Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Pasta
1,842 CommentsUpdated Jan 18, 2026
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Use Olive Garden Italian Dressing to make this Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Pasta! It’s a creamy pasta dish that has so much flavor.
We love easy pasta dishes for the crockpot! Try my Baked Spaghetti, Feta and Tomato Pasta, or Beef Stroganoff recipes too!
I found this recipe in my Facebook group and had to try it out! You can make this Olive Garden Chicken with or without the pasta! Serve over rice or just with green steamed vegetables.
How to make Olive Garden Chicken Pasta in the Crockpot:
- Add chicken breasts to the slow cooker.
- Pour over one 16-ounce jar of Olive Garden Italian Dressing (or any Italian dressing you have on hand.
- Shake over grated parmesan cheese and ground pepper. Add one block of cream cheese.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or low for 5-6.
- Shred the chicken with two forks right in the slow cooker.
- Cook 16 ounces of pasta according to the package directions on the stove-top. I am using penne pasta for this recipe.
- Add the drained pasta to the slow cooker along with the sauce and shredded chicken, stir.
- Sprinkle over more parmesan cheese if desired. I also garnished with a touch of oregano and black pepper.
Can I serve this chicken with something other than pasta?
- Serve over rice.
- Or with steamed vegetables.
Must I use cream cheese?
You can leave it out or add a cup of heavy cream at the end of cooking time is desired. Though the sauce will be thinner.
Does this taste like chicken alfredo?
This Olive Garden Chicken Pasta is thick and creamy like alfredo but has a zesty Italian dressing flavor
What should I serve with olive garden chicken pasta?
Chose one or more of these great dishes to go along with this dish:
- Olive Garden Salad – Recipe by The Cookie Rookie
- Olive Garden Bread Sticks – Recipe by Lil Luna (or buy them premade, I get mine at Safeway)
- Slow Cooker Copycat Gnocchi Soup
- Slow Cooker Copycat Zuppa Toscana
- Slow Cooker Copycat Minestrone – Recipe by Tammilee Tips
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Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Pasta
How to Video
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast, (1.5-2 pounds works fine)
- 16 oz. Olive Garden Italian dressing, (or any Italian dressing you like) Note- olive garden dressing is high in sodium and can be salty. Choose a lower sodium dressing if desired.
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
- 8 oz. cream cheese
Add these items after cooking time is up:
- 16 oz. penne pasta, cooked according to package directions and drain well
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Add the chicken breasts to the slow cooker.
- Pour over the Olive Garden Italian dressing and sprinkle over the parmesan cheese and pepper.
- Place the cream cheese on top.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker. Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 5-6 hours.
- When the cooking time is almost done, start cooking the pasta on the stove top as directed on the package.
- Shred the chicken with 2 forks. Drain the pasta and add to the chicken and sauce. Stir. Sprinkle over the remaining parmesan cheese.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
I made this today and I really didn’t care for it. Maybe if I had used an Italian blend of cheese instead it wouldn’t have had such a sour tang to it.
*This is in no way a disrespect to the person that posted this recipe*
I made a few changes.
I used 1/2 italian dressing, 1/2 chicken stock
(I used the rest of the dressing with water to boil my noodles in)
I added italian seasoning, white pepper, and red pepper flakes.
To me, it almost gave a tangy alfredo vibe. Loved it.
Really wanted to like this. Salad dressing flavor is strong and when combined made it to dry. Recommend cutting back dressing to 1/2 and adding other half in chicken broth. My husband was ok but won’t be making again.
Hi, I followed everything exactly… but mine was very dry? I used 16 oz uncooked pasta so maybe after I cooked the pasta it was too much pasta? Any ideas?
Too much of a salad dressing flavor…really overpowering. I would cut the salad dressing in half and add in some chick stock if I were to make again.
This was a hit at my house! Made exactly as directed except I realized I was out of penne at the last minute so I used egg noodles instead. Served with steamed broccoli and crusty French bread. Warmed up the leftovers and I think it was even better the second day.
Made this tonight and it was delicious!! I didn’t mix the pasta in though I spooned it over spaghetti. When hubby came home from work first thing he said was “wow that smells good whatever you are making” and after the first bite he said he loved it! Will definitely make this again! Next time I think I may throw fresh broccoli in towards end of cooking.
Everyone has different tastebuds. For me it was pretty heavy and chock full of chicken. I’d limit it to two chicken breasts, half the cream cheese, and (as someone else mentioned) the 2nd part of Parmesan cheese on the table for as needed. Also agree some veggies could break it up a bit.
Absolutely delicious and easy thank you
I was kind of afraid to make this recipe although it sounded really good but I did and I’m glad. I have never posted a review of a recipe until tonight. I feel it was warranted because of all the negativity. I only used half of the bottle of dressing, which I’m glad, otherwise there would have been way more liquid than was necessary! The only other things I did different are I cut up the chicken before adding it to the crock pot. That way I wouldn’t have to shred it in the end, just stir. I added quite a bit more pepper than was called for but I love pepper. I had to add some to my bowl while I was eating it. It made a lot of difference. I also just let everyone put their own Parmesan on instead of adding it at the end like the recipe called for. It would have been good to add a little crushed red pepper, some cooked broccoli and carrots and maybe even a little garlic. It wasn’t at all too salty. It was tangy but Italian dressing is supposed to be tangy. Overall, good recipe and I’m sure I’ll make it again. Leftovers tomorrow night!