Slow Cooker Recipes & Ideas

Ever throw a bunch of stuff into the slow cooker only to have it taste bland eight hours later? That is absolutely not the case with this pork pozole recipe. A little work up front — mainly browning the pork on the stovetop — results in a rich, flavorful soup that will have you singing the slow cooker’s praises. A main component in pozole is hominy, which is dried corn that’s been soaked in a mineral lime bath.

‘Tis the season for all things peppermint! Skip the line at the coffee shop and make your own latte at home. Don’t have an espresso machine? Don’t worry — all you need for this recipe is a slow cooker. It’s a set-it-and-forget-it holiday treat. This peppermint latte recipe is perfect for a special holiday breakfast on Christmas morning.

You’ve heard of putting carrots in cake, but what about beets? This chocolate cake gets a double dose of beets — both in the cake itself and the whipped cream topping. The best part: it practically cooks itself in the slow cooker. This cake gets a lot of its moisture and sweetness from puréed cooked beets. You mix them with the standard cake essentials — butter, sugar, eggs, flour — and a bit of cocoa powder to create a rich, fudgy masterpiece.

Back when I was working graveyard shifts as a hospital pharmacist, cooking dinner was the absolute last thing I wanted to do when I got home. Fortunately, I learned that I could quickly toss some ingredients into my slow cooker and pass out, confident that I’d wake up when things started smelling good — like these slow-cooked, Asian-spiced ribs.

Of all the delicious meals I have had the pleasure of eating in New Orleans, by far my favorite is a drippy, sloppy, saucy roast beef po’ boy. Perhaps lesser known than its fried seafood sibling, I much prefer the garlicky slow-cooked sandwich swimming in its own rich, roux-thickened gravy. The po’ boy (or poor boy, if you will) is the reigning king of New Orleans sandwiches.

Want to throw all of your ingredients into a pot, walk away, and return to a cheesy, piping hot dinner? Yep, me too. A slow cooker makes easy work of “baked” pasta, minus the bake. To be honest I’ve never really quite understood the whole slow cooker phenomenon.

I am a huge fan of the slow cooker. It’s not for everyone, but for me, I love being able to assemble a slow cooker meal in the morning (when I have time) and know that it will be hot and delicious by dinner (when time is in short commodity). I’ve gotten pretty good at spotting recipes with slow cooker potential over the years. Here’s my best advice. 1. Pick the Right Recipe: Soups, braises, even many casseroles — these are slow cooker gold.

There are very few foods that feed a large crowd with little effort. Tacos may be the simplest option for feeding a lot of people, and today we are bringing you one of our favorite taco stuffings: barbacoa beef, tender and full of rich, complex flavors. Yes, did you know you can make that tasty stuff you buy at Chipotle in your own kitchen — and in your slow cooker, no less? I have a serious thing for barbacoa.

I love lazy holiday weekends, emphasis on the lazy. This creamy slow-cooker porridge of steel-cut oats, dried fruits, and spices cooks overnight and is ready when we wake up. Perfect for when I have family visiting and want an easy breakfast that makes everyone happy. Make another pot of coffee and bring on the lazy morning! Cooking steel-cut oats and dried fruit in a slow-cooker does something amazing to both.

‘Tis the season for braises, slow-cooked meat that falls apart into tender chunks. Here’s a new favorite cut of meat for me: The inexpensive, incredibly delicious crosscut beef shank. The crosscut beef shank is basically just what it sounds (and looks) like: A crosscut piece of the animal’s leg. It’s full of tendons and muscle, and a chunk of bone. It doesn’t look very pretty, and if you tried to cook it fast, it would be tough and hard to chew.

This shredded braised beef in a rich sauce with a spicy kick tastes better than you can imagine. Really, it’s that good. And cooking it in a slow cooker means you can have it ready and waiting when you come home from work! Want more smart tutorials for getting things done around the home? See more How To posts We’re looking for great examples of your own household intelligence too! Submit your own tutorials or ideas here!

We were craving pulled pork something fierce last week, so we got ourselves a nice pork shoulder and got looking for a good indoor recipe. We finally decided on a slow cooker pulled pork recipe from a book called Cheater BBQ: Barbecue Anywhere, Any Time, in Any Weather by Mindy Merrell and R.B. Quinn, which we discovered through this recipe reprinted a few years back on The Splendid Table radio show. And, people? You have got to try this recipe! The recipe is a snap.

Getting rid of lingering food odors is a constant challenge for home cooks. We’ve tried candles and open windows (even in winter) and simmering pots of vinegar. Here’s one more trick to add to our list from Stephanie O’Dea of A Year of CrockPotting!Stephanie’s technique is to mix a few tablespoons of baking soda with water in the bowl of a crockpot or slow cooker. Set the crockpot in whichever room is most in need of a little freshening and set it to LOW with the lid off.