How to Make Creamy, Zesty Olive Garden Chicken Pasta in the Crockpot (2024)

A delicious crockpot chicken pasta recipe the whole family will love, today’s Crockpot Olive Garden Chicken Pasta is a creamy, zesty and filling meal that you can just set and forget – the epitome of easy crockpot meals!

Crockpot Chicken with Italian Dressing Recipe

Using Italian dressing as an easy chicken marinade is nothing new, but this creamy, zesty and filling crockpot chicken pasta with Italian dressing is a fun twist on that easy classic.

This Olive Garden Chicken Pasta Crockpot recipe (say that 3x fast) is a huge trend on Tiktok right now. I’m not a huge fan of the platform and I’m not creating any videos on there, but I have a few friends that send me recipes or funny videos – and this crockpot Italian chicken pasta has been sent to me easily six or seven times in the last two weeks, but none of the videos contained clear cooking instructions or measurements.

What I LOVE about the majority of the videos that were sent to me was that they were made by people who are really new to cooking, and for that reason, it’s a great meal to have your kids help you make – or you can guide them in preparing it independently! They will be so proud to serve up their creation to the rest of the family – or show it off to friends.

They key to this recipe is using an Italian salad dressing that you love, since it will provide the majority of the flavor profile for this dish. You can also swap out the Italian dressing for a Russian dressing, Greek dressing, or other favorite salad dressing. The first time I made this, I used an Italian salad dressing that I wasn’t a huge fan of, so naturally, I wasn’t a huge fan of the pasta! The second time, I used one I liked better and found the crockpot Italian chicken pasta much tastier! Most of the videos circulating right now use the Olive Garden Italian Dressing – hence the nickname this dish has adopted.

How do I stop chicken from drying out in the crockpot? Another wonderful aspect of this recipe is that the Italian dressing keeps the chicken moist and tender through the cooking process. Also, since we are keeping the chicken breasts intact and not cutting them up before cooking, the chicken’s natural juices remain in the chicken until you go to shred them up.

To freeze this recipe: prepare fully until the point of adding pasta (pasta can become mushy if frozen).

I’ve made this easy Olive Garden Crockpot Chicken Pasta a few times now for my daughter who just loves it. Sometimes I mix in pasta as a treat, sometimes I use the chicken mixture for sandwiches or veggie dips. It pairs well with so many side dishes. You can also add in some fresh or frozen veggies during the last 20 minutes of cooking.

Can I make Olive Garden Italian Chicken Pasta in the Instant Pot? Yes! This recipe can be cooked for 12 minutes in the Instant Pot and then naturally released before shredding the chicken and stirring in the pasta. (I’ve included those instructions in the recipe card below.)

What to Serve with this Olive Garden Chicken Pasta Crockpot Recipe

• Green Salad
• Pull-Apart Garlic Bread
• Steamed or Roasted Veggies
• Skip the pasta and serve over rice, cauliflower rice or mashed potatoes
• Creamy Cucumber Avocado Salad

Check out our quick recipe video to see how easy this Crockpot Italian Chicken Pasta recipe is to make – and then don’t forget to scroll down to grab your free printable recipe card:

Crockpot Italian Chicken Pasta Ingredients

• Chicken Breasts
• Italian Seasoning <– grab our recipe for homemade Italian seasoning here
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• Italian Dressing
• Cream Cheese
• Parmesan Cheese, plus more for serving
• Cooked Pasta

Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.

Tip: for a saucier chicken, you can add some cream of chicken soup to the crockpot before cooking. For a bit more heat, serve with some crushed red chile pepper flakes.

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

• Crockpot <–This is the crockpot that I use the most often (and is the one seen in the pictures and video on this post) – it has a thermoshield which not only prevents little fingers from being burned if the kids touch the outside of the crockpot, but it’s also great for bringing along to potlucks. I also like that I can set the cook time on it, so if we end up taking too long playing outside (or running errands) I don’t have to worry about the food burning.
• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Wooden spoon or spatula <– I like these spatulas because they are one solid piece and don’t have removable heads for bacteria to get trapped underneath. Plus they are heat-resistant and have a lifetime warranty
• Meat Shredders

How to Make Olive Garden Chicken Pasta in the Crockpot

Place chicken breasts in crockpot.

Season to taste with Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

Pour in the Italian Dressing, then top with cream cheese and Parmesan cheese.

Place lid on crockpot and cook for 4 hours on high.

Cook the pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, shred the chicken with two forks.

Drain but do not rinse the pasta. Add to the crockpot and stir well to combine.

Pin this Easy Crockpot Meal for those nights when you need something super simple and not time consuming:

Grab your free printable recipe card for our Crockpot Olive Garden Chicken Pasta recipe:

I hope your family loves this easy Crockpot Olive Garden Chicken Pasta – it’s one of Ella’s absolute favorites!

For more ways to enjoy chicken, check out our full chicken recipe collection here:

For more perfect pastas, check out our full pasta recipe collection here:

For more ways to use your crockpot, check out our full crockpot recipe collection here: