Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti
Our easy Crockpot chicken spaghetti with Velveeta recipe is a kid favorite meal!! Made with cream of chicken soup, cream cheese and a can of Rotel gives you a hint of spicy that is enough to make you want seconds and thirds!!
Years ago we created this creamy Instant Pot Chicken Spaghetti recipe that our family loved. We didn't think about making it any other way until we was on a slow cooker kick and wanted to figure out how to make it that way too. It was beyond delish!
Ok so everyone has made the “normal version” of this Italian meal with a jar of sauce and no real cheesiness to speak of. This takes that meal to a whole new level where even the pickiest of kids will ask for seconds…..
As always we like to mix and match ingredients when we are developing Crockpot recipes and this is no exception. We will provide substitutions below with our favorite rendition in the recipe card below. We can't wait for y'all to try this one.
Now let's talk about the main protein we used for a hot second first shall we? You can use all the things. We have made this with boneless skinless breasts (seen here), thighs and diced up rotisserie chicken. The cook time and/or directions don't change no matter which you choose.
Ingredient notes
We find that we use medium sized organic (free range preferred for the best texture) chicken breasts the most often to make this dish.
To make the sauce creamy you want a can of cream of chicken soupsome softened cream cheese (don't buy low-fat, we aren't counting calories here) as well as some cubed Velveeta.
You can use canned diced tomatoes with chiles but we find that Rotel has a bit more flavor and less juices so it keeps the sauce thick. You can make homemade Rotel this way if you want to start from scratch.
Your milk should be whole or 2% ideally to keep it creamier and as thick as possible. Dairy free alternatives work too, we suggest plain cashew milk for that once again because it is the thickest.
For the noodles you could use any style, shape or size you want. The most traditional would be long spaghetti noodles but anything goes. If you have kids we would use penne as they are easier to eat which means less mess.
And then there comes the seasonings; we use Italian seasonings, onion powder, garlic powder and some salt.
Do you need to boil the noodles?
Yes, we have tried cooking them in the sauce and the texture isn't great. You would need to add more moisture to submerge them and they stick together coming out in kinda' a clumpy mess. Instead your best bet is to boil them in water separately until they are al dente, drain, and fold together at the end.
How Long to Cook Chicken Spaghetti in Crockpot
You are going to want 3.5-4 hours on low to get the meat tender enough to shred easily with 2 forks (or dice into bite size pieces). The cook time will vary depending on the size and thickness of your pieces though. A bit longer is better in our opinion because we like every bite as tender as possible so it falls apart in our mouth.
Can you cook this on high?
We mean technically we guess you could but it is not recommended. We mean the whole point of a slooooooooow cooker is in it's name y'all. Rushing it doesn't make the meat as tender and the cheese can begin to curdle a bit when it is under extreme heat so don't.
We haven't tried this yet as an alternative version to our baked spaghetti and meatballs recipe but that is next. We typically serve this as is but if you wanted a side we might go with some rolls or a side salad maybe.
Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti Recipe
By Our easy Crockpot chicken spaghetti with Velveeta and Rotel is a kid favorite meal that is creamy with a touch of spicy, you'll love it. Prep: 19 minutes minsCook: 4 hours hrsServings: 6 Save Recipe Saved! Pin Recipe Comment Print Recipe
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 can cream of chicken soup, alternatives; cream of mushroom or cream of chicken with herbs
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 1 can Rotel10 oz, or use diced tomatoes with chiles
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened, cubed
- 4 oz Velveeta, cubed
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5-2 lbs chicken breastsboneless skinless, medium size
- 1.5 cups cheese, colby jack used, shredded
- 12 oz spaghetti noodles, boiled separately, drained
Instructions
- Add cream of chicken soup, milk, rotel, cubed cream cheese, cubed Velveeta and spices into a 6 quart slow cooker and mix well.
- Add chicken breasts to the slow cooker and press into the liquid. Cover and heat on low for 3 1/2 – 4 hours or until they are so tender they shred easily with 2 forks. Remove chicken and set aside.
- Stir mixture and add shredded cheese to the top. Cover and turn off slow cooker. Slice chicken into cubes (or shred) and return to slow cooker.
- In a pot boil noodles until they are al dente, drain when done and add into pot. Fold together so they are coated with the creamy sauce and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
