Slow Cooker Recipes & Ideas

In the nineties, I went to college in Canada, a long way from my home in South Carolina. One snowy weekend, my mother came for a visit. Because I was in class when she arrived — and you can’t skip class the day your mother arrives — I left her a key.

This slow cooker mac and cheese is so easy that it feels like it can’t possibly be right. Dry pasta, milk, and cheese go in, and a few hours later you’re scooping warm macaroni and cheese onto your plate. Ready for a little magic in your dinner? Let’s take a look at how this macaroni and cheese can be yours. This recipe makes a casserole-style macaroni and cheese with a sturdy (but still creamy!) texture that can be sliced into squares.

You’ll want to have the pasta or Italian bread ready for this one. That’s because this super-easy slow cooker dinner begs for something to sop up all its ridiculously saucy goodness. This meal is as lazy as it gets, thanks to a couple of Trader Joe’s shortcuts and your trusty slow cooker. This simple recipe is proof that precooked meatballs are worth keeping in your freezer.

Meatballs in the slow cooker are a gorgeous thing. They’re gently simmered, so the meatballs stay tender while the sauce becomes luscious and rich. Whether they’re being served over spaghetti for a weeknight dinner or piled onto a meatball sub at a Saturday potluck, these slow-cooker meatballs are going to be a hit — guaranteed. Slow-cooker meatballs are really more of a cooking technique than a recipe.

Layered with sauce, these pockets of pasta and cheese cook while you work.

It's everything you love about the classic Italian casserole, transformed into the easiest soup you'll make.

Show up at your next potluck with a big pot of meatballs, swimming in a glossy sweet and tangy sauce, and everyone’s going to be excited. That’s just what meatballs have the power to do. They’re simmered and served from the slow cooker, which can be plopped down on the appetizer table next to the cheese and crackers, or served up as a main course.

Add a slow cooker full of glossy, sweet-and-savory meatballs to your appetizer spread (or serve them up for dinner), and it’s all but guaranteed they’ll be gone in seconds. It’s just one of the reasons I keep meatballs stashed in the freezer at all times. Combined with a few pantry staples and plenty of pungent garlic, the whole thing cooks up with a full-flavored sticky sauce — and, best of all, the slow cooker does most of the work.

A few pantry staples give this classic a sweet and tangy twist you'll love.

When it comes to fall comfort food, it doesn’t get much better than sauerbraten, the traditional German pot roast. An ideal candidate for the slow cooker, this hearty, sturdy cut of beef is transformed into an ultra-tender meal, flavored with the aromas of warm red wine and bright vinegar. Because tougher cuts of beef, like chuck and bottom round, are favored for this German favorite, sauerbraten is an ideal candidate for the slow cooker.

The secret to juicy meatloaf has been on your counter the whole time.

Have you ever woken up and wished you could walk into the kitchen to find a hot breakfast (or really, any breakfast) ready and waiting for you? I have this exact wish on a weekly basis. That’s why I want you all to meet the slow-cooker sausage and egg casserole, otherwise known as the recipe that lets you wake up to breakfast.

This brilliant dinner hack is thanks to you, dear Kitchn readers. When we shared our recipe for slow cooker fajitas, many of you commented that your favorite riff on that concept was slow cooker salsa chicken. The premise is simply combining your favorite salsa with chicken breast in the slow cooker until tender. The result is deliciously seasoned, shredded chicken that’s perfect for tacos, burrito bowls, or even taco salads.

Ever since I met this sweet slow cooker breakfast casserole, I’ve been hosting weekend brunch as often as possible. It’s a treat to be sure, loaded with tender cubes of custard-soaked brioche tinged with the warm scent of pumpkin spice and topped with a nutty brown sugar streusel. You’ll want to keep this one in rotation all year long. French toast casseroles are my easy go-to solution for serving this breakfast favorite to a crowd.

Slow-cooker breakfast casseroles are sort of like a culinary superhero. They work through the night to save the day — all you have to do is throw in a few of your favorite breakfast ingredients and turn it on. But you can take this culinary cunning to the next level by stowing away a few breakfast casserole kits in your freezer, so that late at night you can call to your culinary superhero and be rescued from breakfast boredom.

Made-to-order omelets are a breakfast I always enjoy but rarely execute in my own home. The extensive prep and required attention over the stove so early in the morning means I reserve filling egg breakfasts for when I am the guest of honor. That is, until I realized that with a bag of frozen potatoes, fresh spinach, pork sausage, and Swiss cheese at my side I can mix up a mean breakfast — and most of that cooking takes place while I sleep.

With the holidays come long, lazy mornings spent hanging out with friends and family. Coffee is a must, but who wants to run out to the coffee shop for a fancy flavored latte? This recipe lets you keep a big batch of pumpkin spice lattes warm in the slow cooker and doesn’t even require an espresso machine. Now you can cozy up and stay inside instead, sipping the quintessential coffee drink of fall.

Skip the long line at the chain coffee shop when you’re craving an eggnog-flavored latte and settle for the real deal at home instead. With the help of a carton of store-bought eggnog and the slow cooker, you can make a big batch of eggnog lattes for a decadent holiday morning treat, or you can spike it with your favorite alcohol to sip after dinner while relaxing by the fire.

Ever wonder what wassailing means? It’s the medieval precursor to modern-day caroling, where the singers are offered a drink from the wassail bowl after they carol. Wassail itself is a hot mulled cider punch. Our version simmers apple cider and orange juice together with traditional mulling spices, fresh fruit, honey, and slices of spicy fresh ginger for a sangria-like twist on regular mulled apple cider.

They're destined to be the star of any summer spread.

