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Home » Chicken » Southwestern Cheesy Chicken Pasta

Southwestern Cheesy Chicken Pasta

by Sarah Olson on May 21, 2020 33 Comments

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close up of southwestern cheesy chicken pasta in slow cooker
2 photo collage of southwestern cheese chicken pasta for pinterest

This Slow Cooker Southwestern Cheesy Chicken is a change on pasta in a fun way! The pasta has great flavor and texture, you’ll want to make this on pasta night every week!

Make pasta night easy with this shell pasta dish or try my Cajun Chicken Fettuccine.

close up of southwestern cheesy chicken pasta in slow cooker

This Slow Cooker Southwestern Cheesy Chicken Pasta is a must save recipe. Just a few simple ingredients are thrown in the slow cooker in the morning, when ready to serve dinner, shred the chicken, and add cooked pasta, cheese, and sour cream.

How to make Southwestern Cheesy Chicken Pasta:

  • Add Rotel, Mexicorn, olives, chili powder, oregano, cumin and salt and pepper to the slow cooker. Stir.
  • Add chicken breasts to that mixture.
corn, rotel, chicken and olives in slow cooker
  • After the slow cooker cooking time is up, cook a package of pasta on the stove top according to the package directions. Drain.
  • Shred the chicken in the slow cooker with 2 forks.
  • Add the drained pasta to the chicken and sauce.
  • Stir in cheese and sour cream.
Southwestern Cheesy Chicken Pasta

This is the pasta I used for the recipe. Though the makers of this imported pasta would cringe about my dump and go southwestern recipe I used their pasta with, I really loved the texture of it, it’s a little thicker than normal pasta so you really can sink your teeth into it. I bought this pasta at Fred Meyer (same as Kroger).

shell pasta dish with chicken, cheese and green onion on top, in slow cooker.

How can I make this less spicy?

  • Use Mild Rotel if you can find it.
  • If you can’t find mild Rotel, use 2 small jars of mild salsa.

How to serve this:

  • Top with green onion and additional cheese if desired.
  • Serve a green salad and dressing along with this.
bowl of shell pasta with cheese and green onion on top.

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shell pasta dish with chicken, cheese and green onion on top, in slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Southwestern Cheesy Chicken Pasta

4.93 from 14 votes
Chicken, veggies and pasta in a southwestern style sauce.
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: southwestern pasta
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 628kcal
Author: Sarah Olson

Equipment Needed:

  • Slow Cooker- 6 quart or larger

Ingredients:

  • 20 oz. Ro-tel (2 cans)
  • 11 oz. can Mexicorn (or a can of southwestern corn mix), drained
  • 3.8 oz. can olives, drained
  • 1 tsp. chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp. oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. pepper
  • 1/4 tsp. cumin
  • 2 lbs. boneless skin-less chicken breasts
  • 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 16 oz. sour cream
  • 1 lb. medium-sized shell pasta, cooked according to package directions, drained

For Serving

  • Additional shredded cheese
  • Sliced green onions
US Customary – Metric

Instructions:

  • Add the Rotel, Mexicorn, olives, chili powder, oregano, salt, pepper and cumin to a 6-quart slow cooker, stir. Add the chicken into this mixture.
  • Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours.
  • Shred the chicken with 2 forks right in the slow cooker.
  • Stir in the cheese and sour cream, then stir in the cooked and drained pasta.
  • Serve each serving with a sprinkle of more cheese, and then a sprinkle of green onion.
  • Enjoy!

How to Video:

Recipe Notes:

How can I make this less spicy?
  • Use Mild Rotel if you can find it.
  • If you can’t find mild Rotel, use 2 small jars of mild salsa.

Nutrition:

Calories: 628kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 131mg | Sodium: 808mg | Potassium: 877mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1020IU | Vitamin C: 11.6mg | Calcium: 323mg | Iron: 2.7mg
Made this recipe?I want to see your photos! Tag me on Instagram @themagicalslowcooker

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    Filed Under: Chicken, Dinner Tagged With: Chicken, comfort food, Crock pot, crockpot, dinner, slow cooker

    Comments

    1. Lynda Buchholz says

      November 12, 2019 at 5:14 am

      Rotel is a brand name like delmonte and it is frustrating when it is used in place of Mexican tomatoes. I have found some stores don’t carry the rotel brand so it would be much better to just say Mexican tomatoes.

      https://www.ro-tel.com/products

      Reply
    2. Teresa Gilmer says

      March 7, 2019 at 1:50 pm

      Have you ever made it in an instant pot? If so, can you share the cooking times? Water needed? THX!

