I know, I know…everyone has this recipe but on the off chance that you don’t you must add it to your repertoire. I had my beautiful baby boy Weston and have been very busy. Although I’m not back to cooking, I made a few things before I had the baby that I hadn’t posted yet. This is Austin’s favorite meal and I wanted to make it for him before I had the baby. We call it “Batman Pasta” because of the bowtie pasta and it makes my kids excited to eat it. I prefer it with rice but pasta is good too. It’s super easy…a perfect throw-in-the -crockpot-while-you-are-at-church-on-Sunday meal. You can do it with whole chicken breasts, cube it, or even shred it. I always cut the breasts into tenderloin size strips.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 packet dry Zesty Italian dressing (Regular is fine but I like zesty better. Sometimes I use a packet and a half.)
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
- 1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (depending how cream cheesy you want it)
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a crockpot and sprinkle Italian dressing over it. Combine cream cheese and cream of chicken soup in a small pot over low heat and pour over chicken. Cook on low in the crockpot for at least 4 hours. You can leave it in there all day. Once chicken is done you can leave the chicken breasts whole, cube it, or even shred it. I always cut the breasts into tenderloin size strips.
- Once you have cut up the chicken, throw it back in the crockpot and stir into the sauce. If you feel the sauce is too thick you can thin it to your preferred consistency with a little milk. Serve over pasta or rice.
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http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2009/07/crockpot-italian-chicken.html
Congrats on your new baby! I found your blog through a friend’s blog and really enjoy it! Thanks for all the great recipes!
http://www.heatherskitchenconcoctions.com/
Question…in the ingredients you list cream of mushroom but in the directions you say cream of chicken. Most recipes I see use cream of chicken, but I’m sure both are good. Which do you use?
great recipies. another you may want to try is use cream of mushroom instead and also add potatoes, whole red pot or cubed. soooooooo good
I use cream of chicken. Sorry I fixed the recipe so it says that.
I just found you blog through a friend’s blog and I am excited to follow you now. I think that I will try this recipe out next week. Excited to try it!
I just found you blog through a friend’s blog and I am excited to follow you now. I think that I will try this recipe out next week. Excited to try it!
Thanks for a wonderful blog! :O) I’ve made this twice now. Once with regular Italian dressing mix and the second with zesty. Both were very good, but I prefer the zesty! Thanks for a keeper!
I guess I am one of the few who don’t have this recipe… but now that I do, I am so excited to try it! Thanks for sharing, new follower!
Found your blog because of this picture via Pinterest. I have thas in the crockpot right now. I can’t wait to try it with my family. I am hoping it can pass the picky 6 year old test.
Found your blog by this recipe on Pinterest! Do you use frozen chicken breasts?
@Brittany,
I like to use thawed chicken breasts because I feel like the texture is always better when they cook from thawed but I’m not going to lie, I’ve thrown them in there frozen too. You may have to cook it longer if they are frozen.
I just tried this tonight and my hubby and I enjoyed it lots! Thanks for sharing. It definitely hit the spot as the temperature is cooling this fall! Have a nice weekend.
Have you tried this using fat free cream cheese and low fat/low sodium cream of chicken? I may try it regardless but would love to know if you’ve had success with a healthy version of this recipe!!
@Valerie,
You can definitely use low fat versions of the ingredients and I think it tastes fine.
Saw this on Pinterest and I pinned it! Trying it tonight and I shared it on my FB page
Looks delish!
Michelle
LovingEverySecond.blogspot.com
PS – I’m a new follower!
Thanks to Pintrest, I am a new follower. I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! I added a few things to spice up the flavor, there are so many possibilities using your’s as the base! Absolutely delicious, a new believer in the power of simplicity.
http://www.befreckled.blogspot.com
Found you via Pinterest and just made this recipe! Big hit in my family. http://www.fabulouslydomesticbyambrosia.com/2011/09/pinterest-project-day-27-crockpot.html
Found you on my new addiction…PINTEREST! I can’t wait to try this recipe! But, I have to know…where did you get those darling plates? I’ve been looking for a new set and waiting for the “right one” to jump out at me! Those are it!
@Amy,
I’m pretty sure I got this plate at Target forever ago. If not Homegoods since I love getting plates there.
