We love cooking pasta in the crockpot. We know that most experts say you shouldn't cook pasta in the slow cooker, but we think they're wrong. Our favorite pasta crockpot recipe is All in the Slow Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs. It's our go-to recipe when we just don't feel like cooking.
Lately in my cooking classes, I’ve been asked: do you leave the pasta to rest in the fridge after you’ve made the dough? At first I thought it was a one off, then nearly every class since they’ve all asked the same question. So I started asking them where did they hear that they had to put the fresh pasta dough to rest in the fridge.
When pasta cooks in the crockpot, it's cooking in the sauce you made. The sauce has to be fairly watery because the pasta will absorb a lot of the water as it cooks. If the sauce is too dry, the pasta won't cook through, and you'll end up with a solid piece of pasta in sauce. Because the pasta cooks in the sauce, it absorbs the flavors in that sauce. And some of the ingredients in the sauce, such as tomato sauce or lemon juice, prevents the pasta from overcooking.
Make sure that you stir well when adding pasta to the crockpot. It almost always is added at the end of cooking time, except for a few recipes. You can add pasta at the beginning or in the middle of cooking; then the texture becomes very soft. If that's what you like, that's the method for you!
Enjoy these easy recipes. And enjoy the fact that you don't have to lug around a huge pot of water even more.
Pasta Crockpot Recipes
- Cheesy Crockpot Tortellini
Frozen tortellini is the secret to this recipe. This type of pasta is fully cooked, just frozen, so all you're really doing is thawing it and heating. And this is a five-ingredient recipe! - Crockpot Chicken Alfredo
Fettuccine pasta is cooked in a rich Alfredo sauce with lots of vegetables in this easy and delicious recipe. - Crockpot Lasagna
Mini lasagna noodles, also called mafalda, are used in this recipe. We love the flavors and textures of this rich dish. - Crockpot Jambalaya
It's a party in a pot! This excellent recipe cooks orzo pasta in a mixture of andouille sausage, chicken, vegetables, and shrimp. Yum. - Crockpot Mac and Cheese
There's only one thing that makes comfort food better: no work to make it. Add everything to the pot, stir, cover, turn it on, and eat three hours later. - Crockpot Chicken Ramen Soup
Ramen noodles cook to perfection in this rich and hearty soup. It's so easy. - Crockpot Sweet and Sour Chicken Stew
We love the flavors and colors of this easy recipe. It's perfect for a cold winter day.
- Healthy Crockpot Beef Stew
Add more veggies to this recipe to make it even healthier. You can add more salt, but remember salt has 2400 mg of sodium per teaspoon.
Try These Easy and Quick One Pan Pasta Recipes
We’re in the water preservation business over here. Sure, we like protecting our planet and oceans, but really, we’re talking about pasta water. Heart rate monitor smartwatch. You know, the cloudy, starchy liquid gold that’s left behind after you boil your pasta to a perfect al dente. The stuff that you shouldn't be pouring down the drain, because pasta water can turn good pasta into the silky, saucy pasta of your dreams.
How does that work though? Pasta water looks, well, kind of dirty. But that murky liquid is filled with plenty of salt and leftover starch from those boiling noodles which, when added to whatever hot fat—olive oil, butter, pork fat, all of the above—is hanging out in the pan that you’re finishing your pasta, results in a luxuriously smooth sauce. (That's called emulsification.) Using pasta water properly is what separates the pasta you eat at your favorite Italian joint from the pasta that Uncle Frankie serves on Sunday nights. Sorry, Uncle Frankie (and his colander). It’s time to change.
Instead of draining your pasta into the sink, invest in a couple of cheap tools to move your pasta to the finishing pan. Tongs. Pasta fork. Spider. That’s the trifecta of pasta transportation technology. All three allow you to get pasta out of the pot and directly into a skillet quickly while preserving all of that glorious liquid. But even though all three of these tools work perfectly, you'll catch us using two more than the other.
Tongs are perfect for gripping long pastas like spaghetti or fettuccine, while a spider is great for short shapes like penne, orecchiette, or gemelli. Both happen to be really cheap (and useful for non-pasta stuff like grilling and lifting things from frying oil), so there’s no good reason not to have one. A pasta fork (that weird, large, plastic or metal fork/knife hybrid that usually comes in semi-offensive colors) can handle both shapes, but isn't good for many non-pasta activities. When it comes to pasta removal tools, we side with the tongs and spider for versatility's sake.
And now that your pasta tool arsenal is properly stocked, it's time to get in there and do some work. The rich, silky, restaurant-worthy sauces you create are going to build new bridges, sterling reputations, and meaningful relationships. Hell, they'll build empires. You might be running the kitchen at your new Italian joint the next time we check in. Hopefully, we can get a table. Because with pasta sauce this good, reservations are sure to be tight.
Pasta sauce is very good for some Alfredo. Just saying.
Fettuccine Alfredo
Real alfredo should never (never!) include cream; the silky sauce is the result of an emulsion between the grated cheese, melted butter, and starchy pasta water. This is part of BA's Best, a collection of our essential recipes.