Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Pasta
196 Comments Apr 21, 2025
Updated May 15, 2025
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Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan and Pasta brings everything you love together in one pot — tender chicken, rich tomato sauce, and hearty pasta, all topped with plenty of melty mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. It’s an easy, comforting dinner the whole family will love.
This easy pasta dish was one of the first recipes on the blog — and it’s still one of the most popular! While you can’t get crispy breaded chicken in the slow cooker, you can make a hearty, cheesy chicken pasta packed with all the classic saucy, cheesy flavors you love.
Key Ingredients
Not many ingredients are needed to make this. For full ingredient amounts, see the recipe card below the photos.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts – We aren’t using fried patties in this recipe. Boneless chicken breasts will shred up great and go perfectly with the sauce, pasta, and cheese.
- Pasta Sauce – You can use your favorite pasta sauce. We love Ragu, Raos, or even Newman’s Own Marinara sauce.
- Seasonings – Salt, pepper, and oregano. You can use Italian Seasoning if you have that on hand.
- Penne pasta – Cook according to package directions and add to slow cooker at the end of the cooking time.
- Cheeses – Mozzarella and a touch of parmesan cheese top this dish.
Variations
Here are a few easy ways to customize your meal:
- Extra vegetables can be added. Add mushrooms, or finely diced carrots at the beginning of the cooking time. Or stir in spinach along with the pasta.
- You can use rotini, rigatoni, bow-tie, or even spaghetti noodles in this dish. I do not recommend using egg noodles.
- Chicken thighs are also a great choice instead of chicken breasts.
How to make Crockpot Chicken Parmesan Pasta
This recipe is such an easy weeknight dinner, see how I make it below:
Step One – Add the chicken to the slow cooker and sprinkle over the salt, pepper, and oregano.
Step Two -Pour over the pasta sauce. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.
Step Three – Shred the chicken with two forks. Cook the pasta on the stovetop according to the package directions.
Step Four – Stir the drained pasta into the chicken and sauce. Sprinkle over the mozzarella cheese and then the parmesan.
Step Five – Place the lid back on the slow cooker just long enough for the cheese to melt; this usually takes 15 minutes.
Step Six – Serve and enjoy!
My Serving Suggestions
I often think about what my favorite restaurant would serve with the dish when I’m picking sides. Here are my favorites for this dish:
- A Caesar salad or green salad is the perfect side to go with this!
- Breadsticks, French rolls, or garlic bread.
Featured Comment
“This was so delicious. My husband said it was one of the best new recipes I have made in a long time. He wants me to make this on a regular basis.”
– Rae
Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Pasta Recipe
How to Video
Ingredients
- 48 oz Pasta Sauce or Marinara, (two 24-oz. jars) Ragu, Rao's or Newmans Own works well.
- 1 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
- ½ tsp. oregano, (or Italian Seasoning)
- 1 lb. penne pasta, cooked according to package directions
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Add the chicken to a 6-quart or larger slow cooker. Sprinkle over the salt, pepper, and oregano. Pour over the pasta sauce.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 6-8 hours, without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- When the cooking time is done, prepare the pasta on the stove-top according to the package directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, shred the chicken with two forks. You can do this right in the slow cooker.
- Drain the pasta very well. Add the pasta to the chicken and sauce in the slow cooker. Stir. Flatten the pasta out into an even layer. Sprinkle over the shredded mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. Cover for 15 more minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
- Serve and enjoy!
Sarah’s Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More Pasta Slow Cooker Recipes
- Change things up with Slow Cooker Stuffed Shells filled with cheese, Slow Cooker Pesto Mozzarella Chicken Pasta bursting with flavor, or the ever-popular Olive Garden Chicken Pasta.
- Make dinner easy with comforting favorites like Slow Cooker Million Dollar Spaghetti, packed with hearty meat sauce, and creamy, rich Slow Cooker Chicken Alfredo.
- Slow Cooker Pasta Puttanesca brings together tomatoes, olives, and capers for a delicious twist. Try my 40 clove garlic chicken over angel hair pasta for a quick Sunday Dinner.
This is seriously so good!! I only used one can of Ragu (meat one) had the chicken on high for 4 hours and only used one box of noodles. DELICIOUS!
If I wanted to make this for someone else as a freezer meal what would I need to do differently?
I think if you bagged up the sauce stuff and chicken, freeze that. Then give them the pasta and cheese on the side.
Pasta can be cooked al dente and then frozen. So you could cook the pasta in advance for a freezer meal.
I did enjoy but thought it was a bit bland. But next time a make it i think it needs a little spice of some kind. Famy said it was lovely. X
Why flatten the pasta? Then just lay it on top?
I made a casserole, I wanted the cheese layer to be even. I didn’t put pressure on it just made it a flat layer. 🙂
What kind of oregano did yall use
I use the dry leafy kind, not ground.
Can you double the recipe? Will it all fit in the crockpot? Mine is pretty big, it’s oval and has an insert.
The only problem you may run into is when you add the pasta, it may be over full at that point, but you could spoon part of it into another dish if your run into that problem.
I’ve been wanting to make chicken parm for a while but haven’t been able to with my 11 month old constantly being attached to my hip so I’m super excited to see how this turns out tonight! Slow cooker meals are this mamas best friend! I’m not cook savy enough to have known this could be made in the crock pot before now haha.
It tasted fantastic! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
That is great to hear Brooke!
Should I boil the chicken so it doesn’t make the sauce runny and also get the extra fat off?
I wouldn’t, you can cut any fat off the chicken. I think the juices from the chicken make the sauce the perfect consistency. It’s like adding a touch of chicken broth.
I’m cooking it in high right now for 4 hrs. I’ll let you know how it turns out
Thanks Tim!