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13 Easy Slow Cooker Recipes That Basically Make Themselves
From Massaman beef and lamb ragu to creamy stroganoff, French onion chicken, wild rice soup, pulled pork, vegetarian chilli and sticky desserts, these are the slow cooker recipes bringing serious comfort to winter cooking.
The best slow cooker recipes make cold-weather cooking feel almost too easy: rich, comforting and low-effort enough for busy weeknights, lazy Sundays and everything in between. From slow-cooked beef stew, lamb ragu and creamy stroganoff to vegetarian chilli, tender chicken dinners and sticky desserts, these easy slow cooker recipes are made for the season when dinner should be hearty, hands-off and ready when you are.
Best Slow Cooker Recipes: Vegetarian
Lentil and Butternut Squash Chilli
Butternut squash and lentils turn chilli into a hearty autumn bowl with real staying power. Rich with spice, vegetables and plant-based comfort, it’s filling, family-friendly and just as good for weeknight dinners as it is for next-day leftovers.
Slow Cooker Potato Leek Soup
Slow-cooker potato leek soup keeps things classic, letting leeks and potatoes turn mellow, creamy and deeply savoury over hours of gentle cooking. Light enough for spring, comforting enough for cooler nights, it’s a refined, hands-off soup with serious old-faithful appeal.
Best Slow Cooker Recipes: Chicken
Ginger Soy Chicken (Instant Pot)
Ginger soy chicken brings sweet-savoury comfort in record time, with tender chicken cooked in ginger, ABC Sweet Soy sauce, sesame oil and fragrant aromatics. Serve over rice or noodles for a fast, deeply satisfying dinner.
Crock Pot French Onion Chicken
French onion soup meets slow-cooker chicken in a very worthy weeknight upgrade: tender meat, caramelised onions, savoury broth and a blanket of golden Gruyère. Cosy, rich and deeply comforting, with all the bistro energy and none of the fuss.
Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup
Chicken wild rice soup goes slow cooker simple, turning tender chicken, nutty rice and creamy broth into pure cold-night comfort. Thick, savoury and family-friendly, it has that nostalgic, walked-in-from-the-rain feeling without asking much from the cook.
Best Slow Cooker Recipes: Beef
Slow-Cooker Massaman Beef Curry
Fall-apart beef, soft potatoes and a coconut-rich Massaman sauce do the slow-cooker work here. Mild, family-friendly and freezer-friendly, it’s comfort food with rice, roti and crushed peanuts firmly encouraged.
Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff Stew
Beef stroganoff gets the slow-cooker treatment, turning economical stewing beef into fall-apart comfort with buttery garlic mushrooms and a creamy, deeply savoury sauce. It’s rich, nostalgic and made for ladling over pasta, mash or anything that catches gravy beautifully.
Best Slow Cooker Recipes: Pork
Slow-Cooker Pork Shoulder
Pork shoulder goes low and slow until impossibly tender, juicy and ready to pull apart with a fork. A caramelised crust brings the golden edges, making it just as good in rolls, tacos or beside roast vegetables.
Slow-Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich
Juicy pulled pork, homemade BBQ sauce, soft buns and crunchy coleslaw make these slow-cooker sandwiches pure crowd-pleaser material. Sweet, smoky and gloriously messy, they’re built for footy nights, easy entertaining and second helpings.
Best Slow Cooker Recipes: Lamb
Slow-Cooker Braised Lamb Shanks in Red Wine
Greek-style lamb shanks meet the slow cooker and do exactly what winter wants: tomato, red wine, herbs and hours of low, steady heat. The result is fall-apart meat, glossy sauce and a special-occasion dinner with very little hands-on effort.
Slowly Braised Lamb Ragu
Lamb shoulder, vegetables, tomatoes and herbs go low and slow until rich, glossy and ready to collapse through ribbons of pappardelle. The slow cooker does the heavy lifting, leaving you with the right Sunday ragu energy minus the stovetop babysitting.
Best Slow Cooker Recipes: Dessert
Slow-Cooker Turtle Cake
Fudgy chocolate cake, salted caramel and pecans turn the slow cooker into a gooey dessert machine. Rich, sticky and very candy-bar coded, this turtle cake is built for scooping straight from the pot.
Slow-Cooker Cinnamon Roll Pudding
Day-old cinnamon rolls become slow-cooker bread pudding with eggs, milk and raisins, turning breakfast or dessert into a soft, spiced scoop of low-effort glorious comfort that tastes far more considered.
Loving our pick of the best slow-cooker recipes and looking for more cooking inspiration? Be sure to try our favourite winter soups and, for a sweet treat, these cookie recipes are the only thing you need!
