Cora's Cottage

In the summer time, fast meals that are hands off are my favorite kind. They allow me to put a nutritious homemade meal in front of my family without having to spend lots of time in the kitchen.  A win-win, especially when I would rather be outside in the garden!!

The crockpot is one of my favorite tools for these types of meals and a fan favorite around our house is chicken Alfredo.

This simple dish takes only 2.5-3 hours from start to finish with less than 15 minutes of hands on time! It is perfect for those days I would rather be out in the garden than stuck in the kitchen cooking.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Homemade Alfredo: No need to use the canned Alfredo from the store that is laden with ingredients you can’t pronounce.  This dish has a simple, from-scratch Alfredo sauce that will have your family begging you to make it again! And even better it only takes three ingredients:  cream cheese, milk, and Parmesan cheese.

Simple: The ingredients are simple and straight forward.  You likely have all the ingredients you need already in your pantry, refrigerator, or freezer.

Scalable: This recipe can be doubled or more if you need to feed a crowd.  As long as you have a large enough slow cooker, you can scale this recipe as many times as you like pretty simply, or you can always do multiple slow cookers.

Low Heat: I grew up in an old farmhouse that was hard to keep cool, so keeping heat out of the house in the summertime was important.  Those old habits die hard, and this recipe makes it easy to keep the heat out of the house because a slow cooker puts off less heat than the stovetop or oven!

Tools

• Cutting Board
• Sharp Knife
• Slow Cooker
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Serving Spoon

Ingredients

• Chicken, cubed
• Spaghetti Noodles
• Bone broth
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cream Cheese, softened
• Parmesan Cheese, shredded
• Milk

Substitutions

Spaghetti Noodles: The spaghetti noodles can be traded out for fettuccini noodles or any other long skinny noodle.  It might slightly alter the cook time, but shouldn’t change it more than 15 minutes. I have used fettuccini noodles in the past and didn’t notice even a 5 minute difference in cook time.

Bone Broth: The bone broth can be substituted out for regular broth or can cut in half with water.  In fact, I have started to cut my bone broth for this recipe as my family finds it makes the dish too rich, but this will vary based on what your bone broth taste like. My preference is to always use as much bone broth as I can.

Milk: While this recipe calls for milk, half and half or cream will also work. Any type of milk will work for this recipe as well, so whatever your family drinks is fine.  No need to go purchase a special milk!

Cream Cheese, Parmesan Cheese, & Milk: If you don’t want to make the Alfredo sauce yourself, you can always dump in a premade jar of Alfredo sauce instead.  If this is the case, you will not need the cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, or the milk/milk substitute.

How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Alfredo

Start by adding the bone broth, cubed chicken, and noodles to the slow cooker with all the spices.  When I remember, I like to add the spices before adding the bone broth to help mix them around. Set to low for 3 hours or high for 1.5 hours (this can vary slightly by slow cooker).

It is best to sprinkle the chicken and spices around the slow cooker, as it can be difficult to stir the contents of the slow cooker once everything is added, especially the noodles. 

If possible, it is best to stir the slow cooker every 30 minutes or so once the noodles begin to soften.  This helps the chicken and the noodles to cook more evenly. If you can’t stir the slow cooker, or get busy and forget like I often do, the noodles on the outer edge might get a little crispy before the noodles in the middle and the chicken are cooked through.

After the noodles are tender and the chicken is cooked through, add in the milk, cream cheese, and Parmesan cheese.  It is best to start with cream cheese softened to room temperature. 

Mix all the ingredients together well before allowing the contents of the slow cooker to cook on low for 15-20 minutes. 

Serve hot with a garnish of fresh parsley if you would like.

Pairings

Vegetables: Vegetables can always be added to a meal for some extra color.  A good option to add to this chicken Alfredo dish is peas, but the options are endless!

Garlic Toast: A favorite item to add to dishes in our house is some garlic toast!  This is simple and fast to make right at home with some sliced bread, garlic powder, and butter.  Simply bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until the bread begins to toast.  If you want to step it up a notch, simply add cheese to make it cheese garlic toast! Over time we have found that very thin slices or shredded cheese work best.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much Alfredo sauce do I need if I want to use store bought?

Generally one jar (15oz) will be enough, but you can always add additional Alfredo sauce if you like your Alfredo to be creamier with more sauce.

What happens if my food is done before I’m ready to serve it?

That is totally okay! It is best to make the Alfredo sauce (or add your pre-made Alfredo sauce) and turn the slow cooker to low or warm (whatever the lowest setting is in your slow cooker), stirring occasionally until you are ready to serve. This helps to prevent noodles from sticking to the side of the slow cooker and burning.

How long can leftover chicken Alfredo be stored?

Leftover chicken Alfredo can be store for up to 7 days in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer.

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