Christy
Made this tonight! AMAZING!!! I’ll make sure I keep this recipe handy!! So many times I make something and then forget about it! This is a keeper! Thanks!!
I’m one of those who has never had this receip, but it totally sounds like one I’m going to like…it’s got cream cheese in it…that makes everything better!! Can’t wait to try!!
Adding this to my list of meals for next week – thanks!
Thank you for this recipe! I too did not have this one yet. I’m making it tomorrow! I love your blog.
How long do you usually cook this for?
I don’t have this recipe so thanks for posting it. I’ve been dying to try it for weeks but just today have remembered to thaw some chicken & actually have time to try it. Thanks.
Ok, so I lied. I can’t seem to find my Italian dressing that was on the counter a couple of days ago, so I’m trying it with ranch dressing instead. Should still be good, I would think. I mean, hard to go wron with cream cheese & ranch dressing. Lol.
@Lisa,
Throw this in the crockpot for about 4 hours.
@Kris_tea,
Never tried it with ranch but let me know how this turns out.
Hi! When looking at the picture, it looks like you may have sprinkled some cheese on top? Is that shredded Parmesan?
Thanks!
I’ve been making this recipe for years! It is my go-to when I can’t think of anything else to throw in the crock pot. And all the ingredients are inexpensive! Sometimes I use cream of mushroom or celery. And will even sprinkle a few stuffing mix bread crumbs on top! SO GOOD.
Krista
http://www.the-not-so-desperate-chef-wife.com/
Yum! I didn’t realize I was so far out of the basic recipe loop
so thanks for posting this. It was so easy and tasty.
Just got this going in the crockpot, but I accidentally mixed the dressing mix into the soup instead of sprinkling on the chicken. Hopefully, it will have the same effect.
I wasn’t familiar with this recipe, so thanks for sharing!
I am confused, do I shred the chicken before putting it in the crackpot? And does the sauce go in the crackpot too?
Yes, the sauce goes in crockpot. The chicken cooks in the sauce and then you pull it out and either dice it or shred it. Once you’ve diced it or shredded it put the chicken back in the sauce in the crockpot. Stir and serve.
Do you have to cut the chicken after it is cooked, or can you cut it up first at the beginning and not have to worry about taking it out later to cut? Thanks!
@Jody,
You can absolutely cut it up ahead of time and it will turn out great.
If I have thawed chicken, how long do I cook in crockpot?
@Jordan,
Depends on your slow cooker but 3-4 hours should be enough time to cook the chicken.
I saw this recipe on Pinterest, and I decided that I was going to get out of my meal rut and try a new recipe twice a month. This was my first and it was SO good. I cooked it on low for about 4.5 hrs and the chicken was falling apart. I used Philly cream cheese 1/3 less fat and 2 cans of cream of chicken. I also served it over rice…delish. So easy, 4 ingredients + 5 min prep time and 4 hours in the crockpot….I swear it is taking everything I have to NOT bring the crockpot into the living room and eat straight from the pot in front of the tv. SCORE!
Hi I want to try this tonight and was wondering which was better with the rice or pasta?
Also what kind of Rice ??
@mandajo,
My husband likes it over white rice and my kids like it over pasta. Really it is just personal preference. Hope you enjoy!
This comment has been removed by the author.
This sounds really good! My crock pot settings are high 4-6 hours or low for about 8 hours. Which should
I do??
@jv, 8 hours on low would’ be way too long. 4 hours on high should be plenty of time.
Mine’s about to get gobbled up by my daughter and I. It smells wonderful!!!
Found this on pinterest, it was your recipe with another link to something else, so I repinned it with my variation on what I did for dinner and the link to your original post. I LOVE crockpot cooking, but did this on the stove in 45 minutes and the chicken was just as tender, it fell apart.
So here’s what we had…it was GOOD. I changed the amounts a little and did the following:
4 chicken breasts (8-10 unbreaded tenders)
Milk
1 packet dry Zesty Italian dressing
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup (depending how cream cheesy you want it)
Put frozen chicken in skillet on medium drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle entire packet of Italian dressing seasoning on chicken, cover, cook for 15 minutes (don’t brown)
Add Cream of Chicken, 1/2 can of milk, 1/2 pkg cream cheese, stir well, cover and cook on low/med for 25 minutes, or until chicken falls apart.
