Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Pasta
1,849 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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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 want to make this while I’m not home. My crockpot switches to warm when time is up. Would it still come out okay if I add the pasta and shred the chicken after it’s been on warm for Can I premake the pasta the day before? 3-4hrs?
You can add the pasta after it’s been on warm. The only problem with making the pasta the day before is it’s cold, and will take about an hour to heat up again in the slow cooker.
Put pasta in strainer and run under hot water. Pasta will then be hot when you add it to the chicken if you have made it beforehand.
That’s a great idea Patty! I might try that 🙂
Thanks!
It wasn’t disgusting, but Olive Garden would never serve that. What the heck makes it taste like tuna???
Maybe its the cook not the recipe 1♀️
I followed the recipe to a T and it was horrible. We couldn’t eat it. It looked SO good and it smelled SO good while cooking but was just totally inedible. I’m a great cook so know it wasn’t me. I think it’s just one of those recipes some love and some hate with no middle ground at all. Unfortunately, we just didn’t like it at all. I know I’m a great cook because I’m 61 and have been cooking for 50 years so I do KNOW how to cook.
I agree, I wasn’t happy with either. I have a ton of left overs if anyone is interested.
My daughter made this tonight and it was awesome! I will definitely make this.
If I have only 1 lb chicken should I still use the same amount of dressing and cream cheese? Thanks!!
Hi Jessica, You could cut down on the dressing if you want.
This recipe is delicious and easy. I highly recommend
Too salty
I agree. Otherwise delicious. I wonder what you could do to cut down on that.
Cut back on the salty elements like the dressing and the Parmesan cheese.
Agreed. It was salty.
Too tangy… I won’t make this again
I agree… I don’t feel an “alfredo Like” pasta dish should be tangy like that we did not enjoy.
This is clearly not an Alfredo dish. If that what you were hoping for, you should’ve thought differently as you dumped a huge amount of tangy dressing in. Lol
I read previous reviews that this was too tangy so I tweaked it a little bit and it turned out good. Instead of the whole bottle of dressing, I just used 1 cup and added a can of cream of mushroom soup. Maybe try that…it wasn’t too tangy and my house of picky eaters loved it.
looks good but with the abundance of dressing and block of cream cheese this is disgusting. I just made this followed the recipe to a T. no texture or taste even close to olive garden. yuck!
I think it’s only called Olive Garden chicken because you use the Olive Garden brand dressing. Not because it is something they serve . Could be wrong but I don’t think so.
I made this today and must say I am confused about the negative reviews that were given. Mine turned out great. Seconds were served and will be doing it again in the future. I guess be sure you shake you dressing bottle up well before adding it but even more be sure you taste the dressing to make sure you like it. No complaints here turned out as advertised.
Glad you liked it – making it now!
I followed some of the other comment or suggestions and used one cup of the Italian dressing and one cup of chicken broth instead of 16oz of dressing only and the taste was amazing. What I did not like was the texture and taste of the chicken. Because it was in the slow cooker all day it turned into a tuna looking/tasting type of mess. I would make this again except I would cook the chicken and the sauce on the stove.