Our Best Slow-Cooker Recipes

By Kelly Vaughan
Updated January 27, 2020
Credit: Christina Holmes
From classic pot roast to triple chocolate brownies, here are our all-time favorite recipes to make in the slow cooker.
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Credit: Christina Holmes

Slow cookers are great for preparing warm and cozy comfort food, but we love them year-round. From helping to break down and tenderize tough cuts of meat, such as flank steak and chuck, to letting home cooks get a head start on dinner prep, slow-cookers truly work wonders. Prep a recipe, like Garlic Chicken with Barley pictured here, in the morning before you get your day started and it will be cooked through and delicious by dinnertime.

One of the most popular slow-cooker recipes is pulled pork. We have a recipe for Easy Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork that is delicious as a sandwich or served on its own. Another classic? Classic Pot Roast for the Slow Cooker—it's a fabulous recipe for a special Sunday night dinner. The carrots and potatoes cook with the beef roast so everything absorbs the savory, rich flavors of garlic, tomato paste, red wine, chicken stock, and Worcestershire sauce.

Hosting a party? One of our favorite party starters is this Slow-Cooker Queso recipe. It's made with two varieties of cheese, cornstarch, evaporated milk, and diced tomatoes with chiles. The slow cooker keeps the queso warm and creamy and prevents it from breaking, so you get a luscious cheese pull every time you dip.

We even have a few sweet slow-cooker recipes. First, start your morning with Slow-Cooker Cinnamon Buns; the pot not only thoroughly cooks the dough but keeps it super moist, too. Plus, each bun has that irresistible pull as you tear them apart. Or try fudgy and rich Slow-Cooker Triple Chocolate Brownies, which cook on low for about four hours.

Our slow-cooker recipes are flavorful, fabulous, and completely foolproof.

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Classic Pot Roast for the Slow Cooker

Credit: Christina Holmes
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We're declaring this a tried-and-true slow cooker meal. All of the ingredients—including the carrots and potatoes—cook in one pot together, which makes for easy clean-up and builds so much flavor.

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Slow-Cooker Queso

Credit: Con Poulos
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The ultimate party starter, queso stays warm and creamy when cooked in a slow cooker. The combination of ooey-gooey American cheese and sharp pepper Jack cheese is irresistible.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken with 20 Cloves of Garlic

Credit: Stephen Kent Johnson
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A twist on the classic recipe of chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, this version is a bit milder but still fragrant and flavorful. We're using whole chicken legs here, which are less likely to dry out than chicken breasts.

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Easy Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork

Credit: Christina Holmes
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Don't just enjoy pulled pork on game day. It's a sweet, tangy main that's so satisfying any day of the week. Instead of barbecue sauce, we've created our sauce made with crushed and whole tomatoes, chipotle in adobo sauce, dried oregano, and dried bay leaves.

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Slow-Cooker Persian Lamb Stew

Credit: Stephen Kent Johnson
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There are two ways that we're turning lamb shoulder into a juicy, succulent cut of meat; first, it's seared in a Dutch oven until golden brown, then transferred to a slow cooker to braise with mirepoix, garlic, thyme, white wine, orange juice, lime, and saffron.

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Slow-Cooker Ribollita

Credit: Stephen Kent Johnson
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Craving soup for dinner but looking for something a little heartier? This Tuscan bread soup, which also happens to be vegetarian, should satisfy; leave off the Parmigiano-Reggiano and it's vegan, too.

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Slow-Cooker Cinnamon Buns

Credit: Stephen Kent Johnson
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If you're hosting a brunch and want to prep one of the main dishes in advance, this is sweet recipe is for you. Individual rolls are arranged in a slow cooker, then "baked" until they're fluffy and moist.

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Slow-Cooker Indian-Style Fish Curry

Credit: Stephen Kent Johnson
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Plenty of spices like coriander seeds, turmeric, ginger, garlic, tamarind paste, cumin, and fenugreek seeds (an Indian spice similar to clover) flavor this coconut milk-based curry.

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Slow-Cooker Ropa Vieja

Credit: Stephen Kent Johnson
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We're making this popular Cuban braise with flank steak, an inexpensive cut of meat that becomes super tender when cooked low and slow. Serve over white rice and top with plantain chips.

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Slow-Cooker Root-Vegetable Confit

Credit: Stephen Kent Johnson
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Confit refers to any food cooked for a long time in fat (like oil) at low heat; here, we're cooking carrots, parsnips, beets, cipollini onions, and fennel in extra-virgin olive oil for five hours on low. Serve with fragrant homemade pistachio pesto.

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Slow-Cooker Sicilian-Style Beef Stew

Credit: Lennart Weibull
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Beef chuck is an economical cut of meat that becomes absolutely delicious when cooked with aromatic orange zest, rosemary, and luscious green olives.

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Slow-Cooker Vietnamese Baby Back Ribs

Credit: Lennart Weibull
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It's all in the sauce here. Spareribs cook together with shallots, fish sauce, and honey for seven hours until the meat is fork-tender and falls off the bone. A colorful, crisp slaw made with carrots and cabbage is a stunning accouterment.

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Slow-Cooker White-Bean Soup

Credit: Lennart Weibull
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When you want healthy comfort food, this recipe is the answer. Make this big-batch of soup—loaded with beans, leeks, butternut squash, and spinach—on a weekend and enjoy it for lunch or dinner all week long.

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Slow-Cooker Cilantro-Chutney Chicken

Credit: Lennart Weibull
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Looking for a main course to serve at a dinner party? Try this dish, where boneless, skinless chicken thighs shine. They get infused with tons of flavor from garlic cloves, one jalapeño, cilantro, roasted peanuts, brown sugar, and lime juice.

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Slow-Cooker Marmalade-and-Vinegar Pork

Credit: Anna Williams
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Upgrade your go-to pulled pork recipe with our sweet-and-sour sauce. It cooks on low for eight hours, so you can make it in the morning before you leave for work or on a weekend—either way, it's an extra special dinner.

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Slow-Cooker Pork Chop

Credit: Bryan Gardner
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Pork shoulder chops become knee-wobblingly tender after a couple of hours in the slow cooker and spectacularly flavorful with the addition of bacon, cabbage, and onions. Serve with applesauce and sour cream and shower with fresh herbs.

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Slow-Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage

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Lucky you: We have a recipe for corned beef and cabbage that takes only a fraction of the prep work and keeps all the traditional taste.

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Slow-Cooker Beef Ragu

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Slow cook beef, garlic, onion, and tomato paste come together as a robust ragu with fewer ingredients than there are ways to serve it.

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Slow-Cooker Garlic Chicken with Couscous

Credit: Romulo Yanes
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Create a classic dish by combining chicken with onion, thyme, and white wine, and serve over couscous. It's a delicious vehicle for leftover sauce.

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Slow-Cooker Triple-Chocolate Brownies

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Talk about dark magic. You don't need to fire up your oven to make a batch of gooey, fudgy brownies.

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Slow-Cooked Tex-Mex Chicken and Beans

Credit: Stephen Kent Johnson
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Take a trip down south right in your own kitchen. We're taking an easy but delicious shortcut by using jarred salsa along with chopped chiles in adobo sauce to flavor boneless, skinless chicken thighs.

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Slow-Cooker Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Credit: Stephen Kent Johnson
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Use your favorite hot sauce to flavor this slow-cooked, sports-bar favorite. Whether you pile the pulled chicken atop a bun or salad, it's a delicious, spicy bite.

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By Kelly Vaughan