11 Slow Cooker Recipes That Don’t Take Forever to Prep
Picture this: You’ve got 10 minutes to prep dinner before you run out the door, and your slow cooker is ready and waiting. What do you reach for? We’ve got you covered. These 11 recipes require little to no prep prior to tossing everything in the slow cooker.
This 4-ingredient dump-and-stir dinner is exactly the thing to make when you’re craving something cheesy and comforting.
Barbecue sauce and pork shoulder can go right into the slow cooker and cook low and slow all day so you can come home to these sweet and savory sandwiches without any fuss.
Yes, lasagna with zero prep! The secret? Frozen ravioli is layered with jarred tomato sauce for a lazy lasagna that is still super satisfying.
I admit there is a little chopping required in this one, so you can either buy your vegetables pre-chopped or skip the veggies altogether to make this officially zero-prep.
A zero-prep hack for this one? Use frozen cubed hash browns instead of the potatoes here. This one is worth doubling and freezing for a future no-prep dinner.
Literally the only thing you need to prep for this chicken is an aluminum foil base that holds the chicken up in the slow cooker. Season the chicken and a few hours later you’ve got a chicken that is as tender a rotisserie chicken.
Not to blow your mind or anything, but you can totally cook salmon to perfection in the slow cooker. One big note: This isn’t a slow cooker recipe that you want to leave unattended all day — it’s more like a great recipe to cook while you run an errand.
If you’re looking for a beef dish you can eat on sandwiches, tacos, or rice bowls, you’ve found it. This one requires just a bit of chopping that you can skip if you grab some chopped onions at the grocery store.
This is pretty much just ranch powder and chicken breasts, but my kids are obsessed with this dinner. If you’ve got 10 minutes after work too, it is totally worth throwing together the broccoli slaw for these sandwiches.
Chicken and salsa in the slow cooker has literally never failed me. I prefer a container of fresh salsa, but your favorite jarred salsa works well too. Don’t limit this saucy chicken to just tacos either — it’s great on salads, bowls, or nachos.
This is a favorite meal prep recipe because it’s literally just chicken and pesto, yet it tastes amazing. The recipe above calls for making your own pesto (and if you’ve got some stashed in your freezer, by all means use it) but skip that step and open a jar of your favorite pesto instead to make this as easy as possible.