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    🏠Home » Recipes » Crock Pot Recipes

    Easy Chicken Baked Ziti in a Crock Pot

    Jan 2, 2022 | Last Updated Apr 18, 2022 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.07 from 16 votes

    Super easy and extra tasty, this cheesy crock pot chicken baked ziti 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.

    image of chicken ziti on a gray plate

    Table of Contents
    • 🐓Ingredients for Chicken Baked Ziti in the Crock Pot
    • 👨‍🍳How to Make Crock Pot Chicken Baked Ziti
    • ♨️Altenative Cooking Methods
    • ❓FAQs
    • 📖Italian Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • 📖Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

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    Introduction

    I love great Italian: lasagna, spaghetti, chicken parmesan, and baked ziti. I think of this crock pot chicken ziti 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 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 making it more straightforward.

    My Rating

    My rating system of a 4 out of 5 so very nice.

    A solid higher four or a lower 5.

    🐓Ingredients for Chicken Baked Ziti in the Crock Pot

    • Chicken - Raw skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs trimmed into ¾ inch cubes. But rotisserie or precooked chicken can be used.
    • Pasta - Penne or simular standard bite size pasta is recommended.
    • Sauce - Jarred marinara sauce may be used but the sauce suggested in the recipe is much better and uses standard ingredients.
    • Cheese - 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 Baked Ziti

    1. Trim and cut up the raw chicken. ¾ inch size pieces will cook at about the same rate as dry standard pasta.
    2. All all ingredients to the crock pot. 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.
    3. Cook until the chicken reaches 165° and the pasta is tender—about 4 hours on low. High is not recommended due to cooking the pasta.

    ♨️Altenative Cooking Methods

    Should I pre-cook the pasta?

    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.

    How to use pre-cooked rotisserie chicken.

    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

    Do I need to use fresh garlic and onion?

    No, you can substitute garlic powder and onion powder

    How do I make this creamy marinara sauce?

    You can add some cream cheese or heavy cream to the sauce.

    How to store leftovers?

    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

    Chicken Baked Ziti

    Baked Ziti with Sausage

    The Best Crock Pot Baked Ziti

    Crock Pot Pizza Casserole

    Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    Casserole Recipes, Chicken Recipes, Comfort Food Recipes, Crock Pot Recipes, Italian Recipes, Pasta Recipes, Small Crock Pots Recipes
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    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    raw chicken with pasta and sauce ingredients

    Trim and pat dry two skinless boneless chicken breasts, about 1 to 1 ½ pounds.

    trimming raw chicken into cubes

    Cut the chicken into small bite-size pieces of about ¾ inch each.

    chopped onion on a black board

    Chop 1 small onion or ½ medium, and crush or mince 2 cloves of garlic.

    adding trimmed chicken to a crock pot

    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.

    pouring dry pasta into the crock pot with sauce

    Mix in 2 cups of uncooked pasta of your choice. I use penne pasta. 2 cups is half of a one-pound box of dry pasta.

    topping the crock pot with cheese

    Smooth the top, then sprinkle with ½ cup shredded mozzarella.

    chicken pasta a large spoon

    Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. The endpoint of cooking is tender pasta and chicken at 165° or more. Usually, the edge of the cheese topping will be browning.

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    📖Recipe

    chicken pasta on a gray plate

    Easy Chicken Baked Ziti in a Crock Pot

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    Super easy and extra tasty, this cheesy crock pot chicken baked ziti 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.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.07 from 16 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 4 hours
    Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 6

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 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.
      raw chicken with pasta and sauce ingredients
    • Cut the chicken into small bite-size pieces of about ¾ inch each.
      trimming raw chicken into cubes
    • Chop 1 small onion or ½ medium, and crush or mince 2 cloves of garlic.
      chopped onion on a black board
    • 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.
      adding trimmed chicken to a crock pot
    • 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.
      pouring dry pasta into the crock pot with sauce
    • Smooth the top, then sprinkle with ½ cup shredded mozzarella.
      topping the crock pot with cheese
    • Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
      crock pot set at 4 hours on low
    • The endpoint of cooking is tender pasta, chicken at 165° or more. Usually, the edge of the cheese topping will be browning.
      chicken pasta a large spoon
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

    My Private Notes

    Click here to save your own private notes only you will see. These will print and be saved for your next visit.
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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips:

    1. You need about 1 to 1 ½ pounds of chicken. I use skinless boneless chicken breast, but skinless boneless thighs would work well.
    2. This recipe uses a smaller 3-4 qt crock pot. You can double the rsecipe and use a larger 6-8 qt crock pot.
    3. If you use a larger crock pot without doubling, it may cook a bit fast. See #5 below.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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.
    7. 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

    Calories : 336 kcal (17%) | Carbohydrates : 40 g (13%) | Protein : 29 g (58%) | Fat : 7 g (11%) | Saturated Fat : 4 g (20%) | Polyunsaturated Fat : 0.02 g | Monounsaturated Fat : 1 g | Cholesterol : 58 mg (19%) | Sodium : 963 mg (40%) | Potassium : 10 mg | Fiber : 4 g (16%) | Sugar : 5 g (6%) | Vitamin A : 700 IU (14%) | Vitamin C : 20.6 mg (25%) | Calcium : 250 mg (25%) | Iron : 2.5 mg (14%)
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Main Course
    Cuisine : Italian

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Originally published October 7, 2018.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Joy

      January 03, 2022 at 7:02 pm

      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

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        January 03, 2022 at 7:27 pm

        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

    2. Katie

      November 08, 2021 at 6:42 pm

      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?

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        November 08, 2021 at 8:40 pm

        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

    3. Cece

      August 23, 2020 at 9:36 am

      I happen to have made my chicken yesterday in the crockpot. Can I still do it this way?

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        August 23, 2020 at 9:53 am

        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

    4. Terry Yarham

      January 22, 2020 at 10:04 am

      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.

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        January 22, 2020 at 10:26 am

        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

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