Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta

White plate with creamy chicken pasta and fresh herbs on top.

4.50 from 2 votes

Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta

This super simple Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta recipe has the flavors of a Tuscan chicken or "marry me chicken" but with easy dump and go instructions aside from boiling up the pasta. A full hearty meal in the slow cooker with tender seasoned chicken, mushrooms, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and your favorite pasta in a rich, creamy sauce!

Prep Time10

Cook Time3

Total Time3 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Author: Lorie Yarro

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

1 ½ lb chicken
2-3 tsp Italian seasoning
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp sea salt and pepper adjust to your preference

For the Creamy Sauce:

1 c heavy cream
4 oz cream cheese softened
¾ c chicken broth
¾ c parmesan cheese grated
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
3 garlic cloves minced
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp pepper

Other Ingredients:

½ cup Italian herb sun-dried tomatoes excess oil removed
8 oz sliced mushrooms
3 oz baby spinach
3/4 lb short pasta we love penne or rotini
1/4 c chopped basil

Instructions

Pat the chicken breasts with a paper towel and place in the bottom of a lightly oil sprayed crock pot. Cover with seasoning ingredients. Add the mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes over top. Pour the cream sauce over top of the chicken and other ingredients covering the chicken fully.
Cook on LOW for about 3-4 hours, (checking in on it after about 2 hours) or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.** cook time may vary, please see notes! (If the sauce looks as though it may be curdled, it is likely just the cream cheese binding into little pieces along with the cream cheese. Just give it a stir and it should be nice and creamy again!)
Once chicken has reached 165°F, pull it apart into bite sized pieces or shred it if desired. You can also cube it if you are interested in pulling it out of the crock pot.Add the spinach and chopped fresh basil, and stir it in allowing it to cook down.
Cook your pasta to al dente, stir it in and then top with more fresh basil and parmesan and serve!

Notes

All crock pots cook a bit differently. If you have smaller chicken breasts, your cook time will be quicker. I aim for 3, 8 ounce chicken breasts but also have used 2 larger breasts and the cook time certainly is not the same so plan for longer or shorter cook time based on your crock pot and chicken size!

Cook on LOW for best results. Cooking chicken in the crock pot can be touchy. To avoid drying out your chicken, cook it on the low setting.

For best results, choose a high quality chicken. You don't have to go overboard and buy the best of the best. But try getting it as fresh as possible, never frozen for the juiciest chicken. Grab it from the meat counter or a butcher shop!

What helps make the juiciest chicken? Fat!! Using full fat cream cheese and heavy cream in this recipe helps with the moisture of the chicken. You can add a bit of butter over the chicken if preferred to help as well. Chicken breast can be hit or miss in the slow cooker at times but adding a bit of fat will help!

Make sure the chicken is in a single layer. This will make for even cooking time so that one piece of chicken doesn't become overcooked and dry.

Nutrition