This slow cooker creamy chicken pasta is one of those staple recipes that everyone loves. Velvety egg noodles swim in a creamy sauce loaded with tender chicken and lots of veggies. It’s made in a crockpot and is so easy to pull together. Perfect for busy winter days.
Looking for reasons to hop in the kitchen and make this heartwarming dish? I’ve been making this creamy chicken pasta so much lately. It’s the perfect savory treat for the colder winter months. The crockpot sauce is loaded with succulent bites of chicken and plenty of veggies and then poured over deliciously slurp-able egg noodles, making for the perfect bowl of comfort.
Why You’ll Love This Creamy Chicken Pasta
- Easy to make. All you have to do is chop up some ingredients, load the crockpot, press the buttons, and walk away. Sure, you’ll have to add the pasta at the end, but that’s it.
- Simple comfort food. This chicken pasta is loaded with creamy, cheesy, warming flavors, and it’s wonderfully delicious.
- Customizable. Add more veggies, try a different protein, or experiment with different seasonings.
Ingredients
- Chicken: I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but boneless chicken thighs would also work.
- Veggies: I used yellow onions, garlic, carrots, and tomatoes, but feel free to add other veggies.
- Low-sodium chicken broth: Low-sodium gives you much more control over the dish’s flavor.
- Butter & Heavy cream: You could use milk or half and half, but the final product will lack richness, and the sauce will be runny.
- Herbs and seasoning: Thyme, parsley, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Grated Parmesan: If possible, use freshly grated parmesan.
- Egg noodles: You could use a different pasta here. Pappardelle or fettuccine would be my second picks.
How to Make Creamy Chicken Pasta in the Slow Cooker
- Load the crockpot. Add the chicken, veggies, seasonings, chicken broth, and heavy cream to the crockpot.
- Cook. Cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours or on LOW for 4 to 5 hours.
- Finish the sauce. Stir in the parmesan cheese and noodles and cook for an additional 25 minutes or until the noodles are tender.
- Put it all together. Spoon the sauce over the noodles and garnish with parsley.
Tips And Variation Ideas
- Use the right crockpot. Use a 6-quart crockpot at minimum. Anything smaller and the sauce won’t cook properly. If you do choose to use a smaller crockpot, scale the recipe down.
- Stir occasionally. If you’re around, give the contents of the crockpot a stir every couple of hours to ensure even cooking.
- Try a different protein. You could easily use turkey meat, beef, or pork in place of chicken.
- Add more veggies. Feel free to bulk up this pasta dish with more veggies. Broccoli or cauliflower florets would be delicious, as would diced zucchini or sauteed mushrooms.
- Play with flavor. I used a simple seasoning mix, but feel free to mix it up! Add a little hot sauce or red pepper flakes for heat, and experiment with different herbs.
- Extra creamy. I have been known to stir a bit of sour cream in at the end to make the sauce extra creamy and velvety.
Serving Suggestions
While this heartwarming pasta dish satisfies on its own, I love serving it with a crisp green salad – my Green Goddess Salad would be a great option – and a nice piece of crusty bread. Buy your favorite loaf or try your hand at my No Knead Skillet Olive Bread or this Focaccia Bread Recipe.
How to Store & Reheat Leftovers
- To store. Allow leftovers to cool to room temperature before sealing them in an airtight container. This creamy chicken pasta will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating.
- To reheat. Spread the pasta into a baking dish, cover it with aluminum foil, and bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.
More Chicken Pasta Recipes
- French Onion Pasta
- Buffalo Chicken Pasta
- Chicken Pasta Primavera
- Creamy Chicken Asparagus Pasta
- Lemon Chicken Fettuccine Recipe
- One Pot Italian Chicken Tortellini Recipe
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 2 small yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 1 large carrot, cut into thin rounds
- 2 large fresh tomatoes, diced
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- ¾ pound egg noodles
- ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- To the slow cooker, add the chicken, chicken broth, heavy cream, butter, onions, carrots, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, dried thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir and cover.
- Cook on HIGH for 2 to 2½ hours or on LOW for 4 hours.
- Stir in the noodles and parmesan and cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until the pasta is tender.
- Stir, taste for salt and pepper, and adjust.
- Serve in bowls garnished with fresh parsley.
Notes
- Add more veggies. Broccoli or cauliflower florets would be delicious, as would diced zucchini or mushrooms. You could also use canned tomatoes instead of fresh.
- Chicken: This recipe works with boneless chicken thighs, too.
- Even size. Try chopping the chicken into even-sized pieces. You could also leave the chicken breasts whole and shred them after they are cooked. Pull them out before stirring in the noodles, shred them, and then add them back to the slow cooker after the noodles have cooked.
- Use different pasta. I used egg noodles, but you can try this with penne pasta, ziti, fettuccine, etc.
- Thicken the sauce. If you want a thicker sauce, add more heavy cream or parmesan cheese, or melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour; continue to whisk until thick and creamy. Remove and whisk the roux into the broth only after it has finished cooking in the crockpot.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
This is a DELICIOUS recipe! It came out perfect…I did not have any issues with it being soupy at all. My kids loved it. It’s even better the next day!
