This Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Soup with Pasta and Spinach is big on flavor. It has a smooth, velvety texture that is hearty and robust, and will leave everyone asking for seconds. Packed with vegetables, it's the perfect dish for a cold day or when you're feeling under the weather. It can be made in advance and refrigerated, so dinner is ready to go when you need it! This creamy soup doesn't require any pre-cooking of ingredients ahead of time; all you have to do is toss everything into your crockpot before work and come home hours later to a hot meal waiting for you!
Making soup in my slow cooker is one of my favorite things to do. Especially on a day like today when I woke up to an early spring snowstorm with 3 inches of fresh snow covering everything in a white blanket.
This creamy chicken and pasta soup is so quick and easy to prepare. Very little prep is involved, which is perfect for a busy day.
I love that I can come into the house and supper is nearly ready. Plus, this soup is fairly healthy with fresh vegetables in a hearty broth. The flavor is so good in this soup, and it's even better the next day.
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💗 Why this recipe works
- Quick prep time of only 15 minutes.
- You will love the tender chicken in this fantastic recipe.
- This hearty soup is full of healthy veggies.
- It has so much flavor. Everyone will think you spent hours in the kitchen!
- This is the ultimate comfort food on a chilly day.
- You will love the creamy broth.
🥘 Ingredient notes and substitutions
This recipe can easily be made with ingredients you likely already have on hand. If not, pick them up at your local grocery store.
- Chicken breasts, sliced in half. I used skinless chicken breast. You can also use rotisserie chicken, leftover turkey, or leftover chicken from smoked chicken breasts, air fryer chicken, or instant pot chicken.
- Chicken broth. I used homemade chicken stock, but you can use any kind of stock, including chicken bone broth.
- Carrots, diced.
- Onion, diced. I used yellow onions, but any kind will work.
- Garlic cloves, chopped.
- Italian seasoning.
- Garlic powder.
- Parsley.
- Seasoning salt.
- Black pepper.
- Large shell pasta. You can also use any pasta of your choice. The best kind of pasta is small pasta that cooks quickly.
- Half and half cream.
- Cornstarch
- Spinach, fresh or frozen. I used fresh baby spinach.
- Parmesan cheese. You can also add in some mild cheddar cheese, or add in extra parmesan cheese if you like it cheezy.
🔪 Instructions
Carefully cut chicken breasts in half so that they are not as thick. Place them in the slow cooker.
Add the diced onion on top of the chicken.
Add diced carrot on top of the onion,
Next, add the remaining ingredients of chopped garlic, chicken stock, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, parsley, seasoning salt, and pepper.
Put the lid on and set it on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 6-8 hours.
Remove chicken from the slow cooker and shred using 2 forks, or shred it right in the slow cooker. The chicken will be so tender it will easily break apart.
Return the shredded chicken to the pot. Add in uncooked pasta shells and fresh spinach.
Mix together cream and cornstarch. Pour into slow cooker. Mix the soup well. Put the lid back on.
Turn the slow cooker to high, and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes.
Stir in parmesan cheese and serve!
Enjoy!
Storage
- Let the soup cool down to room temperature, then immediately put it in an appropriate container with a tight-fitting lid. Do not let the soup sit out for longer than 2 hours at room temperature though, otherwise, you run the risk of bacteria growth.
- This soup will last in the fridge in a covered container for 3 days. If you didn't add any milk, it would last for 4 days.
- You can place soup in a container with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just make sure you leave some headspace as the soup will expand slightly in size when it freezes.
📖 Variations
- Vegetarian: Skip the chicken and add extra vegetables such as zucchini, peas, celery, or add in chickpeas, or black beans.
- Dairy-free: Skip the parmesan cheese and cream. It will still be delicious without it.
- Gluten-Free: Use gluten-free pasta.
- Low-carb: Use zucchini noodles or sweet potato noodles. Add near the end of cooking time.
- Low sodium: Use less seasoning salt and use low-sodium chicken broth, or make your own healthy broth.
🥣 Equipment
This creamy chicken pasta soup is made in the crockpot, but you could also make it on the stove in a large dutch oven.
