Marry Me Chicken Soup (30-Minute Dinner)
This creamy marry me chicken soup brings all the cozy flavors of the viral marry me chicken into a cozy one-pot soup that’s ready in 30-minutes! Juicy chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, parmesan, and a swirl of cream make every spoonful rich and comforting.

5 star review
“This was delicious! I love soups, but my husband and son are typically more so-so on that food category. This was a hit with everyone. My son even gave unprompted praise – which is a real win!”
– Rebecca
My Favorite Creamy Marry Me Chicken Soup!
If you haven’t heard of the “marry me chicken” trend, the idea is that the dish is soooo irresistibly good that the person you make it for will want to marry you! If the key to your loved one’s heart is through their stomach, then marry me chicken is the key.
The original recipe is made with chicken, sun dried tomatoes, and heavy cream. Inspired by this flavor combo, I wanted to put my own spin on the viral trend and turn it into a cozy one-pot soup situation. And it was so good that I also had to make a marry me chicken pasta for an easy dinner that’s so good, it’s company-worthy.
To make sure we win over the hearts and bellies of your loved ones, I tested this recipe with three different types of pasta. And while I love the orecchiette and farfalle, the ditalini held its shape the best.
You don’t want to use large pasta like penne or rigatoni because that will mess with the texture. And keep an eye on smaller pasta which will take less time to cook, since you don’t want it sticking together or overcooking! And for another cozy variation, try my marry me chicken orzo, with the same flavors with a dump-and-bake twist, or my crockpot marry me chicken, which is a dump-and-go dinner in the slow cooker!

Welcome to My Kitchen, Let’s Make Marry Me Chicken Soup









Robyn’s Testing Notes For Creamy Marry Me Chicken Soup
- Make Ahead: This soup is so comforting and delicious as leftovers. But keep in mind that the pasta will continue to soak up the liquid with time. Just thin it out with a little stock, and you’ll be good to go! If you want to make the soup ahead and avoid this issue, you can always cook the pasta separately and combine it with the soup when ready to serve.
- Cream: Marry me chicken wouldn’t be the same without heavy cream, but I was able to lighten this dish up just a touch by cutting the cream down to just a half cup. If you’d prefer to use half and half that’s fine, but of course your soup won’t be quite as creamy. I just wouldn’t use anything with less fat than whole milk, because your soup will taste watery. For dairy-free, swap out the heavy cream with dairy-free unsweetened creamer. But make sure you like the taste of your creamer before mixing it into your beloved soup!
- Finish: Finally, have you heard the saying that we eat with our eyes first, then our stomachs? Well a burst of color from baby spinach will make this soup undeniably drool-worthy! And as the pièce de résistance, a splash of red wine vinegar brightens the whole soup at the very end. Feel free to use lemon juice or white wine vinegar instead, based on what’s in your pantry.


Marry Me Chicken Soup (30-Min Dinner)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, small diced
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 ½ teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 6-oz can tomato paste
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 2 cups filtered water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ⅓ cup sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped
- 3 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken
- 2 cups small-shape pasta (uncooked) such as orecchiette, ditalini, farfalle
To Add at the End
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat a large heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the olive oil, onion, and ¼ teaspoon salt and black pepper. Cook until the onion begins to soften, about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Sprinkle the onion with the garlic powder and thyme, then cook until fragrant, about one minute, stirring constantly. Add the tomato paste and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add the chicken stock and 2 cups of water, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add 2 teaspoons salt,the sugar, sun dried tomatoes, and chicken, stirring to combine. Cover, and bring to a rolling boil.
- Add the pasta, stirring to ensure the pasta doesn’t stick. Cover, reduce to a strong simmer, and cook until the pasta is just cooked through, about 8-15 minutes, depending on the pasta shape. Uncover and stir occasionally to prevent the pasta from sticking together or anything sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Turn the heat off, uncover, and add the cream, parmesan cheese, vinegar, and spinach, stirring to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
Notes
- Thyme: is the herb used in the original marry me chicken, but you can swap out no-salt-added Italian seasoning or poultry seasoning.
- Tomato Paste: 1 can of tomato paste is about 10 tablespoons. If using a concentrated tube of tomato sauce, just be sure to adjust according to the concentration level.
- Pasta: I tested this recipe with three different types of pasta. And while I love the orecchiette and farfalle, the ditalini held its shape the best. Just don’t use large pasta like penne or rigatoni because it will soak up too much liquid. And keep an eye on the cook time, depending on the size of your pasta. Smaller pasta will take less time to cook, and you don’t want it sticking together or overcooking.