      Reply
    3. Anonymous says

      August 16, 2018 at 4:50 pm

      We made this for dinner tonight and it is. PHENOMENAL!!

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        August 19, 2018 at 8:23 am

        Thanks for coming back and commenting how you liked it, great to hear.

        Reply
    4. Anonymous says

      July 13, 2018 at 11:00 am

      Can I cook it for 4 hours on high?

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        July 14, 2018 at 6:52 am

        Yes, should br fine.

        Reply
    5. Anonymous says

      June 19, 2018 at 1:16 pm

      Can this be made without the sour cream?? not a fan of creamy!!

      Reply
    6. Pj says

      June 18, 2018 at 8:09 pm

      My mom often said she was kept just as busy with life tasks after retirement and had no idea how she had gotten everything done while working full time . One of lifes mysteries she never solved.

      Reply
      • Anonymous says

        August 13, 2020 at 2:32 pm

        So true

        Reply
    7. Anonymous says

      June 18, 2018 at 4:08 pm

      Love your recipes, please keep posting! I save them and eventually try almost all of them! Thanks so much! ‍♀️

      Reply
    8. Debra Roney says

      October 16, 2016 at 9:13 am

      Does chicken need to be cooked before putting in crockpot?

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        October 16, 2016 at 3:11 pm

        Nope! I do make sure the chicken is thawed though.

        Reply
    9. Simon says

      October 1, 2015 at 5:26 am

      This sounds lovely. Going to give this a go. thanks for sharing this recipe.

      Simon

      Reply
    10. Sheena @ Hot Eats and Cool Reads says

      August 25, 2015 at 6:26 pm

      I love the flavors in this pasta! Wishing I had some for dinner tonight!

      Reply
    11. Carrie @Frugal Foodie Mama says

      August 25, 2015 at 6:24 pm

      Oh, now this is right up my alley! Definitely adding this to my weekly meal plan soon. 🙂

      Reply
    12. Food Done Light (@FoodDoneLight) says

      August 25, 2015 at 7:31 am

      Sounds like perfect comfort food to me and I love the sauce it makes

      Reply
    13. peter @feedyoursoultoo says

      August 25, 2015 at 6:39 am

      You had me at Southwestern. Then, you had me at cheesy. Then, you bowled me over with pasta. Looks great.

      Reply
    14. Ritz_Chef says

      August 25, 2015 at 6:09 am

      Has anyone actually made this recipe? So far all I have read were comments on how good the pictures look.

      Reply
      • Lacy says

        September 10, 2015 at 4:09 pm

        5 stars
        I made it tonight & it was awesome! Be sure you drain the mexicorn & pasta well though because mine was a little soupy.

        Reply
    15. pattyanderson54 says

      August 25, 2015 at 5:03 am

      Well glad to hear you are doing the blogging full time – that alone is time consuming. This is a great weeknight meal!

      Reply
    16. Shelby says

      August 25, 2015 at 2:32 am

      This one I definitely have to make, the flavors are right up my alley! Looks yummy too!

      Reply
    17. Kim Babcock says

      August 25, 2015 at 1:29 am

      I meant is Rotel refried beans?

      Reply
      • Sarah Olson says

        August 25, 2015 at 5:11 am

        Hi Kim! Rotel is a spiced diced tomato mix. You can find it on the canned tomato aisle. 🙂

        Reply
      • Anonymous says

        July 26, 2019 at 7:49 am

        No it’s diced tomatoes in a can with alil kick to it

        Reply
    18. Grandma Kc says

      August 24, 2015 at 6:04 pm

      Sounds even better than it looks! I am always trying to find something new to do with chicken! Thank you!

      Reply
    19. Catherine says

      August 24, 2015 at 2:27 pm

      Oh boy does that look good!! Sounds like a delicious meal. xo, Catherine

      Reply
    20. Sandra Shaffer says

      August 24, 2015 at 10:24 am

      This looks super good, Sarah! I think you would make the pasta company proud with this recipe! Sooo glad you are enjoying your stay at home mommy duties as well as blogging in your pj’s 🙂 Haha! I would be!

      Reply
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