“We’ve got more ‘marry me’ recipes in circulation than ever and yet the marriage rates keep falling. All those sun-dried tomatoes died for nothing”
“Engagement Chicken” led to “Marry Me Chicken,” and other similarly named recipes. A woman who cooks such a dish for a man will impress him so much that they become engaged/married.
A recipe for “Engagement Chicken” appeared in Glamour magazine in January 2004, based on an incident involving a Glamour staffer in 1982. Allegedly, several staffers who cooked the recipe got engaged soon afterward. The recipe is for a lemon roast chicken.
“Marry Me Chicken” was printed in Delish on March 14, 2016:
“I’m sure you’re skeptically wondering why in the hell a chicken recipe can bear the title of ‘Marry Me,’ but when Delish editors started devouring these crispy chicken thighs soaked in a savory sun-dried tomato-thyme cream sauce, people started blurting out ‘I’d marry you for that chicken” and ‘OH MY GOD THAT’S MARRIAGE MATERIAL.”’‘Nuff said. Now many of you have probably heard of Ina’s Engagement Roast Chicken before, but this, if I may say, is so much tastier.”
“Dinner tonight was amazing. Adding this to my ‘marry me’ recipes” was posted on X/Twitter by Rich Papi on December 9, 2021. “my moms trying to post her chicken Alfredo on her Tiktok and she put the caption ‘marry me pasta’ LMFAO” was posted on X/Twitter by kiana on January 7, 2022.
“I hate ‘marry me’ recipes. ‘Marry me chicken’ ‘marry me Alfredo’ omg everything is about a relationship. I’m going to scream. It’s just pasta!!!” was posted on X/Twitter by A Scheme Coltrane Wilder Set Up on December 26, 2024. “we’ve got more ‘marry me’ recipes in circulation than ever and yet the marriage rates keep falling. All those sun-dried tomatoes died for nothing” was posted on X/Twitter by Janel Comeau 🍁 on July 15, 2026, and this received over 6,100 likes.
Newspapers.com
10 December 2003, Daily News (Jacksonville, NC), “Military wives can have their cake and eat it too” by Anne Clark, pg. 2B, cols. 2-3:
I recently came across a magic recipe in Glamour magazine (the January 2004 issue). The dish is called Engagement Chicken, because the Glamour staffer who made the meal for her boyfriend became engaged to him a month later.
Glamour
How to Make “Engagement Chicken”
First comes chicken, then comes marriage? Be skeptical if you must, but this recipe may be charmed.
June 30, 2006
Newspapers.com
9 February 2011, Rockford (IL) Register Star, “Could chicken recipe lead to engagement?,” GO sec., pg. 9, col. 3:
The roasted chicken recipe first appeared in Glamour magazine in 2004. It was named Engagement Chicken because several of the magazine’s staffers got engaged shortly after serving up the dish to their boyfriends.
X/Twitter
Julie Benz
@juliebenz
if you want to find a man you need to make my “marry me” chicken wings… Worked for me:) Happy Valentine’s Day!
10:33 PM · Feb 14, 2013
X/Twitter
Shape Magazine
@Shape_Magazine
Have it all with the secret “marry me” recipes in “300 Sandwiches”: http://amzn.to/1ELvPxl
11:15 PM · May 20, 2015
Delish
Delish
@Delish
There’s An Unbelievable Reason We Call This “Marry Me” Chicken http://bit.ly/1RhIq84
4:36 PM · Mar 14, 2016
Yahoo - Life
There’s An Unbelievable Reason We Call This “Marry Me” Chicken
Delish
Updated Mon, March 14, 2016 at 10:57 AM EDT
From Delish
I’m sure you’re skeptically wondering why in the hell a chicken recipe can bear the title of “Marry Me,” but when Delish editors started devouring these crispy chicken thighs soaked in a savory sun-dried tomato-thyme cream sauce, people started blurting out “I’d marry you for that chicken” and “OH MY GOD THAT’S MARRIAGE MATERIAL.” ‘Nuff said. Now many of you have probably heard of Ina’s Engagement Roast Chicken before, but this, if I may say, is so much tastier.
So what makes this Italian chicken so damn special? After you sear it, you make a simple cream sauce of garlic, fresh thyme, sun-dried tomatoes, chicken broth, and heavy cream, which the seared chicken simmers in in the oven so that it soaks up all the flavor.
Newspapers.com
7 February 2018, Tampa Bay (FL) Times, “Sweet & Simple” by Michelle Stark, pg. 6E, col. 1:
The lore, and there is quite a lore around this (Engagement Chicken—ed.) recipe, is said to have started in 1982, when, according to Glamour magazine, “an editor in Glamour‘s fashion department gave her assistant a recipe for the most buttery, lemony chicken she’d ever tasted. The assistant then cooked said chicken for her then-boyfriend, who, a month later, proposed.”
