Slow Cooker Creamy Italian Chicken has been a favorite recipe of my family’s for years. This hearty and delicious meal will make everyone happy and asking for seconds!
I think the first time I ever made this recipe was the year Kale and I got married. One of my sweet friends, Mary Kay, who I worked with at Rococo’s gave me this recipe one night at work.
Mary Kay and I were always swapping recipe ideas. Or at least she was always giving me ideas and I would write them all down. 🙂 Well, I ended up making this Slow Cooker Creamy Italian Chicken for dinner the following night and the rest is history. It’s been on our dinner rotations ever since.
I do have a very similar recipe already on my blog. But I have tweaked it a bit over the years and make this version always now. It’s lightened up but still tastes delicious as ever. My kids sometimes ask me to make this for their birthday dinners! They love it that much.
We like to serve this yummy chicken over all kinds of things! Mashed potatoes, rice, cauliflower rice (yum), noodles.. basically any carb! haha. It really is so delicious. I usually make green beans or a green salad to go a long side it. It truly is one of our very favorite dinners at the Lofthouse residence. 😀
P.S. For those of you that do not like to use canned cream of chicken soup, here is a homemade version I make with this Slow Cooker Creamy Italian Chicken recipe all the time. —> HOMEMADE CONDENSED CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP.
Slow Cooker Creamy Italian Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Mr's Dash's Original seasoning blend to taste
- pepper to taste
- 2 cans (10 ounces, each) cream of chicken soup OR use my homemade condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 envelope Good Season's Zesty Italian dressing mix
- 1/2 block (4 ounces) cream cheese cubed
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk as needed
- chopped parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Spray a large slow cooker insert with cooking spray. Lay chicken breasts in the bottom. Season with Mr's Dash's original seasoning (I use about one teaspoon) and a sprinkle of black pepper, to taste.
- Pour cream of chicken soups and Italian dressing mix evenly over chicken. Lay the cubed cream cheese all over the tops. Cover slow cooker with lid and cook on low heat 5 to 6 hours OR on high heat 3 hours.
- Carefully shred chicken with two forks and mix up the sauce/gravy. If it’s too thick you can thin it out with a little milk.
- Serve chicken over cooked noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes. Garnish with parsley, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
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This looks so creamy and delicious! I think that I would put it over rice.
My family loves these flavors. A perfect meal for busy nights.
Omg it looks so good most definite making this and in my crock pot , i love using my crock pot its so easy for me being disabled helps me alot so no big mess to do with ,thank you.
Wow. these look amazing. I will see how I can do it dairy free.
I love creamy recipes! Reminds me of chicken ala king.
Oh now I need this in my life!
Can you use Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing mix instead of the Zesty one
yes, definitely 🙂
Have this in my Crock-Pot right now! Also used Good Seasons because that’s all I could find. Hoping my family, especially the kids, love it!
Yes! ThaT is exactly what I used! This has become Our WEEKLY tuesday ni supper!!! Over white rice with canned carrots miXed in.
I like your idea of adding canned carrots. I’d like to try green beans, too
I made this last night… added about 5 cloves of minced garlic and 1/3 stick of butter..,, mmmmmmmmm it was amazing!!! Over rice to boot!
Made it again! This time adding fresh thinly sliced mushrooms and fresh broccoli in the last hour of the cook!!
Ooooh, I’m going to use these add on’s you have suggested!! Sounds so yummy!!
I did the same thing. Added thinly sliced mushrooms that i sautéed in oil and sprinkled with garlic salt then sautéed some broccoli in garlic and oil and added that to the chicken. Delicious. I’m sure you wouldn’t have to sautéed them first if you didn’t want to and it would still be fine. 🙂
This might also be good with a can of cream of celery soup added and served over a pan of dressing or stuffing!
I made this yesterday, and we loved it! I used what I had in the pantry, which was one can of cream of chicken and one can of cream of mushroom soup. Didn’t have Zesty Italian mix, used a packet of Ranch instead. I also used a bag of frozen broccoli florets to add a green vegetable. Served it over brown rice. Yummy!
Can I make this without the cream cheese? Hubby doesn’t like it. What would I replace it with? Or just leave it out?
