Slow Cooker

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 on the market for a new winning chicken dinner, say hello to five brand-new contenders. These set-it-and-forget-it meals require just five ingredients, and the slow cooker basically does all the work for you. Sounds too good to be true, right?

Here's how to have dinner waiting for you when you get home.

You're on your way to even better slow cooking with these helpful tips.

While it may seem like the slow cooker can do pretty much everything, there are certain instances when it really just isn’t the best one for the job. So before you dump anything and everything in it, read this first. Here are five items that are better left out of the slow cooker. If you take a look at slow-cooker recipes, you’ll see a trend — they call for hearty vegetables like onions, potatoes, carrots, and winter squash.

Meghan introduced us all to the everyday beauty of miracle meals, the dinners that emerge miraculously through sheer wit and pluck. But we need miracles at breakfast, too — perhaps even more so, given how tough it can be to eat a hearty breakfast on a busy morning. And miracles do emerge to rescue you from breakfast poverty — it’s time for you to know the magic of the slow cooker breakfast casserole.

Let it do the work while you play.

Wow – our All-Clad slow cooker admiration post hit a nerve yesterday. Some of you are quite happy with your $40 slow cookers; others say that yes, a $150 slow cooker is absolutely worth it. The best comment, though, came from sugarpond, who said she found the All-Clad model for $60. $150 or $5 thrift store find – either way, you have a slow cooker and now you want to use it. For the record, a slow cooker is not a McMansion unitasker.

Consider this your road map for harnessing the power of the slow cooker during the summer. While the basic tenets of using this appliance remain the same, there is a tailored set of knowledge that’s going to help you get the most out of it come summer. From recipes to all the tips that will make you successful, here’s what you need to know about summer slow-cooking. “Set it and forget it” still leaves room for error.

Sent by Charlotte Editor: In my experience with slow cookers, it’s important to fill the cooker between half and three-quarters full and to maintain the ratio of liquids to solids. With those as guidelines, yes, I think you could just scale down most recipes intended for a larger slow cooker.

Q: I now have a slow cooker, which is too large for my needs, as I live alone. I wanted to ask if it would be OK to put a small casserole dish with the ingredients into the slow cooker, and then switch it on? Sent by Jeff Editor: The short answer is yes. As long as the dish is oven-safe, it can go into your slow cooker. Although by the time you scale down a recipe to fit into a dish small enough to fit in your slow cooker, you may find it easier to cook it in the slow cooker itself.

Product: Instant Pot (Model: IP-DUO60) Price: $134.95 Overall Impression: Instant Pot is a seven-in-one multi-cooker that works as an electric pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, steamer, warmer, and sauté pan all in one. Living in New York City, with limited kitchen space, I’ve always shied away from single-use appliances, no matter how great they seem.

Read this before pulling out your slow cooker.

Whether you’re headed to a potluck dinner, a tailgate party, or the kids’ soccer practice, there will come a time when you need to transport a slow cooker full of delicious, piping-hot food. It sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, no? If your small appliance doesn’t have built-in latches to keep the lid in place, you’re gonna need some of these brilliant tips for transporting a full slow cooker.

Did you get a little too enthusiastic with the fall spirit? Did this sudden influx of autumnal festivities happen to involve picking, say, 30 pounds of apples? Oops. Never fear, the slow cooker is here to help save you from eating these one by one until you surely overdose from autumn goodness. While we’ve been visiting a lot of delicious main dish slow cooker recipes this, the ole’ Crock-Pot can do wonders for the sweet tooth.

Today’s Topic: Braising The Goal: 20 lessons, 20 days to become a better cook at home Enter to win The Kitchn Cookbook: Simply share and tag photos of your Kitchn Cooking School progress on Instagram and Twitter with #kitchnschool to enter for a chance to win. We’re giving away one copy for every homework assignment during The Kitchn’s Cooking School. See rules and regulations.

Q: I’ve had an issue with tomato-based recipes in my beloved slow cooker: they all seem to get that burned tomato aroma and flavor (like when you leave spaghetti sauce on the stove too long or too high). I work all day and don’t have time to stir the contents, so it often gets that “rind” along the top of the crock, but that happens with any recipe I make — I don’t have the burnt issue with non-tomato recipes.

With all the cooking going on, the last thing you probably want to think about is what to serve family or any overnight guests on Thanksgiving morning. Don’t fret — it doesn’t have to be complicated to be good! There are really just three simple rules to follow. Here they are, along with the best strategies and recipes to make Thanksgiving breakfast a success. There’s just too much other cooking going on for a lot of energy to be going into breakfast.

