Crockpot Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta is a hearty slow cooker dish that's perfect when you need an easy dinner recipe. It's made with basic ingredients like chicken breasts, cream cheese, milk, parmesan cheese, and parmesan garlic sauce.
Highlights
- Family friendly flavor
- Made in the crockpot
- Quick and easy prep
- Creamy with a touch of spice
- Made with fresh chicken breasts and Buffalo Wild Wings Parmesan Garlic with Italian Herbs sauce
This crockpot garlic parmesan chicken pasta recipe is a big batch that can easily feed your family. Crockpots are great because they cook while you're doing other things, so all you have to do is throw everything into the pot and let it slow cook until dinner time.
If you're looking for a recipe that's easy to make and tastes delicious, try it this week!
Recipe profile
Super easy - this crockpot dish could not be easier to make as you essentially just "dump and go." All you have to do is place your ingredients in the crockpot and set it to cook. Then, when you are ready to eat, just cook your pasta, and dinner is served.
Incredible flavor - chicken, garlic, and parmesan go together so well and makes this dish absolutely burst with insanely good flavor. Your entire family is sure to love it and ask for seconds!
Very filling - the chicken packs this dish with protein, and you also get a great balance of carbs and fat that makes this meal incredibly filling.
Love hearty pasta dishes? Try my Baked Spaghetti Casserole!
Key Ingredients
Chicken - you will want to use boneless and skinless chicken for this recipe. If you do not like the flavor of chicken breasts, however, you could use chicken thighs instead. If you choose bone in chicken, you'll need to adjust your cooking time.
Cream Cheese - adds creamy, rich texture to the dish. I use regular, but low fat may be substituted. I don’t recommend fat free, but if you cook with it and like it, then it should be fine.
Parmesan - the parmesan in this dish packs a punch of cheesy flavor that you will not want to miss. You can use freshly shredded or store-bought grated parmesan cheese for this recipe.
Buffalo Wild Wings Parmesan Garlic Sauce - this sauce gives your dish the most flavor, so you do not want to leave this out. However, if you cannot find this sauce at your local grocery store, you should be able to find it online. You can also use a generic brand of parmesan garlic sauce if needed.
Instructions
Always start with clean hands, work area, and kitchen utensils.
Step One: Season chicken with kosher salt and fresh pepper. Place in the bottom of a crockpot or slow cooker. Pour the entire bottle of parmesan garlic sauce over the chicken.
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken.
Step Two: Add milk to the empty bottle and shake. Pour milk and sauce mixture over the chicken. Add cream cheese and parmesan cheese to the crockpot. Stir to combine and cover chicken with sauce.
Pour milk over chicken. Add cubed cream cheese. Add shredded parmesan. Stir to cover chicken.
Step Three: Cook on high for 2 to 3 hours or low for 3 to 4 hours. Remove cooked chicken to a plate or cutting board and shred using 2 forks or dice into bite-sized pieces. Add back into the slow cooker.
Step Four: Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well and add to the crockpot, stirring to combine well.
Shed cooked chicken. Add cooked pasta to crockpot and stir well.
Top tips
- Use 1%, 2%, or whole milk. You can also try almond or oat milk if that's preferred.
- Low-fat cream cheese can be substituted for less fat and calories.
- Using 12 ounces of pasta will give you a saucier dish. Using 16 ounces will be less saucy.
Helpful tools and equipment
I made this recipe in this Crockpot brand slow cooker.
I always use the Oxo meat thermometer to check the temperature of my meat.
If you can’t find Buffalo Wild Wing sauce in the grocery store, you can buy it online here.
How to serve crockpot garlic parmesan chicken pasta
You can serve the chicken pieces whole if you prefer rather than cutting or shredding.
Use your favorite pasta. I love rotini, bow ties, or penne, but spaghetti will also work.
Pouring the sauce directly over the whole chicken breasts instead of pasta is also an option if you are on a low-carb diet.
Variations
- Vegetarian: skip the chicken and add your favorite vegetables like mushrooms, broccoli, or cauliflower. Cook until vegetables are fork tender.
- Low carb and keto: skip the pasta and serve over roasted or steamed vegetables. You can also try Shiratake or Miracle Noodles if you like.
- Don’t want pasta? Try this over mashed potatoes or rice.
Storage and reheating
Store your leftover garlic parmesan chicken pasta in a shallow airtight container or a heavy-duty freezer bag for up to 5 days.
You can freeze your pasta dish in an airtight container or freezer bag safely for up to 3 months.
To reheat from refrigerated: you can reheat your garlic parmesan chicken pasta in the oven at 375 degrees F in an oven-safe baking dish. Just make sure to add a bit of water, milk or cream (or extra sauce if you have another bottle) before cooking and cover the dish with aluminum foil. Use 10-minute intervals until the pasta is heated through.
You can also reheat individual servings of the pasta in a microwave-safe dish for about 2 minutes. Stir and add another minute if needed to heat through.
To reheat from frozen: If your pasta is completely frozen, you can heat it in your oven at 375 degrees F in an oven-safe container covered with aluminum foil. You will want to bake it for about 1 hour or until it reaches 165 degrees F.
Most asked questions
Yes, you can! It will just take a bit longer than it would to boil it on the stove. You also need to make sure that you have enough liquid to completely cover the pasta and stir it often to prevent sticking. However, adding dry pasta to your crockpot for this chicken pasta recipe is not recommended.
Definitely, you can! When cooking raw chicken in the slow cooker, you will want to cook it on low for about 4-6 hours alone.
Just make sure never to cook frozen chicken in your slow cooker on low as it will not reach the proper temp in a safe amount of time.
Need more dinner ideas? Try my Brazilian Chicken Stroganoff, Air Fryer Meatballs, or this Kielbasa and Sauerkraut.
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Crockpot Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 (12 oz) bottle Buffalo Wild Wings Parmesan Garlic Sauce
- 1.5 to 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts trimmed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper freshy cracked
- 1 cup milk
- 8 oz cream cheese cut into cubes
- ¼ cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese
- 12 to 16 oz pasta your favorite
Instructions
- Season chicken with kosher salt and fresh pepper. Place in the bottom of a crockpot or slow cooker.
- Pour entire bottle of parmesan garlic sauce over the chicken.
- Add milk to the empty bottle and shake. Pour milk and sauce mixture over the chicken.
- Add cream cheese and parmesan cheese to crockpot. Stir to combine and cover chicken with sauce.
- Cook on high for 2 to 3 hours or low for 3 to 4 hours.
- Remove cooked chicken to a plate or cutting board and shred using 2 forks or dice into bite sized pieces. Add back into slow cooker.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well and add to crockpot, stirring to combine well.
Notes
Low fat cream cheese can be substituted. Using 12 ounces of pasta will give you a saucier dish. Using 16 ounces will be less saucy.
Use your favorite pasta- I love rotini, bow ties, or penne, but spaghetti will also work. Adapted from this recipe.
Leah
Could you add brocolli? If so. At what point? Please email me!
Nikole
Hi Leah, I would give fresh broccoli florets about 45 minutes to an hour on high to cook, so add it in to allow for that amount of time. You can steam broccoli (just a couple minutes in the microwave, covered with a little water) and stir it into the crockpot mixture (drain any excess water) right before serving.
Kelli
So the chicken should be thawed then?
Nikole
Hi Kelli- Yes, I used fresh chicken breasts, not frozen.