High-Protein Marry Me Chicken Pasta (58g of protein)

This Marry Me Chicken Pasta has deliciously seasoned chicken, a homemade creamy cottage cheese sauce (no heavy cream!), sun-dried tomatoes and perfectly coated noodles. Whether you're making this for a special occasion or busy weeknight family dinner, this easy high-protein and gluten-free dish has you covered in under 30 minutes. Marriage proposal not included.
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A large skillet full of creamy pasta with sun dried tomatoes and basil strips on top and spoon for serving.

A creamy sun-dried tomato chicken pasta is everything good in this world. Yummy juicy chicken, a homemade cream sauce (without any cream) that’s to die for and pasta shells to hold in all the flavor in every bite. Is it worthy of a marriage proposal? Who knows. With high-protein dishes this good, who cares?

To make this a nice high-protein dish we’re ditching the heavy cream and using cottage cheese instead. The cottage cheese makes the sauce rich and creamy without overloading it with calories and fat. This silky smooth sauce has tons of flavor from sun-dried tomatoes and pairs perfectly with seasoned chicken and pasta shells.

Are you new to adding cottage cheese to everything? Try it in cottage cheese lasagna, my favorite chilled cottage cheese queso and definitely in a tropical cottage cheese smoothie.

Why you’ll love this recipe

  • 58 grams of protein per serving.
  • Made with only simple ingredients.
  • High-protein and gluten-free.

Ingredients and Substitutes:

These are the main ingredients and substitutions. See the recipe card below for the full ingredients list and instructions for this creamy chicken pasta.

Chicken breast, parmesan cheese, sundried tomatoes, chicken broth, chickpea shells, garlic powder, oil from sundried tomatoes, italian seasoning. salt and pepper, cottage cheese and spinach for pasta.
  • Chickpea Noodles: I used chickpea shells to make this gluten-free. I prefer a shell or short pasta, like rotini or penne pasta.
  • Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: this could be swapped for ground chicken or for a richer flavor, use boneless skinless chicken thighs.
  • Sun-Dried Tomatoes and the Oil: there’s no olive oil in this recipe. Instead, we are using the flavorful oil from the jar of sun-dried tomatoes that usually gets discarded.
  • Low-Fat Cottage Cheese: puts the creamy to our creamy sauce. Cottage cheese gives the sauce a beautiful texture and adds protein and richness. You can use full-fat to make this an even more creamy pasta dish, but it really doesn’t need it.
  • Chicken Broth: I always use low sodium so I can decide the amount of salt. You can use chicken stock or bone broth instead.

Variations

  • For a richer meal, make this with tortellini or gnocchi.
  • Spice up the night by adding red pepper flakes.

Dietary Modifications

  • This delicious pasta is gluten-free.
  • To make this dairy-free you can use 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup full fat canned coconut milk and arrowroot or cornstarch to thicken it as needed. It won’t be the same but it’ll still get some creaminess.

Let’s make marry me chicken pasta (a step-by-step guide):

Step 1: cook the pasta and chicken

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. If using chickpea pasta, I like to undercook it by a minute so it doesn’t get mushy. 

Add the chicken, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl (image 1). Mix to evenly coat the chicken (image 2). In a large skillet over medium heat, add the oil from the sundried tomatoes. Once hot, add the seasoned chicken and cook on each side (image 3), untouched, for 3-4 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink (image 4).

Seasoned chicken in a bowl and added to a large pan to brown.

Step 2: blend your creamy sun-dried tomato sauce

While the chicken cooks, add the cottage cheese, chicken broth, garlic powder and oil from the sundried tomatoes in a high speed blender (image 5) and blend until smooth and the cottage cheese is no longer chunky or chalky, approximately 4-5 minutes (image 6)

Two images showing blending the cottage cheese, garlic powder, and oil from the sundried tomatoes in a blender cup.

Step 3: add pasta and sauce to cooked chicken

Add the cooked and drained pasta to the pan with the cooked chicken along with the blended cottage cheese sauce (image 7). Add the parmesan cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper (image 8). Stir to melt the cheese and heat the sauce. This will only take a couple of minutes. Add the spinach (image 9) and stir to wilt (image 10).

