11 Crazy-Good Crock-Pot Pasta Recipes
Want pasta tonight without the boiling or fuss? Use your slow cooker to simmer up dinner with little effort. There are a number of delicious pasta meals you can make in the pot. The hardest part is finding a recipe. Lucky for you, we've done that work already. Now all you have to do is fix it and forget it. Oh, and then gobble it up! (See also: 13 International Crock-Pot Recipes That Are Out of This World)
1. Veggie Lasagna
Making vegetable lasagna in your slow cooker is much like making it in your oven. You'll create a cheese mixture, combine a jar of sauce with veggies, and layer noodles with everything to the top of the pot. Cook on low for four to five hours.
2. Chicken Spaghetti
You'll want to whip up this creamy chicken spaghetti every night. Start by cooking a pound of boneless chicken in broth for four hours until done. Then shred chicken, return it to the pot, and add your noodles, cream cheese, and some shredded cheese. Let warm for 45 minutes before serving.
3. Baked Ziti
There's nothing actually baked in this baked ziti recipe, but the flavor and texture is all there. Coat your slow cooker with some olive oil or cooking spray to help with cleanup. Place half your ziti in the bottom of the pot and cover with sauce. Then add veggies, meat, and cheese. Repeat another layer before cooking for four to five hours on low.
4. Cheesy Tortellini
Dinner for six is easy with this cheesy tortellini. The recipe calls for ground beef, but if you're vegetarian, feel free to leave it out or replace with veggies. The rest is tomato sauce, cheeses, and a tasty package of your favorite refrigerated three-cheese tortellini.
5. Veggie Spaghetti
Fill your slow cooker with veggie spaghetti goodness. The ingredients call for onions, garlic, green and red pepper, mushrooms, and more. I might even experiment using some seasonal vegetables from our CSA share this year. Add the basil and parsley right before serving.
6. Pasta e Fagioli
Have you ever wondered what pasta e fagioli means? I'll tell you: pasta and beans. The rest of this soup is made up of diced onion, celery, carrots, tomato, and garlic. Cook for six hours on low and you've got yourself a classic Italian dish.
7. Mexican Lasagna
Add some heat to dinner with this Mexican lasagna. It's made much like the more traditional lasagna recipe above — just with some different ingredients. You'll use refried beans, salsa, ground beef, sour cream, cream cheese, olives, green onions, and more. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
8. Mac and Cheese
No pasta roundup would be complete without a killer mac and cheese recipe. The author notes that you'll want to skip the whole wheat pasta — it doesn't jibe with the Crock-Pot. Otherwise, the secret is in the cheese sauce. You'll use American, Gruyere, and cheddar mixed with mustard, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.
9. Chicken Broccoli Alfredo
The author of this chicken broccoli alfredo recipe boasts it comes together in less time than it takes your kids to brush their teeth. Pay attention to the directions, though. You need to cook the chicken first and add the broccoli only for the last hour. Otherwise, it'll get too mushy.
10. Manicotti
Stuffed pasta in a slow cooker? Yes, please. This manicotti recipe is teeming with ricotta and mozzarella. You can use your favorite store bought sauce to make the meal even faster. I imagine this same process would work great using stuffed shells in place of the manicotti.
11. Spaghetti Squash
For those of you who aren't into noodles, here's how to make perfect spaghetti squash in your Crock-Pot. You'll place your squash and two cups of water in the pot. Cook eight to nine hours on low before letting cool and discarding the water. Then top with your favorite sauce or follow the rest of the recipe in the post for a Thai "noodle" bowl.
What's your favorite slow cooker pasta recipe?
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