This marry me chicken pasta salad is our take on the trending ‘marry me chicken’ dish. Gaining huge popularity on social media, the dish earned its romantic name from the belief that the chicken cooked in a creamy sun-dried tomato sauce is so delicious, it could inspire a marriage proposal!
We’ve transformed a store-bought barbecued chicken with those signature marry me chicken flavours, for a crowd-pleasing pasta salad. It’s perfect for an easy dinner, bring-a-dish picnics and breezy weekend lunches.
Ingredients
Method
Cook pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water for 6-8 minutes, or until al dente. Drain, reserving ¼ cup pasta cooking water.
Meanwhile, combine tomato paste, vinegar, yoghurt, mayonnaise, garlic powder and parmesan in a large bowl. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add pasta cooking water, pasta and ¼ cup basil leaves; toss to coat. Set aside to cool.
Add chicken, tomatoes, bocconcini and toss gently. Top marry me chicken pasta salad with remaining basil leaves and serve immediately.
More dinners with barbecued chicken
This marry me chicken pasta is so speedy as it uses store-bought BBQ chook. For more fast meals, here’s a collection of quick midweek dinners with barbecued chicken.
Marry me chicken pasta variations
If you love this, try Steph se Sousa’s version of this one-pan wonder with tender chicken, rich sun-dried tomato pesto and creamy risoni. It can be made with chicken thigh fillets or chicken breasts.
Looking for more pasta salad recipes, or easy summer dinners?
Ingredient tips
Baby bocconcini, a form of fresh mozzarella, is available from some large supermarkets, specialty cheese stores and delicatessens. If unavailable, larger bocconcini can be quartered.
Sherry vinegar is a natural vinegar made from the sherry grape grown in the southwest of Spain; aged in oak, this traditional wine vinegar has a mellow sweet-sour taste, similar to balsamic.
