Do you have a love-hate relationship with the slow cooker? It can be nice to fix it and forget it, but often slow cooker recipes end up tasting the same with a rather homogeneous appearance. As my friend Kay puts it, “Hey look! Brown.”
Unfortunate true story.
Many recipes do simmer down their ingredients to look the same, but they don’t have to. In fact, you can make quite a few dishes in the slow cooker that can actually be better than their oven or stovetop counterparts.
Slow Cooker Recipes Can Surprise You!
Although Crocktoberfest is barely started, I’ve already made two dishes that I would normally bake, and they turned out better in the slow cooker.
On Thursday, I prepped Lawnmower Taco Casserole in my casserole slow cooker. The chips retained their crisp texture, something we didn’t see coming. The kids ate it lickety-split.
When I scaled my Chocolate Cheesecake to fit a 6-inch springform and cooked it in a slow cooker water bath, it resulted in the creamiest, most delicious cake ever! It was particularly helpful to use the slow cooker since we were having a heatwave and there was no way I wanted to heat the oven. Slow cooker cheesecake rocks!
Slow Cooker Recipes to Save You Money
Here on Good Cheap Eats, we care about the good, but we also care about the cheap. Slow cookers can help us do both.
Not only does the slow cooker prep food when you’re busy doing other things, it also allows you the freedom to make many commercial pantry staples for just pennies. Consider chicken stock or dry beans. The slow cooker does a fantastic job at prepping these so you can enjoy great meals for low cost.
Due to their large size, slow cookers make it easy to prep large batches of food and freeze extra for later. Soup, stews, chilis, beans, and sauces can be made in bulk easily so that you can stash the extra away for another time.
Slow cookers also do well braising, which means you can load up on inexpensive, though tough cuts of meat, knowing that you’ll make them delicious in the slow cooker.
Today I’ve rounded up the best Slow Cooker Recipes to save you money.
Micha says
Sometimes simple is best, especially when they are family favorites.
Debbie says
These recipes look great!
I have noticed that stews taste MUCH better if you dredge the meat first in a salt/flour mixture, then brown it on all sides before adding it to the crockpot. I know this doesn’t help with the stew packet concept, but I think the difference will be worth it!
Jen Blacker says
Mmm thank you for sharing. I love using my slow cooker!
Susie's Homemade says
I love slow cooking! My Girl Scout service area made me their food editor for their newsletter and I publish all slow cooker meals. I called it “What to Cook on Meeting Nights”. At the end of the year, I put all the recipes in a cookbook and handed it out to the leaders. I get the same job this year too!
Aimee @ ShugarySweets says
Yum, my favorite subject, crockpots. I love new ideas, thanks!!
Queen of the House says
LOVE using my crock pot! 🙂 Thanks for simple recipes!
Tammy @ Skinny Mom's Kitchen says
This is perfect timing…as usual!! I just bought a slow cooker and looking for a bunch of recipes to start crocking this month 🙂
Patti says
I love crock pot cooking! Yesterday I cooked Lasagna in the crock pot for the first time. I am cleaning out my freezer so I used cut up meatballs with spaghetti sauce and spices in one mixture, mozzarella and ricotta cheese in another mixture, and the lasagna noodles (uncooked). I layered it all the night before, adding Parmesan cheese in the layers. I cooked it for about 4 hours on low. YUM!! I also love to make rotisserie chickens in the crock pot. And I cook up dried beans so I have packages of black beans and red beans in the freezer. I can’t wait to see the other recipes as I am in the mood for some slow cooking!!!
Courtney says
Thanks for this! I just pulled my crock pot out this week – am craving fall food and can’t wait to try some of these.
Ellen says
I’m waiting with great excitement for those slow cooker freezer packet recipes!
Signed,
Postpartum with a 5 week old and 2 boys under the age of 5 in N.C. =)
Rivki Locker says
thanks for sharing these recipes. I just increased my hours out of the house and I need to make more crock pot dinners. What a treat to come home to dinner bubbling and ready to serve!
Christine A says
The Crockpot is one of my favorite things!!!! Here is a real easy recipe I go to about once a week:
Crockpot Chicken Tacos:
1 – 16 oz jar of salsa (your choice)
2lbs chicken frozen
Cook for 6 – 8 hours.
You can experiment with the amount of salsa and chicken. The chicken just falls apart and shreds easily. I always make enough for tacos one night and save the left overs to make enchiladas.
Kristi says
I’m not sure this is my favorite crock pot meal, but it is plain and simple. I put potatoes (whatever variety you prefer and for however many people you are serving) quartered in the bottom of the crock pot. Next, I add sliced onion, salt and pepper, sliced carrots, and boneless, skinless chicken pieces on top. Pour approximately 1 cup of chicken broth over all and cook on high for 4 hours. I like to put Italian seasoning on the chicken and sometimes I add green beans the last hour or so. We like to mash up the potatoes on our plate and put butter and salt on them. Nothing fancy, but it’s quick, economical, and my family loves it.
robbie @ going green mama says
Fabulous! I am a bit behind on my reading this week, but I’ve been on the hunt for good crock pot recipes. Will be bookmarking these!