When I first started using a slow cooker, I was delighted to prepare ingredients before I went to work so I could come home to a hot meal. Sometimes, however, there just isn’t time in my morning routine. Searing meat, cooking vegetables, and reducing liquids sometimes amounts to an hour of prep or more. Then I decided to start using my slow cooker the other way: overnight instead.

Q: I am hosting my take on the “polenta supper” and it just so happens to be my very first dinner party! I am a little nervous about being with my guests and having to stay in the kitchen, so I thought I could keep the polenta warm in the Crock-Pot, but then an hour before the dinner, plate everything and put it in the oven (covered) on low heat to keep warm … that way all I have to do is pull out the dish when we are ready.

Salmon can be a simple weeknight dinner, but it’s a fish that can also carry its weight as a fancy meal for a weekend date night or dinner party main course. It’s all about how you cook it (the ways are many!) and how you dress it up. Here are five essentials to help you confidently cook delicious salmon every time. Yes, you did indeed read that correctly, and trust me, we were all just as surprised as you are right now.

Come fall and I’m usually ready to eat my weight in butternut squash. Roasted, puréed, cubed into salads and pasta, baked into muffins and pastries — I just can’t get enough. But as much as I love butternut, I hate prepping it; peeling and cutting through this hard squash is cumbersome. Well, we can say goodbye to that dreaded prep, because this is the easiest way to cook butternut squash without any peeling or cutting.

Fact: The best way to survive winter is with a warm beverage in hand at all times. But throwing a tea bag into a mug of boiling water or filling up a thermos with coffee doesn’t always cut it on the most biting cold days. Luckily, we have the slow cooker in these cases.

If you read through slow-cooker recipes, you’ll notice a majority of them call for greasing the insert with nonstick cooking spray before adding the ingredients to it. But is it really necessary? If it’s something like soup or stew, there’s enough liquid in the slow cooker that the ingredients won’t stick to it. But for something like mashed potatoes or pasta, which are starchy and not exactly brothy, the chances for the dish sticking to the bottom is a lot more likely.

You wouldn’t leave the oven or stove on when you leave the house to run errands or head to the office, so why is the slow cooker an exception? Is it really OK to leave it on all day on your kitchen counter when no one is home? People do this all the time, but many aren’t truly confident that it’s 100 percent safe — I, for one, am one of those people. So I did a little digging to get the hard facts.

Arguably, the most crucial flavor in a dish comes from the very first moments, when you sauté a few aromatics like chopped onions and garlic before proceeding with the recipe. That’s when those simple flavors start to build, which eventually enhances your final result.

While classic French cuisine certainly doesn’t make use of a slow cooker, it’s no stranger to dairy. This is an ingredient the French know well; they’re masters of turning milk and cream into a whole world of rich foods. In fact, we can learn one of our most important tips about cooking dairy in the slow cooker from them. From dips and soups, to sauces and desserts, there are a lot of slow-cooker recipes that rely on dairy products.

Poached eggs are a glorious thing. It’s easy enough to make them on the stovetop when you’re just cooking one or two, but for making a larger batch of poached eggs, it’s time to reach for the slow cooker. The easiest way to make a whole bunch of poached eggs at once is with the slow cooker. As with any slow-cooker recipe, this process does take longer than the stovetop method. But we don’t rely on our slow cookers for quick meals, right?

Slow cookers and Dutch ovens are the masters of low-and-slow cooking. These vessels are ideal for everything from soups to stews to braises, so it’s no surprise that recipes written for a Dutch oven can easily be made in a slow cooker, and vice versa. With the help of a few small tweaks, you can ensure Dutch-oven-to-slow-cooker success every time.

In theory, with a little effort in the morning, a slow cooker greets you at the end of the day with a home-cooked, ready-to eat-meal (martini not included). Opening the door to the smell of lasagna, chicken soup, pot roast — to almost anything — is heaven. But most recipes call for three to six hours of cooking, so for those of us who are operating on more of an eight- to 10-hour schedule, that isn’t so convenient.

Sometimes the exact recipe you need is one that cooks low and slow for hours. Turn on the slow cooker in the morning and by dinnertime it’s perfectly cooked, with its welcoming smell drifting through the kitchen. Other times, you need dinner on the table extra fast. And that’s when you turn to the pressure cooker. So is it possible to turn your favorite slow-cooker recipe into one that can be cooked up in less than an hour in the pressure cooker? Definitely!

Sometimes I feel like a pariah of the food world, carrying around a dark secret that I fear will get me banished from my career and knocked off my perch as a so-called professional. Friends have laughed in my face when I’ve shared it with them in confidence, but I guess it’s finally time to come clean. I am not in love with my slow cooker. Not by a long shot.

