This recipe for Crock Pot Pasta features a homemade sauce, tons of cheese, and noodles that are cooked to perfection right in the slow cooker. This is one easy hands-off meal that is PERFECT for busy days!
Serve this Crock Pot Baked Ziti with Homemade Garlic Toast and a side Greek Salad for a complete family meal that is satisfying, comforting, and super easy to prepare.
Crock Pot Pasta
I turned one of my favorite recipes, baked rotini, into a one-pot, easy, slow-cooker meal!
YES, you heard me right! You can cook your pasta in the slow cooker! And the results are spectacular.
The spaghetti sauce simmers to develop a rich, deep sauce and then pasta and cheese are added and cooked to perfection right in the sauce. The pasta is fork-tender, the pasta is cheesy, and the the meal comes together with minimal effort.
Crock Pot Pasta is beyond simple, only dirties up one dish, and flavors are spot-on. It is a must-make dinner.
Key Ingredients
- Tomato Sauce: I start his dish out with a version of my homemade tomato sauce. You can use any jarred spaghetti sauce your family likes, just be sure to follow the recipe modifications if using jarred sauce. add in an additional 1 cup water for pasta to have something to absorb while cooking. And you still need to let the sauce heat up before adding the pasta. I would cook on low for at least 1 hour.
- Pasta: Shape and size of pasta matter for this recipe. I have tried this Crock-Pot Pasta with ziti, rotini, rigatoni, and elbow noodles with success. Spaghetti, linguine, and bow-tie pasta is not recommended.
- Cottage Cheese: Cottage cheese adds the perfect creaminess and texture to the pasta dish, but you can use ricotta instead.
- Cheese: Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese add the perfect cheesy touch.
- Meat (optional): This crock-pot pasta makes a hearty meatless dish, however, feel free to brown sausage or ground beef and add to when you add the pasta to the slow cooker.
How to Make Slow Cooker Pasta
- Mix together all the ingredients for the homemade tomato sauce.
- Slow cook for several hours on low, allowing the sauce to develop its flavor and the tomatoes to mellow out.
- Once the sauce has cooked, turn the heat to high. Stir in the pasta, cottage cheese, and mozzarella cheese.
- Cook for 30-45 minutes for whole grain pasta and 15-20 minutes for white pasta, or until the pasta is tender.
- Top with Parmesan cheese, and let warm through before serving.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely. In place of the homemade tomato sauce, use 28 ounces of your favorite jarred sauce and add in an additional 1 cup water. Cook on low heat for 1 hour before adding the pasta, cottage cheese, and cheese.
Yes! Simply brown up one pound of lean ground beef or ground Italian sausage on the stove and then add to the slow cooker when you add the pasta.
Unfortunately, I don't recommend using gluten-free noodles for this recipe for slow cooker pasta. The gluten-free noodles release too much starch as they cook, giving the sauce a weird flavor.
The cheese makes this dish spectacular, but if you are dairy-free, feel free to omit the cottage cheese and shredded mozzarella and parmesan.
Allow the pasta to cool and then store in the airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days in the refrigerator. Reheat individual servings in the microwave as desired.
More Comforting Pasta Recipes
- Creamy Chicken Casserole
- Homemade Lasagna
- Easy Taco Pasta
- Instant Pot Creamy Italian Pasta
- Instant Pot Spaghetti
Make this Slow Cooker "Baked" Ziti and get dinner done without the hassle!
Slow Cooker Pasta
Ingredients
Homemade Tomato Sauce
- 28 ounce can tomato puree
- 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 3 cups water, divided
- 1 tablespoon honey or granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
For the Crock-Pot Ziti
- 16 ounces rotini or ziti noodles
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese freshly grated
Instructions
- Mix together tomato puree, tomato paste, 2 cups water, oil, honey, and spices together in a slow cooker.
- Cover and set to low and cook for 4-5 hours.
- Turn slow cooker to high and mix in 1 cup water, pasta, cottage cheese, and mozzarella cheese. Cover and let cook for about 45 minutes for whole grain pasta and 25 minutes for white pasta, or until pasta is tender, stirring half-way through.
- Once the pasta is tender, finish with Parmesan cheese and serve.
Equipment Needed
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2015 but was updated in 2020 with new pictures and a video.
Roberto De Leon-Gonzalez
I have yet to make this recipe, but it looks promising. However, as someone who is lactose intolerant, could I substitute Mozzarella cheese with Gouda? The other cheeses I can get reasonably free from lactose, but Mozzarella is a holdout.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Roberto. I do love Gouda cheese and it will more than likely be delicious in this ziti. However, it is a strongly flavored cheese. Maybe try a Parmesan that is lactose-free? I love Grana Padano that is lactose free--I would just use half the amount. I hope you enjoy!