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–+ servings

Easy Chicken Baked Ziti in a Crock Pot

chicken pasta on a gray plate
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.
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 4 hrs
Total Time: 4 hrs 15 mins
Servings: 6
Calories: 336kcal
Author: Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

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.
    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

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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.

Nutrition

Calories: 336kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 963mg | Potassium: 10mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 700IU | Vitamin C: 20.6mg | Calcium: 250mg | Iron: 2.5mg

All nutritional values are estimated.

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