Process images showing adding the cottage cheese sauce to the chicken and noodles then the parmesan cheese, sundried tomatoes, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning, mixing to combine and then wilting in the spinach to great the creamy pasta.

Expert Tip!

Al dente pasta is slightly undercooked pasta. It’s recommended for this recipe because the pasta will continue to cook once added to your cream sauce.

Recipe FAQs

What kind of noodle is best?

There’s no right answer to this. Use whatever pasta noodle you love. I like short pasta noodles for this, but you can use the longer varieties too. I used chickpea noodles to keep this gluten-free and I promise you can’t tell they’re make with chickpeas.
I chose not to make this a one pot dish (I know, I know, one-pot meals are the best) because I want you to be able to use your favorite pasta noodle. I used chickpea noodles to keep this gluten-free and that doesn’t cook the same as a regular noodle.

How to store leftover chicken pasta?

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. You can reheat in the microwave or stove top. Add a splash of broth or water if needed to loosen it up.

How can I make this lower carb?

Use half the noodles and use zoodles or a low-carb noodle option for the other half. Or skip the noodles altogether (although this add 55g of protein to the full dish) and serve the chicken and sauce over zoodles, cauliflower rice or mash or your favorite low carb option.

Pasta in a bowl with a utensil for serving with basil strips on top and other bowls around.
A large skillet full of creamy pasta with sun dried tomatoes and basil strips on top and spoon for serving.

Marry Me Chicken Pasta

Danielle Lima
This Marry Me Chicken Pasta has deliciously seasoned chicken, a homemade creamy cottage cheese sauce (no heavy cream!), sun-dried tomatoes and perfectly coated noodles. Whether you're making this for a special occasion or busy weeknight family dinner, this easy high-protein and gluten-free dish has you covered in under 30 minutes. Marriage proposal not included.
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 5 servings
Calories 539 kcal

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Ingredients
  

  • 10 oz. Banza chickpea pasta shells
  • 1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
  • 1/2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • fresh cracked pepper
  • 1 Tbsp. oil from sun-dried tomatoes
  • 2 cups low-fat cottage cheese
  • 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 Tbsp. oil from sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded 56g
  • 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes 85g
  • 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • fresh cracked pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups spinach, packed

Instructions
 

  • Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the pasta shells, cook according to the package instructions. If using chickpea pasta, I like to undercook it by a minute so it doesn’t get mushy. 
  • Add the chicken, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl. Mix to evenly coat the chicken. 
  • In a large pan over medium heat, add the oil from the sundried tomatoes. Once hot, add the chicken and cook on each side untouched for 3-4 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink. 
  • While the chicken cooks, add the cottage cheese, broth, garlic powder and oil from the sundried tomatoes in a high speed blender and blend until smooth and the cottage cheese is no longer chunky or chalky, approximately 4-5 minutes.
  • Add the cooked and drained pasta to the pan with the chicken, the blended cottage cheese sauce, parmesan cheese, sundried tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir to melt the cheese and heat the sauce over medium to medium low heat to avoid clumping.
  • Add the spinach and stir to wilt. Serve topped with freshly chopped basil, parmesan cheese and adjust with salt and pepper, as needed.

Notes

  • Cook your pasta (especially if using chickpea pasta) until al dente to ensure the noodles don’t get mushy. 
  • Use your favorite type of noodles in place of chickpea shells. 
  • Nutritional information is an estimate and will vary with substitutions. 

Nutrition

Serving: 350gCalories: 539kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 58gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 118mgSodium: 1192mgPotassium: 1147mgFiber: 6gSugar: 4g
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4 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This recipe was out of this world delicious, creamy and so so easy to make! I made this tonight for dinner and had plenty left over for a few days of meal prep. I will be making again! ☺️

  2. 5 stars
    This recipe was delicious and so easy to make!! My family and I loved it. We had a chilly, rainy day and it was the perfect comfort food for our dinner.

5 from 2 votes

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