When it reaches ninety degrees outside, you don’t want to be baking in the kitchen. That is what slow cookers are for. These crockpot meals prepare themselves over the course of the day, and help you pack in the protein. They keep your kitchen cool as they cook, and all you need to do is set them in the morning.
Beef and ground meat
Slow Cooker Pot Roast
It is possible to create a pot roast that will fall apart without using an oven by using a chuck roast, some vegetables, and a little broth. While you are out of the kitchen, the slow cooker does all the work. It is a full meal with lean protein in one pot.
Slow Cooker Chili
Ground beef, beans, and tomatoes simmer into chili. Set it in the morning and it will be ready when you are. It is high in protein, and there is no need to heat the oven.
Beef and Butternut Squash Chili
Butternut squash adds bulk and a slight sweetness to beef chili. The slow cooker combines all of the ingredients together to create a dish that is a meal on its own. It doesn’t heat up your kitchen like an oven would.
French Dip Sandwiches
Slow-cooked beef roasts in a rich broth and then heaps onto a roll with the juice for dipping. It’s a high protein meal. With a slow cooker, there is no oven needed.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
As you go about your day, beef, potatoes, and carrots simmer into a rich stew. There is no oven and no standing over the stove.
Slow Cooker Barbacoa
The spiced beef cooks to a barbacoa texture to be shredded and used for tacos or burrito bowls. The crockpot does all the work for you, and for a big batch of protein, there’s no heat involved.
Short Rib with Mashed Potatoes
After a day in the slow cooker, the short ribs go in tough and come out fork-tender. For a richer meal, serve the short ribs over mashed potatoes. There is no oven heat.
Crockpot Taco Meat
Simmer seasoned ground beef or turkey into taco meat. Dinner is ready whenever you are. Each person can customize their own bowl or taco. It won’t heat up the house
Slow Cooker Meatballs
Letting a pot of meatballs and sauce simmer for hours takes very little hands-on time. Serve the meatballs over pasta, in a sub sandwich, or straight from the pot. They are a high protein, completely hands-off meal option.
Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
Ground beef simmers in a tangy tomato sauce to serve on buns. A crockpot means you don’t have to stand at a hot stove.
Chicken and turkey
Several shred for tacos, bowls, wraps, or salads.
Crockpot Salsa Chicken
For spicy shredded chicken, you only need chicken breasts and salsa. It cooks while you are busy and comes out juicy every time. Use it for tacos, bowls, or nachos.
Start with thawed breasts: FSIS advises always thawing meat or poultry before putting it into a slow cooker.
Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
Ground turkey keeps this chili lean. Combined with beans and tomatoes, it’s a complete protein dinner. On a hot day, set it in the morning and leave it.
Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken
Cook a few chicken breasts with some seasoning, and you’ll have shredded chicken that lasts you 3 to 4 days. It is high-protein meal prep that doesn’t warm up the kitchen. Add it to tacos, bowls, and salads.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken, beans, corn, and tomatoes simmer all day into a soup. You can finish it off with crushed chips and cheese for a restaurant-style bowl. The crockpot does the work while the kitchen stays cool.
Crockpot Chicken and Rice
This chicken and rice stew is cheap and simple to prepare, and it stretches to feed a family. Put it in the slow cooker and leave it.
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken
For a protein source to use throughout the week, the buffalo chicken sauce reduces to a spicy, pullable protein that can be added to wraps, salads, or used in a sandwich. No oven is needed.
Crockpot White Chicken Chili
The creamy chili makes for a nice change from the standard recipes being white beans, green chiles, and chicken, and it cooks all day until rich. It is high in protein and doesn’t require the oven.
Pork and sausage
Pulled Pork
Place a pork shoulder in the slow cooker in the morning and by dinner you have a large batch of protein you can shred. Serve it on buns, rice, or a salad to feed a crowd. There’s no need for a grill, oven, or even to sweat over the stovetop.
Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs
Ribs are placed in a crockpot for a long time at a low temperature until the meat can easily be separated from the bone. The ribs are also finished with sauce but do not require a grill to complete the process. The kitchen stays cool.
Pork Carnitas
These carnitas finish slow-cooked pork with a crisp. The crockpot does most of the work. Load the pork into tortillas.
Slow Cooker Sausage and Peppers
With the slow cooker, you will have a dinner of sausage, peppers, and onions, that you can serve on bread or pasta. It will keep your kitchen cool while it cooks all day.
Slow Cooker Kalua Pork
After spending a day in the slow cooker with some salt, pork shoulder transforms into smoky, shredded Kalua pork. It feeds a large number of people. For a no-oven protein-packed dinner, serve it over rice.
Beans, lentils, and chickpeas
Meatless dinners built on beans, lentils, or chickpeas.
Butternut Squash Black Bean Chili
This meatless chili utilizes black beans for protein and squash for substance. With little effort, the slow cooker makes it silky and rich.
Lentil Soup
Lentils are an inexpensive source of protein that cook well in a slow cooker. Add tomatoes, broth, and an onion. You will return to a pot of food ready to feed the entire family.
Slow Cooker Chickpea Curry
With a few hours in the slow cooker, chickpeas and coconut milk turn into a curry. Chickpeas are a plant-based protein source. Served over rice, it’s a complete meal with no oven needed.
White Bean and Rosemary Stew
Rosemary, tomatoes, and white beans are cooked into a cheap, filling stew packed with plant protein. It is a hands-off meal for when you’re busy. Serve with some crusty bread.
Slow Cooker Minestrone
With little work, you can prepare a thick Italian soup made of beans, pasta, and vegetables. It uses the ingredients you have available. It is inexpensive, and it tastes better the next day.
