The Best Slow Cooker Recipes for Comfort Dinners
Some evenings you just want a quick 20-minute skillet dish. Other evenings you have time to make a slow cooker dish ahead of time that can cook while you are gone. Options for home meals include beef roast and goulash, chicken and rice casserole, lasagna, apple cider pork, and carnitas with crispy edges. Seasonings to use when making home-cooked meals on busy evenings include tomato and herb, paprika, and lime seasonings.
Why You'll Love These Slow Cooker Recipes
- Prep Ahead of Time: Cook chicken and rice, lasagna, and pot roast ahead of time to reduce preparation time during the day.
- Easy Meal Ideas: Chuck roast and pork shoulder take longer to cook but develop more flavorful, tender meat. You can use your time more efficiently by working on other tasks.
- Flexible Cooking Methods: Pan-cook meats like carnitas for a browned crust. Serve slow-cooked meats and stews with gravy or sauce.
- Make More: Goulash can be prepared in large batches and refrigerated or frozen for later use.
1. Crockpot Lasagna with Homemade Meat Sauce and Three Cheeses
For a family dinner that can be started in the morning and served later in the day, Crockpot Lasagna with raw lasagna noodles and beef tomato sauce and three cheeses. Lasagna noodles absorb the sauce. Ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses brown and melt to form a topping for the lasagna casserole. Ground beef and yellow onion with garlic are the main ingredients in the sauce. Other sauce ingredients are tomato sauce, tomato paste, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Tomato products are used extensively so that lasagna noodles can be cooked in a slow cooker without boiling them first. Ricotta cheese and eggs are used to help hold layers of lasagna noodles and cheese together. Mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses are used as toppings. After greasing your crockpot, pour a little meat sauce over dry noodles. Layer additional noodles, breaking and adjusting as needed to fit, with more meat sauce and cheese. Some cheeses may be held back to layer at the end. Test for doneness after 4 hours by checking for soft, easily punctured noodles and melted cheeses. The main problem is using a crockpot that is too small. A six- to eight-quart crockpot is ideal. Serve the crockpot insert at the dinner table with garlic bread and other side dishes, including Parmesan broccoli and Mediterranean and Caesar salads. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container or freezer bag after individually quick-freezing. Other readers recommend that lasagna made with this recipe tastes best if made ahead one day.
2. Italian Pot Roast (Stracotto) with Tomato Herb Braising Sauce
Strategy: Plan 15 minutes to prepare. This way, you can make Italian beef pot roast while preparing other meals. A beef chuck roast will be very tender when cooked in a tomato-broth base with other ingredients, including pancetta. Several methods are suggested, including stovetop, oven, and slow cooker. Bacon or pancetta is added as a flavoring and ingredient for cooking beef and other vegetables, such as onion, carrot, and celery. Garlic, crushed red pepper, beef stock, canned tomatoes, thyme, rosemary, Italian seasoning mix, and bay leaves are also braising ingredients. The chuck can be cut into three pieces for better browning and braising in a Dutch oven. The roast is ready when it is tender, not simply cooked; it should pull easily when slow-cooked covered. Cover the pot when stewing on the stovetop or in the oven so the liquid can do its work. The biggest mistake cooks make when making this recipe is taking the roast out of the pot too early, before it is tender. Serve tomato and beef mixture over pasta, gnocchi, polenta, or other dishes to soak up the sauce. The recipe also suggests serving it with Gorgonzola polenta. Remove bay leaves be
3. Mississippi Pot Roast: Easy Slow Cooker Dinner
Mississippi pot roast is a recipe for a slow cooker dinner with shredded beef and sauce. A chuck roast is slow-cooked on low for eight hours with a ranch dressing mix, au jus gravy mix, butter, and pepperoncini peppers for a tangy flavor. I cook in a 6-quart slow cooker with the lid on to help retain heat and moisture. After eight hours of cooking, the roast falls apart easily when pulled with two forks. Sometimes I pat the roast dry and brown all sides in a hot, oiled skillet before transferring it to the slow cooker to caramelize the meat further. Pepperoncini peppers can be served to multiple people. Offering fewer whole rings or pepperoncini peppers per serving will decrease spiciness. Not offering the pickling liquid will also decrease spiciness. Offering more or hotter pepperoncini peppers will increase spiciness. Pickled banana peppers taste similar to pepperoncini but are less spicy. I like pepperoncini better because they have a sharper edge. Once the meat is cooked, I shred it in the same pot and fold it through the gravy. Allowing the shredded meat to rest in the gravy for a few minutes before serving ensures that the meat soaks up the gravy, leaving the shredded meat pieces covered in gravy instead of sitting dry on top.
4. Hungarian Goulash: Make-Ahead Beef Stew with Sweet Paprika
Make large batches of Hungarian goulash, as you would with other beef dishes. Serve immediately and store extras and toppings in the refrigerator or freezer for later use. This tomato-based Hungarian goulash recipe features beef, bell peppers, carrots, and potatoes and is seasoned with sweet and hot Hungarian paprika and caraway. Braised and stew recipes for beef include beef cooked with onions and garlic that have been sautéed, caraway seeds, salt, and large quantities of sweet Hungarian paprika. Beef broth and diced tomatoes are included in the braising liquid. Carrots, optional potatoes, and red peppers are added to the braising liquid. Cayenne pepper may be added for extra heat. Soured cream is provided on the side for diners to add to their portions of the meal. The stew must cook for a long time to make the beef and other vegetables tender and fully cooked. The stew should be saucy rather than dry and dense. This is typical of goulash. Mistakes to avoid include not cooking long enough to make the beef tender and overcooking other vegetables, including peppers, until they are unidentifiable. Serve goulash with sour cream and bread slices that can be used to mop up the sauce. Other ways to serve goulash without potatoes include mashed potatoes, pasta, and rice, as described in the article. Leftover goulash is useful for planned meals because it tastes better after being refrigerated, as described in the article.
5. Crockpot Apple Cider Pork Roast with Warm Cinnamon and Nutmeg
Use fresh apple cider for the best taste. Pair it with a bone-in pork shoulder roast for more taste. Recipe Crockpot Apple Cider Pork Roast produces shredded pork with a caramelized crust and apple cider sauce seasoned with cinnamon and nutmeg. Seasoning the roast with salt, freshly ground black pepper, and cinnamon and nutmeg before cooking gives the pork roast warm spice flavors. Vegetable oil promotes browning of the roast when cooking at a medium-high heat in a pan. One large onion and 2 cups of apple cider are added to the slow cooker with the roast. Unfiltered apple cider and bone-in pork shoulder are suggested for added flavor. On the stovetop, brown the meat for 3 to 4 minutes per side to create a caramelized crust that will add flavor to the braising liquid. The meat should shred easily between two forks after braising for 4 hours on low heat. If you skip the uncovered high simmer, the finished dish will have a light cider sauce instead of a thicker sauce. Serve breaded pork with potatoes, rice, and other foods. Side dishes you might serve with breaded pork include roasted carrots, green beans, dinner rolls, and apple slaw. The article says reheated leftover breaded pork in gravy tastes better than fresh breaded pork. Reheat leftover breaded pork in cider gravy.
6. Crock Pot Chicken and Rice: Creamy Cheesy Brown Rice Dinner
Cook this six-serving Crock Pot Chicken and Rice dish ahead of time by placing chicken and other ingredients, such as brown rice, broth, soup, and seasonings, in the Crock Pot before the day gets busy. Add cheddar cheese right before serving so you won't have to cook on the stove. This complete meal consists of chicken and rice mixture topped with cheddar cheese. Individual portions of leftovers can be reheated and served at a later time. Ingredients for Chicken and Rice in the Crock Pot include chicken breast, garlic, black pepper, salt, chopped onion, chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, and brown rice. According to the article, brown rice is a better option than white rice for this recipe because it has a firmer texture that is more appropriate for long-cooking times. Shredded cheddar cheese added to the dish after cooking will help the cheese blend into the rice for a creamy texture. After 3½ to 4 hours on the High setting, the broth will be gone, and the rice and chicken will be cooked. These are cues that you should stir in cheese. Cover and cook an additional 5 to 7 minutes after adding cheddar cheese to fully melt it. Common texture problems with this recipe are overly soft rice. To avoid this problem, use brown rice instead of white rice. Add broth, ¼ cup at a time, if the rice is too thick. Serve hot with roasted green beans or steamed broccoli, other side dishes listed with this recipe. To prepare ahead of time, portion six servings into serving dishes and refrigerate until cooled to a safe, easy-to-handle temperature. The recipe suggests an airtight container for storing leftovers. The rice and cheese mixture makes cold servings convenient for lunch or dinner.
7. Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas with Crispy Seared Edges and Lime Glaze
Slow-cooked pork carnitas are a popular taco-night option to prepare in advance. Pork shoulder is slow-cooked and then browned in a skillet. It's topped with a lime glaze and shredded. I cut the shoulder into large sections with some fat. I slow-cook the shoulder until a fork pierces the meat easily. Fat drips into the cooking liquid. I divide the shredded pork into portions, reserving some of the large pieces and some of the shredded meat. The two types of meat cut help brown the pork in the pan. I prefer to use the large pieces. I save the cooking liquid used to cook the pork before browning in the pan. I mix this liquid with lime juice to serve as a topping for the shredded pork. I cook carnitas in batches in a dark cast-iron pan, pushing the meat against the surface of the pan with a spatula to help cook it evenly. I do not disturb the pork in the pan for the searing time recommended on the package. I turn the pork over when the first side is well browned. I serve carnitas on warm corn tortillas with raw red onion and cilantro. I eat a lot of raw onion. The glaze is added after browning. The pan and meat are still hot, and parts of the pork meat have been browned. Most of the glaze cooks off, and the outer parts of the pork meat are flavored with lime juice and pork juices. The inner parts of the cooked pork meat can be eaten in a tortilla.
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