Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Pasta
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Save time/effort and make everyone’s FAVORITE Italian dish in your crockpot. You can also freeze half for another meal!
Is it me or is it way too hot to put the stove on? Because right now, it’s 96 degrees F and I’m not about to make my house any hotter than it already is.
Butters will begin to sweat in that sweater of his so instead, let’s make this crockpot chicken parmesan.
The chicken gets cooked low and slow for 4 hours, yielding the juiciest chicken of all. Plus, Butters gets to keep his cardigan sweater on so we all win.
Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Pasta
Save time/effort and make everyone's FAVORITE Italian dish in your crockpot. You can also freeze half for another meal!
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 pound penne
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Equipment
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Place chicken into a 6-qt slow cooker.
- In a large bowl, combine crushed tomatoes, onion, basil, oregano, parsley and red pepper flakes, if using. Stir into the slow cooker and gently toss to combine. Cover and cook on low heat for 4 hours.
- Remove chicken from the slow cooker and shred, using two forks.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
- Stir pasta and chicken into the slow cooker; top with cheeses. Cover and cook on low heat for an additional 10-20 minutes, or until the cheeses have melted.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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Tried this recipe for first time last night. It is absolutely terrible. Both hubby and I thought it had way too much onion and too much sauce. It is also lacking in any sort of favor as well. It’s so bad, we decided to throw the rest of it away. I really don’t like wasting food either. I’m disappointed in the money and time I wasted with this recipe.
I’m just now reading your review and yours is seriously the only negative one on the entire site. Makes me wonder if maybe you did something wrong since everyone else seems to just love it.
I appreciate seeing the nutrition facts with your recipes. However, could you please set it up so that they are also included with the PRINT feature?
For me, it is nice to know the nutrition when I’m choosing a recipe to make.
Thank you.
Hi Chungah, This looks delicious and I can’t wait to try this. I do have a question. I have the chicken tenders (individual packs from Costco) approximately 6 or 7 in a pack. Could I use those in place of the 4- chicken breasts? Or maybe 2 packs? Thanks for any help you can give me. Have a wonderful day. 🙂
Joann, you can probably use about 2 pounds of chicken tenders but cooking time may have to be adjusted as needed. Hope that helps!
Thanks so much for such a quick response. Can’t wait to make this now. 🙂
Can i use a chicken broth cube in this recipe for more flavor? And im also using pasta sauce x2
I’ve been making this recipe for 2 years now. I love how easy it is. I’m a stay at home mom of 2 children. 4 and 2 years old. One is in prek. I’m a full time student myself, psychology major. I have zero time to sit and cook for even an hour somedays. I also hate dishes. So this is great for my family. The only thing I do different is that I add pasta sauce from the jar. But I love how saucy it is. I’m making this for dinner tonight actually.
This is amazing!!! Followed directions exactly, added a half a diced green pepper. So good.
Made this yesterday. Added minced garlic and a couple medium heat peppers. Came out good and it’s even better today.
Garlic is always a great addition! 🙂
Why would you cook pasta separately – dirtying another pot? Cook chicken for 2 hours, then add the raw pasta for the last 2-3 hours of cooking in the slow cooker. Top with cheeses last 10-20 minutes until melted. Easy peasy. And no extra cleaning. But recipe sounds delicious and I plan on making it soon. Can never get enough slow cooker recipes. Especially when the meat doesn’t have to be cooked on the stovetop first!
You can of course make this however you like. This is simply how we did it.
i was looking for this exact comment! i found this recipe and hoped there was a way to avoid the stove since our oven/stove-top is currently out of commission and today is not a good grilling day. thank you Suellen!
Hi! I’m making this for tonight. My only question is would it be better to cook the pasta al dente before adding it and covering with the cheese for the last 20 minutes? I just don’t want the pasta to be overcooked….thanks!
Yes, that totally works if you prefer it that way!
For those of you reading reviews to figure out if this is good or not, it’s delicious and super easy! I did substitute the crushed tomatoes for marinara but that’s only because I generally hate tomatoes.
For Chungah,
I came across your website after googling “slow cooker recipes”. Your photos looked delicious and your instructions were concise and clear; you also didn’t have some long winded story about how you climbed a mountain and met up with an ancient aunt who taught you this authentic Italian recipe from her old village. In other words, you were all about the food. Your videos are great–help a ton.
I’m pretty ignorant when it comes to cooking. I love eating but I hate cooking… so the easier the better. I made this the same night I read the recipe. I actually picked up all of the items, mixed it up in a bowl with the chicken and left the bowl in the fridge overnight. The chicken marinated overnight. I’m not sure if this added to the flavor but it definitely didn’t hurt. Husband threw in the bowl with chicken, spices, and sauce in the slow cooker the following day. I got home from work and started up the pasta. Super quick, simple, and easy. This recipe is beyond easy and absolutely delicious.
This is the only recipe I’ve used so far but I’ve come across some others that I would like to try. As someone that hates cooking and does it because I don’t want to die of starvation, thank you!
I feel like I missed a step or didn’t put enough of one of the ingredients. Is there anything to add flavor overall? I just made this for the first time and it looks so darn good, but I have no flavor to it. Any tips or recommendations? I’m just not getting that “mmmm so delicious” feeling after taking a bite.
You can increase the amount of herbs/spices, to taste. Hope that helps!
Can I cook on high for 2 hours5
I made the meet in a 4 quart slow cooker and cooked the pasta separetly. When it was cooked I placed everything in a baking dish, put mozarella on top and put in the oven for 10 minutes. It was delicious.
Hi!
I only have a 3 quart crockpot, so can I just cut the recipe in half?
Thanks!
Yes, absolutely.
Is water needed to cook the chicken with the ingredients? Or is chicken cooked on its own?
No, water is not needed.
So, I also noticed the sauce being a tad watery BUT, I was able to thicken it up a little more to my taste by adding about a half cup of mozzarella before adding the pasta. Thanks for this recipe!
You are my go to Blog! Great recipes and always a hit. Making this for company Friday night. Thank you.
Your thoughts on the Instantpot? I just bought one. So far I’m liking it. Would like some of your creative ideas! Thank you!
This sounds amazing! I love that it’s in the crockpot. My husband is a chicken parmesan fanatic, so I’ll have to make this for him soon. Thanks!
Would it be ok to put leftovers in the fridge and simply reheat them in the microwave when ready to eat?
Yes, of course! We had this for days.
I made this recipe and I have to say that it turned out amazing!!! Thanks Chungah for all of your recipes that make my life easier in the kitchen. I did use 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts. I find those cook better for a longer period of time. I cooked on low for 6 hours and it came out perfect! Thanks!
hi! what if I don’t have a slow cooker? Can you advise how I would do the same recipe in the oven?
If I doubled this recipe could I double the cooking time?
I would definitely add a fair amount of sugar and two cans of Hunt’s tomato paste as well as some fresh garlic in the mix. I also seasoned the chicken with some adobo and Fresh garlic as well as the recommended salt and seasoning for some more flavor. I would also stick to the recommended 1 box of pasta; more than that it’s not as saucy as I would prefer it! Great recipe!!