Crockpot Chipotle Chicken Pasta

This creamy chipotle chicken pasta brings slow-cooked chicken, penne, and a blended cottage cheese sauce together in a big family batch.

A QUICK NOTE

This one has a kick, which our family loved! Adjust the chipotle peppers to suit your heat preference. These amounts make a large batch for our family of six and meal prep.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CHICKEN

• 2 lb thin-sliced chicken breast

• 4 Tbsp adobo sauce

• 3 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced (adjust to taste)

• 2 tsp garlic powder

• 2 tsp onion powder

• 1 Tbsp salt

• 1 tsp chicken bouillon

• 1¼ cups water

FOR THE PASTA

• 1½ lb penne, or pasta of choice

• About ½ cup reserved pasta water, optional, to thin the sauce

BLENDED CHEESE SAUCE

• 2½ cups low-fat cottage cheese

• ½ cup one-third-less-fat cream cheese

• 1 cup shredded mozzarella

• 2½ Tbsp honey

• 1¼ cups fat-free Fairlife milk, or milk of choice

• Salt and pepper, to taste

FOR GARNISH

• Chopped chives

DIRECTIONS

1. Add the chicken, adobo sauce, minced chipotle peppers, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, bouillon, and 1¼ cups water to the slow cooker. Stir to coat. Cover and cook on high for 2–3 hours or low for 4–5 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and easy to shred.

2. While the chicken cooks, boil the pasta for about half the package time so it stays firm. Reserve about ½ cup pasta water, then drain.

3. Shred the cooked chicken in the slow cooker with two forks.

4. Blend the cottage cheese, cream cheese, mozzarella, honey, milk, and salt and pepper until smooth.

5. Add the partially cooked pasta and blended cheese sauce to the slow cooker. Stir until everything is coated.

6. For a thinner sauce, stir in some of the reserved pasta water, up to about ½ cup.

7. Cover and cook on low for 20–30 minutes, until the pasta is tender and the sauce has thickened.

8. Stir once more, garnish with chopped chives, and serve.