This slow cooker creamy chicken and pasta soup has HUGE flavor. It has a smooth, velvety texture that is hearty, 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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🥘 Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts, sliced in half
- 7 cups of chicken broth
- 4 medium carrots, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoon Italiano seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon parsley
- ¾ teaspoon seasoning salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- 500 g of large shell pasta (or pasta of your choice)
- 1.5 cups of cream (half and half)
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup of spinach, fresh or frozen
- 1 cup of mushrooms (optional)
- ½ cup of parmesan cheese
🔪 Instructions
- Carefully cut chicken breasts in half so that they are not as thick. Place them in the slow cooker.
- Next, add 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 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.
- Add in uncooked pasta shells and spinach and mushrooms (optional).
- 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 and serve!
- Enjoy!
📖 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 salt: Use less seasoning salt, and use reduced-salt chicken broth or make your own healthy broth.
💭 Top tips
- If soup is too thick, simply add in 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, simply 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 whipping 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.
- Let 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.
FAQ section
Let 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.
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 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 Soft And Light Homemade Whole Wheat Bread, Grandma's Old Fashioned Homemade Air Buns, garden salad, baking powder biscuits, saltine crackers, and breadsticks.
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📋 Recipe
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Pasta Soup
Equipment
- Hamilton Beach 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
- 1½ cups light cream 10% or 18%
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup spinach fresh or frozen
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 cup mushrooms sliced
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 and mushrooms (optional). 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 and serve!
- Stir in parmesan cheese just before serving!
- Enjoy!
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!