Marry Me Soup Recipe with Chicken and Basil: Step-by-Step Instructions

Instructions

1. Pat the chicken dry with kitchen paper and season it all over with the salt and pepper. Dry meat browns, wet meat does not, and browning is where most of the flavour of this soup comes from.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in a single layer and leave it alone for 3 minutes, until the underside is deep golden, then turn the pieces and give them 2 minutes more. Lift them out onto a plate; they do not need to be cooked through yet.
3. Lower the heat to medium and add the spoonful of oil from the sun-dried tomato jar. Cook the onion for 4 minutes until soft and translucent, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pot as it releases moisture.
4. Add the garlic, the sliced sun-dried tomatoes, the tomato paste, the oregano and the chilli flakes. Stir constantly for 2 minutes. The paste should darken slightly and smell sweet rather than sharp, which is the sign it has lost its raw edge.
5. Pour in the chicken stock, scrape the bottom one last time and bring everything to a gentle simmer. Return the chicken and any juices from the plate to the pot.
6. If you are using pasta, add it now and simmer for the time given on the packet, usually 8 to 10 minutes. Without pasta, simmer the soup for 10 minutes so the chicken finishes cooking and the broth reduces a little.
7. Turn the heat to low, stir in the cream and the parmesan, and keep stirring until the cheese has melted into the broth. Do not let the soup boil once the cream is in, or it can split.
8. Taste and adjust the salt. Sun-dried tomatoes and parmesan are both salty, so this is the moment to judge, not before.
9. Take the pot off the heat, stir in most of the torn basil and let the soup rest for 5 minutes. Serve in deep bowls with the rest of the basil and extra parmesan on top.

Recipe Variations

With gnocchi. Drop 400 g of shop-bought gnocchi into the simmering broth for 3 minutes instead of the pasta. It makes the soup heartier and faster.

Vegetarian. Leave out the chicken, use vegetable stock and add a drained tin of white beans with the broth. The beans give the body the meat was providing.

Lighter version. Replace the cream with 250 ml of whole milk thickened with a tablespoon of cornflour, or with evaporated milk. It will not be as rich, but it will not split either.

More vegetables. A large handful of baby spinach stirred in at the end wilts in a minute and adds colour.

Spicier. Double the chilli flakes, or add a spoonful of harissa with the tomato paste.

Serving Ideas

Serve it in deep bowls with torn basil and a shower of parmesan, and put a board of crusty bread in the middle of the table. Garlic bread turns it into a proper meal for guests.

For a lighter plate, a green salad with lemon and olive oil cuts through the cream better than anything else. If you are feeding children, serve the soup over a spoonful of cooked rice: it tames the richness and makes a smaller portion go further.

Leftovers make an excellent lunch poured over toasted bread rubbed with garlic, the way an Italian cook would use a thick soup.

Keeping It Fresh

Cooled quickly and kept in an airtight container, the soup holds for three days in the fridge. Reheat it gently in a pan over low heat, stirring now and then; a microwave on full power will boil the edges and split the cream.

It freezes acceptably for up to two months, though cream-based soups always come back slightly grainier. Freeze it without the pasta, thaw it overnight in the fridge and whisk it well as it warms.

If the soup has thickened too much overnight, loosen it with a splash of stock or milk rather than water, which dilutes the flavour.

Reader Questions Answered

Why is it called Marry Me Soup?

It is the soup version of Marry Me Chicken, a creamy sun-dried tomato chicken dish with a reputation for impressing whoever eats it. The name travelled with the flavours.

Can I make it ahead for guests?

Yes. Make it up to the point before the cream, keep it in the fridge, then reheat and finish with the cream, parmesan and basil just before serving.

Can I use rotisserie chicken?

Yes, and it saves ten minutes. Skip the browning step, build the broth with a little extra olive oil, and stir the shredded cooked chicken in with the cream so it only warms through.

What should I serve with it?

Crusty bread or garlic bread is enough. A sharp green salad with lemon dressing balances the richness well.

Can I make it dairy free?

Use full-fat coconut milk in place of the cream and leave out the parmesan, adding a tablespoon of nutritional yeast for savour. The soup changes character but stays very good.

Wrapping Up

Brown the chicken, cook the paste, build the broth, finish gently with cream and parmesan: that is the whole recipe, and none of it is difficult. Forty minutes from a cold pot to a bowl that tastes like it took far longer.

Make it once on a weeknight and it will join the short list of meals you can cook without looking anything up.

Related recipes: Creamy Orange Gelatin Squares You Can Eat With Your Hands, Dubai Chocolate Bars with Pistachio Filling, Baked Oats with Banana and Blueberries, Cheeseburger Casserole with Pickles and Cheddar, Marry Me Chicken in a Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce.

Learn more: Chicken on Wikipedia · food storage & safety (FoodSafety.gov).