This delicious chicken Parm pasta practically cooks itself in the slow cooker

Robin Donovan

Recipe Developer

Chicken Parm is a family favorite in many an Italian family, and plenty of non-Italian families, too. The simple combination of tender chicken breasts with sweet-savory tomato sauce, rich cheese and a crunchy bread crumb coating is deeply satisfying and totally crave-worthy. This easy-to-make slow cooker version will likely become a fast favorite in your house.

Traditional chicken Parmesan recipes involve dredging chicken breasts in flour, dunking them in egg, and coating them in bread crumbs before deep frying them. Next, the crispy chicken breasts are topped with cheese and tomato sauce and baked until the cheese melts and the sauce is bubbly. The whole thing is then served over cooked pasta. The slow cooker version here takes a big shortcut by dicing the chicken and cooking the chicken, pasta, sauce and cheese together. Toasting the bread crumbs separately and using them as a garnish provides the textural variation we love in chicken Parm without all the trouble of coating and deep frying.

Cooktop Cove

Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Pasta

10 minutes

3 hours and 45 minutes

3 hours and 55 minutes

1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

¾ cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided

12 ounces uncooked pasta

½ cup fresh bread crumbs tossed with 1 tablespoon melted butter and toasted until crunchy

In the slow cooker, combine half of the crushed tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning and salt. Add the chicken and sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella and ½ cup of the Parmesan over it. Pour the remainder of the crushed tomatoes over the top.

Cover the pot and cook for 3 hours on high or for 6 hours on low.

Remove the lid and add the pasta, stirring to mix. Cover the pot again and cook on high for about 45 minutes more, until the pasta is al dente.

Serve the pasta with the chicken and sauce spooned over the top. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses and the toasted breadcrumbs on top and serve immediately.

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