It's the ultimate cozy winter meal.

Take breakfast burritos from weekend treat to everyday staple with help from the slow cooker.

Set-and-forget your way to a delicious dinner.

A burrito bowl that pinch hits for Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, or, to be honest, any day.

The slow cooker is a mainstay of modern American cooking — but it’s not just you and me firing up the Crock-Pot on a weeknight. Famous chefs and celebrities are not above its charms, and this week we’re bringing you five recipes from five kitchen stars that show off their favorite ways to put the slow cooker to good use. Most people associate Crock-Pots with thick, hearty stews or fork-tender cuts of meat.

If Valentine’s Day had a mascot, it would be the chocolate lava cake. Luxurious and bittersweet, this dessert is Valentine’s Day in a mouthful. And while I enjoy a romantic night out, there is no love lost for me in avoiding overcrowded dining rooms packed like the most elegantly lit tin can of sardines on February 14. Instead, I will spend Cupid’s finest hour at home spooning a strikingly decadent molten chocolate cake out of the slow cooker.

If there was ever a time to get excited about oatmeal for breakfast, it’s now. This version is special. Cooked low and slow overnight, this warming bowl is finished off with a buttery brown sugar-cinnamon drizzle and a cream cheese icing swirl. Together, these toppings make for indulgent bowls of oats blissfully reminiscent of all the best parts of a cinnamon roll.

I’ll be the first to tell you that homemade cinnamon rolls are truly something spectacular. But more often than not, when the craving hits, you’ll find me popping open a store-bought tube of the sweet, swirly rolls. You too, right? There’s no shortage of options, and each has mastered the art of the lightly-sweetened, doughy bun, swirled with cinnamon and sugar and blanketed with an irresistible layer of icing.

These dinners are wholesome, comforting, and totally delicious.

It's the perfect addition to movie night.

Welcome to Snapshot Cooking, the home of Kitchn’s easiest recipes. These mini recipes are so simple you can practically cook from the before-and-after snapshot itself. If you’ve ever had one of those nights where you wish dinner would just cook itself, you’re not alone. We’ve been there, too, and have just the answer you’ve been looking for.

Welcome to Snapshot Cooking, the home of Kitchn’s easiest recipes. These mini recipes are so simple you can practically cook from the before-and-after snapshot itself. If you’re not already familiar, dump dinners are just what they sound like — meals that require almost zero prep work (save for chopping a veggie or two), where the ingredients are dumped into the slow cooker and left to do their thing.

Of all the many frozen meals at Trader Joe’s, their Chicken Tikka Masala is definitely a fan favorite. Devotees feel pretty strongly that it’s the next best thing to the version served at their local Indian restaurant. This slow cooker version is equally as lazy, and we’d argue it’s even more tasty. If chicken tikka masala is your go-to Indian restaurant order but you’ve never tried making it at home, here’s your invitation.

Don’t wait a minute longer before making one of our easiest-ever drop dinners. You’ll thank me when the sweet and savory smell of this tangy balsamic beef wafts from the kitchen and greets you at the front door, providing the best kind of reminder — that dinner for the whole family is cooked and ready for eating.

Wondering what to do with the chicken thighs you bought this week? Let your slow cooker transform them into the juiciest, nuttiest taco filling with just two extra ingredients. When it’s done, fold the slow-cooked chicken into a tortilla with crunchy-sweet honey-roasted peanuts and a few sliced scallions for an impossibly easy weeknight dinner.

The easiest way to bring restaurant-style bulgogi (Korean BBQ beef) to your own dinner table? These three-ingredient slow cooker tacos — which aren’t authentic, of course, but will deliver the sweet, savory, and spicy flavors you expect from Korean BBQ. All you need is flank steak, barbecue sauce, and gochujang — which we like to think of as the spicy miso of Korean cooking.

Tender pieces of pulled pork often end up on slider buns, but tonight we’re piling them into charred tortillas instead. With just a jar of pickled jalapeños, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a few hours in the slow cooker, you can transform a cut of pork into a sweet and spicy taco filling. More: These Easiest-Ever Tacos Only Need 3 Ingredients For this recipe you only need a boneless pork butt (or pork shoulder), a jar of pickled jalapeños, and a bottle of pure maple syrup.

Slow-cooker meals are a godsend for folks who want to eat at home but don’t actually get home until the witching hour, feeling crazy hungry. If you’ve done your prep work in advance and have the trusty slow cooker working for you, you can return home to a fantastic meal. These seasoned pork chops fit the bill perfectly with their sweet and savory cranberry riff.

These are way easier (and way tastier) than the original.

Once you nail the classic recipe for sloppy joes, you can continue to customize it by adding flavor and swapping ingredients to make this weeknight staple just what your family wants. In this rendition of the sloppy joe, we used light and lean ground turkey in place of ground beef, and made a few ingredient swaps to ensure the filling was Paleo-friendly and gluten-free. Sloppy joes are a blank canvas.

This is not your mom's Thanksgiving turkey.

It's packed with bold, spicy flavor and topped with cheese.

Make your minestrone in the slow cooker with this classic chop-and-drop recipe (complete with homemade croutons).

Boeuf bourguignon is so much more than just another beef stew.

Elote-lovers, this one's for you.

And it's easier, too — the slow cooker does all the work for you.

Here's how to feed your family of eight (or stock your freezer with tasty leftovers!).

These hearty, comforting chilis practically make themselves.

If you know, you know.

Don't let fall pass you by without cooking your way through this list.

Drop-and-go dinner ideas that everyone will love.

She shows us how to make everything from Italian braised pork to slow cooker brownies.