Creamy, savory slow cooker bacon chicken pasta makes an easy, filling dinner with tender chicken, smoky bacon, and a rich ranch sauce. You’re going to love how little effort it takes: layer everything in the slow cooker, then toss with hot pasta before serving. It is especially good over egg noodles on a gray day when the wind is rattling something loose outside.
Why You’ll Love It
- Low-effort dinner — layer the chicken, soup-and-ranch mixture, and bacon in the slow cooker, then let it cook.
- Big flavor, short grocery list — bacon and ranch seasoning bring plenty of seasoning, while condensed cream of chicken soup makes a creamy sauce.
- Feeds six generously — this is a filling, satisfying pasta dinner.
- Flexible serving — toss all the pasta into the slow cooker, or spoon the bacon chicken mixture over individual bowls of noodles for a neater plate.
Ingredient Notes
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are what you want here. If yours are enormous—the kind that look like they came from a genetically ambitious chicken—slice them in half lengthwise or give them a little pounding so they cook evenly. Not too much fussing. We are not auditioning for a cooking show.
Use thick-cut bacon if you can. It holds up better during the long cook and gives you nice, substantial pieces once everything is shredded together. The bacon does not get crisp in the slow cooker, and I feel like I should say that plainly because somebody will wonder. It gets tender and smoky, which I personally love. If crispy bacon is nonnegotiable at your house, you can crisp it in a skillet at the end and crumble it over the finished pasta. More dishes, though. Life is full of trade-offs.
For the soup, regular condensed cream of chicken soup is exactly right. I have used the store brand and lived to tell about it. Ranch seasoning mix is doing a lot of heavy lifting, so don’t add salt until you taste the finished sauce. Bacon plus ranch plus soup is already a salty little committee meeting.
Pasta is your choice: rotini, penne, or egg noodles all work. Egg noodles might be my favorite because they feel especially cozy, but rotini catches the sauce beautifully.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 8 slices thick-cut bacon
- 1 (10.5-ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 (1-ounce) packet ranch seasoning mix
- 12 ounces dry pasta, such as rotini, penne, or egg noodles, cooked just before serving
- Nonstick cooking spray or a thin film of oil for the slow cooker, just enough to make cleanup less of a nuisance
Instructions
- Lightly coat the inside of your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray or a thin film of oil. I know, I know, it is one extra thing—but it helps with cleanup later, and nobody wants to be scraping dried cream sauce out of a crock at 9:30 at night while watching the weather report.
- Arrange the chicken breasts in a single layer in the bottom of the slow cooker. If they are especially thick, pound them a bit or cut them in half lengthwise so they cook more evenly. I have skipped this step when I was in a hurry, and it still worked, but one piece always seems determined to be stubborn.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the condensed cream of chicken soup and ranch seasoning mix until it is smooth. It will be thick, almost alarmingly thick, but don’t panic. The chicken and bacon give off juices as they cook, and everything loosens up nicely.
- Spoon the soup-and-ranch mixture over the chicken breasts, spreading it around with a spatula or the back of a spoon so the chicken is covered. Some sauce will slide down into the bottom of the cooker. That is perfectly fine—actually, that is where the good stuff starts happening.
- Lay the bacon slices over the sauced chicken, overlapping them a little so the chicken is mostly covered. If your bacon strips are extra long, cut them in half crosswise first. I usually do, then occasionally forget one strip and just tuck it around the side like a bacon blanket that gave up halfway through.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours or on HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours, until the chicken is very tender and reaches at least 165°F in the center. LOW is my preference because the chicken gets softer and easier to shred, though I have absolutely used HIGH on a day when I forgot dinner existed until lunchtime. It happens.
- About 20 minutes before you want to eat, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente. Drain it well. Do not cook it too far ahead, because it will sit there and turn into one large, tragic noodle situation while you finish the chicken.
- Use two forks to shred or break the cooked chicken into bite-size pieces right in the slow cooker, mixing it into the sauce and bacon. Taste it before adding any salt; between the ranch packet and bacon, it may not need a thing. I usually add black pepper.
