Marry Me Chicken, Toddler Style, Is What to Make When You Just Want (or Need) To Eat Chicken
Assuming their purpose and/or taste is not intentionally designed to be stupid, most recipes that go viral on the interwebs and socials are also (mostly) adaptable to toddler tastes–adult palates aren’t all that much more sophisticated, you know? Case in point: the Marry Me Chicken phenomena that mildly swept the nation in 2023. It’s white meat poultry, cream sauce, and tomatoes–what’s so hard and/or bad about that? Your kid is probably already eating all of the above individually; it is, not surprisingly, a very small and easy step to put them together for your toddler’s dinner.
Now, we’ve made a couple of mods here to accommodate your child’s needs and wants. Toddlers fare better with thinner Tender pieces rather than thicker, chewier Breast portions of a chicken; if you only have (or want) the latter, you can always slice them in half horizontally to create cutlet-thin pieces, especially if you want to eat a breast portion yourself. The original recipe calls for sundried tomatoes; we use jarred tomato sauce–it’s ready to go and functions just the same. Red pepper flakes are out; oregano is in. You can up the heavy cream, too, if your likes his/her sauce to be closer to yogurt than dressing.
- 6 pieces Chicken Tenderloins ((can also use two breasts, slicing horizontally to create two or three cutlets per breast, depending on size and thickness))
- All-Purpose Flour
- Minced Garlic
- Tomato Paste
- 3/4 cup Chicken Broth (low-sodium recommended)
- 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
- 1/4 cup Tomato Sauce
- Basil
- Oregano
- grated Parmesan Cheese
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then sprinkle flour all over chicken.
- Heat a large oven-safe pan to Medium; coat with butter or olive oil. Once hot, heat the cutlets until their surface is browned, roughly one minute per side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add in a spoonful each of minced garlic and tomato paste and cook for two minutes. Add in broth, cream, and tomato sauce; blend. Sprinkle basil, oregano, and parmesan (if using) all around the pan; mix until blended. Heat sauce until simmering, roughly 3-4 minutes.
- Add chicken back into pan, spreading pieces across the pan so they don’t touch. Place pan in oven and cook for five minutes. Remove from heat.
Our go-to approach is to spoon sauce over a tender, cut it horizontally into strips, and then serve with a little extra sauce pond on the side. Pasta or rice are obvious accompaniments to go under or beside; the sauce can be poured over it, too. A simple steamed vegetable (i.e., broccoli, peas) can round out the plate.
The core of the dish is a slightly sweet, slightly savory cheesy cream sauce–almost anything can be added or subbed in and will be palatable. Short rib or other soft and long-simmering meat make the best swaps for chicken; we can vouch for adding mushrooms to the pan for the oven cook (for yourself, of course), and roasted potatoes would be just as nice.
Brad (the Dad) is the founder and Chief Recipe Officer of New Dad's Kitchen. His own cooking/feeding journey started humbly during his son's infancy, preparing and managing his son's bottle intake in order to support his wife; it has since blossomed into a full-on passion to feed his child and family delicious and healthy meals that can satisfy both a toddler and his very tired parents.
