Make Marry Me Chicken Lighter Without Losing Its Creamy Texture With This Simple Swap

Marry me chicken has been one of social media's favorite recipes for years — and it's easy to see why. Made with butter, heavy whipped cream, and parmesan cheese, this decadent chicken recipe is guaranteed to make mouths water — though the proposal-prompting dish isn't exactly light when it comes to ingredients. For those looking to make the dish a bit less heavy without sacrificing taste, a quick swap of low-fat cream cheese for the usual heavy cream can do the trick.

When you use low-fat cream cheese, you'll find the sauce is still rich, velvety, and tomato-forward, but with a subtle tang that brightens the overall flavor profile. You'll still get tender pieces of seasoned chicken, and your dinner will leave a positive impression even with the sneaky ingredient swap. It's a simple change that makes the final dish a little less heavy while keeping the comforting, savory taste you're looking for — and it even works for variations of the dish, like marry me chicken dishes made with steak.

For those looking to avoid dairy completely, silken tofu or cashew cream can add creamy texture to the chicken dish, though you may need to adjust other ingredients and amounts to balance the recipe. Coconut milk can also be swapped for heavy cream.

If you want to lean into the decadence, there are also ways to amp up the dish with more dynamic flavor. A baconified marry me chicken can be ready to slice in under half an hour, so whether or not you're coupled up, this is the kind of recipe you'll want to add to your weekly menu lineup for a quick and tasty meal.

When served with rice, a simple green salad, or crispy-edged smashed potatoes, both the original marry me chicken and its lighter counterpart make for a satisfying dinner that leaves no morsel untouched. Offer slices of toasted bread to mop up the sauce, or spoon pasta alongside the main dish for a true taste of comfort. Though low-fat ingredients can sometimes affect a recipe, marry me chicken made without heavy cream can still warrant promising proposals, regardless.