Angel chicken pasta is a classic American slow cooker recipe. Minimal effort, maximum flavor. Just add the ingredients to your crock pot and come home to fork tender chicken simmered in a slow cooker with a creamy sauce made with cream cheese, white wine, and herbs served over angel hair pasta.
My kids' eyes light up when they see Angel Chicken Pasta on the dinner table.
If you grew up in America in the 80s and 90s, there's a strong chance you have fond nostalgic feelings for this family favorite. It was popularized during the wave of convenience cooking at that time with the original versions calling for dry Italian dressing mix, cream cheese, and canned cream of chicken soup.
My recipe adheres to the convenience factor for an easy weeknight meal, but also substitutes in a few more fresh ingredients along with taking the flavor profile up a notch.
Why I Love This Easy Recipe
- It makes enough for two dinners for our family of four and makes great leftovers. Inevitably there's at least a night (or two) a week when I don't want to cook a meal and rely on leftovers. We call it an MYO (Make Your Own) night where we all raid the fridge and heat up what we each want to eat. If there's Angel Chicken Pasta in the fridge, that's the first thing my boys will grab to reheat.
- It's literally a dump-and-go recipe. No needing to sear meat, chop a bunch of vegetables or doing anything other than to put everything into your crock pot. The only steps that take a minute or two are mincing the garlic and mixing together the sauce ingredients.
- It's customizable. You can add vegetables like mushrooms, peas or spinach if you want a few more vitamins and minerals in your meal. Or switch up the type of soup. I personally like cream of mushroom soup, but golden mushroom soup, cream of chicken or cream of celery would work great, too!
How to Make Slow Cooker Angel Chicken Pasta
- Place your boneless chicken breasts in the slow cooker or an Instant Pot with a slow cooker setting.
- In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, butter, cream of mushroom soup, garlic, white wine, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, granulated garlic, and salt and mix it together either with a spatula or a hand mixer. I find the hand mixer makes the job go faster, beating everything together quickly until it's smooth.
- Pour the cream sauce over the chicken and put the lid on the slow cooker. Then set the cooking time for 6 - 7 hours on the 'low' temperature setting or for 3 - 4 hours on the 'high' setting.
- Once the chicken is tender enough to be shredded, use the back of a spoon or a spatula or tongs to break up the chicken pieces into chunks of chicken and stir up the sauce so everything's nice and combined.
- Serve the chicken and sauce over a bed of angel hair pasta and garnish with chives and red pepper flakes if you like. Fresh parsley would be another great option for garnish.
What to Serve with Slow Cooker Angel Chicken Pasta
The flavor profile for this dish it Italian American, so an Italian Salad or Caesar Salad pairs nicely. Or go for other green veggies like peas, asparagus or green beans.
Last week when I made this, I served it alongside my homemade Sourdough Breadsticks which I highly recommend. Or serve it with my Sourdough Discard Focaccia bread seen in the photos.
More Favorite Crock Pot Recipes
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Easy Slow Cooker Angel Chicken Pasta
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 6 hrs
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 8 servings
- Category: entree
- Method: slow cooker
- Cuisine: American
Description
Come home to fork tender chicken simmered in a creamy sauce made with cream cheese, white wine, and herbs served over a bed of angel hair pasta.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast (3-4 large chicken breasts)
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2 Tbs butter
- 1 (10 oz) can cream of mushroom soup
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup white wine (pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc)
- ½ cup chicken broth or water
- 1 Tbs Italian seasoning*
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 10 oz angel hair pasta, cooked and drained
- chives *optional
- red pepper flakes *optional
Instructions
- Add 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts to the bowl of a slow cooker or an Instant Pot with a slow cooker setting.
- In a medium bowl combine 8 oz cream cheese, 2 Tbs butter, 1 10 oz can of cream of mushroom soup, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 cup white wine, ½ cup chicken broth, 1 Tbs Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon granulated garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt and mix together with a spatula or a hand mixer until fully combined and mostly smooth. It might have some lumps and that's totally okay.
- Pour the creamy sauce mixture over the chicken and cover the slow cooker with the lid.
- Cook on low for 6 to 7 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours. If using an Instant Pot, use the slow cooker setting.
- Once the cooking is done, take off the lid and using a fork, tongs or spatula, stir the sauce and break up the chicken into chunks.
- Cook the pasta according to its package directions.
- Serve the chicken and sauce over the pasta and garnish with red pepper flakes or minced chives.
Notes
We're using Italian seasoning, not Italian Salad Dressing Mix. Italian seasoning can be found with other spices and typically includes some combination of dried basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, and rosemary.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 447
- Sugar: 2.3 g
- Sodium: 571 mg
- Fat: 18.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 31.8 g
- Fiber: 1.7 g
- Protein: 32.6 g
- Cholesterol: 119.3 mg
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