Crock pots make cooking a hearty and hot meal easy on weekdays—even while you're working—and on busy weekends when you have better things to do than spend hours chained to the stove. Many dishes, such as stews, pot roasts with vegetables, and bean dishes, are a complete dinner in one pot, making mealtime and cleanup a breeze.
The recipes included in this list were selected for their ease of preparation and overall popularity. Choose from main dish pork, beef, and chicken recipes or add a slow-cooked vegetable side dish or dessert to your menu plan.
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Hearty Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
The Spruce
This easy slow cooker chicken chili is relatively light and low calorie compared to the classic beef or pork chili. Boneless chicken breasts and a variety of canned beans make the chili super easy and convenient. If you prefer to cook the chili on the stovetop, then see the tips below the recipe.
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Slow Cooker Breakfast Casserole
The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt
This overnight slow cooker breakfast casserole makes getting out of bed worth it—your hearty breakfast cooked while you slept! Hash brown potatoes, eggs, and ham team up in this easy breakfast casserole along with lots of shredded cheddar cheese and seasonings.
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Easy Slow Cooker Turkey Breast
Diana Rattray You don't have to wait for a holiday to enjoy this easy crock pot turkey breast. For a fabulous meal, add mashed potatoes, easy stovetop dressing, and cranberry sauce.
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Slow Cooker Chicken With Farro and Vegetables
Diana Rattray This flavorful chicken and farro dinner offers loads of flavor, and it's relatively light. We use chicken thighs in the dish, but leaner chicken breasts are an alternative. The combination of several vegetables with the chicken and farro make it a hearty, satisfying slow cooker meal.
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4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Cola Chicken
Diana Rattray Use chicken parts or split chickens in this easy slow cooker cola chicken recipe. All you need is the chicken, an onion, some ketchup, and cola or Dr. Pepper. Season the dish with salt and pepper, and cook!
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Crock Pot Pizza Pasta Casserole
Diana Rattray Your whole family will love this crock pot pizza flavored pasta and beef combo! Pizza flavors include ground beef, pepperoni, prepared pizza sauce, and cheese toppings. Add some sliced ripe olives if you like. The casserole is an excellent choice for tailgating or a potluck dinner.
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Slow Cooker Garlic Shrimp
The Spruce
You might not think of seafood when you think of slow cooking, but this is a delicious exception. The garlic shrimp is a snap to prepare and cook in a slow cooker. The dish needs very little attention, so it's perfect for a busy day or when you don't have stovetop or oven space for another dish.
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Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes With Ham
Diana Rattray These slow cooker scalloped potatoes are especially convenient when the oven is needed for other things. The potato dish is a good choice for an everyday meal or a holiday dinner.
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Slow Cooker Italian Beef
Diana Rattray Italian beef has long been a slow cooker favorite because of its ease of preparation and fabulous flavor. The Italian-style pickled vegetables—giardiniera and pepperoncini—give this dish its name.
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Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice With Andouille Sausage
The Spruce Eats / Katarina Zunic
Spicy andouille sausage jazzes up this basic slow cooker red beans and rice recipe. If you like meatier red beans and rice, add a ham bone, ham hocks, diced ham, or some bacon to the beans.
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Slow Cooker Smothered Chicken With Vegetables
Diana Rattray This comforting chicken dish includes mushrooms and sliced vegetables. Use a combination of carrots, celery, and onions, or add your favorite frozen vegetables shortly before the dish is ready.
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Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
The Spruce
This dish is a tasty slow cooker macaroni and cheese recipe, made with just a few ingredients in the slow cooker or crock pot. If you crave mac and cheese but don't have the oven or stovetop space, try this method.
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Southern Pinto Beans With Ham Hocks, Slow Cooker
The Spruce
These basic pinto beans are a Southern favorite. They're great for parties and potluck dinners, and they go well with barbecue, tacos or burritos, and fried chicken.
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Basic Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
Diana Rattray
This pea soup is a rich and hearty version of a French Canadian favorite. Load the slow cooker in the morning, and you'll have a stick-to-your-ribs soup when it's time to eat.
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Basic Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas
Diana Rattray These simple slow cooker black-eyed peas are slow cooked to perfection with water and onions, and there's no need to pre-soak the peas. We did not add meat to the peas, but diced cooked bacon or ham may be added after the peas have softened.
