Try this Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti recipe, or contribute your own.
- 3 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
- ground black pepper to taste
- 2 large carrots diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 large garlic cloves minced
- 2 large celery stalks diced
- 15 oz can tomato sauce low sodium
- 2 tsp dried oregano or basil
- 3.5 lbs chicken thighs skinless (bone in or out)*
- 10 oz spaghetti whole wheat or gluten free if necessary
- 1/3 cup parsley dill or scallions chopped
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese grated (optional)
- Carbohydrate 71.5378683213218 g
- Cholesterol 1340.89490114268 mg
- Fat 246.356199296319 g
- Fiber 18.3205550998533 g
- Protein 289.143764780453 g
- Saturated Fat 71.4670489389058 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (3579g)
- Sodium 3805.65139923715 mg
- Sugar 53.2173132214685 g
- Trans Fat 16.0642258004838 g
- Calories 3700 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large slow cooker, add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, water, oregano, salt, black pepper and stir. Add chicken and make sure it's covered with sauce. Cover and cook on Low for 8 - 10 hours.
- Remove chicken from the slow cooker and shred into pieces using 2 forks, discarding bones if necessary. Switch slow cooker to High and place chicken back.
- Add uncooked spaghetti and let the bottom part of pasta soften for a few minutes. Then you can push it all in the slow cooker. Alternatively, you could brake noodles in half to fit all in right away. Give a few stirs to separate the noodles and mix with sauce. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes (less amount for GF pasta, especially brown rice) or until pasta is cooked.
- Sprinkle with parsley and cheese, serve hot.
Tomato sauce acts as the foundational flavor engine here, softening the aromatics while breaking down the connective tissue in the chicken thighs over eight to ten hours on Low. Ground black pepper provides a subtle warmth that cuts through the concentrated tomato base without requiring extra heat.
Balancing the Plate
Acidity and crispness offer the best counterweight to the heavy starch load of slow-cooked spaghetti and chicken. Bitter greens dressed in a sharp lemon vinaigrette pierce through the richness of the dish. Alternatively, roasted cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts provide an earthy contrast that complements the slow-simmered oregano and basil. Steamed green beans tossed with toasted almonds add a necessary structural snap against the soft noodles.
- Starch absorption happens rapidly; if the sauce looks too thick after adding the pasta, stir in an extra quarter cup of hot water or low-sodium broth at the twenty-minute mark.
- Gluten-free noodles require vigilant monitoring during the final thirty-minute cook phase because they disintegrate faster than wheat-based pasta.
- Shredded chicken should be completely submerged in liquid after deboning to prevent the exposed meat edges from drying out on High heat.
