what can i put in a crock pot

What are some healthy crock pot recipes?

• Crock Pot Baked Potatoes. ...
• Crockpot Sweet Potatoes. ...
• Slow Cooker Stuffing. ...
• Slow Cooker Wild Rice Pilaf. ...
• Crock Pot Risotto with Butternut Squash. ...
• Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes. ...
• Slow Cooker Brussels Sprouts with Maple Syrup. ...
• Crock Pot Stuffing with Wild Rice. ...

What are the best crock pot dishes?

Crock-Pot Chicken Enchiladas Crock-Pot Ladies mini peppers, chicken, chicken stock, onion, salsa, black beans and 5 more Crock-Pot Chicken Teriyaki Skinny recipes

What is better a pressure cooker or a crock pot?

What to Look for in a Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker

• Capacity. Whether you’re buying a slow cooker or a pressure cooker, size is often the first consideration. ...
• Pressure and Heat Control. Some multicookers only cook at high pressure, making it difficult to keep vegetables crisp and cook delicate foods, like fish.
• Power. With electric pressure cookers, wattage can make a big difference. ...

How do you slow cook without a crock pot?

• Cooking in the oven or on the stovetop might require a slight liquid adjustment. ...
• Slow cooking without a slow cooker means you can’t leave the house with the oven or stovetop on. ...
• It doesn't matter if you use a crock-pot or a Dutch oven, the steps are the same: brown the protein (usually meat), saute the vegetables, add the liquid and cook. ...

What Cannot be cooked in a slow cooker?

Slow cookers are great, but they can't cook everything....​11 things you shouldn't put in your slow cookerLean meats. ... Raw meat. ... Too much liquid. ... Delicate vegetables. ... Too much spice. ... Dairy. ... Too much booze. ... Meat that has the skin on.More items...•

What cooks well in crock pot?

The Best Foods to Cook in Your Slow CookerLong-Cooking Cuts of Meat. Tough cuts of meat that turn out meltingly tender when cooked low and slow are made for this appliance. ... Whole Chicken & Chicken Thighs. ... Soups, Stews & Chilis. ... Dips.

Can you throw everything into a slow cooker?

Cut down your prep time For many dishes, particularly soups and stews, you really can just throw all the ingredients in. It can be nice to cook the onions beforehand, as the flavour is different to when you put them in raw, but experiment both ways as you may find you prefer one.

What can I slow cook for 8 hours?

So you can truly fix it and forget it.Crock Pot Mississippi Beef Roast (Low 8-10 Hours)Crock Pot Whole BBQ Chicken (Low 8 hrs) – The Country Cook.Crock Pot Steak Tacos (Low 8-10 hrs)Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken and Rice (Low 7-8 hrs) – Southern Plate.Crock Pot All Day Veggie Soup (Low 8-10 hours)More items...•

Can you put raw meat in a slow cooker?

Can You Put Raw Beef in a Slow Cooker? Yes, you can totally cook raw beef in a slow cooker. Many slow-cooker chili recipes have a step for browning the beef before it goes into the Crock-Pot. While this step isn't necessary, caramelizing the meat creates richer, bolder flavors.

What is the difference between a slow cooker and a Crock-Pot?

Crock-Pot is the name of a brand that first came on the market in the 1970s. It has a stoneware pot that is surrounded by a heating element, whereas a slow cooker is typically a metal pot that sits on top of a heated surface. The term slow cooker is not a brand but rather refers to the type of appliance.

Can you put raw chicken in a crockpot?

Can you put raw chicken in a crockpot? Yes, that is exactly how you start. Cover the bottom of your slow cooker with raw chicken. I prefer to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts because they are easier to work with when the chicken is cooked, but you can use any raw chicken.

Can you put raw meat in slow cooker with vegetables?

You can put raw meat and vegetables in a slow cooker quite safely. The slow cooker will cook them thoroughly. Recipes recommend browning meat and onions first for reasons of flavor and appearance.

Can you put raw onion in a slow cooker?

And a raw onion can swamp a dish with moisture. If you take an extra 10 minutes to sauté the aromatics before scraping them into the slow-cooker, the finished dish will have deeper flavor and better texture.

Can you cook chicken in a crockpot for 8 hours?

