Slow Cooker Chicken Spaghetti

Fork being twirled in spaghetti on white plate.

5 from 1 vote

Slow Cooker Chicken Spaghetti is an easy recipe that the whole family will love. Simply throw everything in, set the time and let dinner cook itself!

Prep Time10

Cook Time8

Total Time8 10

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: slow cooker chicken spaghetti

Servings:

Calories: 771kcal

Author: Adrianne

Ingredients

½ large onion skin peeled and diced, Note 1
500 grams/ 16 oz chicken mince (ground chicken) Note 2
2 large carrots peeled and diced, Note 3
2 stalks celery ends and leaved trimmed, finely chopped, Note 4
1 tablespoon garlic Note 5
½ teaspoon salt Note 6
½ teaspoon black pepper also Note 6
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning Note 7
700 grams/24.5 oz passata (tomato puree) Note 8
400 grams/14 oz diced tomatoes Note 9
2 tablespoons tomato paste Note 10
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce Note 11
2 dried bay leaves Note 12

Spaghetti

500 grams/ 16 oz spaghetti Note 13
½ cup/ 250 ml reserved pasta water Note 14

To serve

parmesan cheese
black pepper
flat leaf parsley

Instructions

Chicken and vegetables: Add onions, chicken mince, carrot and celery to the slow cooker insert.
Season: next add the chopped garlic, salt, black pepper and Italian herbs.
Liquids: pour in the passata, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce and use a wooden spoon to stir till everything is combined.
Bay leaves: place the 2 dried bay leaves into the centre of the slow cooker.
Cook: put the lid on and cook the pasta sauce for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Once the time is up remove the lid and use tongs to pick out and discard the bay leaves.
Spaghetti: read and follow the packet instructions to cook the spaghetti in a medium saucepan of boiling salted water. Moments before it is al dente, use a heatproof jug to scoop out and reserve 1-2 cups of the pasta water. Then use a colander to drain the pasta and discard the rest of the water.
Combine: add the drained hot pasta to the slow cooker then measure and add in ½ cup of the reserved pasta water. Use a pair of tongs to toss and combine.
To serve: grate some fresh parmesan cheese over the top, then sprinkle in some black pepper and add some basil leaves. Portion into bowls and provide forks and spoons for serving.

Notes

Note 1 - Onion: we want to peel and dice ½ of a large onion. If you don't want the texture, you can add 1 teaspoon of onion powder in place of the chopped onion when adding the Italian herbs.
Note 2 - Chicken mince (ground chicken): a budget friendly cut of meat that is readily available in grocery stores. This can be frozen in advance, however, if you do this, it is best to not freeze leftover spaghetti or to refreeze the chicken mince.
Note 3- Celery: 2-3 stalks of celery, trimmed and chopped into pieces.
Note 4- Carrot: 2 large carrots that we peel and dice.
Note 5 - 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.
Note 6 - Salt and pepper: we use salt and a little bit of black pepper for seasoning in the recipe. Cooking salt (kosher salt) is recommended over table salt.
Note 7 - Italian herbs: also known as Italian seasoning. We use this combination as our herb in the recipe. Or you can use 1 teaspoon of either dried parsley, dried oregano or dried basil. If you want to add freshly chopped herbs, you can. Do this right at the end when tossing the pasta and sauce together.
Note 8 - Passata: also known as tomato puree. This forms the basis of our pasta sauce.
Note 9 - Diced tomatoes: these give the spaghetti great juiciness as well as texture from the chunks of tomato. We want to open the tin and pour the whole lot in (tomatoes and juice).
Note 10 - Tomato paste: thick and rich in tomato flavor. This helps to create texture and flavor in the pasta sauce.
Note 11 - 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.
Note 12 - Bay leaves: we add 2 bay leaves to the ingredients to add a depth of flavor to the pasta. These get removed prior to the dish being served. If you don't have them on hand, these can be omitted.
Note 13- Spaghetti: or your favorite pasta. This needs to be cooked towards the end of the cooking time for the sauce. Read and follow the package directions to cook in a medium bowl of boiling salted water. Moments before it is al dente (a little bit chewy if you test a bit) use a heatproof jug to scoop out 1-2 cups of the pasta water. We use some of this for the pasta sauce.
Note 14 - Reserved pasta water: we only need to use ½ cup of the pasta water for the sauce. We take out more than we need simply because it is easier than trying to measure ½ cup when you are standing over the stove top. Use the measuring cup to measure ½ cup and then add this to the pasta when you are tossing it.
Portion size: 4-6 meals depending on how big you make the servings.

Nutrition