This Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Pasta Recipe is a delicious combination of easy-to-find, simple ingredients such as marinara sauce, tomatoes, pasta, cream cheese, and chicken. A meal loved by both kids and adults, this creamy chicken pasta is perfect for the busy family who loves delicious, comforting food.
I am so excited to share this comforting, delicious, and super easy, slow cooker creamy chicken pasta with you guys today. A dinner loved by my whole family, it’s indulgent without being overkill, making this the perfect pasta dish for all those creamy pasta cravings.
Inspired by my favorite pasta sauce combination- marinara and alfredo- this creamy chicken pasta swaps the heavy cream for cream cheese for an irresistibly easy meal consisting of carbs, cheese, chicken and sauce.
Can you think of anything better?
Ingredients in this Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Pasta
- onion
- chicken
- garlic
- Italian seasoning
- marinara sauce
- canned diced tomatoes
- cream cheese
- parmesan cheese
- pasta
How to make Creamy Chicken Pasta in the Slow Cooker
Making this creamy chicken pasta couldn’t be any easier!
- Dump and walk away. Add the diced onion, chicken tenders, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, and cream cheese to the bowl of a large slow cooker. Stir everything together, cover, and set your slow cooker to low for 5 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- Boil the pasta. 20 minutes before serving, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta according to package instructions minus 2-3 minutes. Drain pasta in a colander and rinse with cool water, reserving 1 cup of salted pasta water.
- Shred the chicken. As the water comes to a boil and the pasta cooks, remove the chicken tenders from the slow cooker and shred with a fork.
- Mix everything together. Return the chicken back to the slow cooker and add the pasta and parmesan cheese. Gently stir to combine, adding reserved pasta water, if needed.
Can you cook pasta in the slow cooker?
When you add pasta to a slow cooker they, unfortunately, do not cook slowly like the rest of the ingredients. Yes, they will cook slower than if placed directly in a pot of boiling water, but ultimately, you will end up with a mushy mess of overcooked pasta noodles. I don’t know about you guys, but soggy noodles don’t sound like my idea of a good dinner.
My advice- cook the noodles separately 🙂
If you must cook the noodles in the crockpot, remove the chicken tenders 30 minutes before desired serving time and add one additional cup of water or chicken broth to the crockpot. Add the noodles and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until noodles are cooked to desired doneness. Return the chicken back to the crockpot and stir in the parmesan cheese.
If you try cooking this Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Pasta, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to hear your thoughts.
For more chicken recipes check out,
- Easy Chicken and Butternut Squash
- Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash Recipe
- Cajun Chicken and Rice Bake
- Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta Recipe
- Chicken Gyro Recipe
For more pasta recipes check out,
- Angel Hair Pasta Recipe with Chicken
- Loaded Chicken Ranch Pasta Salad
- Creamy Sausage Pasta with Kale and Burrata
- Spring Pea Pasta with Prosciutto and Burrata Cheese
- 30 Minute Creamy Ham and Pea Pasta
DON’T FORGET TO PIN AND SHARE THIS SLOW COOKER CREAMY CHICKEN PASTA RECIPE TO MAKE FOR A FAST, EASY, AND COMFORTING DINNER THE WHOLE FAMILY WILL LOVE.
RECIPE CARD
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 onion - minced
- 2 pounds chicken tenders
- 6 cloves garlic - minced
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh black pepper
- 1 (25 ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 12 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup parmesan cheese - shredded
- 1 pound pasta - cooked
Instructions
- Add the chopped onion, chicken tenders, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, and cream cheese to the bowl of a large crockpot.
- Cover and cook on high for 3 hours, or low for 5 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and shred with a fork. Return the chicken back to the pot, dissolving the cream cheese into the sauce and mixing well to combine.
- In the meantime, cook the pasta 1-2 minutes less than package instructions. Noodles should be cooked, but not mushy. Drain and rinse with cool water.
- Stir in the shredded parmesan cheese and add the cooked pasta to the sauce. Mix well to combine. Enjoy!
Video
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
Can this be cut in half?
Absolutely, you can definitely cut the Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Pasta recipe in half. When doing so, make sure to adjust all the ingredient quantities accordingly. For the slow cooker, it’s still important to ensure there’s enough content in the pot to avoid cooking too quickly or unevenly. Also, you might need to slightly adjust the cooking time — it could be a bit shorter since there’s less volume. Just keep an eye on it the first time you try the adjusted recipe to perfect the timing 🙂
I’m going to make this but I’m replacing the marinara and diced tomatoes with Alfredo sauce and mushrooms.