Place chicken breasts in slow cooker, and sprinkle with seasonings (and liquid, if using). Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until the chicken shreds easily with a fork. (*If making a smaller batch, keep an eye on your slow cooker as the chicken will likely need less cooking time.)

What happens if you leave a crockpot on too long?

Most slow cooker recipes need 6 to 8 hours of slow heat. Leaving the appliance on for days is definitely not recommended. Hence why most cookers have a 24-hour programmable cycle. After the 24 hours are over, the cooker will shut off automatically.

Is it OK to leave slow cooker on for 10 hours?

How long can a slow cooker remain on? It depends on your model, so make sure you read the directions. Some can be left on for up to 24 hours, but most recommend eight to 12 hours.

How long is too long in crock pot?

The general rule of thumb is that two to four hours is the maximum length of time you can leave food in a slow cooker on warm.

Can you put frozen chicken in crock pot?

Can I put frozen chicken in the Crock-Pot? Yes. Lean meats like chicken will cook faster than meats with more connective tissue and fat. That means frozen chicken will get to a safe temperature faster than other meats.

Can you cook ground beef in a crock pot?

Place the ground beef into the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Break up the meat with a large spoon and add the water. Cover and cook on high for 2 to 3 hours or low for 4 to 6 hours. Once the beef is cooked through, carefully pour the excess grease and liquid from the slow cooker dish.

Can you leave crock pot on all day?

In a phone interview with Cooking Light, Crock-Pot customer service said it's safe to leave your slow cooker unattended on a low setting for several hours—even if you're not at home. Their FAQ section confirms this. "Crock-Pot® Slow Cookers are safe for countertop cooking for extended periods of time.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

This savory, comforting stew feeds a family of four at least twice, and leftovers get better as they sit. TIP: Sub a frozen vegetable blend (like Birds Eye Mirepoix) for the onion and carrots.

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

All the amazing flavors of taco night we love are put in a warm and tasty soup! Did I mention the slow cooker took care of cooking it while I was watching the boy play? Yep. It was ready when we got home, cold, tired and starving! I love when I can make a new recipe but still have it be familiar to our taste buds.

Spectacular Slow Cooker Bolognese

This sauce comes together with just 15 minutes of prep! Seriously! This sauce is so good you don’t even need the pasta. Just grab a piece of bread and a bowl and go to town. I will admit that I have done that a few times. It has now been put on the rotation so I can make sure I always have a batch of it in my freezer at all times!

Frito Pie with Slow Cooker Chili con Carne

It’s hard to go wrong with a hearty helping of chili scooped right into a crinkly single-serving bag of crunchy, salty corn chips and topped with all the fixin’s. This recipe utilizes (You guessed it!) a slow cooker to make the chili, an efficient choice if you’re busy prepping for game day. Give it a try and let us know what you think.

Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

Corned beef and cabbage is *the* quintessential Irish dinner, but if you grew up with a version that literally tasted like boiled socks, you may have sworn off the meal for good. Don’t quit it though! We promise this is about to get good.

Make BBQ Beef in a Slow Cooker

The process of slow cooking is perfect for less expensive cuts of meat, giving you optimum tenderness and flavorful results. Those are just a few of the reasons I choose to use my slow cooker when preparing barbecue. If you don’t have a smoker, it’s the next best thing for “low and slow” cooking.

Make a Zero-Clean Up Slow Cooker Chili con Carne

Ladle up a bowlful of goodness with an amazing Crock Pot Chili con Carne topped with Cheddar Scallion Biscuits. Bonus: A smart tip in the recipe’s video ensures one less pot to clean up after dinner. Watch, learn, cook and enjoy!

Crockpot Chicken Alfredo

Who doesn't love coming home to creamy chicken alfredo? Your crockpot is a great way to make this restaurant-quality dinner by combining meaty chicken thighs with lots of vegetables and prepared alfredo sauce. Pile it over fettuccine for a filling meal.

Crock Pot Turkey Tetrazzini

Condensed soup and lots of cheddar cheese create the rich sauce for this easy weeknight dinner your family will love. You can cook everything—including the diced turkey, mushrooms, onion, and pimiento —entirely in the crockpot or transfer to a buttered dish before serving, adding more cheese and baking briefly for a bubbly golden-brown topping.