Made this last night for dinner and my husband and I loved it! It was very easy and quick! A perfect week night meal!
Savanah, yay, so happy to hear this was a weeknight dinner win! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your notes and leave a review!
This was an excellent recipe. I must admit that I unknowingly put an unexpected twist on it though. I thought I was using sun-dried tomatoes, but ended up using fire-roasted peppers instead. LOL
Still tasted great!
Darren, oh yum, swapping in fire-roasted peppers actually sounds amazing. I think you just created a new viral recipe. 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and leaving a review!
Any suggestions for a gluten free pasta that would work? This soup sounds delicious!
Stacy, I like a small shape brown rice pasta for this one, like a macaroni or small shells (Jovial is my favorite). I hope that helps!
My family loves this soup! I added 1 tbsp. of Italian seasoning (at the step where water and chicken stock are added) to give it a little extra depth and an extra cup of spinach because we love it, but otherwise it is a terrific recipe as is. I’ve made it four times in the last six weeks!
Lauren, yay, so happy to hear this one was a hit. Thanks for sharing your notes and for leaving a review!
So so good!!! I like to cook my pasta separately and reserve some of the pasta water to “thicken” the soup. I then add my desired amount of pasta to a bowl and pour the soup over. I like my pasta al dente and this way the pasta doesn’t get mushy in the leftovers
Meg, great tips, so happy to hear this one was a hit!
Absolutely delicious! I’m not much of a spinach person so as another reviewer suggested, I added celery instead. I also added a can of white beans for more protein and fiber. This will be a regular at our house. A definite FIVE STAR RECIPE!
Great tips, thanks for sharing, and so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe!
This was so delicious! I added extra broth in anticipation of noodles soaking it up and I like it soupy. Threw in extra spinach. Such a flavorful and comforting soup.
Katy, so happy to hear this one was a hit. Thanks for sharing your notes and for leaving a review!
Made this on a snowy day. Chicken was prepped in instapot to save time & it came out delicious. Super quick and easy.
What a lovely soup for a snowy day. Thanks for sharing your notes and for leaving a review!
I’ve tried several “Marry Me Soup” recipes… this one is THE ONE. I saved it to my folder of keepers. Will definitely make this more often.
Wonderful to hear this is your favorite marry me soup! Thank so much for sharing your thoughts and leaving a review!
This is a divine soup! It didn’t take a long time to come together. Stopped by the store to get a few ingredients that I was missing including a rotisserie chicken. Since I’m sick I was craving some chicken soup and this hit the spot. Thank you.
Carla, so happy to hear you enjoyed this chicken soup! I hope you feel better soon, and thanks for leaving a review!
Amazing! My 10 year old has been going back for seconds two nights in a row.
Lisa, yay, I love it when that happens! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and leaving a review!
Thank you so much for this recipe! Was wondering if I could sub whole milk instead of heavy cream? I love creamy soups but I’m trying to cut back a bit😅
Hi Alexa, let’s see…. you can use whole milk, but it will end up being a bit on the watery side and not particularly creamy. I use less cream in this recipe as compared to others (1/2 cup vs. 1 cup), but I wonder if you’d be ok with cutting it back to 1/3 cup or even 1/4 cup rather than whole milk? Even 1/4 cup will give you a lightly creamy consistency without watering down the soup.
Hello! I am making this soup for dinner tonight for the sixth time! I never leave comments on recipes but I absolutely love this soup. The only adjustment I make is a little more chicken stock, a little extra poultry seasoning or “better than bullion” if it needs some flavor, and a little less pasta just to make it more soup-forward instead of like a pasta dish. I love this recipe and I especially love how one shopping trip will not only yield leftovers, but I have enough leftover ingredients for another batch! Feeding myself and my family a tasty, filling meal can be tough with these grocery prices, so I just wanted to say thank you!!!
Haley, I’m thrilled to hear you are enjoying this soup, and thanks so much for sharing your kind words and all your notes!
In the process of making and I can’t wait to try!!!! Thanks for sharing.
You’re so welcome, Maureen, I hope it’s a hit!