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Slow Cooker Chicken With Creamy Dijon Mustard Sauce
Crockpot Dijon Chicken Photo: Diana Rattray A simple Dijon mustard sauce jazzes up these otherwise plain chicken breasts. The chicken with Dijon sauce is tasty enough for a special occasion but easy enough for an everyday meal.
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Swedish Cabbage Rolls, Slow Cooker or Stovetop
Diana Rattray These easy, tasty cabbage rolls are ground beef and rice stuffed cabbage leaves cooked with a tomato sauce. Prepare and cook them in the slow cooker or on the stovetop.
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Slow Cooker Onion Soup Beef Pot Roast
The Spruce
This onion soup pot roast is always a hit. The pot roast is cooked with potatoes and carrots in an easy, creamy sauce. Dry onion soup mix and condensed soup are the flavor ingredients in this popular pot roast meal.
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Slow Cooker Great Northern Beans
The Spruce
These slow cooker great northern beans are made with dry beans and an assortment of vegetables. Remember to add the salt at the very end of the cooking time. If you add it early, the beans might not soften.
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Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Barbecue
Diana Rattray Do you have friends and family coming for the day or weekend? You can't go wrong with slow cooked pulled pork sandwiches. The pork needs little preparation, and it is a real crowd-pleaser. Serve the sandwiches in buns with slaw and fries or chips on the side.
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Slow Cooker Clam Chowder Recipe
The Spruce Eats / Katarina Zunic
This great-tasting clam chowder cooks to perfection in the slow cooker. The chowder contains potatoes and milk, a little bacon or salt pork, and canned minced clams. Cornstarch makes the chowder thick and satisfying.
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Slow Cooker Ground Beef and Hash Brown Dinner
Diana Rattray This easy slow cooker hash brown dinner takes just minutes to assemble, and it's an excellent choice for a busy day. Just set the slow cooker, and you're free for the rest of the day.
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Slow Cooker Beef and Bean Dinner
Diana Rattray Take this delicious bean dish along to a cookout or serve it as a main dish with hot baked cornbread. It's an easy dish to throw together with a variety of canned beans, browned ground beef and bacon, and everyday seasonings.
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Slow Cooker Sloppy Barbecue Beef Sandwiches
Diana Rattray This "sloppy" barbecued ground beef mixture makes delicious sandwiches with barbecue flavors. These sandwiches are especially good with French fries or potato chips and coleslaw or serve them with roasted potatoes or a potato salad. They make a fabulous casual family meal
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Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes With Cheese
The Spruce
These popular scalloped potatoes are creamy and cheesy. This dish is especially convenient for a holiday dinner because they leave your oven and stovetop free for other dishes.
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Southern Grape Jelly Meatballs
The Spruce
These great tasting grape jelly meatballs are always a hit, and once you taste them, you'll see why. The combination of chili sauce and grape jelly with the Dijon mustard makes a flavorful, tangy sauce. Besides that, it's fun to see the look on people's faces when you tell them about the grape jelly.
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Old-Fashioned Slow Cooker Beef Stew
The Spruce
This dish is an old-fashioned beef stew for the slow cooker. The easy slow cooker beef stew gets its great flavor from a variety of basic pantry herbs and seasonings, along with garlic, onion, and vegetables.
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Slow-Cooker Barbecued Boston Butt
Diana Rattray This Boston butt—also known as pork shoulder—is slow-cooked to succulent perfection with your choice of beer, apple juice or broth. Shred the pork and serve it with barbecue sauce.
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Super Easy Slow-Cooker Pork Chops
Diana Rattray These easy pork chops are perfect for a busy day any time of the year. Onion soup mix flavors the chops, and they take about 5 or 6 hours cooking time.
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Slow Cooker Cola Ham
The Spruce
Cola, brown sugar, and some mustard team up to flavor this tasty slow cooker ham. Finish the ham with some pineapple rings and whole cloves for an attractive presentation.
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Tater Tot Casserole, Slow Cooker or Oven
Diana Rattray This dish is a family favorite! Bake the tater tot casserole in the oven or cook it in the slow cooker.
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Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Pork Loin
The Spruce
This is a juicy, tender slow cooker pork roast with a sweet and lightly spiced brown sugar and cinnamon glaze. Serve this easy pork roast with mashed potatoes or baked potatoes, along with steamed broccoli or your favorite side dish vegetables
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Slow Cooker Meatloaf With Potatoes
The Spruce
This crock pot meatloaf includes potatoes, which makes it a convenient one-pot meal. Add some steamed broccoli or add some thick-sliced carrots to the slow cooker along with the potatoes.
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Easy Slow-Cooker Chili
Diana Rattray
Sometimes simple is best, and this slow cooker chili is an excellent example. Garnish the chili with cornbread croutons or skip the croutons and bake a pan of cornbread to go with it.
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Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken
The Spruce
A homemade barbecue sauce makes this easy slow-cooker pulled chicken flavorful and juicy. Serve the chicken on split, toasted buns with coleslaw and baked beans, along with sliced pickles and your favorite side dishes for barbecue.
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Easy Cheesy Slow Cooker Chicken
Diana Rattray This slow cooker chicken dish is all about convenience. The combination of condensed soups makes a tasty sauce that is delicious served with the chicken.
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Slow Cooker Barbecued Country-Style Ribs
The Spruce
Boneless country-style ribs are an excellent choice for the slow cooker, and your favorite barbecue sauce and a little apple juice and garlic make these ribs extra-flavorful.
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Marie's Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
jjpoole/iStock/Getty Images
This hearty tortilla soup takes just minutes to put together in the slow cooker. It cooks hands-free in about 6 or 7 hours.
Top this tortilla soup with crispy tortilla chips, extra shredded cheese, and some fresh chopped cilantro or
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Quick Fix Slow Cooker Pot Roast With French Onion Soup
Diana Rattray This slow cooker pot roast cooks over the course of the day, but it takes only 3 or 4 minutes to prepare. Similar pot roasts use dry onion soup mix. This version is made with a can of condensed French onion soup.
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Slow Cooker Italian-Seasoned Chicken With Potatoes
Diana Rattray This slow cooker chicken dish takes about 10 minutes to put together. Layer the ingredients, set your cooker on low, and forget it for 5 to 7 hours! Chicken, cheese, and potatoes make this dish a complete dinner!
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Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers Recipe With Ground Beef and Rice
The Spruce
Prepare the stuffed peppers and put everything in the slow cooker before you leave for work and you'll have dinner ready when you get home! Add a salad and mashed potatoes for a fabulous everyday meal.
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Swedish Meatballs for the Slow Cooker or Stovetop
Brian Leatart Photolibrary/Getty Images Swedish meatballs make a tasty family meal. These meatballs are prepared and baked, and then they are briefly cooked with the sauce ingredients in the slow cooker. The meatballs and sauce may be cooked on the stovetop as well.
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Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan
Brian Hagiwara/Photolibrary/Getty Images For this chicken Parmesan, the chicken is browned and then combined in the slow cooker with your favorite spaghetti sauce. Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses provide the perfect finishing touch.
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Slow Cooker Chicken With Biscuits
The Spruce Eats / Victoria Heydt
This delicious slow cooker chicken and biscuits dish is a meal the whole family will enjoy, and your crock pot helps to make it quick and easy to prepare.
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Slow Cooker Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens
Diana Rattray These slow cooker black-eyed peas and collard greens make a satisfying meal with baked cornbread and a salad. Black-eyed peas and greens are a natural combination, and the addition of bacon, tomato paste, garlic, and pepper flakes flavors the dish perfectly. Use fresh collard greens or a combination of collard greens and turnips.
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Slow Cooker Garden Cabbage Soup
Diana Rattray This easy slow cooker cabbage soup is light and flavorful. The soup offers a vast array of vegetables, including cabbage, zucchini, carrots, and spinach.
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Slow Cooker Taco Stack with Ground Beef
Diana Rattray This taco stack looks a bit messy, but the Tex-Mex flavors are out of this world. Making the foil "handles" is essential to cutting down on the mess, so be sure to do that. Also, let the stack cool a bit before cutting it into wedges.
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Slow Cooker Creole Chicken With Sausage
Diana Rattray Boneless chicken thighs and spicy andouille sausage are slow cooked to perfection in a deliciously seasoned tomato sauce. This chicken and sausage combination is easy to put together, and everything goes into the crock pot with no browning. Just cover the slow cooker and plug it in. Serve this flavorful chicken over hot cooked rice for a fabulous meal any night of the week.
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Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs Recipe
Diana Rattray These sweet and sour meatballs make an excellent appetizer or serve them as a main dish with hot boiled rice or these easy sesame noodles and a salad.
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Savory Crock Pot Pork Loin Roast
The Spruce
This delicious pork loin roast starts with a simple herb and spice rub and then it is slow cooked to perfection with a tangy sauce mixture. The sauce is thickened and served with the pork.