Craving a comforting meal that the whole family will love, that practically makes itself? This crockpot crack chicken pasta is loaded with bold, delicious flavors, is creamy, hits all those comfort food notes, and is made entirely in the slow cooker! Kids love it, and the leftovers are great for lunch!
Looking for other great weeknight meals? You definitely have to try out my One Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta, Crockpot Meatloaf, and Homemade Sloppy Joes!
CROCKPOT CRACK CHICKEN PASTA
This is it. The week the kids go back to school! The week I can stop hearing them bicker 24/7 and complain about being bored, while also managing to drag every. single. toy. out of the playroom and ask for snacks every 5 minutes. Parents – you feel me?
But with the magical back-to-school time comes the return of the schedule and the need for quick, easy, kid-approved meals. I’ve got ya covered! This Crockpot Crack Chicken Pasta is every one of those things, and I’m telling you, your kids won’t be the only ones going back for seconds.
CRACK CHICKEN
THE NAME
I know, I’m not a huge fan of things being named “crack”, but I didn’t come up with this name. “Crack” refers to the combination of cheese, ranch, and bacon. Crack chicken became huge in the low-carb and keto circles, and now it’s a full-blown viral sensation.
THE PASTA
Basically this recipe is a version of crack chicken, with additional liquid added to allow the pasta to cook right in the slow cooker with the chicken. This makes the pasta incredibly flavorful, not to mention, less dishes to clean!
HOW TO MAKE CRACK CHICKEN PASTA
- Cook the chicken first. Shred and add back to the slow cooker.
- Add in the cream cheese, ranch dressing mix, shredded cheese, additional liquid, pasta, and let cook until the pasta is tender.
- Top with more cheese, bacon and green onions.
It almost sounds too good to be true, but it really is that easy!
INSTANT POT/PRESSURE COOKER
I know many of you would rather cook in your Instant Pot than in your slow cooker, so the answer is yes, you can cook this in a pressure cooker. There will need to be a few alterations, which is why I’ve detailed everything right below the recipe at the end of this post.
ALTERNATE VERSIONS
- Add a 4 oz can of diced green chiles (well-drained) or 4 oz can of diced jalapenos (also well-drained).
- Add some extra types of cheeses… pepper jack and colby jack are my favorites!
- Add a cup or two of frozen peas when you add in the pasta.
- Try using leftover turkey (like from a holiday) instead of the chicken.
- Chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts.
- Use more chicken broth instead of water when adding the pasta.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CROCKPOT CRACK CHICKEN PASTA
- Simple Sheet Pan Roasted Carrots
- Cheesy Roasted Broccoli
- Garlic Roasted Mushrooms
- Simple green salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
Okay guys, you know I don’t like to ramble on about personal stuff in my recipes, but I feel like I owe you all an explanation of where I’ve been over the last month. Basically it was a combination of three things.
First, it’s summer, and we’re all pretty laid back and I’ve been in preparation mode for this coming Fall and Winter seasons. I have some FABULOUS recipes planned for you all!
Secondly, there was a Pinterest issue. Pinterest periodically decides to crack down on spam, and every time they do, a lot of good websites get inadvertently caught in their net. This has happened to many of my friends in this food blogging community, and unfortunately, this time was my turn.
During this time period you may have noticed that you couldn’t click through any pins to my website and you also weren’t able to pin from my website. Many of you reached out to let me know, and I truly appreciate it! After a grueling two weeks of back and forth with Pinterest, they released the block and all things are back to normal.
Thirdly, we’ve had some health issues come up in my family. It’s not me, but someone close to me, and I won’t go into detail as it’s not my story or information to share… but as I’m sure you can imagine, family comes first. Always.
But you know, you all are an extension of my family, and I’m back for you guys… for good!
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Ingredients
- 3 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth or stock
- 16 oz dried short-cut pasta (such as fusilli, penne, etc)
- 16 oz cream cheese
- 1 packet ranch dressing mix
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 1 cup water
- 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (or bacon bits if preferred)
- 2-3 green onions, chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in the bottom of slow cooker, add seasonings, chicken broth, cover and cook about 6-8 hours on LOW, until chicken is cooked through.
- Shred chicken, then add pasta, cream cheese, ranch dressing mix, 1 cup of the shredded cheese, and water. Stir well.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 20-30 minutes, until pasta is cooked.
- Top with bacon, remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese, and green onions. Turn slow cooker off, keep the cover on, and let sit a few minutes to let the cheese on top melt.
- Serve hot and enjoy.