I’m happy to hear the recipe was a success and your kids loved it, especially since it wasn’t too soupy. It’s great that it tasted even better the next day! Thank YOU! 🙂
IT LOOKS SUPER, BUT WHERE ARE THE QUANTITIES? I’M ITCHING TO MAKE IT! THANK YOU
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Can I add Vodka?? to the crock pot? Or would I put it in later? Or do you not recommend vodka.
Oh wow. That sounds gooooood! 😀 But, liquor doesn’t boil down and reduce in a slow cooker because of the very low heat. If you do add the vodka, add it at the beginning, but warning, you’ll end up with a very alcohol-tasting pasta. 🙂
Like other people said, it turned out very, very soupy–not creamy at all. My husband described it like I poured milk over noodles. Also had very little flavor. We ended up having cereal for dinner instead.
My apologies, Anna :(. Not sure why this didn’t turn out for a few of you, but I will soon do a recipe-makeover and include the optional fixes into the recipe instead of them sitting in the “Notes” section. Thank you so much for letting me know. I appreciate the feedback.
Have you thought of putting cheese in this?
Hi Laura! No, I have never put cheese in it. I have, however, sprinkled some grated parmesan on top of it right before serving. Do you add the cheese in the crockpot?
I did. I ran out of Parmesan so I went with mozzarella. It was good but Parmesan would have been better. Thanks for your response!
I think that sounds really good! I am going to add it to the crockpot, too!! Thanks for the idea! 🙂
Have this cooking right now. I find meat from a cooker always has a better taste when browned a little beforehand. Can’t wait to try it!
Gorgeous pasta! Prep is super easy and all you need to do is to wait. And voila….delicious pasta! I really need a slow cooker!
I followed the recipe but it came out soupy… Is it supposed to be thicker?
The sauce should be a bit thicker, but it shouldn’t be completely absorbed. Is it as soupy as a brothy soup where you could eat the meal with a spoon? Did you add creamer?
It is like a soup even with the creamer added 🙁
OH 🙁 How’s the taste? Did you use the suggested amount of chicken broth?
I haven’t tasted it yet… I used 2 cans of chicken broth. It seems like none of the liquid absorbed. And I actually let it cook longer than 6 hrs…
I am SO sorry that it didn’t turn out 🙁
But we can save it, don’t worry. Get two tablespoons of flour and two tablespoons of butter. Put the butter in a frying pan over medium heat, let it begin to melt and sizzle… whisk in the flour, and keep whisking until it thickens and browns a bit. Don’t burn it. Now whisk it into the creamy chicken .. taste for salt and pepper. That should work.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate the response 🙂
You are very welcome! Anytime!! 🙂
This pasta dish definitely falls into the category of comfort food! Absolutely delicious!
Hi Kate, I’m wondering if you can explain what a can on chicken broth is. In New Zealand I’ve never seen this so I’m not quite sure what I should be using. The recipe sounds great, and the meal looks delicious so I’m keen to make this in winter (Summer here right now) but want to make sure I’m using the correct ingredients. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Hi, Anita!
Chicken broth is the same as chicken stock… you can use homemade if you like. The amount needed for this recipe is roughly 4 cups. I hope that helps. If not, please let me know!
Merry Christmas to you, too!!
What a lovely and simple meal to make ahead especially on those busy days or lazy days. Thanks for the recipe!
Mmmmm.
I made this last night for dinner for my son’s ‘going back to college’ meal. It was a big hit!
‘thanks!
That is GREAT! Thank you SO much!! 😀
My goodness this looks awesome. I think it needs to happen ASAP.
This might be a stupid question, but: does the chicken have to be cooked before it’s in the crock pot?
Hi, Nicole!
No, it is not necessary to cook the chicken beforehand. But it is perfectly okay to brown it a bit before you add it to the slow cooker.
Have a great day!
~Kate
Thanks, Kate!
Something this good came from a slow cooker?! This is impressive. Don’t get me wrong, I use my slow cooker and have made some good meals with it, but it usually doesn’t look this pretty. Love it! Merry Christmas to you and yours Kate!
Looks creamy and delicious. 🙂 Way better than frozen Michelinas any day. 🙂
I was just reading up on Epiphany for my studies today. 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful Christmas celebration. This dish looks so comforting. I don’t use the slow cooker near enough but I always love it when I do.
This looks so comforting, and the way you styled the photos reminds me of sitting down to dinner at my Mom’s house. I feel homesick looking at it (in a good way). I swear I can smell it cooking. Nice job!
Thank you SO much! 🙂
I think I wished you a Happy New Year on your last post but here I am wishing you a Merry Christmas now. 🙂 Hope your holiday is filled with lots of laughter and great eats. This is my kind of comforting, easy-to-prepare meal. 🙂
Merry Christmas! What a wonderful dish to eat with family and other loved ones. Thank you for sharing…what a nice way to end my weekend (and get ready for dinner!) I hope you have a wonderful week!
What a scrumptious pasta dish! Hope your Christmas celebration is filled with joy! 🙂
Thank you, Laura!! xo
It looks so yummy Kate. I have never tried chicken in my slow cooker before. I mainly do beef and lamb. I will have to try soon. I’m sure it’s better than Michelinas. Pitty my husband does not eat chicken. Boy, is he missing out!