Dump Meals

Chicken

Creamy Italian Chicken

dumpmeals.com/recipes/creamy-italian-chicken/

Chicken breasts in a creamy sauce made from Italian dressing mix, soup and cream cheese, served over noodles.

Serves
6
Prep
10 minutes
Cook
Low 3 to 5 hours, or high 1½ to 2½ hours
Slow cooker
3-quart

This dish makes its own gravy. Italian dressing mix seasons the chicken, condensed cream of chicken soup makes the base, and cream cheese stirred in at the end makes it rich. It reads like a comfort-food casserole without any oven.

Serve it over egg noodles, rice or mashed potatoes, and add a green vegetable such as green beans. The sauce is meant to be spooned over everything, so cook the noodles separately and keep them hot. Because the sauce contains dairy, this recipe is made fresh and is not set up as a freezer bag.

The dressing mix is salty, so skip added salt. A spoonful of the sauce goes a long way over plain noodles. Green beans, peas or a simple salad of lettuce and tomato are good beside it.

Ingredients

Into the slow cooker

  • 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 (0.7-ounce) packet Italian dressing mix
  • 1 (10.5-ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
  • ½ cup chicken broth

Near the end

  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cut in cubes

To serve

  • 1 pound egg noodles

Directions

  1. If your meat is frozen, thaw it completely in the refrigerator first. Never put frozen meat in the slow cooker.
  2. Lay the chicken in a 3-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle the dressing mix over it.
  3. Stir the soup and broth together. Pour over the chicken.
  4. Cover. Cook on low 3 to 5 hours or on high 1½ to 2½ hours.
  5. Check the chicken. It should read at least 165°F in the thickest piece.
  6. Add the cream cheese cubes. Stir until the sauce is smooth, about 15 minutes with the lid on.
  7. Boil the egg noodles on the stove as the package says. Spoon the chicken and sauce over them.

It's done when the chicken reads at least 165°F in the thickest piece. The sauce is smooth, hot and bubbling at the edges. Check with a food thermometer.

Leftovers go in the refrigerator within two hours. Reheat them on the stove or in the microwave until hot all the way through (165°F), not in the slow cooker. Slow cooker safety

Cooking for two

A half batch is too small to fill even a 2-quart slow cooker halfway, so make the full recipe. Put what you won't eat in the refrigerator or freezer within 2 hours, in shallow covered containers. Leave the cream cheese out of any portion you freeze, and stir it in when you reheat.

More in Cooking for two in a slow cooker.

Tips

  • Cube the cream cheese and take it out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you stir it in, so it melts faster. Don't leave it out longer than 2 hours.
  • Stir only at the end. Lifting the lid lets heat escape.
  • Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours, in shallow covered containers. Reheat them on the stove or in the microwave until they reach 165°F. Do not reheat them in the slow cooker.

Food-safety sources

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