Ketchup and mustard are classic summertime condiments. And while I certainly have nothing against them, sometimes the occasion calls for a burger, hot dog, or brat topping that’s a bit more satisfying, sophisticated, or fun. Making a sauce that meets any (and perhaps even all) of those qualities doesn’t take much — especially when you’ve got the slow cooker to help out. These sauces go a long way. They’re surprisingly simple (hello, three ingredients!

Breakfast really can feel like a chore on those crazy weekday mornings, leaving you all too often to skip it entirely. But lean on your slow cooker to make a few morning meal staples and suddenly it’s not so hard. Toss the ingredients in at night or on a lazy Sunday afternoon, and breakfast will be ready whenever you are. If you ever thought baking your own bread was too fussy, then you haven’t tried baking it in a slow cooker.

For years I’ve refused to own a slow cooker, which may come as a surprise, given my fellow colleagues’ love for the appliance. But it’s not because I don’t believe it’s a convenient tool in the kitchen — it’s 100 percent because I just don’t have the space! Living in a tiny New York City apartment, I barely have room for a few basic pots and pans, let alone a slow cooker.

The first time I used my electric pressure cooker, I hit the start button and ran out of the room. Of course I’d read that modern pressure cookers were perfectly safe when used correctly — fear, however, allows no room for logic. My grandmother had once tried pressure-cooking, and I grew up listening to her tell the story of scrubbing tomato sauce off the ceiling after the ill-fated attempt. So I was fairly certain that my pressure cooker would malfunction.

The slow cooker egg casserole might just be the very best breakfast to ever make its way into your kitchen. Whether you cut it up and turn it into a breakfast sandwich or spoon it onto a plate, there’s a lot to love about a hot and satisfying meal that cooks while you sleep. Ready to master the slow cooker egg casserole? These are the five tips that will get you there. Before adding any ingredients to the bowl of the slow cooker, remember to coat it with non-stick cooking spray first.

These are the kits you prep and package now to save time later. The real beauty of these slow-cooker breakfast kits is their versatility. With a standard template, it’s easy to mix and match ingredients to make your favorite variation. There’s no set recipe, but rather a basic template to help you bring these kits together. The template calls for standard components, not including the eggs, which get added fresh when you’re ready to cook.

If one of your goals for the new year is to focus on eating a more wholesome diet, the slow cooker is one of the most helpful tools in the kitchen to get you there. Instead of thinking about specific foods to add to your weekly meal plan, first consider the appliance that will get you there. Here are seven smart ways to utilize your slow cooker to prepare more wholesome meals throughout the week. From breakfast bowls to salads to tacos, shredded chicken is a mealtime superstar.

Inspired by one of our favorite soups, we’re breaking out the slow cooker for a warm, creamy, veggie-flecked cheese dip that will get your crowd cheering. This riff replicates the satisfying indulgence of broccoli cheddar soup, with a warm dip that relies on your slow cooker and the convenience of the freezer aisle. All you need is some thawed, frozen chopped broccoli to pull it off. Set your slow cooker to warm and add about 2 cups of cheese dip (homemade or store-bought) to the bowl.

When you want to really up the ante with basic bean or cheese dip, look no further than your slow cooker and some crumbled Italian sausage. This is the duo with the power to transform ordinary dip into an easy appetizer that’s a flavorful, hearty touchdown for any tortilla chip. This meaty upgrade is packed with herbs and spices and lots of texture, thanks to Italian sausage. It also helps to make it extra filling. Want to punch up your dip even more?

There are those who go to Super Bowl parties for the game, and those who are there for the food (that’s me!). Inspired by classic taco dip, this is the warm and cheesy bean dip that will win over both sides of the party. This riff takes the three best layers of any taco dip — the beans, cheese, and salsa — and brings them together in one warm appetizer, with the help of the slow cooker. It’s hearty, a little indulgent, and, depending on the salsa you choose, spicy.

Your taco night requires snacks like chips, salsa, guac, and now this Tex-Mex Chex Mix. Spicing up the classic party mix is easy with the help of taco seasoning. The spice blend of chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, paprika, and salt is sure to make your Chex Mix the life of the fiesta. You’ll need a big batch of basic Chex Mix on hand before you can go and jazz it up. Luckily, churning some out couldn’t be easier — especially when you lean on your slow cooker.

The combination of chili and cheese is always a party in your mouth — spicy, salty, and just enough of an umami kick to keep you coming back for more — so it makes sense that the flavor profile works wonders with a party snack like Chex Mix. All you need to make this happen is a little chili powder and cheddar cheese powder. You’ll need a big batch of basic Chex Mix on hand before you can go and jazz it up.

