Are Marry Me Chicken And Engagement Chicken The Same Thing?

When someone gets down on one knee to propose marriage, it's certainly out of love. But it might also have to do with the chicken dinner the other special someone cooked — could a recipe actually launch a thousand marriage proposals and subsequent engagements? It would have to be a whole lot of chickeny deliciousness for a person to declare undying love for life. Two chicken recipes, though, have garnered media attention because a few celebrities seemed to have tied the knot after cooking them at home. When the recipes for Marry Me Chicken and Engagement Chicken were published, they became viral sensations, and the passion for them hasn't subsided. 

We definitely love a classic roast chicken and a one-skillet creamy chicken dish, both of which could be considered "kissing cousins" of Marry Me Chicken and Engagement Chicken. Each recipe is comforting and a bit luxurious — even though they're quite simple to make — and despite their similar names and similar marital outcomes, they're not the same thing and are vastly different from the other. 

Marry Me Chicken began as a creative riff on an Italian chicken pasta dish that had been developed for Delish by The Kitchn's current editor-in-chief Lindsay Funston. In Funston's original recipe, a decadent sauce composed of cherry tomatoes, bacon, spinach, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese that's combined with sauteed chicken breasts is tossed with spaghetti. The recipe went viral, but Funston set out to create an easier one-skillet alternative that was even saucier. 

Using similar ingredients, she came up with a dish she called "Sicilian Chicken Skillet," but it wasn't a particularly catchy name. During a video shoot for the recipe, however, as she poured the luscious sauce over the chicken, the on-set videographer couldn't resist sampling a forkful. It was so amazingly delicious that she blurted out "I'd marry you for that chicken!" Hence, the name and legend were born. 

In food terms, marry means blending flavors harmoniously, but a more romantic interpretation seems apt for a chicken dinner this good. Since its publication, Funston's recipe has been adapted in a myriad of ways, like a baconified Marry-Me Chicken or even changing it up with your favorite cut of steak, and you might try your own take on someone you love.

Supposedly, roast chicken compelled Prince Harry to propose to Meghan Markle. When news of their engagement got out, it was credited to a roast chicken recipe called Engagement Chicken that first appeared in Glamour in 2004. The magazine's fashion editor at the time, Kim Bonnell, had created the recipe about 20 years earlier, which she shared with co-workers who wanted to impress their boyfriends. By Bonnell's account, the recipe proved so successful that her co-workers got engaged. When many of Glamour's readers wrote that they too were proposed to after making Engagement Chicken, the myth of its romantic powers took shape, and it was included in Glamour's cookbook, 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know. 

Ina Garten created her version of Engagement Chicken, and actress Emily Blunt claimed the recipe convinced actor (now husband) John Krasinski that they should marry. Garten tweaks a classic roast chicken recipe by amping up the flavors with lots of lemon and onion, which then transforms into a French-style pan sauce. Her Engagement Chicken is still immensely popular, although the concept that a perfectly roasted chicken could attract a potential spouse might be considered a bit retro. 

As with any roast chicken, you'll need a great roasting pan, and Garten's go-to roasting pan is ideal for her Engagement Chicken. Whichever recipe you choose, and for whomever you cook it for, you may not end up with a ring on your finger, but you'll share a delicious meal together.