Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken Penne
340 CommentsUpdated Jan 28, 2026
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This Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken Penne has all the creamy, comforting goodness of mac and cheese, with tender chicken added for a heartier meal. It’s an easy, family-friendly dinner that’s perfect to come home to after a busy day.
I was on
You can start it, continue your day and finish up minutes before serving. This pasta is an excellent idea for any time of year and is sure to become a new family favorite. Heaven on a plate! Plenty of sauce to coat all the noodles. I highly recommend this meal for an easy weeknight meal.
Key Ingredients:
Here is what you need to make this crockpot pasta recipe. See the recipe card for full ingredient amounts.
- Chicken and Sauce Ingredients: Boneless skinless chicken breasts slow cooked with two cans of cream of chicken soup and broth.
- Seasonings: Pepper, and dried tarragon (or oregano or Italian seasoning) go well with the chicken and sauce.
- Mushrooms and Onion: Sliced mushrooms and diced sweet yellow onion add flavor and moisture (mushrooms can be skipped if preferred).
- Creamy Finish: Sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese (sharp or medium) stirred in at the end.
- Pasta: Penne pasta, cooked separately according to package directions.
Variations
This is a very basic kid friendly meal, you can make it to suit your families tastes.
- If you have extra picky eaters and want to omit the mushrooms and onions add an additional 1/2 cup of broth. This will replace the moisture from the mushrooms and onions.
- You could always add more vegetables such as peas, corn, broccoli, bell peppers, green chiles and the like.
- Rotini pasta is another go-to pasta that can be used to substitute the penne pasta. If anything, use whatever you have in your pantry. Egg noodles can be used, though you have to be EXTRA careful not to overcook.
- You can use Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, or even dried basil! Make the dish your own with your favorite spices.
How to make Crockpot Cheesy Chicken Penne
Step One: Add the cream of chicken soup to the slow cooker with the chicken broth. Mix until smooth. Add the mushrooms, diced onion, tarragon, and pepper and mix again.
Step Two: Place the chicken breast on top of that.
Step Three: Cook on LOW for 6 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time. Just before the cooking time is up, boil your water, then cook the pasta to Al Dente. Shred the chicken with two forks right in the slow cooker.
Step Four: Add the sour cream and half the cheese. Stir.
Step Five: – Add the cooked and drained pasta to the slow cooker. Stir gently.
Step Six: Sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
My Serving Ideas
We make this pasta often. Here is how we serve it:
- This slow cooker meal can be served as-is because it provides plenty of heartiness with the pasta, chicken, and cheese.
- You can also serve it with garlic bread or another bread of your choice.
- This pasta also pairs well with a small side salad or another green vegetable, such as steamed broccoli.
- As for toppings, you can’t go wrong with adding extra shredded cheese or going for some shredded Parmesan cheese.
Featured Comment
“Just made it again for the umpteenth time. A crowd pleaser!“
– Kent
How to Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 21 oz cream of chicken soup , (two-10.5 oz cans) Don't add water
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- ½ tsp. dried leaf tarragon, can substitute oregano, thyme or Italian seasoning here.
- 1 ½ cups sliced mushrooms
- 1 small sweet yellow onion, diced
Add at the end
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 lb. penne pasta, cooked according to package directions on the stove-top
Instructions
- Add the cream of chicken soup and chicken broth to the slow cooker, stir until smooth.
- Add the tarragon, pepper, mushrooms and onions, stir.
- Add the chicken breasts.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- After the cooking time is up, start cooking the pasta according to the package directions to Al dente on the stove-top, do not over cook!
- Shred the chicken with 2 forks.
- Add sour cream and half of the cheese, stir.
- Add the cooked and drained pasta and stir again.
- Sprinkle over remaining cheese. Cover the slow cooker and cook for an additional 20 minutes on low.
- Serve and enjoy!
Sarah’s Notes
- If you have extra picky eaters and want to omit the mushrooms and onions add an additional 1/2 cup of broth. This will replace the moisture from the mushrooms and onions.
- You could always add more vegetables such as peas, corn, broccoli, bell peppers, green chiles and the like.
- Rotini pasta is another go-to pasta that can be used to substitute the penne pasta. If anything, use whatever you have in your pantry. Egg noodles can be used, though you have to be EXTRA careful not to overcook.
- You can use Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, or even dried basil! Make the dish your own with your favorite spices.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Recipe adapted from the oven recipe at Food.com
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Tried this today but didn’t have the cream of chicken so I replaced it with sour cream and added some cumin for more flavor also added red bell peppers since we love them in everything, really enjoyed it.
Thank you for letting me know how it turned out, extra sour cream sounds delicious.
I made this for dinner tonight and we love it. This is definitely a weekly meal for us now.
Thanks Sarah☺
I feel the same way about this meal, not something I would get tired of eating.
Can this be frozen as I would do this for my daughter and i.
My husband and kids dont do sour cream. If i cut the sour cream in half, do i need to add more soup or broth to compensate? Or can i substitute something else for the sour cream entirely? Would love to try the recipe out!
Maybe a touch of heavy cream Lynn?
Maybe substitute plain yogurt for the sour cream.
Substitute half night half
Add cream cheese instead of sour cream if sour cream isn’t a favorite.
Could you use mozzarella cheese instead of cheddar cheese
Made it and loved it!!!! I will be making again soon!! Thank you!!
Tried this but it tasted kind of bland. Needs more flavoring. May try again but spicier.
This recipe does not call for any salt. May account for the blandness.
It has a ton of salt from the soup, it was not bland to me or my family. You can always add more for sure though!
There is plenty of room in this recipe for more soup to be added, I make a casserole similar to this and I use 4 cans cream of chicken soup, add and delete items to your liking
This was good and very easy to put together. It just seems like it was missing something…a little more flavor is needed.
Looks yummy! My question is, do you think shredded Pork Tenderloin would tast okay as a meat substitute? I have some in the fridge, already cooked and shredded!
It may be good!
how much would I need if I was making this for about 12 people?
If it’s a main course I’d do two crock pots. If it’s for a potluck, it should be plenty.
Candace McCracken all you need to do is double the recipe.
In one crock pot? Right.
how many servings do you think you get from this.
About 8 servings 🙂
Sarah I’m in Australia where would I buy a sweet yellow onion never heard of them?
If you can’t find a sweeet onion, often called Vidalla, you can use a white or yellow onion instead.
chicken penne good Music was distracting
A little critical aren’t you