For an easy chicken breast recipe, look no further than this slow cooker chicken enchilada pasta recipe. Plus, to make things even easier you can make up our easy shredded chicken recipe, and use it right away in this orzo recipe.
You know those days when you want to eat something that is tasty, but doesn’t take a lot of energy, and is also not the same ole same ole spaghetti recipe, that is when you need this recipe. It is the best slow cooker recipe for making chicken enchilada pasta.
When you use orzo for the pasta in this enchilada recipe, you don’t have to worry about cutting anything up. Simply mix everything together, scoop and serve!
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make our slow cooker chicken enchilada pasta, you need the following ingredients:
- Diced tomatoes
- Canned corn, drained
- Drained and rinsed black beans
- Mild enchilada sauce
- Diced green chilies
- Chicken broth
- Cooked and shredded chicken (rotisserie chicken works great or our shredded chicken recipe)
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Fresh chopped cilantro
- Cream cheese
- Uncooked orzo pasta
- Enchilada toppings
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How to Make This Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Pasta
- When you are ready to begin this recipe, make sure that your chicken is already cooked, as the amount for this slow cooker recipe does not take into account the time to cook the chicken necessarily.
- After you have all of your ingredients prepared, get out your slow cooker and place the diced tomatoes, drained can of corn, drained and rinsed black beans, mild enchilada sauce, diced green chilies, chicken broth, shredded chicken, chili powder, cumin, fresh cilantro, and cut cream cheese in the bottom.
- After everything (except the orzo) is in the slow cooker, turn it on either high heat for 3-4 hours or low heat for 6-8 hours. Essentially until all the ingredients are warm and the cream cheese is melted.
- Then, remove the lid from the slow cooker and pour in the orzo pasta and mix it all together.
- Now, place the lid back on the slow cooker and turn it to high heat for 15-30 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked all the way through.
- If you notice there isn’t much liquid in the slow cooker, add 2-3 tablespoons of chicken broth at a time to make sure there is enough liquid to cook the orzo pasta.
- Once the pasta is cooked all the way, give everything a good stir, and then scoop the enchilada pasta into bowls and then top it with some of your favorite enchilada toppings.
Recipe Notes
Have you ever made homemade chicken broth? I think it sounds more daunting than it really is. Once you get the hang of it, it is a great thing to know, especially if you love canning! A great recipe to use is from Taste of Home. Their homemade chicken broth recipe is great and has wonderful instructions, especially for beginners!
Get creative with your enchilada pasta and put all of your favorite toppings on and enjoy! Some of our favorite toppings include the following: tortilla strips or crunched up tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole, fresh cilantro, onions, sour cream, or cheese.
Serving Suggestions
We recommend serving this recipe with our Mexican Street Corn Salad, Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice, and Slow Cooker Refried Beans. You can find more Mexican-inspired recipes here.
Enjoy More Delicious Pasta Recipes
We’ve rounded up some of our best pasta recipes, including creamy tomato rigatoni, puttanesca, macaroni and cheese, and more. Check out our comprehensive collection of pasta recipes here.
- 20-Minute Skillet Lasagna
- Tuscan Pasta
- 30-Minute Lemon Pasta
- Broccoli and Cheese Orzo
- Cheeseburger Macaroni
- Chili Mac Skillet
- Chili’s Copycat Cajun Chicken Pasta
- Classic Pasta Carbonara
Chicken Enchilada Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes, (1 can)
- 15 ounces canned corn, drained, (1 can)
- 15 ounces canned black beans, drained and rinsed, (1 can)
- 10 ounces mild enchilada sauce, (1 can)
- 4 ounces diced green chilies, (1 can)
- ¾ cup chicken broth, (or more, as needed)
- 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken, (rotisserie chicken works great or our shredded chicken recipe)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 2 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, (plus more for topping, if desired)
- 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into small pieces
- 2 cups uncooked orzo pasta, (this is the kind I used)
- favorite enchilada toppings
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into the slow cooker EXCEPT for the orzo pasta.
- Cook on high heat for 3-4 hours or low heat for 6-8 hours – just until ingredients are warmed through and cream cheese is melted.
- Remove the lid, pour in the orzo pasta, and mix together all the ingredients until everything is completely incorporated.
- Put the lid back on and continue to cook on high for 15-30 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Add more chicken broth as needed (adding a couple of Tablespoons at a time) to make sure that the pasta has enough liquid to cook thoroughly.
- When pasta is ready, mix everything together and scoop into bowls. Top with your favorite enchilada toppings (salsa, guacamole, fresh cilantro, sour cream, etc).
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
This was so easy and tasty to make. The whole family loved it. Will be adding it to the rotation!
Since this is a crockpot recipe, can you put raw chicken in it?
This was an unexpected hit at our house! Even my picky eaters asked for another scoop. I will be making this one again!
Yes, you could add raw chicken, but it may change the consistency from the moisture! Make sure you adjust as necessary (and make sure the chicken is cooked all the way through before you eat it). We’ve always just used rotisserie or leftover chicken, so if you try it out, report back! We’d love to hear how it goes.