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Crockpot Italian Chicken Pasta is loaded with Italian seasoned shredded chicken and pasta tossed together in a creamy tomato sauce. Add this to your dinner rotation! Set it, forget it and enjoy it! While you have extra time on your hands (thanks to your Crockpot cooking away!) check out this lighter version of a copycat Olive Garden classic…Olive Garden Chicken Pasta.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This recipe for Crockpot Italian Chicken Pasta has turned into a staple at our house, mostly because it takes so little time to throw together and we ALL love it! Win, Win! This is not an ordinary chicken pasta recipe, this is a delicious slow-cooked crockpot chicken pasta recipe. With a handful of ingredients and a tiny bit of time, you’ll have dinner cooking all day and ready when everyone’s hungry.
Love Chicken Pasta? Try these out next: Creamy Pesto Alfredo Chicken Pasta, Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti Recipe, Garlic Chicken & Kale Spaghetti, and Buffalo Chicken & Blue Cheese Fettuccine Alfredo.
What Chicken is Best for Shredding?
I would recommend using chicken without the bone to save you time. If that’s all you have, you can use it, just don’t forget to remove the bones when shredding. For this recipe, I used chicken tenders. You can also use boneless chicken breasts or thighs.
Pro-Tip: For shredding chicken, I like to use my stand mixer or electric hand mixer! I throw the cooked chicken in to a bowl (even while its still hot!) and let the paddle attachment or beaters do the shredding. It works like a dream and gives you perfectly shredded chicken in just about 30 seconds!
How to Make Crockpot Italian Chicken Pasta
For full recipe details, including ingredients needed and measurements, see the printable recipe card down below. Here is step by step what you can expect when making this recipe:
1. Layer Ingredients into Cold Crockpot
Add diced onion, garlic, chicken tenders or breasts, cream cheese, marinara sauce, bay leaves, Italian seasoning and salt/pepper into a cold crockpot. Lots of Italian Seasonings vary! Pick one you like, or use your own combination of basil, oregano and thyme.
Pro Tip: spread a bit of marinara sauce down on the bottom of the crockpot before layering the chicken. This helps prevent sticking. Proceed to add in the rest of the ingredients).
2. Cover + Cook on High
Cover and cook on high 3-4 hours. If your crockpot runs hot, you might want to check the chicken for doneness at 2 1/2 hours. Once the chicken is cooked, remove, shred and return back to crockpot. At this point remove the bay leaves as well.
Stir to melt cream cheese into sauce completely.
3. Add Cooked Pasta to Crockpot
You can use any sort of pasta here. I used Gemelli pasta noodles. I wouldn’t recommend adding pasta to your crockpot mixture while everything is cooking, it turns out gummy and gross. Always prepare pasta separately then mix together once the sauce is done.
Side Dishes for Chicken Pasta
This is a heavy on the carb and fats kind of dinner. So if you are looking to lighten things up, try these healthy side dishes that pair perfectly with chicken pasta.
- Kale Salad Recipe
- Oven Roasted Asparagus Recipe
- Cucumber Salad Recipe
- Roasted Cauliflower Recipe
- Caprese Salad
How to Store Leftover Chicken Pasta
Any chicken pasta leftovers you might have can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Simply reheat in the microwave in intervals, occasionally stirring until heated through.
Tips for Cooking Crockpot Recipes
- Know your Crockpot! Some run hot, some run cold. This is largely dependent on when it was manufactured and how well it has lasted. If you have an older slow cooker, those tend to run real HOT! Knowing your Crockpot can help you with your cooking times and knowing when your food is done. You don’t want your dinner to scorch the bottom, so cook a few things first to get to know your crockpot.
- Be careful when cooking with dairy. This chicken pasta recipe calls for cream cheese. If left too long in the crockpot at too high of a heat, it will curdle. The same goes for milk, cream, or greek yogurt. If you’re worried about curdling because your crockpot runs hot, try cooking at the low setting for a longer period of time OR stir the dairy in at the end. For this recipe, once you shred the chicken and add it back into the marinara, stir in the cream cheese and melt it into the sauce. It should work just as well!
- Use the right Crockpot size. From 2 to 8 1/2 quarts, there seems to be a Crockpot for every recipe out there! A good rule of thumb is only filling it 1/2 to 2/3 full to ensure proper cooking.
More Crockpot Recipes to Love!
If you devoured this Chicken Pasta as my family did, you’ll love these other crockpot recipes.
- Crockpot Bolognese Sauce
- Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Southwest Crockpot Egg Noodle Casserole
- Crockpot Hashbrown Casserole with Smoked Sausage
- Crockpot Honey Mustard Chicken
- Crockpot Chicken Taco Meat
The printable recipe card is below. Have a great day!
If you make this recipe, I would really appreciate it if you would give it a star rating and leave your review in the comments! If you have a picture of your finished dish, post it on Instagram using the hashtag #laurenslatest and tagging me @laurens_latest.
Crockpot Italian Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1.25 pounds chicken breast tenders raw
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 25 oz marinara sauce one jar
- 12 oz cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning*
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 lb pasta cooked, I used Gemelli pasta noodles
- 1 tablespoon basil fresh, chiffonade for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Add diced onion, garlic, chicken breasts, cream cheese, marinara sauce, and seasonings into a cold crockpot.**
- Cover and cook on high 3-4 hours. If your crockpot runs hot, you might want to check the chicken for doneness at 2 1/2 hours.
