slow cooke olive garden chicken pasta
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Olive Garden Chicken Pasta is the easiest crockpot meal with chicken! Classic Olive Garden flavors in this crockpot chicken make it the perfect topping for a big bowl of pasta.
A viral video on Tiktok showed us this recipe last year. I love how that happens! Tender chicken is cooked low and slow with delicious Olive Garden Italian Dressing and creamy cheeses, creating the perfect pasta sauce. I’ve added my own tweaks to share this recipe with you, and I know you’ll love how simple it is to make this crockpot chicken pasta.
Like most crockpot meals with chicken, this recipe requires very little hands-on time. Toss in all of the ingredients, let it cook for most of the day, then pull it out later, shred the chicken, and add in some cooked penne pasta.
If you’re an Olive Garden fan like I am, but want to enjoy their food at home, try my copycat recipes for Olive Garden Breadsticks, Chicken Scampi, Zuppa Toscana, and Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Olive Garden Salad Dressing: This stuff is amazing on a bowl of romaine, but when you add it to chicken and cream cheese it creates the most delicious pasta sauce. It’s tangy, savory, and garlicky. I love that you can find this dressing now at most grocery stores, including Walmart and Target.
- A New Chicken Recipe: It’s always fun to have a new and exciting way to cook plain old boneless, skinless chicken breasts. This recipe is different and so tasty. Your family will be thrilled to enjoy something new.
- Made in the Crockpot: I just love a good crockpot chicken meal. On the days that dinner is in the crockpot it almost feels like I get a break from cooking dinner since the cooking happens while I’m busy doing other things.
Key Ingredients
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts: Use 1 ½ pounds of chicken for this recipe. We’ll be shredding the meat after it’s cooked, so no need to chop or slice it up. Just toss them in whole with the other ingredients.
- Parmesan Cheese: I think that parmesan cheese is almost a requirement for any good Italian pasta dish. Here it adds flavor, depth, and creaminess.
- Cream Cheese: To make things even creamier, a block of cream cheese melts in with the chicken and dressing to create a thick, cheesy sauce.
- Pasta: I like to use penne pasta with this chicken recipe, but any short pasta will work. We will boil the pasta on the stove before adding it into the crockpot. You can also serve Olive Garden Chicken over rice or steamed vegetables.
How To Make Olive Garden Chicken Pasta In The Crock Pot
- Fill: Add the ingredients into the slow cooker. First place the chicken breasts in, then pour the entire bottle of Italian dressing over the chicken. Top with parmesan cheese, and place the cream cheese on top of that.
- Cook: Cover with the lid and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours. The chicken is ready when the internal temperature of the thickest part of the breast is 165°F/74°C, learn how to properly check the temperature of the chicken here.
- Cook Pasta: Just before the chicken is ready, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
- Shred: Once the chicken is cooked, shred it using two forks, being careful not to shred it too finely.
- Combine: Add the pasta to the chicken and sauce in the slow cooker, and stir gently to combine. Serve warm with breadsticks and a salad, just like at the Olive Garden!
Recipe Tips
Don’t over shred the chicken: You want there to be pieces of chicken with your pasta, so be careful not to shred the chicken so much that it disappears into the sauce.
Reduce the Fat: Make this recipe with Neufatchel cheese or low-fat cream cheese to make it a bit healthier. It won’t be quite as creamy this way though. I don’t recommend trying to cook this with fat-free cream cheese. You can also look for the light version of the Olive Garden dressing to save on calories.
Can’t find Olive Garden Salad Dressing? You can make my homemade Olive Garden Salad Dressing recipe, or use any Italian dressing you like instead. I suggest Kraft Zesty Italian or Tuscan Garden Italian from Aldi.
What To Serve With Crockpot Chicken Pasta
This Olive Garden style recipe just begs to be eaten with a Simple Side Salad. Use some additional Italian dressing, or try my Homemade Ranch Dressing. A Classic Caesar Salad would be amazing with this meal too.
Don’t forget to make some copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks, or some crispy, buttery Garlic Bread to soak up the extra sauce on your plate.
Stay on the Italian food theme for dessert, and serve some Ricotta Cookies or an Easy Tiramisu.
Does this taste like Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo?
The sauce with this chicken is rich, thick, and creamy like alfredo, but it’s more flavorful from the addition of Italian Dressing. It’s delicious! But, I do have a recipe if you want to learn to make the perfect alfredo sauce.
Can I make olive garden chicken pasta low carb?
Leave out the pasta and you have a low-carb olive garden chicken recipe. You can use cauliflower rice, low-carb noodles, or your favorite steamed vegetables in place of the penne pasta.
How do I store leftovers?
Store leftover Olive Garden Chicken Pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat using the microwave.
My pasta turned out too salty, help!
I received feedback from a few readers that their dish turned out a little too salty, that’s because they used OG’s store-bought salad dressing. It can be too salty for some people. So in this case, I recommend making your own homemade salad dressing and I have the recipe for you! All you need is just a few simple ingredients, and 5 minutes of your time to make it.
I think you’ll find that you get requests for this recipe often after you make it the first time. Olive Garden Chicken Pasta is so good!
Olive Garden Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts boneless and skinless
- 16 ounce Olive Garden Italian dressing I recommend homemade, click for recipe! Note 3
- ½ cup grated parmesan
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 16 ounces uncooked penne pasta
Instructions
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Add the ingredients into the slow cooker. First place the chicken breasts in, then pour the entire bottle of Italian dressing over the chicken. Top with parmesan cheese, and place the cream cheese on top of that.
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Cover with the lid and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours. The chicken is ready when the internal temperature of the thickest part of the breast is 165°F/74°C.
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Just before the chicken is ready, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.
-
Once the chicken is cooked, shred it using two forks, being careful not to shred it too finely.
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Add the pasta to the chicken and sauce in the slow cooker, and stir gently to combine. Serve warm with breadsticks and a salad.
Notes:
- Don’t over shred the chicken: You want there to be pieces of chicken with your pasta, so be careful not to shred the chicken so much that it disappears into the sauce.
- Storing. Store leftover Olive Garden Chicken Pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat using the microwave.
- Important tip: I received feedback from a few readers that their dish turned out a little too salty or too tangy, that’s because they used OG’s store-bought salad dressing. It can be too salty for some people, in this case, I recommend making your own homemade salad dressing and I have the recipe for you! All you need is just a few simple ingredients, and 5 minutes of your time to make it.
Nutrition Information
Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Pasta
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)
