When cooking is finished, use two forks to shred the chicken right in the slow cooker or slice it into thick pieces if you prefer larger bites. Stir everything together so the chicken, cavatelli, and creamy goat cheese sauce are well combined.
Finished creamy chicken cavatelli in slow cooker
Finished creamy chicken cavatelli in slow cooker
Taste and adjust seasoning with a little more salt or pepper if needed. If the sauce seems too thick, you can stir in a splash more warm chicken broth or hot water until it reaches your preferred creaminess.
Serve the creamy goat cheese chicken cavatelli hot, sprinkled with extra fresh thyme and a little grated Parmesan cheese if you like.
Variations & Tips
For a heartier farmhouse feel, stir in 1 to 1 1/2 cups of sliced mushrooms or a handful of baby spinach during the last 30 minutes of cooking; they’ll soften into the sauce without watering it down too much.
If you don’t cook with wine, simply replace the white wine with extra chicken broth and add a squeeze of lemon at the end for brightness. You can swap the chicken breasts for boneless, skinless chicken thighs if that’s what you keep in the freezer—just trim excess fat and cook on LOW for about the same time, checking for tenderness.
Creamy cavatelli served with green beans and bread
Creamy cavatelli served with green beans and bread
If cavatelli is hard to find, small sturdy pastas like penne, rotini, or shells will work; just keep the total amount to about 8 ounces and make sure they’re mostly submerged in the mixture. For a milder flavor, use half goat cheese and half cream cheese, which keeps the sauce creamy but softens the tang.
This recipe also holds well on the warm setting for about an hour after cooking; if it thickens while it sits, loosen it with a splash of broth or milk before serving.
