When you add pasta
to a slow cooker for the full 4-8 hours of cooking time, the
resulting pasta will be little more than mush when you go
to serve it. The texture becomes quite gummy because the pasta
noodles normally would only be cooked for 8-14 minutes in
boiling water, but this is doing that about twenty times over!
When you want to
add pasta to something you are making in a slow cooker, it
is best to pre-cook your pasta noodles as usual and then add
it to the slow cooker for the last half hour of cooking. This
ensures the pasta is cooked and can absorb the flavors but
that it won't be overcooked by the time you serve.