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Chef Tips
INSTANT POT DIRECTIONS
** there will be additional ingredients needed **- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- only 12 oz cream cheese
- additional 1 cup of chicken broth
- additional 1 cup of water
- Preheat Instant Pot on “Sauté” setting; add oil, chicken, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and ranch packet, stirring to coat. Cook chicken 2–3 minutes.
- Add broth and water to pot, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to get all browned bits loosened. Add pasta. Close lid, lock pot, select “Manual” or "High Pressure Cook" setting and 4 minutes time. When time is up, perform a quick release and open Pot.
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Stir in cream cheese, cheddar cheese, green onions, and cooked bacon until combined. Let sit 5 minutes to thicken. Serve and enjoy.
Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Karen says
First recipe I’ve tried after finding this site. OMG! It was so good when I checked on the pasta that I didn’t even add the extra cheese to the top after! Just didn’t need it for my taste! I will make this over and over!
Antonette says
Do you cook the pasta first ‘before putting it in the crock pot?
Amanda says
No, it cooks in the crockpot.
Teresa says
Delicious!
Destiney says
Could I do the first part (cooking the chicken) on high instead of low? Sometimes I’m short on time, and I can’t start until after lunch.
Amanda says
Yes, that should work just fine 🙂
Natalie says
I am trying this with shredded cooked chicken I picked up from Meijer. Im curious to see how this turns out. I’m going to check the chicken in an hour with the broth, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. Idk how this is going to turn out. 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼😁
Katie Creek says
I want to make this for my family but I have 1 gluten free kid and a family that hates GF pasta. So I usually have to split my recipes up to accommodate everyone’s taste buds. If I take some of the chicken mix out of the slow cooker and add it to some GF pasta, can I finish baking that portion in the oven? Will it still work with the uncooked GF pasta in the oven?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain if that would work, but if I were you, I’d just boil some GF pasta and add the chicken to it, rather than trying to “boil” the pasta in the oven. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Donna says
Also for gluten free pasta I have found the Walmart store brand GF pasta is remarkable. No GF taste. Fools everyone in thinking it’s regular pasta. With this recipe you won’t tell the difference. Promise.
Angela Mower says
Welp. I added all dry seasonings with raw chicken including ranch. Doh!!! Finished reading steps and see i was to add later. Fingers crossed it turns out okay.
Sarah says
i am going to be using leftover Turkey from Thanksgiving. Since its already cooked, do I need to reduce the amount of water or broth?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain if you’d need to make those changes. I think you would want to keep them the same, so you have enough liquid to cook the pasta at the end though. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Rachelle R Hallo says
I cant wait to try this. Im gonna make it on monday. I think ill serve it with my homemade Garlic bread!! Ill leave a review afterwards.
Bunnye Tolster says
Amazing, delicious and so easy to make. It was wonderful as is, it I cut the amount of cream cheese down to 8 ounces total and it was even better. Thanks for sharing!
Frances says
At what stage do you shred the chicken when using an IP?
The Chunky Chef says
I would say after step 2, then add the shredded chicken back into the pot, before you add in the cream cheese and remaining ingredients.
Tagen says
This looks so good I wish we could buy ranch dressing mix in Australia! Any ideas for a substitution?
The Chunky Chef says
We like to use this recipe to make our own 🙂 https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a91701/homemade-ranch-seasoning-mix/
Jennifer Powell says
I’m in trouble. This is soooooo good. Comforting as all get out, delicious, and so filling. I found this recipe when I was searching for something to make for company coming to town and tonight was my trial run. Winner winner, chicken dinner! My crockpot took about an hour to cook the pasta until tender, which was no biggie. Can’t wait to make this again for my company. Amazing recipe, thanks for sharing!
Sandy says
I live in Australia and we are about to go into spring so I found your recipe and it was a big hit. The flavours we bold and beautiful. Thank you so much. Look forward to using more recipes from you.
Kimberly says
This sounds absolutely to die for, I can’t wait to try it!
Sandra says
This looks perfect any night of the week!
Taylor says
My family LOVES this dish! Seriously addicting!
Chrissie Baker says
Drool over the finish produch for a while. I definitely would try this out for my hubby. I am sure he would love it.
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
That cheese + ranch + bacon combo is IT! What a yummy dish – I’m sure I’d love it!
Sara Welch says
What a great recipe for busy weeknights! Adding this to my dinner line up for the week! Looks amazing!
Kim Seghers says
Yum! I love that you can make this pasta recipe in the crockpot! I’ll be making this recipe soon. Now that’s school started I need to get busy working again and recipes like this is one is perfect for me to throw in the crockpot!!