X/Twitter
Rich Papi
@_MoneyMitch214
Dinner tonight was amazing. Adding this to my “marry me” recipes
10:30 PM · Dec 9, 2021 from Rosenberg, TX
X/Twitter
kiana
@Kianaaaraye
my moms trying to post her chicken Alfredo on her Tiktok and she put the caption “marry me pasta” LMFAO had to help her out, it says “wife me up” now🥴😂
10:10 PM · Jan 7, 2022
X/Twitter
E! News
@enews
Top Chef Winner Buddha Lo Shows How to Make “Marry Me” Pasta https://eonli.ne/3xBHPHY
5:59 AM · Jun 10, 2022
X/Twitter
Miss Mixologist
@_crown_holder_
I just looked at that marry me recipe and bitch please that’s the Tuscan sauce recipe with a new name 😂
9:13 PM · Jun 4, 2023
Bluesky
Charlotte
@charlottecbordeaux.bsky.social
“Marry me” pasta
🔖#cookierun #cookierunovenbreak #cookierunkingdom #cookierunoc #canonoc #cappuccinocookie
7:21 AM · Oct 7, 2023
X/Twitter
Efaishe
@Aishe_HA
What on earth is a “marry me” recipe ?
6:02 AM · Oct 9, 2023
Bluesky
Andrew McRae
@andrewmcrae.bsky.social
Something seriously wrong with the fact that every white person “Marry Me” recipe starts with a crockpot and a packet of ranch dressing
4:42 PM · Dec 6, 2023
Bluesky
Paul Bae
@paulbae.bsky.social
I’m tired of the Marry Me recipes. Marry Me Pasta. Marry Me Chicken.
I’m developing less committed recipes. Crash On Your Couch Stir Fry. Be My Roommate Casserole. Dog Sit For Me Penne.
Advanced recipes: Divorce Me Ribeye. Talk To My Lawyer Curry.
12:37 PM · Jan 10, 2024
X/Twitter
asaproro.bsky.social
@asvp__roro
“marry me chicken” “marry me pasta” omfg these damn tiktok recipes, just add cream & tomato paste people!!! how many “marry me” recipes can there be, i stg
8:04 PM · Mar 4, 2024
Eater
Divorce Yourself From ‘Marry Me’ Recipes
Why is marriage the highest compliment you can give a dish?
by Jaya Saxena
Apr 19, 2024, 9:47 AM EDT
In 1982, Glamour published a recipe for Engagement Chicken. It got the name, the story goes, because staffers cooked the lemon roast chicken recipe for their boyfriends, who then all shortly proposed. It was an accident, really; none of these women cooked the chicken in an attempt to become engaged, it just happened. The name for Marry Me Chicken, Lindsay Funston’s 2016 recipe for Delish, also came about accidentally. After cooking the skillet chicken with sun dried tomatoes, herbs, and cream, “Ms. Funston’s video producer took a bite and declared, ‘I’d marry you for that chicken!’” says the New York Times. Again, no intent, just a joyous reaction that sparked the name.
X/Twitter
A Scheme Coltrane Wilder Set Up
@Beebz05
I hate “marry me” recipes. “Marry me chicken” “marry me Alfredo” omg everything is about a relationship. I’m going to scream. It’s just pasta!!!
3:06 PM · Dec 26, 2024
X/Twitter
KYFA
@awwhalenawl
Enough “marry me” recipes plz
I’m happy y’all discovered sun dried tomatoes
5:19 PM · Mar 2, 2025
X/Twitter
фак
@sapphosviper
Why is every recipe nowadays called ‘marry me [insert food]’?
9:09 PM · Mar 21, 2025
Today
Marry Me Chicken
Alexis deBoschnek
Jan. 17, 2024, 12:00 PM EST / Updated Nov. 6, 2025, 6:24 PM EST
Of all the recipes that have gone viral on TikTok, Marry Me Chicken is one that has had real staying power. Marry Me Chicken was originally developed by Lindsay Funston, who was a food editor at Delish. The story goes that when her team took a bite of the final recipe, they declared that it was so good, they’d marry her for that chicken. While it’s unclear how many proposals this chicken has actually resulted in, it’s unanimous that this dish impresses.
This popular chicken recipe has inspired hundreds of iterations, but the essential ingredients are heavy cream, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan.
Delish
The Original Marry Me Chicken
By Lindsay Funston Updated: Dec 4, 2025
People often ask me—What’s your favorite recipe you’ve created? There are many I love, but there’s one that will always be the clear winner: my “Marry Me” chicken recipe. It’s the chicken dinner that I know will make jaws drop every time. In it, chicken breasts are seared until golden brown before being baked in a simple (but extremely satisfying) cream sauce that results in a chicken that’s packed with flavor in every bite.
If you’re thinking the recipe name sounds familiar, that’s because Delish developed the ORIGINAL “Marry Me” chicken that’s gone viral on TikTok. The recipe has become such an Internet staple that The New York Times covered the phenomenon (and their version became their most popular recipe of 2023, seven years after I created the OG). Whether you’re looking for a recipe to make for a special someone or an extra-special weeknight dinner, this should be on your list. Be prepared—this chicken just might inspire a confession of love at first bite.
X/Twitter
Janel Comeau 🍁
@VeryBadLlama
we’ve got more “marry me” recipes in circulation than ever and yet the marriage rates keep falling. All those sun-dried tomatoes died for nothing.
8:51 PM · Jul 15, 2026
Bluesky
Janel Comeau 🍁
@verybadllama.bsky.social
we’ve got more “marry me” recipes in circulation than ever and yet the marriage rates keep falling. All those sun-dried tomatoes died for nothing.
8:51 PM · Jul 15, 2026