On busy evenings, dump-and-go crockpot dinners save time. You put in the ingredients, set the dial, and let the dinner finish cooking itself. Many crockpot recipes are adjustable; alter the protein, heat, and temperature and use whatever’s in the fridge.
| Group | Dishes |
|---|---|
| Soups, stews, and chili | Beef And Bean Chili, White Chicken Chili, Chicken Tortilla Soup, Lentil Vegetable Stew, Stuffed Pepper Soup, Chicken And Dumplings, Chicken and Wild Rice, Chicken Pho Soup, Taco Soup, Jambalaya Dinner, Vegetarian Chili |
| Sauced chicken and curries | Honey Garlic Chicken, Creamy Italian Chicken, Lemon Garlic Chicken, Teriyaki Chicken, Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala, Coconut Curry Chickpeas |
| Shredded fillings | Salsa Verde Chicken, BBQ Pulled Pork, Chicken Enchilada Filling, Beef Barbacoa, Chicken Burrito Bowls, Chicken Fajita Filling |
| Beef roasts and sandwiches | Mississippi Pot Roast, Italian Beef Sandwiches, French Dip Sandwiches |
| Pasta and Italian dishes | Meatballs And Marinara, Sausage And Peppers, Baked Ziti, Mac And Cheese, Chicken Alfredo |
| Stuffed potatoes | Baked Potatoes, Stuffed Sweet Potatoes |
Soups, stews, and chili
Beef And Bean Chili
Making chili doesn’t have to mean a sink full of dirty dishes to deal with afterwards. With a slow-cooker recipe, you only need to chop a few ingredients and let the chili cook. Use your favorite ground meat, and combine canned beans, crushed tomatoes, chopped onions, cheese, chili powder, and a dash of cumin, and salt.
Then, you can choose to cook hamburger meat beforehand and add it. It depends on your preference; skipping that step keeps the effort low. Add toppings like cheese, yogurt or sour cream, as well as cook chip pieces for texture.
White Chicken Chili
This recipe combines chicken, white beans, green chiles, onion, garlic, cumin, and chicken broth. Stir in some cream cheese or heavy cream for a silky finish. It’s good with tortilla chips and reheats well for lunch.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Put in the chicken; canned tomatoes; black beans; corn; onion; broth; and taco seasoning. After it is done cooking, shred the chicken and add a squeeze of lime to brighten all the flavors. Everyone can customize their own bowl, which helps with families. You can add tortilla strips, cheese, avocados, or leave it plain.
Lentil Vegetable Stew
Use brown or green lentils in the slow cooker. They provide lots of nutrition and protein. Add some chopped carrots, celery, and onions, a can of stewed tomatoes, some broth, and some herbs. Bring to a boil and simmer until the lentils are tender, and the stew’s consistency thickens naturally. Add some richness to the stew with a splash of olive oil or a pat of butter.
Stuffed Pepper Soup
When I want a warm dinner without a lot of work, this is what I make. I just throw in some ground beef or turkey, chopped bell peppers, diced onions, minced garlic, a can of tomatoes, some broth and some spices. I add the rice towards the end so that it doesn’t get too mushy. (Or you can use already cooked rice). It tastes like stuffed peppers but takes less work on a weeknight.
Chicken And Dumplings
This one is a warm dinner for cold nights. Cook chicken with carrots, celery, and onion in some broth so everything gets tender. If you want, you can stir in some cream soup, or if you prefer a simpler option you can do a mix of cream and flour. After that, add some dough pieces for biscuits in the end so they will steam and turn into dumplings.
Chicken and Wild Rice
Add chicken, wild rice blend, carrots, celery, onion, broth, and herbs to the slow cooker. The rice cooks in the slow cooker giving the soup a thick texture without having to stir it constantly. Add cream at the end to keep it smooth and avoid splitting it. If your family enjoys mushrooms, they fit right in here.
Chicken Pho Soup
This isn’t a classic pho recipe, but you can make it on a weeknight. Put chicken, broth, onion, ginger, (optional but nice), star anise, and fish sauce in the crockpot. After cooking, shred the chicken, then serve over herbed and limed cooked rice noodles. It is a light dinner after a long day.
Taco Soup
This soup is built mostly from canned ingredients. Ground meat, beans, corn, tomatoes, broth, and taco seasoning go into the pot and it simmers into a thick scoopable soup. It is easy to stretch for a crowd and the leftovers hold up. Add some toppings and serve it as a complete meal.