- Once the chicken is cooked, remove, shred and return back to crockpot. At this point remove the bay leaves as well. Stir to melt cream cheese into sauce completely.
- Toss with freshly cooked pasta, garnish with fresh basil and serve.
[…] aspect of what my husband and I are eating on the plate, too. So, last night for instance, I made a creamy chicken pasta (for the […]
I made this tons of times and it always comes out great. However, I wanted to make it faster in my instant pot. Do you have any tips on how to convert the recipe?
[…] Source by laurenslatest […]
Would you recommend cooking it closer to 3 hours or closer to 4 hours? Don’t want to overlook, thanks!
It really depends on the size of your chicken breasts. If they are mammoth costco sized ones, then it’ll be closer to 4, but if they are smaller/you cut your chicken into chunks it’ll be less time.
[…] For more details and steps to make it, please follow this link: Chicken Recipes On Crock Pot […]
Planning on making this tomorrow before I go to work…. My Husband HATES cream cheese. Any way of making it without it??
Has anyone tried or considered using spicy Italian sausage? How did it turn out/what do you think? I’m trying to mix up my regular chicken routine.
Sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it.
This is so good my kids always eat their Plate and will go back for seconds and sometimes thirds.
I was looking for a quick recipe to make tonight and found this one. Wow it great. Thank you for posting it. I used half the cream cheese and found Prago Farmers Market Marinara and its was amazingly good.
[…] Adapted From: laurenslatest.com […]
[…] Source by laurenslatest.com […]
[…] other family-friendly recipes, try my Red and Green Enchiladas, my Crockpot Italian Chicken Pasta or my Best Lasagna Recipe Ever! All crowd-pleasers and super […]
Can I cook the pasta in the crockpot?
No, I wouldn’t recommend cooking the pasta in the crockpot with everything else. It would taste too starchy and almost gluey. Cook it separate when you’re ready to serve!
Can and when could/should I add the pasta?
This recipe is great! I actually used a pressure cooker instead of a crockpot and left everything in there for about an hour. I took it out and the chicken was cooked and the cream cheese didn’t curdle. This helps if you wanna make it quicker.
[…] Source by laurenslatest.com […]
So easy to make and ABSOLUTELY delicious!! The whole family is in love with this! Thank you for your amazing recipes!!
Was really thick and I followed the recipe exactly.
[…] if you’re more of a tomato sauce kind of person, try my Lasagna, my Crockpot Bolognese or my Crockpot Italian Chicken Pasta. All […]
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Hello, I would like to know what temp you put your crockpot on? Low or high? Thank you.
Both high or low are fine! I think I used high.
Making this tonight! Enjoying time in the kitchen with my little ones and the 🏠 smells amazing!! My husband said it’s like little Italy right now 🙂 Thanks for this awesome easy recipe!!
[…] Crock Pot Italian Chicken Pasta Recipe […]
Can you make this recipe with bone in chicken? Just wondering because I have some bone in chicken in my freezer 😊
I don’t see why not. You’d just have to remove the bones and cartilage before adding the pasta.
When do you add the cream cheese. Does it get stirred in last. So it does not curl
Turned out pretty good normal. I put spinach in mine, turned out really well!
Thinking in the future i am going to sub the chicken for sausage and only use 12 oz of the cream cheese.
How could I adjust this for the instapot ?
[…] you don’t have time to make this recipe for Spaghetti and Meatballs, try my Crock Pot Italian Chicken Pasta, Pressure Cooker Baked Ziti, or my Best Lasagna […]
Looks great! I stirred everything together before cooking, does that have any significance?
I was curious about the Italian seasoning in this. Is it the Italian dressing seasoning packet or regular Italian seasoning like with thyme and such?
Visually speaking, it turned out great. Sauce did thicken up so don’t worry about it being “too watery.” However, if wanted, you could put the dry pasta several minutes before the slow cooker is done cooking. The taste was OKAY. It was a little too bland for me so I added some cajun seasoning which did the trick for me.
I only have a few chicken tenders thawing now, I think only 3 or 4 should I throw in a chicken breast aswell?
I can use any type of pasta????
Yes!
Can you cook the pasta in the crock pot near the end? Has anyone tries this?
I wonder if this could be adapted for the Pressure Cooker…….
Sure! You are welcome to try it in the pressure cooker.
[…] Tuna Noodle Casserole is not your thing, try my Crockpot Italian Chicken Pasta, Creamy Ranch Chicken Casserole or Crockpot Smoked Sausage Hash Brown […]
[…] Crock Pot Italian Chicken Pasta Recipe […]
[…] Crock Pot Italian Chicken Pasta Recipe […]
[…] Crock Pot Italian Chicken Pasta Recipe […]
[…] other family-friendly recipes, try my Red and Green Enchiladas, my Crockpot Italian Chicken Pasta or my Best Lasagna Recipe ever! All crowd-pleasers and super […]
Hi I have this in my crock pot right this second and I have been reading comments and I’m worried about the cream cheese curdling? What does that mean and how do I look out for it? Will it ruin the meal? I’m very sad to have read that comment and now I’m panicking hahaha???
[…] MORE […]
I made this tonight and it was absolutely amazing. It is definitely a must keep recipe . It was so easy to toss together and is very easy on a busy lifestyle.
Once the ingredients are all in the crockpot do you mix everything together or do you just let it be until it’s done cooking??
Can I use frozen chicken strips or do they have to be thawed out first?
I would thaw them first to avoid that extra liquid in your recipe!
This was excellent !
Made it as directed….. two thumbs up !
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