When snowy winter days roll in and you crave the comfort of foods that are best when slowly simmered all day long, your slow cooker and Dutch oven are the two top contenders for the job. But for me and my favorite types of cooking, there’s one that really rises to the task. It’s the one I choose again and again. On chilly snow days when I’m hunkered down inside, I crave the warmth of comfort foods like soup, chili, and pulled meat — food that simmers all day long.

That thing that saves my weeknight dinners? I don’t call it a Crock-Pot®, or even the more generic “crockpot,” which technically isn’t a word, at least not according to spellcheck. I call it a slow cooker, because that’s what it is and I’m a stickler when it comes to words and not the least bit dogmatic when it comes to dinner.

A better slow cooker dinner starts here.

The slow cooker is my answer to everything from hands-off meals on busy nights to comforting desserts. There’s nothing it can’t do. And the best way to truly get the most out of it is knowing all the best tips, tricks, and hacks that will make it live up to its full potential. Your slow cooker is the best tool in your kitchen to make an extra-big batch of caramelized onions.

One of a slow cooker’s best characteristics is its ability to cook a meal for you while you do a hundred other things. Dump the makings of a hearty chili into one, let it do its thing while you go about your day, and return home to a warm dinner ready and waiting. The only kicker is that some slow cooker recipes call for a shorter cook time than you want. If you’re out for eight hours, a recipe that takes just four hours just isn’t going to work.

Your slow cooker helps you get dinner on the table during busy weeks, prepare make-ahead meals (and desserts!), stretch your food budget, and eat more healthfully. What I’m trying to say is that your slow cooker is your number-one ally in the kitchen. Which is why it should come as no surprise that it’ll make Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving a little easier. Here’s how.

No matter what kind of slow cooker chicken dinner you have slotted in your meal plan, it’s bound to be both easy and delicious. And to make it even better, here are seven tips I always rely on. While it’s always helpful to preheat your slow cooker, it’s especially important when adding seared chicken or sautéed aromatics, like with our Kerala-style chicken curry.

When you cook up perfectly tender, creamy macaroni and cheese in the slow cooker, it can feel you’ve won the dinner Olympics. You’ve got a dinner everyone will love while the slow cooker did all the work. Pasta in the slow cooker has a few pitfalls, though — it can either be undercooked or overcooked, depending on just a few subtle changes. These three tips will protect you from sad slow cooker pasta and make you a champion of dinner once again.

Even though cooking raw meat in your slow cooker straight from the freezer is a no-no, that doesn’t mean all ingredients from the freezer are off limits when it comes to this ultra-handy appliance. The slow cooker is always reliable for delivering easy dinners, and when you start with your freezer, you’ll see it can be easier still.

This can make all the difference.

Here's how I make my slow cooker the hero of meal prep.

Brisket isn’t a dish you make every day (most of us only cook it a few times a year), so it helps to have a refresher — especially when making it in the slow cooker. Just a few tips will ensure your brisket braises into its tangy, tender best. Avoid these common pitfalls and you’ll be rewarded with a fork-tender brisket you will be proud to serve.

One of the huge benefits of meal prepping as part of a meal planning routine is that it allows you to add long-cooking foods — like broths and braises — to your busy weeknight meals. We asked our Meal Plan Club contributors for their favorite slow cooker meal prep hacks and the results were surprising. The meal prep roast chicken is something of a classic, right? You can let it cook while you prep vegetables or salads for the week.

Aside from using it to get dinner on the table on busy nights, I always lean on my slow cooker when I need to keep food or drinks warm for a crowd — it’s an invaluable tool at parties and potlucks. But sometimes I wish I had another slow cooker handy to keep a second dish warm, especially come Super Bowl time when I have multiple dips and apps laid out.

Egg casseroles made in the slow cooker are something of a breakfast miracle. With a short ingredient list, little work, and cooking that happens while you sleep, this miracle meal offers a big reward for minimal input — as long as you follow this one important rule. The key to a great egg casserole doesn’t involve fancy ingredients or adding extra steps to the prep work.

If you’ve ever tried online recipes and found them to be slightly less awe-inspiring in real life than they were on Pinterest, I’m with you. In fact, I recently tried the top five slow cooker recipes on Pinterest and, for the most part, they were a big disappointment. But all is not lost! Those recipes could have been a success with just a few simple tweaks. Here’s how to upgrade any slow cooker recipe so you can have superstar meals with very little prep time and hassle.

I am a slow-cooker convert. Growing up, I thought the only thing you could do with a slow cooker was make beef stew and chili. It was good beef stew, but I never understood the point of buying a single appliance for the two recipes we only ever used it for. I’m happy to say I was so wrong. A slow cooker is one of the most versatile appliances in the kitchen. Pot roast? Check. Delicious sloppy joes? Check. Chicken tacos? Yes! Even bread? You get where this is going.