I honestly have never tried it without the cream cheese so I am not sure what it would taste without it. Sorry!
I make chicken with zesty italian oil type not creamy dressing in Crock-Pot often.delicious!! Serve with m.potatoes,great beans,salad n garlic bread.yum!?!
This looks delicious I wonder if I could fill 2 pie crusts for pot pie?
I think it could work! But I haven’t tried it. Let me know if you do 🙂
This looks amazing and cannot wait to try it. Quick question, however. I try to avoid seasoning mixes because of concerns about hidden salt and the fact that whenever I buy mixes for a one off dish I usually never use the remainder before it looses its potency. I am not familiar with Mrs Dash. Can you recommend a mix of basic seasonings that one might have in their pantry? I want to make sure I get the flavor profile you are going for. Thanks!
Here are some basic seasonings that make a great Italian seasoning!
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano.
1 teaspoon dried marjoram.
1 teaspoon dried thyme.
1/2 teaspoon dried basil.
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary.
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
Thank you for taking the time to share this! Just need to pick up some marjoram and I am good to go! Look forward to making this.
Too much cream cheese for me. When I make it again I will half the amount.
G’day. I live in Australia. What sort of spices is original blend and Italian zesty blend?? And noodles, is that just any pasta to put in the dish?Cheers.
G’day! ☺️
She is just referring to a salad dressing mix in a paper PACKET. I’m sure you probably have those down in Oz, but if not, I’m sure you could probably look up a simple homemade dry Italian dressing mix recipe and use it the very same way, mixing it in when you prepare this meal.
Are low fat soups and cream cheese essential, or can I go high test?
You can use the regular kinds. The low fats are just a personal preference 🙂
Quick question – what size cook or do you have? Mine is 2 1/2 quarts.
I use a 7 quart crock pot.
Hi! Have you tried making this in a pressure cooker? If so, how did it turn out? Thanks
How long would I cook this in my Instant Pot?
This looks like the easiest and quickest sauce Ive seen yet. Not only does it look delicious, but it’s easy to whip up and put into the slow Cooker. My husband LOVES this type of sauce so I’m gonna whip it up for tonight’s dinner. I am going to add in some minced garlic and broccoli florets and a litten freshly grated Parmesan Cheese to this recipe since my husband LOVES Alfredo Sauce. In fact, I’m going to head into my kitchen now and start whipping it up for dinner. Hope it comes out perfect and delicious!
My husband doesn’t like cream cheese. Can I sneak it in without him noticing or is it really powerful?
I feel like it’s not that overpowering. But he may detect it..
My husband doesn’t like cream cheese either but he doesn’t even know it’s in there.
This looks delicious! I don’t have any cream cheese so I am going to make it without it and stir in some sour cream at the end. Have you ever made this using frozen chicken breasts or do they need to be thawed first?
It is so delicious, Judy. I hope you try it. I just recently have started using frozen chicken breasts in my slow cooker recipes. It works just fine. Let me know how using sour cream instead of cream cheese turns out. I’m worried it won’t be as creamy.
Holly, do you really add the cream cheese before cooking? Typically dairy products are added at the end, close to serving. I want to make this recipe this week, but I am worried that the cream cheese will curdle.
Yep, I always add it at the very beginning. It doesn’t curdle on me, but will leave tiny little specs of cream cheese. I just stir it up really good. 🙂
Insofar as the cream cheese is concerned, you’re using a SLOW cooker so curdling is a non issue. In low-carb cooking, cream cheese and cream are used as a replacement for standard bechamel sauce with no problem. Also, cheesecake uses plenty of cream cheese and doesn’t seem to be bothered by oven heat for extended periods of time. My rule of thumb for heating any dairy is Low and Slow.
This may sound silly, but do you add the water that the cream of chicken soup calls for?
Not a silly question at all! But no, you don’t add the water called for on the soup can 🙂
I’m going to try and change this up since we like cream of mushroom better than chicken. I’m also trying this with a dry Ranch seasoning instead of Italian and adding mushrooms. Reading a few comments, I’m cutting the cream cheese in half (but can add more as it’s cooking if I feel it’s needed). It’s only been cooking an hour and oh gosh it smells wonderful! Hubby prefers over toast instead of rice or mashed potatoes.
