Slow Cooker Chicken Spaghetti

🤍 Recipe Highlights

I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the slow cooker chicken spaghetti recipe in the points below:

• Everyday ingredients: everything you need to make the recipe can be sort from your local grocery store. They are year round simple ingredients that will be easy to get your hands on.
• Budget friendly: chicken mince is a budget friendly cut of meat that won't set you back too much money. The rest of the ingredients are pantry staples and you are likely to have some of them at home already!
• Family favorite: everyone from the young to young at heart will enjoy this classic spaghetti with a chicken twist. It is an easy meal to serve for the family dinner catering to a wide range of eaters and there is no 'too hot' or 'spicy' tastes about it.
• Freezer friendly: if you are the type of person who loves to meal prep so that you can put your feet up after a busy night then this recipe is for you. Make a batch, let it cool and portion into containers. Then pull them out of the freezer in the morning of the days you know you won't have time for much else and dinner will be served without lifting a finger!
• Comfort food: from the amazing aroma of the tomato based sauce wafting through the house to the chewy al dente pasta, we have a wide variety of tastes and textures in this chicken bolognese dish.

🥗 Ingredients

The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the slow cooker chicken spaghetti recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.

As you can see the slow cooker chicken bolognese calls for:

• Salt and pepper: we use salt and a little bit of black pepper for seasoning in the recipe.
• Garlic: you can use 2-3 fresh garlic cloves (finely chopped), chunky chopped garlic or store bought minced garlic from a jar. Choose the most convenient option that works for you.
• Worcestershire sauce: this secret sauce has a lot of flavor to it. It is known for bringing a little oomph to recipes and it does the same with this pasta also.
• Bay leaves: we add 2 bay leaves to the ingredients for an added depth of flavor to the pasta. These get removed prior to the dish being served.
• Tomato paste: thick and rick in tomato flavor.
• Italian herbs: also known as Italian seasoning. We use this combination as our herb in the recipe.
• Celery: 2-3 stalks of celery, trimmed and chopped into pieces.
• Onion: we want to peel and dice ½ of a large onion.
• Carrot: 2 large carrots that we peel and dice.
• Diced tomatoes: these give the spaghetti great juiciness as well as texture from the chunks of tomato.
• Passata: also known as tomato puree. This forms the basis of our pasta sauce.
• Chicken mince (ground chicken): a budget friendly cut of meat that is readily available in grocery stores.

🍝 Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti

• Basil: we use this to garnish the finished pasta.
• Parmesan cheese: a little bit grated over the top of the dish.
• Black pepper: freshly cracked.
• Spaghetti: we cook this on the stove top, drain and add it plus some reserved pasta water to the pasta sauce.

Tasty Tip: I like to provide you with a number of substitutions and variations giving you an array of options when making my recipes. If in doubt of any of the above ingredients, or wanting alternatives, read this section (further below) before jumping into the instructions on how to make the recipe which are coming next 😉👌.

🍳 Instructions

Here are the step by step instructions to make the recipe. We start by adding the onions to the slow cooker insert as shown in the photo below.

• Add onions (Photo 1)
• Add chicken mince (Photo 2)
• Next add carrot (Photo 3)
• Then add celery (Photo 4)

👩‍🍳 How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Spaghetti

To make the slow cooker chicken spaghetti we start by adding the ingredients to the slow cooker bowl or insert.

Layer in the diced onions, then add the chicken mince, chopped carrot and celery pieces. You can see these steps in the photos above.

Next add the garlic, salt and pepper.

• Add the garlic (Photo 5)
• Then add salt and pepper (Photo 6)
• Add the Italian herbs (Photo 7)
• Pour in the passtata (Photo 8)

Next sprinkle in the Italian herbs and then pour in the passata as you see in the photos above.

• Add the diced tomatoes (Photo 9)
• Then add the tomato paste (Photo 10)
• Next add the worcestershire sauce (Photo 11)
• Then add the bay leaves (Photo 12)

When ready add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste to the bowl, then pour in the Worcestershire sauce.

Once done, give everything a good stir with a wooden spoon and then place the 2 bay leaves into the centre of the bowl. Pop the lid on and let the dish cook for either 4 hours on high heat or 8 hours on low.

For the spaghetti, read and follow the packet instructions to cook it in a medium sauce pan of boiling salted water. Moments before it is al dente, use a heatproof jug to reserve some of the pasta water then use a colander to drain the pasta, discarding the rest of the water.

• Reserve pasta water (Photo 13)

When the cook time for the pasta sauce is up, remove the bay leaves and gently stir. The dish will be looking like the photo below at this point.

