- If you are looking to keep cool and steer clear of your ovens and stoves this summer, slow cookers are a great tool to help you create flavorful dishes with minimal effort.
- Using a long cooking process, slow cookers draw out flavors, making for extra dinners, desserts, and even side dips.
Now that it’s summer, turning on your hot stovetop or oven every night to cook might be the last thing you want to do. Especially if you’ve been cooking more than usual these past few months, slow cookers are a great option to finally give yourself a break from the kitchen.
Oftentimes, slow cookers are associated with winter soups and stews. But, there are plenty of summer fruits and vegetables that taste even better when cooked using the “low and slow” method of this handy kitchen appliance, which draws out the flavor and requires little hands-on work.
Keep reading for 16 things you should always make in a slow cooker.
Pulled meats, including pork and chicken become so much more flavorful in a slow cooker.
Pulled pork and pulled chicken are at their most tender when prepared in a slow cooker.
The lengthy cooking process ensures that the meat soaks up plenty of flavor and maintains a juicy texture.
Once the meat is perfectly cooked, all you have to do is add it to a warm bun with a few toppings and you have a restaurant-level meal.
Start your morning off with homemade oatmeal to fuel your day.
It's hard to go wrong with classic oatmeal, especially when making it in a slow cooker. By adding ingredients like apples, peaches, cinnamon, or pumpkin purée, you can make this breakfast staple a lot more exciting.
All you need to do is add a few ingredients the night before and then let the slow cooker work its magic overnight. You'll save tons of time in the morning and be left with a breakfast that keeps you fueled for hours.
Quinoa can be bland, but cooking it in the slow cooker is the perfect opportunity to spice it up.
Quinoa is packed with protein and perfect for making easy, nutritious meals.
The grain is a great addition to salads or "dump dinner" recipes - all you need to do is throw together ingredients and let your slow cooker do the work.
Stuffing your peppers with just a few simple ingredients elevates your dinner to a 10.
Stuffed peppers are an incredibly versatile dish, not to mention easy to put together.
The combinations of rice, beans, quinoa, and ground meat are endless. Just fill up your peppers and forget about them in the slow cooker until dinner time.
Hearty vegetables that are sometimes difficult to cook are simple and low-maintenance when done in a slow cooker.
Instead of having your potatoes sit in your fridge for weeks, toss them in your slow cooker with a little seasoning, then add them to any summer salad or enjoy them on their own.
You can make fancy cobblers and crisps with fresh summer fruit.
Slow cookers are useful for more than just savory dishes. Apple crisp, for example, has never been easier.
While crumble and crisp toppings usually work best in the oven, there are ways you can avoid excess moisture in your slow cooker. By placing a paper towel underneath the lid, your topping will stay crisp and crunchy.
Then, when you spoon out the dessert, just top it with a little bit of vanilla ice cream for the perfect treat.
Instead of buying packaged dips, just add a few ingredients into the pot and you are good to go.
From barbecue chicken to spinach and artichoke, there are plenty of indulgent party dip recipes out there.
Save yourself time and money by just adding a few simple ingredients and letting your slow cooker do its thing. Using a slow cooker also helps you avoid having to do extra dishes and clean up at the end of the night.
Paella can be an intimidating recipe to follow, but making it in a slow cooker is easy, only requiring about 20 minutes of work.
Before using the slow cooker, you have to brown your chicken and chorizo for 10 minutes in a skillet. Then, add the meat, rice, vegetables, seasoning, broth, and wine into the slow cooker, and leave it to cook for about two hours.
Finally, add in the shrimp and peas for the last 10 minutes, then enjoy. Making paella will surely impress your friends and family and is a tasty summer dish.
Fruit sauces and butters taste way better when they are homemade, and are also way less expensive than buying a packaged version from the store.
From applesauce to apple butter, slow cookers are great for working with non-delicate fruits and vegetables.
Slow cooker applesauce, for example, is a great way to use mealy apples that are about to go bad.
Your entire house will smell amazing, and it tastes way better than the processed versions you buy from the store.
Even if it's summer, sometimes you just want an easy, flavorful soup.
Soup is great all year round, and it's especially easy to make in a slow cooker.
Simply add meat, vegetables, broth, and seasonings and cook all day long. By the end of the day, you'll have a flavorful dish and your house will smell amazing. Plus, you can spoon the soup straight out of the slow cooker, leaving very few dirty dishes and cleanup at the end of the night.
If you have kids running around, making them a large batch of baked macaroni and cheese in the slow cooker is easy, and way more flavorful than a box mix.
Mac and cheese is a staple recipe that should be enjoyed all summer long. The easiest method is to combine all your ingredients into the slow cooker, and then check after about two hours to make sure the pasta has fully cooked.
Using the "low and slow" method makes the sauce extra creamy and flavorful, and just needs to be garnished with chives before serving.
Instead of roasting meatballs, just stick them into your slow cooker.
Homemade meatballs are delicious, but they can be time-consuming to make. You can streamline the process and make tasty, juicy meatballs by simply browning them in the oven and then cooking them on low for several hours in your trusty slow cooker.
Plus, letting them cook in a bit of tomato sauce adds extra flavor and makes for a simple and hearty meal that can be enjoyed alone or served over your favorite pasta.
Casseroles are great for meal prepping, saving you time and keeping your health on track all week.
Casseroles are a simple dish that can work for any meal, and they come together perfectly in a slow cooker.
A casserole is the perfect meal-prepping dish, keeping the rest of your meals for the week worry-free and ready to go. From French toast to cheese and vegetables, there are endless options for putting together a satisfying one-pot meal.
Bone broth is a big health craze these days, but can actually easily be made at home in a slow cooker.
Bone broth is chock full of nutrients, including protein, antioxidants, and amino acids, making it the perfect dish for staying healthy all year round.
The broth works best when it is simmered for up to 24 hours, so using a slow cooker will allow you to safely cook the dish for the necessary amount of time and get as much flavor as possible.
Mashed potatoes can be labor-intensive when made from scratch, but super easy when done in a slow cooker.
Making mashed potatoes from scratch usually requires a lot of work and creates a seemingly never-ending load of dishes to clean at the end.
Instead, add your potatoes and seasoning to the slow cooker on low in the morning and keep warm until serving. Adding a little cream can help get just the right consistency.
Make a perfectly layered and gooey lasagna in your slow cooker with little to no effort.
For pasta fans, lasagna is a great dish to prepare in a slow cooker. Just pack the slow cooker with layers of pasta and meat sauce, and give it four to six hours to bake. The result is a perfectly gooey lasagna with a bit of crisp on the sides.