Serve over pasta or brown rice.
http://justalittlemel.wordpress.com/
Tried this tonight! Absolutely delish! Thanks so much for sharing! Found your blog on Pinterest…really enjoying looking through everything!
I want to make this for supper tonight! How many servings would you say your recipe is? I have 5 boys/men to feed and am wondering if I should do 6 breasts? Thanks
I just got back to my office after preparing this in the crock pot and turning it on. I realized I misread the recipe. I though it said 1.8 oz cream cheese, so I put too much… Ugh! Do you think it’ll still turn out ok? I’ll add some milk when I get home, but any other suggestions are welcome!!!
This looks awesome to make with low-fat ingredients! But how many does it serve? I was guessing 4… or is it more?
@BeckyBoo84,
I usually count on one breast per person so yes, it serves 4.
Yes, I have this same recipe and my family loves it! Nothing wrong with posting a recipe that others may already know about because it reminds them how good it is! I just found your blog and joined!
I just found your blog. I found so many great recipies I am dyine to try. I will be making the Banna Coconut upside down cake for my daughter,s birthday. Today I have the chicken, Creme cheese, Italian dressing and chicken soup in the crock pot. I think I will put it over egg noodles. I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for the recipies!
What a brilliant recipe! I made this for my family a couple of nights ago and everyone loved it. It was so easy, cheap, and still so satisfying.
Thanks for sharing!
Wondering if you could use zesty Italian dressing instead of the dry packet??? Or what you could substitute it with if you don’t have the dry packet?? Any ideas??
@Anonymous,
My friend accidentally used the real dressing instead of a dry packet and she said it was good. Definitely more condensed flavor with the dry packet.
I am going to try this with broccoli cheese soup, frozen broccoli, and top with pepperjack!
I have this in the crockpot now! I’m driving all over town this week with kids in two separate day camps in two parts of town, so I need something I can set and forget. Thanks for sharing – I had never heard of this recipe before!
Tried this the other night. It was DELISH! It was my fifth or sixth recipe from your site. All of them have been amazing! I’m happy to know that your site is one I can trust the food is good.
Just got back from the grocery store…..I forgot the dressing mix! I do have a container of Italian cooking cream….do you think that would work as well?
@Nani,
Um. I’m not sure. I’m not familiar with cooking cream so it could work but I’m not sure if it will taste similar.
We just made this yesterday! It was sooo good! It will definitely get put into our rotation! Thanks for the recipe!
What do you think of adding a can of petite diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, & oregano when you take the chicken out to cube it?
@Teddybearbbi,
I think that would taste great. Maybe drain the tomatoes or maybe not since the sauce is pretty thick as it is.
Dear Baby Jesus, how did I not know about this. Made it for dinner tonight, Amazing! I went ahead and mixed in the cooked noodles in the crock-pot with the sauce and shredded chicken(boyfriends preference)and OMG .. Melt in your mouth good! So glad I found your blog!!
I made this tonight for my family and we all loved it! I used 2 cans of soup and I am glad I did. Next time I may add some broccoli or red peppers for some added flavor and color.
Do you have to cook the chicken before or will it be completely cooked after 4 hours?
@Anonymous,
No need to cook the chicken before. The chicken should be cooked after 4 hours.
I accidentally used the zesty Italian dressing instead of mix. Is there any way to make it to where it’s not so tangy?
I’m makin this right now however mine seems soupy and not a sauce type texture at all did I do something wrong and how can I fix it?
@Anonymous,
If it’s too soupy add a little milk to make it more of a sauce consistency.
@Anonymous,
I’m not really sure how to fix it if you added actual dressing instead of mix. You could maybe add more cream cheese since that tends to mild out any flavor.
