Marry Me Chicken – Crockpot Recipe

With tender shredded chicken, a creamy sun-dried tomato sauce, and fresh basil for garnish, this Crockpot Marry Me Chicken is absolutely packed with flavor! Best of all, it’s a dump-and-go slow cooker dinner that’s made for busy weeknights. Whether you serve it with pasta or tuck it into a sandwich, it’s a guaranteed hit!

this Recipe

 

Crockpot Marry Me Chicken – The EASY Way!

With a name like Marry Me Chicken, you know it has to be good!

As you might have already guessed, the story goes that if you make this recipe for someone, they’ll want to marry you afterwards. (I guess that means you should be careful who you make this for, right?) The original recipe is a classic skillet chicken dish made by searing tender, juicy chicken breasts, then simmering it in a creamy sun-dried tomato sauce.

While the skillet version doesn’t take much work, Crockpot Marry Me Chicken is even easier. You get the same delicious flavor, but instead of standing at the stovetop, you dump all of the ingredients in the crockpot. When it comes to weeknight dinners, it doesn’t get much better than this!

We love this recipe so much, that we have made it many different ways! Find my classic skillet Marry Me Chicken recipe here, and our Marry Me Chicken and Tortellini recipe here.

Why I LOVE this recipe!

• Creamy – Cream cheese adds an irresistibly rich texture to the sauce without having to use heavy cream and butter.
• Flavorful – Sun-dried tomatoes! Parmesan! Fresh basil! These are some of my favorite ingredients for boosting the flavor in a recipe, and putting them all together makes for one delicious dish.
• Easy to make – Three words: dump and go. 
• Family-friendly – Kids and adults alike can’t get enough of this recipe!
• Versatile– You can serve over potatoes, keep it light on cauliflower rice, or make the most delicious little sliders out of the chicken.

Recipe Notes

This Slow Cooker Marry Me Chicken recipe is as simple as promised! Just a few minutes of prep and your slow cooker for a family friendly meal.

In this section I am going to go through a few tips and tricks for how to make marry me chicken in the crock pot to get the absolute best and most delicious results.

Make sure to scroll to the bottom for the FULL recipe card.

Ingredients + Substitutions

• Boneless skinless chicken breast – You can swap in chicken thighs if you prefer.
• Italian seasoning– use a store bought or homemade blend
• Pepper – Use freshly ground pepper for the best flavor.
• Salt
• Garlic
• Sundried tomatoes – Buy oil-packed tomatoes, not the kind that comes dry in a pouch.
• Onion – I use a yellow onion, but white is fine too.
• Cream cheese – Buy a block of full-fat cream cheese; don’t use Neufchâtel cheese or the kind of cream cheese that comes in a tub.
• Grated Parmesan cheese 
• Fresh basil – While you can use thyme or oregano for garnish if you happen to have them on hand, I love the bright flavor of fresh basil.

Recipe Tips

1. Cook Perfectly! Even though we are slow cooking, you can use the crock pot to cook in 3-4 hours or extend the cook for 6-8 hours. I recommend using chicken breast on the lower side of the cooking time, but if you need to set up the recipe for a longer period of time, use chicken thighs, for a more tender result.
   
2. Shred the chicken with forks – You don’t need to cut it into chunks before adding it to the crockpot, and you don’t even need to take the chicken breasts out when they’re finished cooking. Just shred them right in the crockpot with two forks!
   
3. Let the cream cheese soften in the crockpot – Because I can never remember to take cream cheese out of the fridge to soften, I just pop it on top of the chicken, cover the crockpot, and let the cream cheese sit for about 10 minutes until it’s soft. Then, it will stir smoothly into the chicken—no little lumps!
   
4. Use fresh basil – It’s so much more flavorful than dried basil, and it adds a nice pop of color to the chicken.

Recipe Short Cuts

If you need to make this recipe, but are extra short on time, here are a few ideas that can help make this recipe even faster!

• Use pre-chopped onions – No shame! Save on prep time by buying pre-chopped onions from the produce section or the salad bar at your grocery store. A jar of minced garlic works too!
• Look for julienned sun-dried tomatoes – Not only will you save yourself time slicing, you’ll also save yourself from having to clean up an oily mess afterwards!
• Assemble the night before – Dump the ingredients into the crockpot insert and refrigerate it overnight. 

Recipe Variations

If you love this recipe as much as we do and want some quick ways to change it up for variety, these little tips will do the trick!

• Add some more veggies – Sliced mushrooms can be added at the beginning of the recipe, or you can stir coarsely chopped baby spinach in at the end until it wilts.
• Make it spicy – Give your Crockpot Marry Me Chicken a kick by adding red pepper flakes.
• Stir in some artichokes – Marinated artichokes work so well with the flavors in this recipe, especially if you plan on serving your chicken over pasta or tortellini.
• Swap the tomatoes for peppers – If you’re not a fan of the flavor or texture of sun-dried tomatoes, try using roasted red peppers instead.
• Crumble in some bacon – Just before serving, stir crumbled bacon into the chicken. Or, for some smoky flavor without the bacon, add smoked paprika.
• Brown the Chicken– If you want a little more texture on your chicken, you can brown chicken in a large skillet before adding to the slow cooker. I find this method most useful if you want to serve the chicken breasts whole rather than shredding the Marry Me Chicken as in the pictures.

Freezer Meal Instructions

Making this Crockpot Marry Me Chicken recipe into a freezer meal is simple! Follow the steps below and you can store this recipe in the freezer for up to 6 months.

1. Place all ingredients up to the cream cheese in a gallon-sized freezer bag, seal, and freeze for up to 3 months. 
2. When you’re ready to cook, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then dump contents into the crock pot. Cook as directed. 

Crockpot Marry Me Chicken Leftovers

If you have leftovers after making Crockpot Marry Me Chicken, then it is your lucky day! They save and reheat well, and can make the start of another delicious dish.

To save leftovers, separate into meal sized portions and then place in an airtight container and store:

• in the refrigerator for 3-4 days
• in the freezer up to a month

Leftover Recipes

Here are a few ways to repurpose those leftovers and give them a delicious makeover!

• Marry Me Chicken Pitas – Microwave leftover Crockpot Marry Me Chicken, then tuck it into pitas with baby spinach for an easy lunch.
• Italian-Inspired Quesadillas – Layer leftover chicken with shredded Italian blend cheese or mozzarella on a flour tortilla. Cook on a griddle or in a skillet with just a bit of olive oil or cooking spray until the tortilla is crispy and the cheese is melted. Serve with marinara for dipping!
• Marry Me Chicken Flatbread – Buy a pizza crust or flatbread, then top it with jarred Alfredo sauce, leftover Crockpot Marry Me Chicken, and asiago cheese. Garnish with fresh basil.

If needed, you can add a splash chicken broth or chicken stock to the chicken if the sauce needs to be loosened up a bit.

More Chicken Dinner Recipes

If you enjoyed this recipe, I really hope you will take a moment to grab a few more easy recipes for another busy night!

You can check out all of my chicken recipes here, or see a few of our readers favorite recipes below.

• Creamy Chicken Piccata
• Perfect Baked Chicken Breast
• Chicken Pizzaiola
• Crockpot Creamy Garlic Chicken Bites
• Baked Italian Chicken
• Ground Chicken Stuffed Peppers
• Baked Caesar Chicken