Easy creamy Italian chicken in a crock pot, saucy enough to serve with pasta and packed with flavor and tender chicken.
We are very much an easy chicken dinner family, it just seems like we have it often. Crockpot Italian chicken pasta is best served with something like a beet and feta salad, steamed veggies, or Soft Fluffy French Bread.
Creamy crock pot chicken and noodles is made to be easy, NOT gourmet. We like it because it takes 5 minutes to dump into the slow cooker and I don't think about it until dinner time. It's made with delicious but not necessarily healthy things, just like my Chicken Crescent Roll Ups. If it helps, we do usually eat it with whole wheat noodles or high protein noodles, there are also some really good gluten free varieties.
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What To Expect
- Taste: Creamy, with Italian seasoning. You get a little tartness from the Italian dressing, but the cream cheese and cream of chicken soup balance it out nicely.
- Ease: This is SO SIMPLE. Put everything in the slow cooker, let it cook, then make the pasta right before you're ready to serve.
- Time: 5 minutes prep time, 3-4 hours for the chicken to cook on high, and 5-6 hours on low. About 10 minutes to make the pasta.
🛒 Key Ingredients
- Chicken - I prefer to use chicken breasts or boneless chicken thighs because they shred easily when cooked in the slow cooker.
- Italian Dressing - use whichever brand is your favorite! We usually use a store brand or the Olive Garden brand.
- Italian Dressing Mix - this is a powdered spice mix usually found in the salad dressing isle of grocery stores.
- Milk - needed to help thin out the sauce, dilute the strong flavors, and add creaminess to the chicken. Just make sure to add it at the END so it doesn't separate and curdle as it cooks.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
✏️ Substitutions & Variations
- Cream Cheese - you can use full fat, ⅓ fat, or fat free.
- Italian Dressing - I usually use a store brand or the Olive Garden Italian Dressing, but if you have a favorite kind, use it! There are many light and fat free versions that work well.
- Cream of Chicken Soup - you can use gluten free, low sodium, or fat free versions, they all work fine.
- Use milk of choice! We use dairy, but any plant-based milk will work as well.
🧑🍳 Instructions
- Step 1. In a slow cooker, combine raw chicken, cream cheese, condensed cream of chicken soup, Itialian dressing mix, and your favorite brand of Italian salad dressing.
- Step 2. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours. Mix together the sauce and shred the chicken in the crock pot with 2 forks.
- Step 3. Add milk and stir well. Add more milk (or pasta water if desired) to thin as needed for sauce.
- Step 4. Make pasta as directed on package. Serve Italian chicken over pasta and optionally sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Enjoy!
📌 Top Tips & Hacks
- Make sure you taste your sauce before serving. You might want to add more milk or pasta water to thin out the sauce and dilute the flavor a bit, it can be a bit strong at first with all of the spices in the dressing mix.
- Make ahead by putting everything in the crockpot the night before, put the lid on, and just put the insert with lid in the fridge overnight so I can put it straight in the slow cooker in the morning and cook away!
❓Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! As long as it cooks to the proper temperature (165 ℉ at least) it's just fine to use raw chicken in slow cooker recipes. This recipe cooks well past that threshold.
- Salad
- Steamed or roasted veggies
- Over rice, cauliflower rice, or veggie noodles
- Homemade Yeast Rolls or homemade soft french bread
Add liquid! This recipe starts with some liquid, but if you cook longer than 4 hours you'll want to add some water or milk. ½ cup to 1 cup since it's meant to be saucy anyway should do it.
Refrigerate: up to 4 days.
Freeze: up to 3 months.
🍝 More Delicious Chicken Pasta Recipes
📝 Printable Recipe
Creamy Italian Crock Pot Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds raw chicken breasts or boneless thighs
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 1 (10.5 oz.) can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 (0.7 oz) package Italian Dressing Mix
- ½ cup Italian salad dressing
- 1 cup milk
- 1 (16 oz.) box pasta (penne or rigatoni work well)
Instructions
- In a slow cooker, combine raw chicken, cream cheese, condensed cream of chicken soup, Itialian dressing mix, and your favorite brand of Italian salad dressing.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours. Mix together sauce and shred chicken in crock pot with 2 forks.
- Add milk and stir well. Add more milk (or water if desired) to thin as needed for sauce.
- Make pasta as directed on package. Serve Italian chicken over pasta and optionally sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Hi, I'm Sara!
Registered Nurse by day, food blogger by weekend. Perfect dip tester & snack quester. I love short walks on the beach and long naps. Sharing my love for food, one bite at a time.
Sara says
This is one of my favorite crockpot dinners that my pickiest eaters like. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! Please leave a comment here and share your feedback with a star rating. I really enjoyed creating this recipe and post for you!