I saw this on pinterest with the ingredients as the caption and just basic details of what to do. When i clicked on the link it took me to a totally different recipe, so I had to follow whatever was in the caption. It pretty much just said to throw everything in the crockpot, when I finally found your blog I read that I was supposed to mix the cream cheese and soup mixture over the stove and then add it. Obviously I didn’t do that due to the inconvenience of the link on pinterest. I’m hoping as it heats up I can lift the lid and mix the soup and cheese just while It’s in the crock pot…
Found this on Pinterest… Not sure what part of the country you’re from, but Italian Chicken is something I have not heard of… everyone does Italian Beef around here! So glad you posted this; I made it last night, and my hubby and kids LOVED it (my husband never loves new recipes, he likes to stick to the basics
So, thanks!!
@Anonymous,
Oh yeah, It’s really forgiving. The order of things doesn’t really matter you can add the sauce ingredients straight to pot or whatever!
I love how you toss in there that you sometimes use a packet and a half.
We got a badass up in here! LOL too awesome
@Valerie (and anyone else looking for a low-fat version of this), it would not be difficult to make a scrumptuous version! Try this:
* 1 pkg Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
* 1/2 cup water
* 1 8oz pkg low fat cream cheese
*1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup
Keep everything else the same. You’ll get a wonderful recipe, barely noticeable that it’s been turned healthier!
Making this dinner tonight for our household. Its a total of 7 people, 4 adults/3 kids. Such a simple recipe. Cant wait to try it. We are serving it over egg noodles, with broccoli and french bread.
I’m your newest follower & can’t wait to try this dish. It looks delish. Thank you for sharing!
I don’t have cream cheese but I do have sour cream. Do you think I could substitute?
I put this in the crock pot this afternoon and it smells so good. I only used two chicken breast, cut the cream cheese down to half package(used 1/3 fat free), 1 can of cream chicken soup, half can of low fat milk. Also I didnt have the italian seasoning but I did have the garlic and herb seasoning from good seasonings so I used that. The smell is unbelievable, it’s making my mouth water, I can not wait for dinner. Oh yeah one more thing… when I put the cream cheese in crockpot (about 1 hour before it’s done) I also added a handful of shredded mozzarella cheese. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
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I love this recipe! Just made it last night—it’s my son’s favorite and was a definite hit with our dinner guests. I made it with Ranch seasoning packet and a little bit of Italian seasoning and it was fabulous (we were out of the zesty Italian). Thanks for posting this!
This is so tasty!!! If you like mushrooms throw me in there it’s delish!!! Thank you so much!
So I am trying to expand my cooking skills… I have thawed chicken breasts, do I need to cook the chicken before putting it in the crockpot? Or is the crockpot cooking it for me? Also, when do you pour the soup/cream cheese on the chicken? After the chicken cooked? Or after the 4 hours it cooks before you serve it?
You do not need to cook the chicken before you put it in the crockpot. The crockpot will cook it. Put the cream cheese mixture on right away over the raw chicken and let it all cook for four hours. Good luck!
I am making this right now! It’s in the crockpot and will be cooking away smelling wonderful so when I return from shopping, I will HAVE to take a taste
I used your suggestion and put in 1 1/2 packs of ZESTY Italian, I also used 2 cans of soup. One 98% Fat Free cream of chicken and one cream of onion. That’s what I had. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!!
If I only have 4oz of Cream Cheese … Is there anything I could substitute for the difference??
You could cut the whole recipe in half. You could use just half the cream cheese it just won’t be as creamy. Maybe add some shredded cheese in there. I’m not sure what else would be thick enough to substitute…
I’ve made this a few times and I love how easy and versatile it is. My favorite way to have it is with mashed potatoes and corn instead of noodles. I basically just mix mine all up in a bowl with some corn, now THAT is some comfort food. I’ve also served it with spaetzle, still yummy! So glad I found this dish!
Just made this recipe and it was delicious! To lighten it up a bit, I used healthy request cream of chicken soup and low fat cream cheese and ate it with steamed veggies. I even halved the recipe since it’s just me and it gave me enough leftovers for a couple more meals. Love it!
I made this tonight for my family, and they all loved it! They’re already demanding that I make it again! But next time I’m going to use more than one packet of dressing to give it a little more flavor.
I also found that if you put the bowtie pasta in at the same time, it works just fine.
Can you use Italian dressing in the bottle if you don’t have the dry??
It’s definitely a different flavor and more on the liquidy side but some people have used it.
