Marry Me Chicken (Chicken in a Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce)

Ingredients

Instructions

1. 1To Prepare and Sear the Chicken
2. 2Place 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts on cutting board. Trim chicken if needed, then pound chicken flat until all chicken breasts are same size and thickness.
3. 3Pat chicken breasts dry on all sides with paper towels. Once dried, generously season tops of chicken breasts with plenty of salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Flip chicken breasts over and sprinkle salt and pepper on other side.
4. 4Place large skillet on stovetop over medium-high heat. When pan is warm, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and continue heating pan until oil is hot and shimmery, swirling and tilting skillet as needed to distribute oil across surface.
5. 5Once oil is hot and shimmery, place seasoned chicken breasts in skillet. Sear chicken breasts 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly golden in spots. Flip chicken breasts over and sear 3 to 4 minutes on other side.
6. 6When chicken breasts are lightly golden on both sides, carefully transfer seared chicken breasts to plate and set aside. Do not drain skillet. Note: chicken should not be fully cooked-through at this point.
7. 7To Make the Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
8. 8Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Adjust racks as needed so skillet can sit in center of oven.
9. 9Return skillet to stovetop and reduce heat to medium-low. When skillet has cooled slightly, add 2 tablespoons minced garlic. Sauté garlic 30 to 60 seconds, stirring often, or until garlic is just fragrant.
10. 10When garlic is fragrant, add ¾ cup low-sodium chicken broth to skillet. Stir to incorporate broth, making sure to scrape up any browned bits of chicken or garlic that may be stuck to bottom of skillet.
11. 11Move skillet to cool stovetop burner. Let skillet cool 2 to 3 minutes, then add ½ cup heavy cream. Whisk heavy cream into chicken broth until fully incorporated.
12. 12When cream and broth are fully incorporated, sprinkle ½ cup grated fresh parmesan cheese into mixture. Gently whisk parmesan into liquid until cheese is completely melted.
13. 13Once cheese has melted, return skillet to burner over medium-low heat. Continue stirring 1 to 2 minutes or until skillet returns to full temperature.
14. 14Add 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, and ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes to cream sauce. Gently stir ingredients together until well blended. Taste sauce and adjust salt, pepper, oregano, and/or red pepper flakes as desired.
15. 15Bring sauce to slow simmer over medium-high heat, stirring mixture occasionally to prevent burning.
16. 16To Finish the Chicken
17. 17When sauce begins to simmer, return seared chicken breasts to skillet. Flip chicken breasts 3 to 4 times each to coat all sides in sauce.
18. 18Once chicken is well coated in cream sauce, place skillet in preheated oven. Note: if using leave-in meat thermometer probe, insert probe into chicken before placing skillet in oven.
19. 19Bake dish approximately 13 minutes. After 13 minutes, check doneness of chicken with internal meat thermometer. Continue cooking chicken as needed, checking internal temperature of chicken frequently, until thickest part of chicken reaches 160° Fahrenheit.
20. 20When target temperature is reached, carefully remove skillet from oven. Spoon sauce from skillet up and onto tops of chicken breasts, then set skillet aside.
21. 21Allow chicken to rest in skillet 5 minutes. Chicken will cook residually, reaching food-safe internal temperature of 165° Fahrenheit.
22. 22To Serve
23. 23After 5 minutes, transfer chicken to serving plates. Top chicken with remaining sauce from skillet and garnish with chiffonaded fresh basil and additional grated fresh parmesan cheese if desired.
24. 24Serve marry me chicken immediately with potatoes, asparagus, or other sides of choice. Enjoy!