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.
Came out very dry. I added Alfredo sauce and chicken broth just to make it edible.
This do not make this recipe. I added ranch seasoning, chicken broth to make to taste better and nothing work! Please save your money.
Certified winner in our house!!! Everybody who’s tried, loves it!!! I’ve had to share the recipe with everyone we’ve served it to!!! Thanks so much for an easy and fulfilling recipe!!!
I really, really wanted to love this recipe. On paper it looks and sounds delicious. Made it last night exactly like the recipe instructs. My husband and I each ate a serving, hoping we would get used to the over-powering tang/twang, sour taste and smell. Neither of us are picky eaters and we tend to love everything but this was pretty bad. I see other comments from others who love it so it might just be us. haha We pulled the leftovers out for lunch today but after a whiff I couldn’t bear the thought of putting it in my mouth again. I re-read the entire recipe before writing this comment to make sure I had followed it fully and hadn’t missed something….but I feel 100% certain that I followed it exactly. I had printed the recipe, feeling that it would be wonderful and something easy I’d add to our meal rotation. Instead, I’m tossing it in the trash can (along with the leftovers). A waste of paper and money spent on ingredients sadly. As I stated earlier, I really, really wanted to love this but we didn’t.
I mixed 8 ounces of the Olive Garden dressing with 8 ounces of ranch dressing. It made a world of difference.
Theresa we found it to be exactly the same. Maybe just not for us. Won’t be trying again
I think using half the dressing amount and added heavy whipping cream for the other half is the right combo.
My cream cheese curdled! Tasted great, but didn’t look so good!
Hello, I’m trying to make smaller portions as of late and have a 1.5 qt crockpot, so I’m planning to quarter the recipe. Do you recommend I change the time spent cooking? I’ll obviously keep an eye on it, but I’m not used to cooking in a crock pot.
You’re most likely need less time. And you’ll have to keep an eye on it. It’s hard to say without testing it.
Excellent and yum-o! Very rich, though. Can use sparingly.
Can this be frozen after making a big batch?
Yes!
I’ve had this cooking today on low for 3 hours now and the sauce is still the consistency of the dressing, thin as ever. I think only the chicken is savable from this; if I added any noodles it’s not going to stick to the noodles. Also, it currently tastes like butter, not sure what happened there, it’s very salty and oily. This sounds like a good idea in theory, but a terrible outcome.
Strange, mine turned out fine…
If you cook on low, it must be for 5-6 hours. Or cook on HIGH for 4 hours. I’ve made it multiple times,and has always turned out fine per instructions.
Made this last night and we loved it! Instead of adding the pasta, I served it over spaghetti squash. I then added 1/2 pound of penne for the leftovers. I will definitely be making this again.