Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Pasta
1,841 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 altered the recipe based on reviews. Instead of using the whole bottle of dressing, I used 1 cup of the dressing, one can of cream of mushroom soup diluted with one cup of water. It had plenty of flavor without being overpowering.
Wayyyyy to salty! Couldn’t eat. In the trash it went. Very disappointed, it smelled so good.
I just finished making it and I agree. I had to check and make sure i didn’t use garlic salt instead of powder but no it was powder.
Added red pepper flake. Great addition. A little tangy for me. My husband loved it. Chicken was cooked to perfection.
Can I substitute shrimp for the chicken?
You’de have to add it at the end of the cook time, it won’t take very long.
I’ve made this twice now and its just so good. It makes a large serving so its great to try for a dinner party or a get together. The 4 hour version is perfect for making something on the weekend when you have a bit of time to let it soak.
I added sauteed mushrooms and spinach to it the second time I made it. This is so easy and always a favorite at our house.
That was my thought!
Love the spinach and mushrooms idea! I was thinking of adding broccoli but now I’m going to try this instead.
Okay… I must start off by saying I probably have the worlds pickiest eater. 16 ounces of Italian dressing is a lot for a marinade without any other flavors to tapper that flavor down a bit. So, I scrolled down to get a “real and true feel” for how it was going to turn out. I read a lot of reviews and was nervous after ready it was “too tangy”, or that this meal had a “terrible flavor”, or “once the pasta absorbed the flavor it was much better” (Reminder; comments can be helpful, but also misleading as we all have different tastebuds). I allowed the recipe to cook for 5 hours on low before I removed the lid and broke up the chicken as I stirred the sauce. I Folded in the pasta and tried it. The pasta did have a strong tangy taste (that I liked) but knew my son would turn his nose up at. I added a stick of butter and stirred everything together and Allowed the pasta and all the flavors to soak into one another. This meal was made a day in advance as are all new meals so if someone doesn’t like it, I can make that person a backup meal. With the adjustments made, this meal is definitely worth keeping around and making in the future!! Thanks for sharing!
Tasted like tuna
I have made this twice now and both times, everyone absolutely LOVED it!
I thought this tasted terrible. It was too tangy and too salty.
I made this for dinner today…out of this world!!! I did add extra cream cheese and cut back a lot on the Italian dressing. So easy and so very good!!! Definitely a new favorite!! Thanks for sharing!