I really liked how easy this recipe was holly. My sons are adults and very critical of my cooking (I am not that great), but when I came across your website I fell in love with the ease of your recipes. They all look so good to. I made the Creamy Italian Chicken with Mashed Potatoes. My son accidentally added to much milk when I was at work and I whisked in 2 tblsps of flour and it thickened up. They both really liked it. Tonight I can’t wait to try the Creamy Beef Enchilada recipe. Thanks a bunch (also, I didn’t have Mrs. Dash at home so i used 1 tsp of garlic powder.
Thank you so much Coleen 🙂
Can you freeze leftovers?
Could this be in a slow cooker longer if it switches to warm after the 5 hours?
Yes Jamie, I have done that. I would just be careful not to leave it in too much longer. An extra hour is fine.
Could frozen egg noodles be added 2 hours before cooking is finished? Make it more of a chicken and noodle recipe instead of a sauce. Thoughts?
I worry that as they cook/thaw it will create a lot of added water. If you try it let me know how it turns out!
My kids are coming home this week, I think I should definitely try this one. It also looks easy comparing to other Slow Cooker recipes I already went through! Thank you Holly!
This turned out very good. Next time I’m skipping the cream cheese. It didn’t blend very well and we were left with little white chunks. The taste was great and the chicken was really tender.
It is truly WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!! We took it one step further at the suggestion of my husband 🙂 he transferred it to a baking dish, sprinkled it with mozzarella cheese and some parsley for color and placed it under the broiler until light brown and melted.
Thank you for the homemade cream of ch recipe. I dont like thE flavor of the canned version, so this is very helpful.
Wonderful! Love the homemade soup addition as well. No more running to the store because im out of cream of chicken soup, i can just make my own!
I want to rate this recipe but 1) my typing is in all caps (no caps lock on) and 2) I can’t give it the 5 stars I would like to. No matter how I move my cursor only 4 stars light up. Help!!
Yeah! I’m so glad I can give this recipe the 5 stars it deserves. So easy. So delicious. I’ve used it over pasta noodles, zoodles, rice or steamed veg. I make a batch and then switch out the base so leftovers don’t get boring. I even dumped in some frozen peas and carrots once and it tasted like crustless chicken pot pie! Thank you so much for sharing.
Can I add sun dried tomatoes, chopped spinach?
Yes definitely! 🙂
This was so good. I ADDED garlic to the sauce then mushrooms and broccoli with an hour to go. Used low fat soup and cream cheese. This is true comfort food. We will make this over and over again.
I made this last NIght. I don’t have Ms. Dash so I didn’t use that, and I added about a 1/4c. Of Italian salad dressing to thin out the cream of chicken soup. I was away from home for a large part of the cooking time, so I was surprised to find out that almost 30 minutes before the dish was done, there were chunks of cream cheese still laying on top of the chicken, and not melted. Since I got burned on a new recipe the night before, I took off the crock pot lid and stirred the contents.
**WHEW** Not an issue. I shredded the chicken and served over noodles.. .and definitely needed the milk (or if cooking pasta, the pasta cooking water will serve the same function) in order to thin the sauce after it sat about 5 minutes.
We really enjoyed this recipe, kids included, but I thought that the Italian seasoning from the dressing mix, plus the tiny bit of salad dressing I added was not predominant enough, especially for a dish labeled Italian Chicken. I will definitely make this again but will most likely marinate the chicken in Italian salad dressing beforehand, and may even add more salad dressing to the pot.
I don’t believe that the omission of the Ms. Dash seasoning was the culprit, especially since you only use a tsp or 2. All in all a great new addition to our weeknight menu. Thanks a bunch!!
I Love this recipe!!!!!! I kept it simple and just put the chicken breast, Italian seasoning cream of chicken soup cook then 3 hours in added the cream cheese! Absolutely delish! All on top of Egg noodles!!! Family absolutely loves it! Favorite winter meal!
So good!