Jambalaya Dinner
This is a simpler version of a more hands-on recipe and uses fully cooked smoked sausage and on-the-go chicken, along with some diced bell pepper and onion, a can of tomatoes, Cajun seasoning, and broth. To avoid overcooking the rice, stir it in later or use parboiled rice and stir it in at the end. Since spice can impact people differently, it is best to start with a milder option and allow heat to be added at the table.
Vegetarian Chili
You can make a meat-free chili with these ingredients: three kinds of beans, tomatoes, onions, and peppers. You can also use chili powder and a little cocoa powder if you want a deeper flavor. You can let it simmer all day and the chili will become thick. Since it is meat-free, it suits households where people eat differently. For an even bigger meal serve it with cornbread or over a baked potato.
Sauced chicken and curries
Chicken or chickpeas cooked in a sauce, often served over rice.
Honey Garlic Chicken
Toss in chicken thighs, honey, soy sauce, and minced garlic, and a little rice vinegar. It is sweet, savory, and sticky, and goes well with rice and steamed broccoli. If you would prefer a thicker sauce, mix in a small amount of cornstarch before cooking on high for 10-15 minutes.
Creamy Italian Chicken
First, add chicken, Italian seasoning, garlic, sundried tomatoes, and a bit of broth into a pot. Then, add cream (or cream cheese) and spinach, and the sauce turns rich and creamy without needing to be watched. It looks like a lot of effort, but it takes little work. Serve it over pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes.
Lemon Garlic Chicken
This slow cooker recipe has few ingredients. It has no heavy sauces, just chicken, a bit of olive oil, lemon juice, broth, and spices (garlic and oregano are a must!). The flavors are light and bright, especially with a little squeeze of lemon before serving. Serve it with some rice and a green vegetable.
Teriyaki Chicken
A teriyaki-style sauce can be made with chicken, soy sauce, brown sugar or honey, garlic, ginger, and a touch of vinegar. After cooking, you can shred or slice the chicken and serve it over rice. If you want that shiny, takeout-style look, you can thicken the sauce with cornstarch at the end. This dish uses up leftovers in the fridge since you can add any vegetables you have on hand.
Butter Chicken
To start, put chicken, dish, tomato sauce, garam masala, curry powder, garlic, ginger, and salt into the slow cooker and let it cook. In the last few minutes, add a spoonful of butter or for those who prefer a creamier version, a spoonful of cream (or, for the coconut lovers, add coconut milk) to the pot and let it heat up for that classic thick and creamy taste.
Serve it with rice or naan, or eat it on its own.
Chicken Tikka Masala
This is a hands-off slow cooker recipe. Add chicken, canned crushed tomatoes, onion, garlic, and ginger, along with some tikka masala spices. Top it with cream or yogurt for a nice, rich, creamy sauce. If you want it a little sweeter, a small spoonful of sugar will balance the acidity.
Coconut Curry Chickpeas
Throw some canned chickpeas, coconut milk, curry paste (or curry powder if that is what you have), some diced tomatoes, plus a handful of spinach into the slow cooker. Squeeze some lime juice and sprinkle with cilantro just before serving to keep the flavors bright.
Shredded fillings
Meat cooked until it shreds, then used in tacos, bowls, burritos, or enchiladas.
Salsa Verde Chicken
Put chicken thighs or breasts into the slow cooker. Then add some salsa verde, a little cumin, and garlic powder. Set the cooker to low for about 6-8 hours. When it is done, shred the chicken for taco meat.
It makes enough taco meat to have leftovers on busy weeks. If you would like the meal to be a little creamier, you can add some cream cheese around the end.
Thighs and breasts alike are done at 165°F, the minimum for all poultry on the FSIS safe temperature chart.
BBQ Pulled Pork
Combine pork shoulder with your favorite BBQ sauce and some onions. Then, let it cook on low until it can be easily shredded. After shredding, mix the meat with sauce and juices to keep it moist.
This meal feeds large groups, and the leftovers keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge. Add some apple cider vinegar or a squirt of mustard for more flavor.
Chicken Enchilada Filling
Chicken, enchilada sauce, and a can of diced green chiles is the basic recipe. After you cook the chicken and it gets tender, you can shred the chicken and use it to fill enchiladas or burritos, or create a quick layered casserole by adding cheese and tortillas. You cook once and eat twice. If people in your house like different levels of heat, you can keep it mild and let people pour hot sauce on it at the table.
Beef Barbacoa
Take the chuck roast and combine it with chipotle peppers in adobo (spice level is your choice), garlic, cumin, and oregano an a splash of vinegar or lime. Cook until it shreds easily then mix it back with the juices. It has a strong flavor, but you control the heat. Start with one chipotle and add more from there. You can also use it in tacos, rice bowls, or on baked potatoes.
