The one-pot, creamy, sun-dried tomato soup that will make everyone at the table ask for the recipe — and maybe ask for your hand.
I made this soup on a whim on a cold Tuesday night, and my husband — a man of very few culinary compliments — looked up from his bowl and said, “Can you make this every week?” That’s the Marry Me effect.
This Marry Me Chicken Soup takes everything beloved about the viral pasta dish — the tangy sun-dried tomatoes, the silky cream, the salty Parmesan — and transforms it into a deeply satisfying one-pot soup with tender pasta shells and wilted baby spinach. It is warm, rich, and just fancy enough to feel special on a weeknight.
If you’ve been looking for a soup that genuinely impresses without hours in the kitchen, this is it. One pot, under an hour, and it tastes like it simmered all day. Let’s cook.
Ingredients FOR Marry Me Chicken Soup
For the Chicken
- 1½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs – I prefer a mix of both: breasts for texture, thighs for flavor. Cut into bite-sized pieces so every spoonful gets a bit of protein.
- 1 tsp kosher salt (for seasoning the chicken) – Season directly on the raw chicken before it hits the pan. This step builds the flavor foundation.
For the Broth Base
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter – Butter gives a richer start than olive oil here. Don’t skip it.
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1½ cups) – You want the onion truly softened and almost melting before moving on. Rushing this step flattens the flavor.
- 3 cloves garlic, minced – Fresh garlic only, please. Jarred minced garlic just doesn’t deliver the same fragrance.
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned – Oil-packed and drained is what I always use. They bring a concentrated, jammy tang that dried ones can’t replicate.
- 3 tbsp tomato paste – Cooking this down until it darkens slightly is the step most people skip — and it makes a real difference to the depth of the broth.
- 1 tsp dried thyme – Earthy and herby, it pairs beautifully with the tomato notes.
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional) – I always add them. You can barely taste the heat but it rounds everything out.
For the Soup
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth – Low-sodium is key since we’re controlling salt ourselves. A good-quality broth makes a noticeably better soup.
- 8 oz dried medium pasta shells – Shells are perfect here — they catch little pools of creamy broth in every bite.
- 5 oz baby spinach (about 5 packed cups) – It wilts down dramatically, so don’t be alarmed by the volume before cooking.
- ¾ cup heavy cream – This is what makes the broth silky and luscious. Don’t swap for milk — it won’t hold up.
- ½ oz grated Parmesan (about ¼ cup), plus extra for serving – Grate it fresh from a wedge. Pre-grated cheese doesn’t melt as smoothly into the broth.
- ¼ tsp black pepper, plus 1 tsp kosher salt (for the broth) – Taste and adjust at the end — every broth and Parmesan is different.
What to Serve With Marry Me Chicken Soup
This soup is a full meal on its own, but a few simple additions make it feel extra special. Crusty bread or a warm baguette for dunking into that creamy broth is basically non-negotiable in my house.
A simple arugula salad with lemon and olive oil cuts through the richness nicely. I
f you’re hosting, a Caesar salad and some garlic bread alongside this soup feels genuinely restaurant-worthy — minimal effort, maximum impression.
How to Store This Marry Me Chicken Soup
- Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The pasta will absorb liquid as it sits, so the soup will thicken considerably. Loosen it with a splash of chicken broth when reheating over low heat.
- Freezer: Freeze the soup without the pasta for best results — up to 3 months. Cook fresh pasta when you’re ready to serve.
- Make-ahead tip: The broth base (everything through Step 4) can be made 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Finish with pasta, chicken, spinach, and cream just before serving.
One-Pot Tuscan Marry Me Chicken Soup with Pasta and Spinach
A creamy, sun-dried tomato chicken soup with pasta and spinach — rich enough to impress, simple enough for any weeknight.
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Servings: 6
Notes
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs (or a mix)
- 2 tsp kosher salt, divided
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1½ cups)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned (drained if oil-packed)
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
- 8 oz dried medium pasta shells
- 5 oz baby spinach (about 5 packed cups)
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ½ oz freshly grated Parmesan (about ¼ cup), plus more for serving
- Extra Parmesan, cracked black pepper
- Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and season all over with 1 teaspoon of the kosher salt. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Working in two batches, cook the chicken in a single layer for 4–6 minutes per batch until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add the diced onion, minced garlic, black pepper, and remaining 1 teaspoon of kosher salt to the pot. Stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Cook for 3–4 minutes until the onion is soft and translucent.
