Slow-Cooker Italian Chicken Pasta
I may have brought this up before, but one of my biggest struggles is finding ways to cook pasta. I was browsing through recipes when I saw a recipe that cooks the pasta right in the slow-cooker with other ingredients. This sounded promising. I definitely wanted to see if this worked. Thus, I am going to try this technique and make Slow-Cooker Italian Chicken Pasta.
I’m not sure that Slow-Cooker Italian Chicken Pasta is truly something anyone in Italy would actually make. The brick of cream cheese in the sauce seems more like an American thing to me. However, it does have some ingredients that have the flavors of Italy. <Cue dream sequence> I can pretend that I’m basking in the sun of Sicily while eating sun dried tomatoes. Likewise, I can imagine myself at a cafe in Rome eating the artichokes of this dish. The spinach transports me to the hills of Tuscany. In my mind, this dish is a tasting tour of Italy, a place I have never been.
Pasta in the slow cooker worked like a charm. I didn’t have to drain anything and it was pretty “al dente”. I made the recipe as I wrote it and the other three members of my family loved it. Contrary to the pack as usual, I thought it was too creamy and only needed about half the cream cheese. When I mentioned this, I got resounding “NO!”s and looks of horror. I may or may not quietly use ¾ of the cream cheese next time I make this. My daughters don’t read this blog anyways!
Slow-Cooker Italian Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning (I used Frozen Pizza Seasoning because it was what I had)
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 18-20 oz. boneless skinless Chicken Breasts or Thighs cut in 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 8 oz uncooked Pasta small shells, campanelle, rotini or other medium small pasta)
- 1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed Sun-Dried Tomatoes with Herbs
- 16 oz canned Quartered Artichoke Hearts drained
- 8 oz Cream Cheese softened, cut into cubes, (or less to taste)
- 1 cup (4oz) shredded Parmesan Cheese
- 5 oz. Fresh Baby Spinach Leaves
Instructions
- Spray 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. In the slow cooker, mix broth, Italian seasoning, salt, and red pepper flakes.
- Stir in chicken. Cover and cook on High heat setting 1 1/2 hours or until chicken is cooked through.
- Stir in pasta, tomatoes and artichokes. Cover and cook on High heat setting 30 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring twice at the 10 and 20 minute mark. At the beginning and at the stir times, make sure to turn over the mixture well and gently pat the pasta down into the liquid.
- Stir in cream cheese and Parmesan cheese until cheeses melt.
- Stir in spinach until wilted. Let stand covered 5 to 10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Turn off slow-cooker. Stir before serving.
Modifications
Try some of my other easy ways to cook pasta!
Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
Zucchini Feta Pasta