If you are looking for a few slow cooking, crockpot meals that are easy, quick, and delicious — look no further!
Below we have our favorite home recipes from Allrecipes, paired with high praise from fellow mamas who have tested out the recipes in the kitchens themselves. Happy scrolling!
15. Slow Cooker Chili
“This is a great recipe for families with different taste buds. I fed my family of six this recipe [on] Superbowl Sunday and what I liked about it was that it wasn’t too hot for the young or older ones and for us in the middle we were able to heat it up to our liking. I served it up with some garlic bread and the meal was complete.”
14. Chicken and Dumplings
“This was great! I made changes as suggested by others. I used 8 small breasts, used chicken broth instead of water, added a bit of white wine (less than 1/4 cup). I seasoned the chicken before cooking with seasoned pepper, garlic powder, chicken seasoning and paprika. I added fresh celery along with the onion. I added green peas & water & flour for thickening before I added the biscuits. I flattened the biscuits and cut into strips and seasoned with salt & pepper on both sides. Cooked an additional 2 hours on high without opening the lid and it was perfect.”
13. Baby Back Ribs
“I was really skeptical about ribs in a slow cooker, so I tried this recipe twice to make sure that the first time wasn’t a fluke. I am a convert, that’s for sure. These were amazing! First time, I made it exactly as the recipe called for and these ribs were fall off the bone good. The second time, I added smoked paprika and garlic powder to the rub on the ribs before I put them in the slow cooker. I also used 1/2 cup of beer instead of the water (any liquid will add flavour). I cooked them on high in the slow cooker for 3 hours and 45 minutes. I covered a 9 x 11 baking dish with tin foil (to help with clean up) and put the ribs in the uncovered baking dish. I coated the ribs with bbq sauce and put them in the oven at 350F for 20 minutes. I pulled the ribs out and added another thin layer of bbq sauce before putting them back in the oven under the broiler for 7 to 10 minutes to get that crust on the top. The ribs were perfect. My family thanks you for this recipe which I will be using again and again!”
12. French Onion Soup
“The soup tasted amazing! However, for ease of cooking, here are my tweaks: First, I sliced the onions, and tossed them in the butter which I melted, and placed them in the crockpot on low on their own to caramelize overnight [for] 10-12 hours. I used salted butter, so I omitted the salt. I also omitted the sugar since they were caramelizing this way. SUPER EASY. The next morning, when the onions were good to go, I threw in the other cooking ingredients to cook for the day. I had no cooking sherry, so I used a 1/2 cup of dry red wine my husband opened the night before. I am a firm believer that if you don’t drink it you shouldn’t cook with it. And I had 2 quarts of beef stock, so I used that all up. No sense wasting a cup. When it came to the cheese, we used what we like, so that is [a] personal taste not tweaking. I did find, however, that I needed to add a bit of salt and pepper to taste at the end just before serving, so make sure you taste it to ensure it is to your liking. But allowing the onions to cook and caramelize themselves cut the prep work down to the bare minimum of slicing the onions, measuring the ingredients, and getting the bread and cheese ready at the end. About 20 minutes total. You just need to start it the day before, which was worth it to me if it meant not standing over a stove for an hour. Family loved it, warms well for leftovers, which wasn’t too much. Will make again!”
11. Mongolian Beef
“This was AWESOME!! word to the wise, it’s quite sweet, so if you don’t like sweet, cut back on the sugar. We loved it!! Flank steak was too expensive, so I substituted flap meat and it was so tender. Served it over white rice. I also added chili garlic sauce to kick up the heat, maybe 2-3 Tbsp. Loved the flavor combo spicy/sweet.”
10. Chicken Cacciatore
“I altered this recipe a bit to suit our family’s tastes but the recipe still served as a wonderful basis for a great dish. I used only 3 boneless skinless breasts (whole) as we don’t really care for leftover chicken, and threw them right in there frozen as I’ve heard other reviewers say they’ve done this and I wanted to try for those days when I forget to thaw. It was cooked to perfection, fork-tender and juicy in approx 7 hours. How wonderful! I used whole fresh mushrooms since they’re easier to pick out (hate em!) and sliced the onion into rings for those who don’t like them. I am big on garlic so I added about 4 big cloves, chopped, and also added some Italian seasoning and basil. 1/4 cup of wine, a can of diced tomatoes (flavored) and a can of tomato paste and voila! excellent, excellent chicken. My hubby requested I make extra sauce for dipping and such. Will make again and again!”
9. Beef Stew
“An excellent and easy stew recipe. I make minimal changes (I like parsnips, so I add three chopped in place of celery, and I add a little more broth because I like more gravy), but that’s about it. This is one of those easy, homey, stick-to-your-ribs recipes. Some of the reviews tick me off: Yes, it’s a ‘regular’ stew recipe because it is, after all, STEW.”