- Add the hot drained pasta to the slow cooker and toss gently until it is coated with the bacon chicken sauce. Or, if your slow cooker is packed to the brim or you prefer a neater plate, divide the pasta among bowls and spoon the chicken, bacon, and sauce over each serving.
- Serve warm, making sure everybody gets some chicken, sauce, and bacon. A simple green salad or steamed green beans help cut the richness, supposedly. I say that, yet I nearly always go back for another spoonful of noodles.
Variations
For an even creamier version, stir 4 ounces of softened cream cheese into the slow cooker during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Let it melt fully into the sauce before you add the pasta.
You can use turkey bacon and low-sodium condensed soup for a lighter take, though I will admit I prefer the regular bacon here. I’m not against sensible substitutions; I just don’t want dinner to taste like it has been punished. Fold in steamed broccoli florets or peas at the end if you want vegetables right in the dish.
A garlic-and-herb seasoning packet or onion soup mix can stand in for ranch if you are out. I tried onion soup mix once and liked it.
For a little heat, add red pepper flakes or a dash of hot sauce when you mix the soup and ranch. And for crispier bacon, remove the cooked bacon before shredding the chicken, crisp it briefly in a skillet, then crumble it over the finished pasta. Delicious, yes. Necessary? Depends on the day and how much patience you have left.
Storage & Reheating
Leftovers will keep, covered in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days. The pasta does soak up sauce as it sits, so don’t be surprised if it looks thicker the next day. That is normal, not a personal failure.
Reheat individual portions gently in the microwave with a splash of milk or broth, stirring once or twice if you remember. You can also warm it in a skillet over low heat with that same little splash of liquid.
I actually think this is pretty good leftover, maybe even better after the flavors have had a night to settle down. But by day three, the noodles are softer. Still tasty—just not company food, if you know what I mean.
Final Notes
There is something comforting about dinner already being handled before the late afternoon gets away from you. The slow cooker hums along, the house starts smelling like bacon, and for a minute you feel like a person who has her act together. Even if there are three unopened pieces of mail on the counter and somebody has left a wet towel on the bathroom floor again.
This pasta has become one of those dependable meals I circle back to when I don’t want to think too hard. Not because it is glamorous. Good grief, no. Because it is warm, filling, and familiar enough to make a regular weeknight feel a little softer around the edges.
And sometimes that is plenty. More than plenty, really… especially with a bowl of noodles in your lap and nothing urgent on television except another commercial for something nobody needs.
Slow Cooker Amish Bacon Chicken Pasta
Want This Recipe Later?
We'll send this recipe straight to your inbox.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts Slice in half lengthwise or pound thinner if especially thick.
- 8 slices thick-cut bacon Cut in half crosswise if the strips are extra long.
- 1 10.5-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 1-ounce packet ranch seasoning mix
- 12 ounces dry pasta Use rotini, penne, or egg noodles; cook just before serving.
- 1 small amount nonstick cooking spray or oil For coating the slow cooker.
Instructions
- Lightly coat the inside of the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray or a thin film of oil.
- Arrange the chicken breasts in a single layer in the bottom of the slow cooker, slicing or pounding especially thick pieces so they cook evenly.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the condensed cream of chicken soup and ranch seasoning mix until smooth.
- Spoon the soup-and-ranch mixture over the chicken and spread it around so the chicken is covered.
- Lay the bacon slices over the sauced chicken, overlapping them slightly if needed.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours or on HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours, until the chicken is very tender and reaches at least 165°F in the center.
- About 20 minutes before serving, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water according to the package directions until al dente, then drain it well.
- Use two forks to shred or break the cooked chicken into bite-size pieces directly in the slow cooker, mixing it with the sauce and bacon.
- Taste the sauce before adding salt, then add black pepper if desired and toss the hot drained pasta gently with the bacon chicken sauce.
- Serve warm, or divide the pasta among bowls and spoon the chicken, bacon, and sauce over each serving.