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook, stirring often, for 2–3 minutes until the paste deepens in color from bright red to a rich, brick-red tone.
- Pour in the chicken broth and add the thyme and red pepper flakes if using. Stir to combine and bring to a full boil over medium-high heat.
- Stir in the pasta shells. Reduce to a steady simmer and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10–12 minutes until the pasta is al dente.
- Return the seared chicken and any resting juices to the pot. Add the baby spinach, heavy cream, and grated Parmesan. Stir and cook for about 2 minutes until the spinach is fully wilted and the broth is silky and combined. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Serve with extra Parmesan on top.
- Make it 2 days ahead: Prepare the broth base through Step 4 and refrigerate. Cook the pasta, finish with chicken, spinach, cream, and Parmesan just before serving.
- Pasta tip: If storing leftovers, cook pasta separately and add per serving — pasta left in the soup overnight will swell and absorb most of the broth.
- Storage: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat over low heat with a splash of chicken broth to loosen. Freeze (without pasta) for up to 3 months.
- Rotisserie shortcut: Replace raw chicken with 2½ cups shredded rotisserie chicken. Skip Steps 1 and 2; melt butter and proceed from Step 2 with the aromatics, adding the chicken in Step 6.
Tips, Tricks & Substitutions
- Don’t skip the browning step. Those golden, slightly crispy edges on the chicken add an enormous amount of flavor to the whole pot. Pale, steamed-looking chicken pieces will leave your broth tasting flat.
- Cook the pasta in the soup, not separately — unless you’re meal prepping. Cooking pasta directly in the broth makes the soup thicker and more flavorful. But if you’re planning leftovers, cook the pasta separately and add it per bowl at serving time. Pasta left in soup overnight turns to mush — it’s just the truth.
- Swap the protein if you like. This soup works beautifully with Italian sausage (browned and crumbled instead of seared chicken), or with 2½ cups of shredded rotisserie chicken if you want to skip the whole searing process. The rotisserie shortcut is genuinely great — add the pre-cooked chicken in the final step with the spinach.
- Half-and-half works if needed. The soup will be slightly less rich, but still very good. I wouldn’t go below whole milk or the broth will taste watery and the dairy may separate on you.
- Don’t be afraid to season aggressively at the end. Sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan, and broth all vary in salt content. Taste your soup before serving and don’t be shy — you can always add more seasoning, but you can’t take it away!
- Make it slightly spicier. A full ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes (rather than just a pinch) gives the soup a gentle warmth that plays off the cream beautifully without making it actually spicy.
- Can I use rotisserie chicken instead of raw chicken? Yes, and honestly? It’s a great move. Skip Steps 1 and 2 entirely. Just melt the butter, build your aromatics, and stir the shredded rotisserie chicken in at the very end with the spinach and cream. Easy, fast, still delicious.
- My soup got really thick overnight — did I do something wrong? Nope, that’s just pasta being pasta. It absorbs liquid like it’s its whole personality. Add a splash of chicken broth and reheat on low, stirring gently. Back to soup in two minutes.
- Can I make this dairy-free? You can. Swap the butter for olive oil and use an unsweetened dairy-free creamer in place of the heavy cream. Skip the Parmesan or use a dairy-free alternative. It’ll taste a little different but still very good — the sun-dried tomatoes and broth carry a lot of the flavor anyway.
- What pasta works if I don’t have shells? Any short shape does the job — rotini, penne, farfalle, orecchiette. Avoid anything large like rigatoni (throws off the texture) or anything tiny like orzo (cooks too fast and goes mushy). Medium pasta is the sweet spot.
- Can I make this in a slow cooker? Sort of. Sear the chicken first, then add everything except the pasta, spinach, cream, and Parmesan to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6–7 hours or high for 3–4. Stir in the pasta about 30 minutes before the end, then add the spinach, cream, and cheese right at the finish. It works — it’s just a longer day.
