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
- Pasta Bolognese
- 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! And I would love for you to leave a comment and review below if you give this recipe a try.
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.
Nicole
I want to try this , it’s summer and hot in az. I don’t want to turn on oven😩 is this recipe ok to follow minus the rocatta cheese , I don’t have any ...
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Nicole, yes you can make this without the cottage cheese without any issues. Enjoy and stay cool!
Toni
I really loved how tasty and delicious this is!! So yummy!
Lily
I would have never added cottage cheese but I decided to give it a go and it was amazing. This ziti was so easy to make and delicious; the cottage cheese increased the protein which made me very happy. Thank you this was a lovely family dinner.
Beth Pierce
I love this recipe. It makes dinner so much easier and faster! My family loves it!
Alyson C Schlobohm
This is, hands down, one of the best dishes I have ever made. It was PRECISELY what I was looking for and my husband and father have been as WOWED by it as I am.
I so infrequently follow recipes step-by-step but something told me to with this one; my intuition almost never fails 😉 I did add meat, venison (because I was out of ground beef) and sausage. My only other alteration was adding an extra can of diced tomatoes b/c I REALLY like sauce and tomato chunks but it almost made it too saucy - this is one of the few recipes where I would strongly recommend you just do as she says!
Thank you so much for providing this little slice of heaven - just finished off yet another bowl of it!
Kristen Chidsey
I LOVE LOVE hearing how much you enjoyed this recipe Alyson. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
DJ
I made this. I left out the cottage cheese because I tried a different pasta dish with the stuff and my kids didn't like it. I also added some ground beef.
Its pretty good. Very easy and cheap to make. I'm going to toss in some garlic next time. My wife thought the recipe was missing something and it was probably garlic.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi DJ! I am glad you found this easy (and inexpensive) to make! I think adding garlic and some extra cheese (since you are not using cottage cheese) is a great idea.
CW
Wonderful recipe. Has become a family and friends favorite. I added a small amount of garlic powder to the sauce. I also cook in a couple shakes of Parmesan cheese — has passed the family test! Thank you for sharing.
Kristen Chidsey
I love when meals get the family seal of approval. Thanks for sharing 😊
Nadia
I made this recipe with rigatoni! I made a couple of modifications. I used 36 oz jar of my favorite pasta sauce and put crockpot on warm for 2.5 hours. Then added 1 lb browned ground beef, cottage cheese, and rigatoni. Note, you’ll need to add 12 oz (1.5 cups) of water for the rigatoni to cook in. Then took about 40 min on high to cook all the way through!
Kristen Chidsey
I love when people are able to take inspiration from my recipe and make it their own. Sounds delicious Nadia!
Michele Hawkins
Do you cook the ziti first. The recipe is not clear
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Michelle, I am going to update right this recipe shortly to be sure it is super clear. You do NOT cook the ziti first. Part of the beauty of this fast meal 🙂 Enjoy!
Amy D
What is the significance of the honey? Can it be left out? I typically don't care for sweet red sauces.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Amy,
You can certainly leave out the honey. However, this small amount doesn't add much sweetness. It just helps to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes. Enjoy 🙂