This Slow Cooker Pesto Mozzarella Chicken Pasta recipe is a perfect, easy dish that cooks itself while you’re busy with other things. It’s made in the slow cooker and it takes less than five minutes to assemble before you leave for work. You’ll come home to dinner waiting!
If you love this recipe you may also want to try my Crockpot Chicken Alfredo Recipe.
Why this recipe works
This meal is a perfect, easy dish that cooks itself while you’re busy with other things. It’s made in the crockpot and it takes less than five minutes to assemble before you leave for work. The chicken, pesto, and lemon cook while you are away, then cooked pasta and mozzarella cheese are added before serving.
How to Make Easy Pesto Chicken Pasta
Since there’s no cooking on your part at all, once the chicken and pesto are in the slow cooker, it’s a great recipe to have on hand during busy weeks. Just add cooked pasta and mozzarella and you have a delicious dinner that tastes like you’ve been cooking for hours.
Ingredients
- Boneless Skinless Chicken breasts – season genoursly with salt and pepper
- Pesto– I use a jar of Classico Traditional Basil Pesto. This ends up being about a cup of pesto.
- Salted butter – no need to melt, just slice it!
- Lemon – use a half of a large lemon. Do not use jarred lemon juice for this meal.
- Rotini Pasta cooked to al dente and drained – DO NOT ADD THIS UNTIL THE CHICKEN IS DONE COOKING
- Grated Parmesan – Mix this in with the pasta and chicken.
- Shredded mozzarella – Sprinkle this on top of the dish and let melt.
- Dried basil – for garnish
Step by Step Directions
Step 1 – Add the chicken and top with salt and pepper.
Step 2 – Smear over the pesto over the chicken.
Step 3 – Squeeze over the lemon juice.
Step 4– Slice the butter and add on top.
Step 5 – Place the lid on the slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 5-6 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time
Step 6 – Shred the chicken right in the slow cooker with 2 forks.
Step 7– Add the cooked and drained pasta and the parmesan cheese, stir.
Step 8 – Sprinkle over the mozzarella cheese. Place the lid back on the slow cooker for 15 minutes more or until the cheese melts.
Recipes FAQs and Variations
The butter really flavors the dish and makes it decadent. Though if you want you can use a 1/2 cup of chicken broth instead of butter if desired.
I use chicken breasts for this dish but you could also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs if you prefer dark meat or if budget is an issue. You’ll just need to make sure your thighs cook long enough so they’re tender and not tough.
Use the correct amount of water (see your pasta box) and make sure it’s boiling before adding the pasta. Stir the pasta gently into the water. Cook to al dente. Drain your pasta in a colander and add to the recipe.
Use a jar of sun-dried tomato pesto instead of basil pesto for a change
Add sliced mushrooms for added texture.
Change the pasta shape; you can use any hearty pasta shape such as bow-tie pasta or penne.
Want to make more magic in your crockpot? Stay up to date and subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tik Tok, and YouTube.
Slow Cooker Pesto Mozzarella Pasta
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts (1.5-2 pounds works fine, 3 chicken breasts)
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 8.1 oz. jarred pesto I used Classico (be sure to look at the ingredients if you have anyone allergic to nuts)
- 1/2 cup salted butter
- 1/2 lemon
These items don’t get added until the end
- 1 lb. dried rotini pasta (cooked and drained, see directions for more info)
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan (I use the powdery shake bottle type)
- 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!
How to Video:
Sarah’s Notes:
- Use a jar of sun-dried tomato pesto instead of basil pesto for a change
- Add sliced mushrooms for added texture.
- Change the pasta shape; you can use any hearty pasta shape such as bow-tie pasta or penne.
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
You may also like these easy slow cooker recipes:
- Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Pasta
- Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Pasta
- Slow Cooker Shrimp Scampi
- Slow Cooker Creamy Pesto Chicken Pasta
- Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Scampi
- Slow Cooker Spinach Artichoke Chicken Pasta
- Slow Cooker Garlic Butter Chicken and Pasta
- Slow Cooker Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti
- Slow Cooker Zucchini Bolognese
Sachia Perrine says
Love this recipe! So easy!
Matt says
How much rice would you suggest using if I wanted to use rice instead of the pasta
Sarah Olson says
I would try 4 cups of cooked rice.
Stephanie says
1/2 lemon, is that 1/2 cup???
Sarah Olson says
No, the juice of half a lemon
Laura says
Can you cook the pasta in the slow cooker with everything else?
Kyleigh says
Shredded parmesan cheese or grated Parmesan cheese?
Abbey says
Can you use a smaller crock pot?
Sarah Olson says
Hi Abbey. You could cook the Chicken but all the pasta won’t fit at the end.
Deb says
It looks like you used thawed chicken . Could you start with frozen chicken ?
Sarah Olson says
I have not tried but I think it would do fine.
Dawn says
This looks so amazingly good 🙂 Glad your daughter ate it too! Does she not usually like basil or does she associate green with spinach? One of my daughter’s will try anything and if it she likes it then she likes it, regardless of what is in it. My other daughter will suddenly not like something if there is something she doesn’t like in it – even if she found out while eating it. I make meatloaf with mushrooms (have for quite a while) and all of a sudden at dinner one night her sister said “Mom is this a mushroom?” Well the room was silent for a minute until I said yes it is. Well that was it, my one daughter suddenly was full and didn’t want anymore. She raved about it until then. Glad she isn’t too picky tho or dinner would have been a nightmare over the years haha!
Joelle D. says
OMG! Soooo good. I used creamy pesto sauce and it came out really good. Definitely try it.
Anonymous says
So freaking good!! I’ve been trying new recipes and this was a total hit my boyfriend ate so much I had to put it up before he finished off the whole thing. I made a few a changes like I added cherry tomatoes and a few sundried as well. I also cooked it on high for 2 hours then low for 3
Sarah Olson says
Thanks for letting me know!
Amanda Pustejovsky says
I absolutely LOVE this recipe! I’ve made it several times for my family and it’s a hit every time. I have followed the recipe exactly and it’s turned out great but I have made some changes to cater to my family’s tastes as well as to experiment.
If you experience clumping, I would recommend making sure the chicken is completely shredded before adding the pasta. You may also consider taking it easy on the Parmesan as sometimes that can clump it up too. For dryness, I recommend using frozen chicken and extending the cook time by an hour or cooking on high. As it cooks, the water released from the thawing chicken adds moisture. You also can increase the amount of lemon juice (I use a whole lemon instead of half) or increase the amount of pesto. One of my favorite alterations was adding fresh mushrooms!!!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! We love it!!!
Valerie says
9.5/10!!! I read the comments saying that this was dish was a bit dry, so to stay on the cautious side, I added a little extra butter (about 1/8 cup) and a bit of Alfredo (roughly 1/4 cup). It was soo delicious but just a tiny bit too cheesy for my personal liking. If I made it again, I would probably add a little more Alfredo and less mozzarella.