How much should you put
Just made this last night making it my first crockpot dinner ever. It was a huge hit! I also made a few minor changes such as cooking the chicken in a pan until both sides were brown using butter and three cloves of garlic. I also sauteed onions and mushrooms in the same butter with a little olive oil and added that to the mix. Thank you for such a great recipe!!
This sounds allot like the ranch pork chops I make . I’m excited to try it but I messed up and accidentally got the zesty Italian dressing instead of a dry packet . Will it still work and how much should I put if it does?
Never mind just read heathers comment lol
Curious these chicken breasts…are they frozen or not? Probably silly huh…LOL
Not silly!
You can use either. You might have to cook it for a little longer if frozen.
I’ve made this recipe before (thanks to finding it on your awesome site) and want to make it again. Bone-in chicken breasts are on sale this week, can I use those?
I don’t see why not?
I was wondering if you could do this in the oven instead? My crock pot is full of chili! :/
I’ve never done it in the oven. The crockpot gives it that baked all day taste. Hmm. I can’t say if it would work but I’m sure you could.
I have a similar recipe, with these differences:
I cube the chicken and put it in the crock pot with 2 TBS of margarine and the italian dressing pack. I cook it on low for 5 hours and then, I add the cream cheese and cream of chicken soup. I let that cook for another 30-60 minutes. A little less time consuming on the cook’s part, I think. Nonetheless, excellent meal and enjoyed by my entire family!
Made this for dinner tonight. I did it on the stove instead in the crockpot and used cream of mushroom and 1/3 less fat cream cheese. The hubby really liked it. It will go into my recipes to repeat several times over
And will definetly use the crockpot next time.
Hi, I found this via Pinterest a while back and am wanting to make it for a friend. Problem is, I need to freeze it (the whole meal, not just the chicken). I was going to cube the chicken, then add it with everything else into a Ziploc bag. Do you think that will work?
Yes, I totally think that would work!
Finally tried this recipe tonight since I knew I wasn’t going to be sleeping and was going to be up for over 24 hours (working mid nights and having 4 kids I have many of these) I loved that it is for the crock pot since I’m 8 months pregnant and really can’t stand for long periods of time. Followed the recipe as listed and it turned out great! It is a rare occurrence that all 4 kids (ranging from 8 to 2 years of age) all cleaned their plates as well as my husband and myself. Will definitely keep this recipe and try different varieties of it, maybe adding some veggies. A keeper!
Can I just add all the ingredient’s in the crockpot together?
Sure. My sister does it that way.
I went to Walmart two days ago and purchased the supplies for this recipe. Those two days I was suppose to make the Crockpot Italian Chicken, I ended up on Pinterest all evening and making frozen food meals instead. Needless to say, tonight I currently have this meal cooking in the slow cooker! FINALLY! I love italian anything so I am so excited to try this meal! I will be using Jasmine rice rather than pasta for two reasons. 1. I LOVE jasmine rice, and two I forgot to pick up the “Batman Pasta” while shopping. (Puts face in palm of hand) The preparation for this meal is EXTREMELY simple, it took me less than 10 minutes. Now time to get back to planing my next dinner quest while I wait on this one!
I make this all the time but add fresh mushrooms!!! this is soooo good
My mom makes this. Not sure where she got the recipe but it is sooo good and I’m actually going to make it tonight. Instead of pasta though what she does it takes a zucchini and shreds it so it looks like pasta and serves it over that. It is SO yummy that way and its a lot healthier. Well as healthy as you can get with the cream cheese and cream of chicken.
I found this online last week and made it for dinner last night. I have two picky eaters and one of them does not like trying anything new. Everyone in my house loved it! This is definitely a keeper. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes, I’m looking forward to trying more.
Just found out about this recipe last week! I can’t wait to try it! I went to the store to pick up the items I did not have. Unfortunately, I didn’t pay close enough attention and bought the zesty italian dressing, instead of the seasoning packet.
Has anyone used the dressing before? And if so, how much of that would you use in place of the dry seasoning?
Thanks!
My grocery store didn’t have any packets of Italian dressing, so I got the chicken marinara packet. Do you think it will still taste fine? Because of that I’m afraid to cook it for tonight!
Hmm. I have no idea what chicken marinara packet is? It could be good.