Slow Cooker Island Barbecue Turkey Legs

These slow cooker turkey legs are tasty and budget-friendly. A sweet and sour barbecue sauce using canned crushed pineapples gives them tropical island flavor. Serve with rice, noodles, or potatoes, and your choice of side vegetable, for a satisfying meal.

Crockpot Spaghetti and Meatballs

You only need four ingredients—including jarred spaghetti sauce and frozen meatballs—to whip up this super easy spaghetti and meatballs dinner. Add chopped onion or carrots for added flavor and nutrition. Top with grated Parmesan for serving.

Crock Pot Pizza Pasta Casserole

Skip delivery and satisfy your pizza cravings with a crockpot casserole that's sure to become a regular in your household. Your favorite pizza toppings and seasonings combine with pasta noodles and two kinds of cheese to form a saucy and filling meal.

Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese

Yes, you can make macaroni and cheese in the crockpot! When it's finished cooking, feel free to spoon the noodles into a baking dish, top with a little more cheese, and pop under the broiler for a minute or two for that "homemade from the oven" look.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Barbecue

Nothing beats savory slow cooker pulled pork! Boneless roast simmers all day in your crockpot with onions, bottled barbecue sauce, and a few seasonings until it's meltingly tender. Serve shredded and piled on split buns with coleslaw and pickles.

Choose the Right Meat

Because a slow cooker cooks slowly, the best types of meat to cook in one are tough and fatty cuts that require a lot of cooking time. That means things like beef chuck, short ribs, pork shoulder, and spare ribs, to name just a few. But lean cuts like rump roast or sirloin roast can also go in a slow cooker.

Brown the Meat Before Cooking

While it's true that slow cookers won't produce a crispy exterior on a chicken or roast, that doesn't mean you shouldn't sear those items before putting them into the crock.

Don't Overcrowd the Crock

Each model will have its own guidelines about how full to fill it, but in general it's best not to fill a slow cooker more than two thirds of the way. Overfilling it will make it harder for the unit to reach its target temperature, which can in turn produce a food safety hazard if the temperature remains too low for too long.

Defrost Frozen Ingredients Before Cooking

You can certainly get away with adding a handful of frozen peas to a slow cooker at the end of cooking your beef stew, but trying to cook a frozen roast or chicken in a slow cooker is not a good idea. This gets back to the issue discussed above relating to temperature and food safety .

Add Dairy Products Last

Dairy products like milk, cheese and cream are emulsified blends of water, fat and protein (in varying proportions: cheese has less water, for instance, and milk has more). And what happens to that emulsion when it spends several hours in a slow cooker is that it breaks apart.

Practice Slow Cooker Safety

You can feel confident leaving your slow cooker on during the day while you're away (or overnight). This is one of the few kitchen appliances for which this is true, and indeed it's one of the primary advantages of using it. You load it up in the morning, and when you get home your dinner is ready, and your house smells wonderful.

Cut up large meats and brown them beforehand

If you want a roast that’s so tender it falls apart, you probably won’t get it by tossing a large 5- or 10-pound hunk of meat into your slow cooker. If you cut your meat into smaller pieces, this will help ensure you get that tender, stringy texture you want with foods such as pot roast, pulled beef, or pulled pork.

Submerge your meats completely, if you want them to fall apart

Submerge your meat in liquid completely if you want to achieve the kind of texture that falls apart with ease. If you don’t want a lot of liquid in your end product, you can drain out the excess liquid when you’re finished cooking, or you can take out the meat and shred it with a fork. Either way, it should break apart easily.

Use broth instead of water

If you use beef or chicken broth instead of water in your soups, stews, and roasts, your meat will be more flavorful than if you were to just use water. You can even use your crockpot to whip up your own batches of stock.

Clean your pot with a non-abrasive cleaner or vinegar

Cleaning a slow cooker can be a pain. Baked-on sauce often sticks to the sides, and it’s really difficult to remove. However, tempted as you may be to take a Brillo pad to your slow cooker, try to resist the temptation.

Put food safety first

Follow all safety guidelines and thaw meats properly. When you’re slow-cooking foods, you have to be especially careful to avoid food poisoning. To kill bacteria, it’s a good idea to start with your slow cooker on the highest setting for an hour, then reduce it to the setting the recipe calls for.