To make this soup on the stove:
- Dice chicken breasts into small pieces and brown them in a little bit of olive oil over medium-high heat.
- Add onion, garlic, and carrots and saute, stirring frequently.
- When the chicken is no longer pink, add the chicken broth and the seasonings. Simmer until the vegetables are tender.
- Meanwhile, cook pasta in a separate pot.
- Drain the pasta and add to the soup in the pot. Add spinach.
- Whisk together the cream and cornstarch. Add to the soup to thicken.
- Add the parmesan cheese and serve!
💭 Top tips
- For a thinner chicken pasta soup, simply add more chicken broth to thin it out.
- Some pasta is very starchy, and when it is added to the soup uncooked, it may have a starchy taste. To avoid this, cook the pasta on the stove as you normally would, drain the water, and add the cooked pasta to the slow cooker just before serving.
- You can use heavy cream for a richer-tasting soup, but to reduce calories I use half-and-half (10%) or coffee cream (18%) instead of whipping cream (35%). If you add regular milk to the hot soup, it might curdle.
❓ FAQ
Soup is easy to reheat on the stove or in the microwave. I don't own a microwave (I'm afraid of the waves) so I always reheat in a pot on the stove. Just take out the amount you want to eat and place it in a pot and reheat. Never, ever reheat soup more than once. That is when bacteria can develop.
When heating up soup that contains meat, you should bring it to a boil and let it boil for 3 minutes to kill any bacteria that might be in it. Better safe than sorry.
If the soup is frozen, place it in the fridge to defrost, or in the microwave to defrost. Alternatively, you can place the soup that is still partially frozen in a pot and reheat it very slowly on the stove. You don't have to wait for the whole thing to defrost before you start to reheat it.
Some of our favorites are Homemade Whole Wheat Bread, Air Buns, garden salad, baking powder biscuits, saltine crackers, and breadsticks.
If you've tried making this Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Soup with Pasta and Spinach, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it.
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📋 Recipe
Easy Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Soup with Pasta and Spinach
Equipment
- Slow cooker
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts sliced in half
- 7 cups chicken broth
- 4 medium carrots
- 1 onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 teaspoon Italiano seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon parsley
- ¾ teaspoon seasoning salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 500 grams Large shell pasta or pasta of your choice
- 1 cup spinach fresh or frozen
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 1½ cups light cream 10% or 18%
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Carefully cut chicken breasts in half so that that they are not as thick. Place them in the slow cooker.
- Next, add in diced onion, diced carrot, chopped garlic, chicken broth, Italiano seasoning, garlic powder, parsley, seasoning salt, and pepper. Put the lid on and set it on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 6-8 hours.
- Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred using 2 forks, or shred it right in the slow cooker. The chicken will be so tender it will easily break apart.
- Add in uncooked pasta shells and spinach. Mix together cream and cornstarch. Pour into slow cooker. Mix it well.
- Put the lid back on. Turn the slow cooker to high, and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes.
- Stir in parmesan cheese just before serving!
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Fridge: Let the soup cool down to room temperature, then immediately put it in an airtight container. This soup will last in the fridge for 3 days.
- Freezer: This soup will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just make sure you leave some headspace as the soup will expand slightly in size when it freezes.
- For a thinner chicken pasta soup, simply add more chicken broth to thin it out.
- Some pasta is very starchy, and when it is added to the soup uncooked, it may have a starchy taste. To avoid this, cook the pasta on the stove as you normally would, drain the water, and add the cooked pasta to the slow cooker just before serving.
- You can use heavy cream for a richer-tasting soup, but to reduce calories I use half-and-half (10%) or coffee cream (18%) instead of whipping cream (35%). If you add regular milk to the hot soup, it might curdle.
Kristina
My family enjoyed this soup and asked for it again already. I love slow cooker recipes like this, where I can truly leave it for the entire time.
Jeri
I'm so glad you liked it! I love slow cooker recipes too!
Serena
I'm such a fan of slow cooker soup recipes. So great for busy weeknight meals.
Jeri
I agree! They sure make cooking easier.
Andréa Janssen
We loved this recipe. It's so easy to prepare and the slow cooker does all the work. It was really delicious!
Jeri
I'm so glad you liked it!