Chicken breasts made in the slow cooker with pesto and butter then made into a cheesy pasta casserole with mozzarella cheese and parmesan.
This new recipe for Slow Cooker Pesto Mozzarella Chicken is a spin-off from a freezer meal I made a few months ago called Lemon Pesto Chicken. Looking back at that recipe I wish I would have done this to it from the start. Adding the pasta and parmesan in the slow cooker at the end of the cooking time THEN topping with mozzarella cheese turned that basic recipe I made a few months ago into a meal I want to make weekly now.
For this recipe I tried the Mezzetta pesto, It did well in this recipe! Of course, homemade pesto would be better but I don’t have time for that! Besides topping the chicken with the pesto I also add fresh lemon juice and butter. The way the butter tastes with the pasta can’t be beat.
Start with chicken breasts, salt, pepper, lemon juice, pesto and butter. Yes, that is all you put in at first. It’s that easy.
After the chicken is cooked I add a pound of cooked pasta and top with mozzarella cheese.
This meal is beautiful enough to have dinner guests over! Just add a salad and French bread for sides,
I was afraid my daughter wouldn’t like this meal because of the green stuff on it. She didn’t even blink an eye and ate a whole plate! What I love about this meal is how there is not much prep to do to get this in going in the crock pot. Putting the chicken and sauce ingredients in the crock pot takes less than 10 minutes.
I hope you enjoy this pasta recipe! Have a great week!
You may also like:
- Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Pasta
- Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Pasta
- Slow Cooker Garlic Butter Chicken and Pasta
- Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Spaghetti
- Slow Cooker Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti
Slow Cooker Pesto Mozzarella Pasta
Equipment Needed:
- Slow Cooker- 6 quart or larger
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1 cup jarred pesto I used Mezzetta
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 1/2 lemon
These items don’t get added until the end
- 1 lb. rotini cooked and drained
- 1/2 cup parmesan
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
- 1/4 tsp. dried basil to garnish
Instructions:
- Add the chicken to the slow cooker. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Spread over the pesto, squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken. Cut the butter into slices and lay over the chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- Near the end of the cooking time, cook the pasta according to the package directions and drain well.
- Shred the chicken with 2 forks. Add the cooked pasta and the parmesan cheese, stir everything until the pasta is coated with the buttery pesto sauce and the chicken is evenly dispersed throughout the pasta. Add the mozzarella cheese over the pasta. Cover for about 15 more minutes or until the cheese has melted.
- Serve and enjoy!
I have never found a crockpot recipe that my family actually likes. They are usually so bummed when they see it out on the counter. Not anymore! They loved this recipe. It was moist and flavorful. Definitely going into the dinner rotation.
Do u drain the crock pot before adding noodles?
No, that is the sauce for the pasta 🙂
I want to try some of your recipes
Would it be the same if I used chicken thighs instead or should I change the weight?
It would be the same
Would happen to have instant pot instructions?
I did tonight! Only thing different was add a little chicken broth and cooked it for 40 minutes so it would be super tender. Took the chicken out added the noodles on sauté mode and poured in the rest of the chicken broth. Drained out all of the broth and put the chicken back in and added the cheese!
Can I use orange juice beside lemon juice?
I think that would add sweetness instead of a tanginess in this recipe. It would be hard to say without trying.
I made this exactly as the recipe was written and my family would not eat it. We found it very dry and tasteless. I probably will not make this again.
While the flavor was ok, we also thought it was extremely dry. I thought about adding a can of cerream of chicken soup, but I didn’t.
This was super easy, and really good. We added crescent rolls and mixed veggies on the side, and even the kids ate it. And said yes to having it again. Win, win!!
So easy – and a VERY delicious crowd pleaser!
Granddaughter found this recipe and asked me to make it when she visited. Now, she requests this every time she visits!!
What do you think about adding tomatoes? Any recommendations?
I don’t see why not. Even sundried tomatoes would be great!
Oh sun dried tomatoes would be great
I was just gonna add that as my comment. I added one can of diced tomatoes at the end to make it more a bruschetta chicken. Definitely needed that. Could have even added two cans since it makes so much. Very good, love this recipe
2 cans of which size?
Kids loved it! I don’t know why I never tried this because I’m a crockpot junky. Super easy to make, although I didn’t use the jar pesto because I couldn’t find it in my local grocery store, instead I used fresh packaged basil pesto that worked just great. I also decided to put my pasta in the crock pot after the chicken was done cooking and I shredded it, I decided to take advantage of the fresh broth and just added a little extra water and left it for about another hour. When done I tipped with the cheese and whaala an amazing dinner dish had just come to life.
Are the chicken breasts frozen or thawed?
thawed
What if chicken is frozen, could they cook while you would prepare this? Or should they be thawed? Thanks for your help!!
I only used thawed in my recipes. 🙂
I always use frozen chicken in my crockpot and I have never had an issue. Been doing it that way for years
What I have read is when cooking frozen chicken in a slow cooker there is a risk of bacterial growth. The risks are similar to defrosting frozen chicken outside the fridge. It doesn’t have anything to do with taste.
So easy to make and tastes delicious!
Could this be translated for the oven?
There are 2 of us. Wondering if it could be separated into qt bags & frozen. How would it be reheated from frozen?
It was SO delicious…just makes a LOT.
Yes! That will work great.
Would this work well to be reheated? Considering making it for lunches throughout the week.
I think this reheats well!
Could you cook this on high for 4 and half hours?
Yes, I think 4 should be good.
It is very easy to make. I have a family of 6 and this is a favorite for all.
Easy and delicious! My 21 year old granddaughter requests this all the time!