• Remove the bay leaves (Photo 14)

Next add the drained spaghetti noodles to the slow cooker as shown in the photo below. Then measure and add ½ cup (125ml) of the reserved pasta water and use a pair of tongs to toss to combine.

• Add cooked spaghetti, pasta water and toss (Photo 15)

Once you have tossed the spaghetti you can garnish it with a little bit of parmesan cheese, cracked pepper and basil leaves. Then grab some bowls, forks and spoons and call everyone to the table as 'dinner is ready!'.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

If you are a pasta and garlic bread person then you might like to try the Tortilla Garlic Bread, Ciabatta Garlic Bread, Turkish Garlic Bread or the Garlic Pizza Bread.

For a side salad, try the Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad, Fresh Herb Salad or the Healthy Panzanella Salad.

👍 How to Guide

How to Store

Store leftover spaghetti in a sealed, airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Leftovers need to be reheated before being consumed.

How to Freeze

Let the spaghetti fully cool. Then portion into air tight containers and stack in the freezer. The spaghetti can be frozen for up to 3 months.

How to Reheat

Let frozen portions of the spaghetti fully thaw. Once thawed, transfer into a bowl and cover with cling wrap. Then reheat on high for 1 minute increments until warmed through. If reheating refrigerated leftovers, then can be simply added to a bowl with cling wrap and reheated on high for 1 minute increments as per thawed spaghetti in the step above.

😉 Substitutions and Variations

Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:

• You can use crushed tomatoes in place of the diced tomatoes if you wish too.
• For alternative pasta types try linguine, Angel hair, fettuccine or penne pasta.
• Your favorite pasta will work too!
• For different herbs try adding dried basil, oregano or parsley (1 total teaspoon of any of these would be plenty).
• Or for different veggies try adding some diced bell peppers, sliced green beans or a can of rotel tomatoes with green chilies in place of the diced tomatoes.
• For a little spice add a teaspoon of red pepper flakes and if you want to switch the protein and use ground beef that will work.
• If you don't want to use a sharp cheddar cheese, pecorino romano can be used in place of the parmesan. It is made from sheep's milk and has a milder sweeter flavor than parmesan does.
• If you want to scoop the cooked meat sauce onto the spaghetti and not toss to combine, that will work also.

💡 Tasty Tips

Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:

• You don't need to grease the slow cooker insert (bowl) so there is no need for any oil in the recipe.
• You will get the best results by cooking the pasta separately ie not adding it into the slow cooker. It only takes minutes yet delivers 'al dente' not mushy results.
• We do take out more pasta water (1-2 cups) than will be needed for the sauce. This is simply because it is easier to measure from the jug of what you have taken out than when standing over the stove with the pasta bubbling away in the saucepan below.
• If you are planning on making this and leaving it in the slow cooker (warm setting) for a while before serving it, then you may want to consider adding 1 cup (250ml) of chicken stock (chicken broth) to the slow cooker insert in the early stages when adding the rest of the ingredients. This will ensure the pasta won't dry out prior to you being ready to serve the spaghetti.
• If you love pasta recipes you might also like the Fusilli Bolognese, Macaroni Bolognese, Fettuccine Bolognese, Meatball Bolognese, Linguine Bolognese, Penne Bolognese or the Pork Bolognese 😉.
• Or if it is chicken recipes that make your night's easy try the Shrimp And Chicken Fried Rice, Chicken Ribs, Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs or the Chicken Spaghetti Bolognese (stove top version) 😄👍.
• If its slow cooker recipes you enjoy try the Pasta Bake, Roast Pork, Braised Steak And Onions or the Pumpkin Soup.

🤓 Frequently Asked Questions

Is it OK to put raw chicken in slow cooker?

Yes, you can put raw chicken into the slow cooker.

Can you put pasta in a slow cooker?

Yes, you can add pasta to the slow cooker. For best results, cook the pasta on the stove separately, drain, reserving some of the water then add the drained pasta and reserved pasta water to the slow cooker.

Do you have to brown chicken before putting in slow cooker?

No, you don't have to brown chicken before adding it to the slow cooker.

😍 More Easy Dinner Recipes

Here are some more ideas to keep your dinners inspired and something that you will look forward to making every day:

• Tuna Alfredo
• Prawn Fritters
• Thai Minced Pork
• Roast Pork Shoulder
• Greek Leg Of Lamb
• Pork Leg Roast
• Tuna Fried Rice
• Baked Ziti With Meatballs
• Chorizo Fried Rice
• Savoury Mince Pies

It is time to get our chicken spaghetti on my friend! You can also find all of my chicken recipes or dinner recipes in the one spot.

Adrianne

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