomatoes and 2 tbsp of olive oil and make a paste in a spice grinder. If that is too much work, just mince 10 tomatoes.

Sauté the Base – In a large soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Once hot, add the onions and cook for 2 minutes before adding the garlic. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until the garlic is soft and fragrant. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, oregano, and thyme, and cook for another 2-3 minutes. If opting for paste, you will still cook the paste down for 2-3 minutes. Toss in the flour and mix to combine.

Make it a Soup – Add the broth and the Parmesan rind. Simmer on low for 15 minutes with the lid on. While the soup is simmering, prepare the kale by removing the leaves from the stem and giving them a rough chop. Also, remove and shred the chicken. Once the soup is done simmering salt to taste.

Pro Tip: You don’t need any silly hacks to remove the kale leaves from the stem. Simply break the leaf away from the steam at the bottom. With a tight grip, pinch the stem and quickly pull upwards. If done correctly, the leaf will swiftly come off.

Add the Rest – Remove the lid and stir in the heavy cream and tortellini. Depending on the brand, they will need to cook for 3-5 minutes. Cook for 1 minute under the recommended time. At this point, add the chopped kale and shredded chicken. Simmer until the kale begins to wilt, approximately 2-3 minutes. Finish the soup off with chopped fresh basil. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

STORING/REHEATING

Marry Me Chicken soup leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Keep in mind that if you leave the tortellini in the soup, they will continue to absorb the broth. To prevent this, remove the tortellini and store them separately. When ready to reheat, add the tortellini back into the soup and heat on the stove over medium-low heat until heated throughout.

Not over soup season? You’re right… its a year round event. Check out the recipes below!

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Greek Lemon Soup
Zuppa Toscana