Chicken Burrito Bowls
Add the chicken, black beans, broth, some salsa, and a dash of cumin. Serve it over some rice and add in some cheese, avocado, and anything else you want to throw on top. You can feed a family without cooking multiple dinners.
Chicken Fajita Filling
You can also add chicken, sliced peppers and onions, and some fajita seasoning along with a dash of lime juice. The chicken absorbs the smokiness of the spice and the veggies become soft and sweet. Serve with tortillas, rice, or salad greens, whatever fits your night. If you like a little crunch, you can quickly sear the filling in a hot pan for a few minutes, but this is optional.
Beef roasts and sandwiches
Beef roasts cooked until tender enough to shred or slice.
Mississippi Pot Roast
This recipe has few steps. Put a chuck roast in a crockpot then add ranch seasoning, au jus gravy mix, a stick of butter, and some pepperoncini. The peppers won’t make it spicy, just tangy. Once it’s done cooking, serve it on some mashed potatoes, rice, or even on some rolls to make sandwiches.
Italian Beef Sandwiches
Instructions: Add beef roast, pepperoncini, Italian seasoning, garlic, and beef broth to the slow cooker. Once cooked, the meat will be tender enough to shred. The meat ‘dip’ is created from the cooking juices. Grab some rolls and add some meat, some of those cooking juices and some giardiniera or sautéed peppers. This one feeds a crowd and takes little effort.
French Dip Sandwiches
The crockpot tenderizes tough cuts here. Put in the beef roast, sliced onion, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce and thyme. Then after it’s done, slice or pull the beef and serve with warm rolls and a side of au jus.
Pasta and Italian dishes
Pasta, meatballs, or sausage in a cheese or tomato sauce.
Meatballs And Marinara
Store-bought frozen meatballs work too; thaw them in the fridge first, since USDA advises thawing meat before it goes into a slow cooker. Put em in with some jarred marinara and garlic and oregano and let them cook until the flavors blend. Serve on pasta, in sub sandwiches, or on polenta. This feeds everyone without cooking separate meals.
Sausage And Peppers
Combine sliced Italian sausage, bell peppers, and onions with a jar of marinara (or crushed tomatoes) and some Italian seasoning. You can be completely hands-off for a few hours while the peppers soften and sweeten and the sausage flavors everything. You can serve it on rolls, over rice, or with pasta. Optional: if you want some char flavor, you can brown the sausage first.
Baked Ziti
This gives you baked pasta without standing by the stove. You can layer ziti, ricotta, mozzarella, and water/broth, then cook it until the pasta is tender. You can stir once or twice during the cooking process, but it’s low effort. The leftovers make a second meal.
Mac And Cheese
Crockpot mac takes very little work. Add some uncooked macaroni, shredded cheese, evaporated milk, butter, and some seasoning to taste. You won’t even have to stir it unless you want to. It’s creamy and rich, which suits picky eaters. A splash of warm milk gets it back to the right consistency.
Chicken Alfredo
Prepare the chicken with garlic and broth along with your choice of seasonings until it reaches desired tenderness and then shred or slice the chicken. Before your noodles turn mushy, you should add cream, and parmesan along with the previously prepared chicken.
Add in the pasta and chicken mixture at the end. This dish tastes like a stovetop meal without the stovetop work. You can add a handful of peas or spinach at the end for vegetables.
Stuffed potatoes
Baked Potatoes
With a baked potato bar, kids can pick their own toppings. Wrap your individual potatoes in foil, and place them in the slow cooker. After some time, they will be ready to go. Just as you can add your own toppings, like Debbie’s chili, pulled pork, cheese, broccoli, leftover chicken, etc. Using the slow cooker keeps the oven off.
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Cook some taco seasoned chicken or beans in the slow cooker and scoop them onto sweet potatoes. You can also add cheese, yogurt, sour cream, and/or cilantro if you’d like. You can also eat it as leftovers.
What Makes These Easier
What I use most once the crockpot has done its part.
- Cutluxe Carving Knife and Fork Set. Mississippi pot roast slices or shreds cleanly with a real carving knife and fork.
- BYSNOW Deli Containers with Lids. Honey garlic chicken and butter chicken pack into these with rice for the next two lunches.
- WOODLANDS USA Teak Wooden Ladle with Spoon Rest. I use this to serve chicken tortilla soup and stuffed pepper soup straight from the crock.