Add raw ground beef, raw eggs, raw seafood, or certain other raw meats

You may notice how slow cooker recipes using ground beef typically instruct you to brown the ground beef beforehand. This is because certain raw foods — such as raw eggs, raw shrimp, and raw ground beef — don’t agree with your slow cooker.

Add dairy at the beginning

Many recipes call for dairy products, such as heavy cream, sour cream, or cream cheese. It’s best to add these ingredients at the end (during the last hour) because if you let them sit in your Crock-Pot for several hours, they may curdle or separate.

1: Creole Chicken and Sausage

Why it’s great for the slow cooker: The chicken shreds so easily right in the crockpot, and the long cooking time allows all the flavors to blend together into a really delicious flavor combo. My sister helped me test some of these recipes, and she (and her family) listed this one as their FAVORITE of all ten.

2: Braised Beef Ragu

Why it’s great for the slow cooker: At the risk of sounding Midwestern-slow-cooker-dowdy, this is a classic “dump it in and forget it” recipe. You should sear the exterior of the meat first for best results, but if it’s Monday morning and you’re on the way out the door – no. Not happening. This is a forgiving recipe that can work either way.

3: Skinny Veggie Lasagna

Why it’s great for the slow cooker: It’s really quick to layer all the ingredients together, and then you can leave it all day until dinner. Easiest recipe on the list, for sure! (and a personal favorite of mine thanks to all those veggies and DA CHZZZ.)

4: Carnitas

Why it’s great for the slow cooker: This is a go-to for me when we are entertaining because I can leave it cooking all day and then just pop it in the oven at the end for browning, right when our friends walk in the door.

5: Whole Roasted Chicken

Why it’s great for the slow cooker: Maybe I’m starting to sound like a broken record here, but it’s easy! Also, the chicken becomes really moist and tender from all the liquids staying in the crockpot. To get a crispy skin at the end, you just need to put the chicken under the broiler for a little bit.

6: Granola

Why it’s great for the slow cooker: It’s a good alternative option to making granola in the oven, especially if you don’t have access to an oven or you simply don’t want to use the oven and heat up the kitchen (I’m looking at you, California).

7: Texas Chili Con Carne

Why it’s great for the slow cooker: This chili recipe is perfect for the crockpot because the meat gets so tender and flavorful over the long cooking time. My friend Ang introduced us to this recipe and it’s been a favorite in our little friend circle ever since – it’s a great have-people-over-and-put-chili-on-anything kind of meal.

Can My Slow Cooker Damage My Counter?

Most slow cookers come equipped with two small feet to elevate the unit from the foundation underneath it, and this should be enough to keep the counter from taking damage. However, many newer models operate at higher temperatures than older slow cookers used to.

Can You Put a Slow Cooker on a Quartz Countertop?

Quartz countertops can resist scratching, scorching, and staining far better than most other natural surfaces. When it comes to slow cooking, you won’t have to worry about ruining your countertop if you spill as quartz countertops are very easy to clean – just avoid strong chemicals.

Where To Place Your Slow Cooker

We’ve focused entirely on the foundation underneath the slow cooker but that isn’t the only thing that should be taken into account when cooking with a slow cooker. There’s more to consider when locating the perfect spot to place your slow cooker.

What Is a Slow Cooker?

A slow cooker is an electric appliance that simmers food at a low temperature over a long period of time. Because of this low-and-slow method, slow cookers are great for breaking down and tenderizing large pieces of meat like pot roasts or beef stews. But that’s not all they can do.

How Do You Use a Slow Cooker?

Using a slow cooker is fairly simple. Just plug in your slow cooker, add your chosen recipe’s ingredients, set the cooker to low or high, depending on the recipe’s instructions, add the lid and let it cook.

The Best Slow Cooker Tips

As easy as using a slow cooker is, we do have some tips for getting the best results possible. Here are some of our top pieces of advice:

What Can You Cook in a Slow Cooker?

Honestly, you can cook just about anything in the slow cooker. You’re probably most familiar with slow-cooker main dishes which range from shredded chicken tacos to meatloaf to puller pork sandwiches—as well as cozy slow-cooked soups, stews and chili that gather more flavor from simmering over hours at a time.

How to Care for a Slow Cooker

Thanks to removable crocks, cleaning and maintaining a slow cooker is painless. Take a look at these ways to clean a slow cooker: