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March 2, 2018

10 Slow Cooker Recipes for Beginners

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New to the slow cooker (or cooking in general)? Don’t be scared! I’m going to share with you 10 easy slow cooker recipes that will make you feel confident in the kitchen.

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New to the slow cooker (or cooking in general)? Don't be scared! I'm going to share with you 10 easy slow cooker recipes that will make you feel confident in the kitchen.

Yesterday I shared with you 10 recipes for Instant Pot beginners. Today I’ll be sharing with you 10 recipes for slow cooker beginners!

I’ve been using my slow cooker regularly for 9 years now. When I first started I didn’t really know the “rules” that went along with the slow cooker and I had a few recipe fails. And a lot of mediocre food. Luckily the guidelines that go along with using your crockpot are pretty easy to learn. The slow cooker is a great tool for a beginner cook, a college student or a busy parent that doesn’t want a lot of fuss.

Some of the main rules of slow cooking are:

1. Don’t lift the lid. Although it might be tempting to lift the lid and fuss with the food, resist the temptation. The steam is cooking the food inside that crock and everytime you remove the lid you’re removing the steam and interrupting the cooking process.

2. Reduce the liquid. There is no evaporation that occurs in the slow cooker. Foods get runny and watery. Reduce liquid by half. (Dried beans and rice are the exception to this rule). Plus you’ll probably want to add some sort of thickener (like flour or tapioca) at the beginning of the cooking process or perhaps a cornstarch slurry (smooth mixture of cornstarch and water) at the end of the cooking process.

3. Season liberally. Because of #2, food gets watered down. Make sure to always season to taste at the end of the cooking process.

4. Dairy. Don’t add dairy until the end of the cooking process or else you’ll end up with a curdled mess. For example, in this white chicken chili I add the milk and sour cream at the end.

Slow Cooker Recipes for Beginners

Here are some EASY recipes that you can make in the slow cooker. You’ll have success with these recipes and then feel confident that you can conquer your crockpot.

1. Slow Cooker Mississippi Roast–this is super easy and tastes amazing. The key to making a good slow cooker roast is using the right cut of meat. Make sure to buy a chuck roast and give it plenty of time to cook all day on low. I like to cook my roasts on low for up to 12 hours.

2. Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup–this requires you to dump a bunch of stuff in the slow cooker and walk away. Easy enough! I like how this recipe uses a can of refried beans to thicken up the soup.

3.ย Slow Cooker Salsa Lime Chickenโ€“so you have frozen chicken breasts in the freezer and need to make dinner? Throw them in the slow cooker with some salsa, lime juice and some seasonings and youโ€™ll get perfectly shreddable chicken that you can serve in burritos, enchiladas, tacos, salads or quesadillas.

4. Slow Cooker 4-Ingredient Cherry Dump Cake–all you need to make this recipe is a cake mix, cherry pie filling and butter. Dump all the ingredients in your slow cooker and turn it on. This recipe is so easy and hands off but tastes amazing especially when served with vanilla ice cream.

5. Slow Cooker Taco Dip–I love this taco dip because itโ€™s one of those recipes where you can pretty much throw everything into the slow cooker and be done. No browning required beforehand. Itโ€™s the perfect appetizer or a great game day snack. Kids and adults both love this cheesy taco dip.

slow cooker taco dip easy recipe

6. Slow Cooker Beef and Cheddar Sandwiches–the easiest recipe to make ever. With only 4 ingredients total (beef, onion soup mix, cheddar and sandwich buns) you may be thinking that this recipe is just too easy to taste good. Well, you’re wrong! The flavor is amazing and your family will be asking for seconds.

7. Slow Cooker Yellow Chicken Curry–a thai-style coconut curry with moist bites of chicken, tender bites of yellow potatoes, vibrant turmeric and curry powder all made easily at home in your slow cooker.

8. Slow Cooker Chicken and Gravy–an almost embarrassingly easy recipe for a good old fashioned dinner. Serve the chicken and gravy over mashed potatoes, rice, noodles, toast or biscuits.

9. Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Country Style Ribs–country style pork ribs are cooked low and slow in your slow cooker until fork tender and then served with a sweet and sour sauce.

10. Slow Cooker Cream Cheese Chicken Sandwiches–theseย have only 4 ingredients. Serve the chicken up on some toasted buns and youโ€™re set!

I hope this was helpful for you! Sign up to receive all my new Slow Cooker recipes by email below.

 

*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

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27 Comments Filed Under: All Recipes, Collections, Slow Cooker

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Comments

  1. Nancy the crockpot nana says

    March 13, 2021 at 11:09 am

    I am a devoted crockpot user since the eighties when I went back to work. I am now known as โ€œcrockpot nanaโ€ in my family. As each grandchild graduates from college or moves into their own apartment I give them a crockpot and recipes. They all seem to love it. Love your website. Read and print a lot. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 13, 2021 at 11:37 am

      I love this Nancy! I think that’s so awesome

      Reply
    • Brad Nelson says

      October 14, 2021 at 5:07 pm

      Thanks

      Reply
  2. Lisa says

    January 25, 2021 at 3:19 pm

    I absolutely love my Crockpot does all the hard work for me !! Iโ€™d be lost without it โค๏ธ

    Reply
    • Karen says

      January 26, 2021 at 2:03 pm

      It’s a great tool!

      Reply
  3. Carol chattaway says

    January 22, 2021 at 9:02 am

    All your recipes are very helpful especially any vegan ones,many thanks

    Reply
  4. Andrea says

    December 8, 2020 at 12:35 pm

    Thanks for the tips! I am a vegetarian and would like to use my slow cooker more because I work full time and have two young kids. Will all of your slow cooker recipes be for meat dinners?

    Reply
    • Karen says

      December 9, 2020 at 6:52 pm

      Mostly. But here are my meatless slow cooker recipes: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/recipes/?fwp_method=slow-cooker&fwp_ingredient=meatless

      Reply
      • Andrea says

        December 9, 2020 at 7:18 pm

        Awesome, thanks so much! Can’t wait to try them out! ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
  5. Diane says

    November 21, 2020 at 12:08 pm

    Canโ€™t wait to try your recipes

    Reply
    • Karen says

      November 21, 2020 at 6:01 pm

      Hope you enjoy Diane!

      Reply
  6. ARLENE says

    September 4, 2020 at 8:38 pm

    I have tried to Print your cherry cake recipe Slow Cooker, but after 6 times of trying to print, it just will not
    do so. I then went to another recipe and the same thing happened. I thought maybe I needed more paper in my printer, so I went to Martha Stewart’s recipe and as soon as I pressed print it worked. Can you explain, please. THANK YOU

    Reply
    • Karen says

      September 7, 2020 at 11:29 am

      I’m sorry Arlene. I am not sure why it’s not working because it works for me. I would just copy the text you want to print and then right click and it should give you an option to print.

      Reply
  7. Jimmie Lindsey says

    June 21, 2020 at 8:51 am

    Have been a crockpot enthusiast since the late ’60. My first “Crockery Cookery” cookbook was by Mable Hoffman, published 1975. As a busy working Mom & college student it was only way I could keep the family fed! I have had many crockpots over the years from 1 1/2 to 8 quarts. Nothing has earned their space on my counter as honorably as they! Very pleased to see your guidance for newbies! Thanks for your consideration!

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 24, 2020 at 10:00 pm

      Thanks! Glad it is helpful to you!

      Reply
      • Inez says

        August 9, 2020 at 11:17 am

        It was very helpful thank you

        Reply
    • Ellen says

      September 13, 2020 at 7:36 am

      Jimmie, I have the same cookbook in paperback. It stands petitely on the shelf with other crockpot cook books. I continue to use it often. So glad to know another with an humble beginning. E.

      Reply
  8. Kathy G. says

    June 5, 2020 at 8:31 pm

    Thank you for more slow cooker (crock pot) recipes. I love using mine to create delicious and tasty meals.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 8, 2020 at 4:33 pm

      You’re welcome Kathy!

      Reply
  9. Linda Hughes says

    May 31, 2020 at 10:36 pm

    Thank you for adding me. This is amazing

    Reply
    • Karen says

      June 1, 2020 at 2:25 pm

      Glad you are here!

      Reply
  10. kay stapleton says

    November 3, 2019 at 11:09 am

    Thanks for adding me

    Reply
    • Karen says

      November 4, 2019 at 1:16 pm

      Thanks for being here!

      Reply
  11. Nathaniel Lee says

    October 28, 2019 at 5:33 am

    Wow, this article is so great! Thanks, Karen. I’m gonna try some of these recipes ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Karen says

      October 29, 2019 at 7:51 pm

      Hope it helps!

      Reply
  12. Edie Faylor says

    March 3, 2018 at 11:45 am

    Thank you for all your help. I am always reluctant to try new things in my new cooker and now with your aid I can be confident in getting the right results.

    Reply
    • Karen says

      March 3, 2018 at 9:57 pm

      You’re welcome!

      Reply

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Welcome!

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Hi, I’m Karen. I know that dinner time can be less than relaxing. Busy schedules and cranky kids and a hundred other things can lead to weariness when it comes to putting dinner on the table. I can help! I make homemade, family-friendly slow cooker and Instant Pot dinners and share the recipes with you.

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