Hello! I absolutely love this recipe! Have made it several times. Was wondering if this could be made in an instant pot? I’m afraid to leave it in the crockpot all day while I’m away at work just for the fear that it might turn to a puree. Thanks!
I don’t have the zesty Italian package but I saw someone asked about the dressing but the thing is I don’t know how much to put it in?
Hi Christy, I have never replaced it with prepared Italian dressing, but if I did try it I would put in about 1/2 cup or so. Please let me know if you try it. 🙂
could this possibly be baked in the oven or done in a skillet? thanks
Leah, I think you could bake this in the oven in a 9×13 inch baking dish or larger. I would make it as directed for the crock pot, but bake it covered in the oven at 350 degrees F. for 40 to 45 minutes.
This is exactly what I was looking for – planning to serve it over homemade biscuits. Thanks!!
Wow Holly! I dOn’t usua use can soup for saUce but I did this time a added musgr and pras in the ladt hour. I serv it over egg noodles and it was amazing! I had to thin it out a lit with milk but it did not take anything away from the flavor!
Thank you Holly!
This is amazing. Made it this weekend and used mash potatoes instead of noodles. Will def. be making again.
Curious to know if this dish can be made in a instapot? I will be making in a slow cooker, but im sure my neighbor, who uses one ofteN, will want to know once she tastEs mine, lol.
Also, thank you for the homemade creme of chicken soup recipe! I do not like the meat in the can.i have made a SIMILAR RECIPE and it turned out pretty good, however yours sounds a lot better. LoOking forward to making this today!
Hi Angie, I honestly have never used an Instapot! Can you believe it? lol So I can’t say how this would work in one. I’m sure it could work great but I wouldn’t know how long to cook it. Sorry!
I LOVE this recipe! It’s so easy. My daughters are picky and they both love it so thats a win! I add a can of cream of mushroom for extra sauce. So good!
Just found this recipe. I dug out 3 chicken breasts but they are frozen. Will let them thaw a little bit and throw this into the crock pot. Looks devine!
This recipe is incredible. Absol perfect for the blizzard weather. I served it over spaghetti noodles. Next time ill do it over mashed potatoes. This would also make aBa delicious shredded chicken sandwich
Yes you can cube it first then cook as directed.:)
Also, my new thing is to take the leftovers and put them in a greased dish, top with cream of chicken soup, then Glory honey carrots then cheese then tater tots for 45 minutes 375 degrees then boom tater tot chicken pot pie!
I added fresh mushrooms yummmm
This was a hIt for my family! Do you think it would be good frozen and WaRmed back up on the stove? Thinking about using it for a postpartum meal!
Brooke, I don’t recommend freezing this because of the cream cheese. When you freeze cream cheese it changes the texture a lot.
Do you have to shred the chicken? or can you serve the chicken breasts whole over noodles or rice?
Patty, no you don’t have to shred them. You can leave them whole but sometimes they tend to fall apart when cooked in the slow cooker.
Just made this tonight and yummy! I added broccoli from someone in the comments! Served over spaghetti squash! Amazing and so easy!
I can’t wait to try this! I’m thinking of trying it using Herb and Garlic cream cheese.
Oh I think that’s a great idea!!
I added red & green peppers, baby bella mushrooms a little garlic & horseradish. No milk. Served over Italian noodles. Yum!
Excellent!! My family absolutely loves this recipe. I use my instant pot and cook it for 10 minutes, then let it naturally de-pressure for about 10 more minutes. Cook some noodles while it’s doing its thing, pull together a bagged caesar salad kit – boom! Dinner done in about 30-ish minutes! And lots of leftovers.
Hi this was such a great recipe. Do you happen to know the nutritional facts?
Yes, the macros per serving are: 280 calories / 13 fat / 7 carbs / 29 protein. *(There are 8 servings in the total recipe. This nutrition info only includes the chicken mixture. It does not include any rice, or mashed potatoes, etc.)
Made this last night. Added too much milk to cover my chicken, used 1 package cream cheese to start, added 1 more pack cream cheese to help thicken sauce also added about 1/2 lb. of sliced mushrooms. Turned out wonderful, my friends are asking for leftovers today. Will make again!