8. Creamy Potato Soup
“This made an excellent tasting soup. I didn’t have condensed chicken broth, so I used 2 cans of non-condensed chicken broth + 1 chicken bouillon cube instead (still added the listed 2 cups of water). When the potatoes were done…blended some of them in the blender along with the flour and half-and-half mixture, and part of the evaporated milk. Then just put that back in the crockpot, along with the rest of the evaporated milk for 30 more minutes. Added a little more salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder to taste…and served with shredded cheddar and ‘Real Bacon Bits’ in a jar, on the side. Also, wanted to speed it up a little, so cooked it for 3 hours on high, then 2 hours 20 minutes on Low in a 6-1/2 qt crockpot.”
7. Slow Cooker Meatballs
“I have searched and tried lots of meatball recipes and this is it! Here are the changes I made based on reviews and past attempts. For the meatballs I used 1 lb of lean ground sirloin and 1/2 pound of pork sausage, I also added about 1/3 cup of parmesan cheese, 1 tbs of dried basil, a little garlic powder and about 1/4 cup of milk. Then I browned them for 20 minutes in the oven at 350. They come out fantastic and not greasy at all. Also…instead of using jarred sauce…I used my own…I just use Mario Batali’s basic red sauce…crushed tomatoes, onion, garlic, carrot and thyme. Fantastic! Great for casual entertaining!”
6. Butter Chicken
“FINALLY! I love Indian food and I have tried for YEARS to perfect a butter chicken recipe, only with something a little off, every single time. This one is right on the money! I found all the spices at Whole Foods. I truly believe that the quality of spices is part of what makes the dish. Curry paste can be hard to find but you can find the Red Curry Paste Thai Kitchen Brand in the ethnic food aisle of any supermarket. I used non fat plain yogurt and low fat coconut milk. It still had a hearty texture to it, but with less fat and calories! I mixed the spices separately together in a small cup before I spread it over the chicken, this allowed the flavors to blend. I am definitely adding this to my weekly menu!”
5. Pepper Steak
“This recipe was DELICIOUS and sooooo easy to make! My grocery store had pre-sliced ‘Beef For Stir-Fry’ on sale, so I substituted that for the sirloin and it turned out fantastic (it also saved a lot of time and effort not having to slice the meat myself)! I followed the recipe exactly and it was done after about 6 hours on low… the meat was super tender and almost falling apart! The sauce was a little bit thinner than I like, so I took another tablespoon of cornstarch and mixed it in a small bowl with a little bit of the sauce, then dumped it back into the crockpot and mixed it up real well. Then I let it cook on low for another 30 minutes and this thickened the sauce up perfectly! I served it over steamed white rice and then served the leftovers the next day with mashed potatoes — both were YUMMY! My husband and I really loved this recipe and I’ll definitely be making it again!”
4. Corned Beef and Cabbage
“Amazingly simple, and amazingly delicious. The only changes I made were to set the slow cooker on low, instead of high. The meat came out tender and falling apart. I might put in the vegetables later on next time, but if you like stewy and smushy vegetables, then put it in the pot at the beginning. A solid hit! My boyfriend loved this dish, and it made leftovers for the two of us for a week!”
3. Slow Cooker Carnitas
“As the aroma of this wafted through the house I just knew we were in for something good and boy, were we! I doubled the amount of spices but left out the cinnamon, and used 4 big cloves of minced, fresh garlic instead of the garlic powder. I cut the roast into large chunks so the spices could penetrate the meat better and it worked like a charm. Finally, to make these more authentic, after shredding the meat into smaller chunks I spread it out in a thin layer on a cookie sheet and baked it in a 400-degree oven [for] about 20 minutes, just long enough to crisp the exterior of the meat. Great on its own, but in a tortilla with a little of the ‘Avocado Salad with Bacon and Sour Cream’ this was just over the top good. The meat was tender and perfectly seasoned, keeping in mind, however, that I doubled up on the spices. We are looking forward to having the leftovers again tomorrow night!”
2. Chicken Stroganoff
“This turned out to be a great recipe — whole family enjoyed it…. I turned the crockpot on low and cooked for about 7+ hours, and of course the house smelled incredible….My 6-year-old daughter ate so many ‘appetizer bites’ out of the pot, she was full by dinner time! Very creamy and rich tasting and the dressing mix provides just the right amount of seasoning. We served over noodles — delicious! Very easy, tasty recipe — and seems ‘fancy’ enough for company. Putting this in my Favorites folder.”
1. Award-Winning White Chicken Chili
“This is one of the few recipes I make regularly that everyone in my family gets excited about. I make it exactly as directed. As other reviewers have noted, the recipe doesn’t specify what to do with the chicken. It works well to cut it into small cubes and throw it in the crockpot raw, along with the other ingredients. Make sure you drain the corn and the beans. Then cook everything in the crockpot on low for about 6 hours. There are several good cornbread recipes in this site that go well with it.”