If you are a fan of all things cheesy and creamy then this is for you! A delicious dinner idea for Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta.
This is a super decadent rich dinner idea, such lovely flavours, the ultimate comforting dish. Utilizing your slow cooker to create creamy fall apart soft chicken and a creamy pesto sauce.
There are a few steps to making this but all of them super easy so it still maintains the easy nature of a slow cooker dinner. This recipe combines cream cheese, pesto, chicken and pasta to come up with a lovely pasta bake.
This is lovely served with some fresh sour cream and a side salad which helps cut through the richness. It would be a lovely dish to take to a pot luck dinner.
Cooking pasta in the slow cooker is often a worry, if cooked the wrong way it can often lead to it being mushy, the technique here avoids this by adding it near the end and only cooking until al dente.
The ingredients are as follows
(Please scroll down to the full printable recipe card for the full ingredients and method)
- Chicken Thighs or Breasts
- Basil Pesto
- Garlic
- Lemon
- Salt & Pepper
- Onion Powder
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Penne or Spiral Pasta
- Cream Cheese
- Chicken Stock
- Basil
- Spinach (optional)
The method is broken down into 3 easy steps, cooking the chicken, then cooking the pasta, then grilling the final dish to create a lovely golden brown pasta bake.
First step is to cook the chicken in the slow cooker, you can do this on HIGH or LOW depending on the time you have available.
You can use chicken thighs or breasts, either way you will want to cook until they are fall apart tender – in a combination of cream cheese, chicken stock, pesto, garlic, lemon zest and seasoning. This will take between 3-6 hours in the slow cooker.
Once the chicken is at the stage you can pull it apart, you will want to add more chicken stock and the pasta. The key here is to cook on high with the extra liquid until it the pasta is JUST cooked. Any longer and it will turn mushy as it will have further time in the oven.
Then the final step is to add a little more pesto, fresh basil or spinach if you have it on hand, some mozzarella and pop it into a baking dish, sprinkle with a little more mozzarella and grill until bubbling and golden brown.
Then serve with some sour cream and a side salad to help cut through the richness of this dish!
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta
Delicious, creamy and rich, this chicken pesto pasta dish is lovely and tender in the slow cooker
Ingredients
Step One
- 1 Kg of Chicken Thighs or Breasts, trimmed of visible fat, sliced into thick strips
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 100 grams Basil Pesto
- 3 Cloves Garlic, crushed
- 4 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest
- 170 grams Cream Cheese
- 1/2 Cup Chicken Stock, 125 mls
Step Two
- 350 grams Penne or Spiral Pasta, dry
- 1 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock, 375mls
Step Three
- 70 grams Basil Pesto
- 130 grams Mozzarella (split)
- 10 fresh basil leaves, finely sliced
Optional
- Large Handful of Spinach
Instructions
- Step One
- Prepare the slow cooker and set aside
- Trim the chicken of visible fat and cut into thick strips
- Add the chicken to the slow cooker and coat with the salt, pepper and onion powder and stir to coat
- Add to this the first measure of pesto, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, dollop spoonful's of cream cheese and chicken stock and mix well
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 6, stirring a few times to disperse cream cheese, until the chicken is fall apart tender
- Step Two
- Use two forks to tear apart the chicken a little into more bite sized pieces
- Heat the chicken stock in the microwave until it is warmed through.
- Add the dry pasta and the second measure of warm chicken stock and stir through
- Cook this in the slow cooker on HIGH with the lid on for 30-40 minutes until the pasta is JUST al dente, just cooked.
- Step Three
- Turn on the Grill in your oven to HIGH and get a prepare a large casserole or baking dish
- Turn off the slow cooker, add the second measure of pesto and HALF the mozzarella and fresh basil (and spinach if using) and stir this through the chicken pasta
- Spoon this into the baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella
- Pop the dish in the oven and grill until it is bubbling and golden brown, approx 10 minutes
- Remove and allow to rest for 5 minutes
- Serve with a side salad and a dollop of sour cream
- Enjoy!
Notes
What is Basil Pesto
This is a premade spread or dip that comprises of basil, garlic, pinenuts and parmesan cheese.
How do I stop my Pasta from becoming mushy in the slow cooker?
The key is to use warm chicken stock so the temperature of the slow cooker does not reduce and to cook on high until just cooked.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 848Total Fat: 55gSaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 33gCholesterol: 269mgSodium: 1167mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 57g
JustAMumNZ.com, occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although justamumnz.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
I cannot wait to hear what you think of this lovely decadent dinner idea, be sure to let me know what you think in the comments below
If you are a fan of creamy chicken dishes – check this one out my Creamy Garlic Bacon Chicken recipe HERE
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Happy Baking
Anna
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