Super easy and extra tasty, this cheesy crock pot chicken pasta recipe uses raw chicken, dry pasta, and homemade marinara sauce. Dump it all in your crock pot, and it will all cook at the same time for a great family dinner.
Introduction
I love great Italian: lasagna, spaghetti, chicken parmesan, and baked ziti. I think of this crock pot chicken pasta recipe as baked chicken ziti. I have simplified the recipe by using raw chicken, uncooked pasta, homemade marinara, and a crock pot.
My personal favorite crock pot recipe is my Crock Pot Baked Ziti. Converted from an oven-baked recipe, Pioneer Woman's Baked Ziti, that even uses ricotta cheese to make it lasagna-like.
But what I love most about that recipe is the sauce. So easy and makes the dish outstanding. Here I'm using the same sauce, changing to chicken, using uncooked pasta like my crock pot ziti recipe, and just making it more straightforward.
My Rating
A solid higher four or a lower 5.
Ingredients for Crock Pot Chicken Pasta
Raw skinless boneless chicken breasts work great, but skinless chicken thighs will also work. You need about 1 ½ pounds of chicken.
Trim the chicken of any fat and then chop into cubes of about ¾ inch.
Yes, but you should not cook already cooked chicken for this long. Instructions are in the alternative cooking methods below.
Two raw chicken breasts will be 3-4 cups of shredded pre-cooked chicken.
I like to use penne pasta but use the shape you want, but a bite-size pasta will work best.
To cook raw pasta in the crock pot use standard commercial pasta is best. There are many types of pasta, and if you are unsure, you can use the alternative cooking method covered below.
I suggest adding standard marinara sauce ingredients. You can use dry Italian seasoning, but the seasoning I suggest is better.
You can use a jarred sauce if you are happy with one of them, but you will find my sauce cheaper, easy to mix, and has superior taste.
Traditional shredded mozzarella is recommended, but an Italian blend will be fine.
If you want the flavor of Chicken Parmesan, add about ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese into the casserole and on the top in addition to the mozzarella.
How to Make Crock Pot Chicken Pasta with Marinara
Alternatives to some steps are discussed in the next section.
This recipe fits in a 3 to 4 quart or larger crock pot. If you use a full-size cooker with this recipe, it may cook a bit faster.
A double-size recipe fits in a 6 quart or larger crock pot.
Raw chicken breasts can be cooked in a crock pot. They should be trimmed before cooking and cooked to a safe final internal temperature of 165° or more.
For this recipe, cut the chicken into cubes of about ¾ inch. This will allow the chicken to cook at about the same time as dry pasta.
Cook about 4 hours o low in most crock pots. I don't suggest cooking on high if you are using dry pasta.
You can cook on high for about 2 hours if you use the alternate cooking method of cooking the pasta before adding to the casserole late in the cooking.
The pasta should be tender, and the chicken should be at 165° or above. The edges of the cheese will usually be browning.
Altenative Cooking Methods
Cooking the dry pasta in a crock pot works well for most people and me, but there is variability in both pasta and crock pots.
If you feel your slow cooker may have temperature issues or are not using standard pasta, you should pre-cook your pasta to al dente according to the package instructions.
The pre-cooked pasta can be stirred into the casserole for the last hour. Don't top the casserole with cheese until you mix in the pasta.
Only do the chicken, pasta, and cheese. Leave out the other ingredients.
If you use pre-cooked chicken, stir the chicken into the casserole for the last hour. Don't top the casserole with cheese until you mix in the chicken.
FAQs
No, you can substitute garlic powder and onion powder
You can add some cream cheese or heavy cream to the sauce.
Leftovers can be stored airtight in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or frozen for 3-4 months.
Thaw frozen pasta overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
📖Italian Recipes
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Trim and pat dry two skinless boneless chicken breasts, about 1 to 1 ½ pounds.
Cut the chicken into small bite-size pieces of about ¾ inch each.
Chop 1 small onion or ½ medium, and crush or mince 2 cloves of garlic.
To a smaller (3-4 quart) crock pot, add 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 ½ teaspoons basil, ½ teaspoon parsley, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional), and 2 cloves crushed garlic. Add 1 cup shredded mozzarella, the prepared onion, and chicken—mix well.
Mix in 2 cups uncooked pasta of your choice. I use penne pasta. 2 cups is half of a one-pound box of dry pasta.
Smooth the top then sprinkle with ½ cup shredded mozzarella.
Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. The endpoint of cooking is tender pasta, chicken at 165° or more. Usually, the edge of the cheese topping will be browning.
📖Recipe
Crock Pot Chicken Pasta with Marinara
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts - 1 to 1 ½ pounds
- 2 cups ziti or penne pasta - ½ of a one pound box
- 1 ½ cups mozzarella shredded
Marinara Sauce
- 1 small onion chopped - or ½ medium
- 2 cloves garlic - crushed or minced
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 1 ½ teaspoons basil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper - optional
Instructions
- Trim and pat dry two skinless boneless chicken breasts, about 1 to 1 ½ pounds.
- Cut the chicken into small bite-size pieces of about ¾ inch each.
- Chop 1 small onion or ½ medium, and crush or mince 2 cloves of garlic.
- To a smaller (3-4 quart) crock pot, add 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 ½ teaspoons basil, ½ teaspoon parsley, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ⅛ - ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional), and 2 cloves crushed garlic. Add 1 cup shredded mozzarella, the prepared onion, and chicken—mix well.
- Mix in 2 cups uncooked pasta of your choice. I use penne pasta. 2 cups is half of a one-pound box of dry pasta.
- Smooth the top, then sprinkle with ½ cup shredded mozzarella.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
- The endpoint of cooking is tender pasta, chicken at 165° or more. Usually, the edge of the cheese topping will be browning.
My Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- You need about 1 to 1 ½ pounds of chicken. I use skinless boneless chicken breast, but skinless boneless thighs would work well.
- This recipe uses a smaller 3-4 qt crock pot. You can double the rsecipe and use a larger 6-8 qt crock pot.
- If you use a larger crock pot without doubling, it may cook a bit fast. See #5 below.
- You may use jarred sauce, but then you only use the chicken, cheese, pasta, and your sauce. But you should use mine. So much better.
- If you want the flavor of Chicken Parmesan, add about ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese into the casserole and on the top in addition to the mozzarella.
- This recipe may cook a bit faster if your crock pot runs hotter. So if it does, check at 3 hours for temperature over 165° and tender pasta.
- Options for rotisserie chicken, precooking the pasta, and more are covered in the post.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Originally published October 7, 2018.
Joy
Dr. Dan,
This sounds delicious and I would love to make it. However, I have a large crockpot and I was wondering if I can put a baking dish in the crockpot to make it smaller? Do you think it would work? If so would I cook it longer?
Thanks for all of the great recipes. I have been using them for a couple of years now. It is always nice to try something new. I think many of us get in a rut of making the samething week after week. So you have put new life in my cooking.
Joy
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Joy,
Welcome to the blog.
While I have never done it, I remember seeing it on a cooking show years ago. I would say I wouldn't have a dish that touches the sides. Expansion of material with heat and all that could be a problem. I would think it might take a bit longer (not much) since there is more mass to heat. Obviously it would need to be oven safe.
About the recipe, If you cook in a larger crock pot without a baking dish, things cook a little faster, just watch for tender pasta and 165° chicken. In a baking dish, the same end point. The pasta cooking in the dish is kind of a wild card so you might consider the option to cook the pasta outside of the crock pot ( in the post).
Dan
Katie
I really want to add ricotta to this recipe. Since not layering, at what point should I add the ricotta? I was thinking mix it all up and then drop dolaps off ricotta into/onto the mixture before topping w/ mozzarella?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Katie,
Welcome to the blog.
Yep, that sounds like it would be fine. I do use ricotta in the beef version at https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/crockpot-baked-ziti/
Dan
Cece
I happen to have made my chicken yesterday in the crockpot. Can I still do it this way?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Cece,
Welcome to the blog.
Part of this recipe depends on the dry pasta cooking and absorbing fluid as it cooks. The chicken releases some of that fluid so I would not for that reason and the chicken would be way over cooked and probably poor texture.
You probably could use the oven baked ziti recipe since the pasta is already cooked. Just add the already cooked chicken after cooking the onion. https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/chicken-baked-ziti/
Dan
Terry Yarham
Dr. Dan -
After adding the noodles, are you mixing them up in the sauce and then adding the cheese? I would think you would have to for them to cook well, but from the recipe I'm wondering if you layer the sauce then the noodles then the cheese.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Terry,
You're right, mix it all in then cover with the cheese. While this is similar the beef version, I don't layer it.
I'm changing the wording to be more clear.
Thanks for asking.
Dan