Food and Recipes Slow Cooker Recipes 26 Easy Slow-Cooker Recipes That Come Together With Almost No Effort These recipes are so easy, we hesitate to even call it cooking. By Jenna Sims Jenna Sims Jenna is a Senior Digital Editor for Southern Living and joined the team in 2014. She writes, produces, and assigns content with a focus on email growth and commerce content. She covers a range of topics in the lifestyle space from holiday gift guides to new product launches to tips for cooking with your air fryer. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on July 19, 2024 Close Photo: Greg DuPree; Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Though slow-cooker recipes are all usually pretty easy, some may often include a long list of steps, involve pre-cooking on the stovetop, or call for a large amount of prep work. We’ve gathered our easiest slow-cooker recipes of all time for those days when you need a meal with a simple ingredient list and even simpler directions. Minimal prep time is needed to get these easy recipes cooking in your slow cooker. And you can feed your family without any stress, which is a miracle in our book. These easy slow cooker recipes will allow you to get a homemade dinner on the table with minimal prep and maximum flavor. The 9 Best Slow Cookers, Tested And Reviewed 01 of 26 Slow-Cooker Salsa Chicken Antonis Achilleos; Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn Perhaps the easiest slow-cooker recipe of all time, this chicken is also extremely versatile. It can be served over rice, on a salad, in a quesadilla, and more. get the recipe 02 of 26 Slow-Cooker Vegetable Soup Greg Dupree; Food Stylist: Ana Kelly; Prop Stylist: Christine Keely This easy dump and go recipe only takes 15 minutes of prep time. Packed with veggies with bacon for extra flavor, you'll love this hearty and healthy recipe. get the recipe 03 of 26 Mississippi Chicken Fred Hardy II; Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Stylist: Christine Keely We call for chicken breasts for this recipe, but you can also use thighs if you already have them on hand. Just forgo the butter since thighs have a higher fat content than breasts. get the recipe 04 of 26 Marry Me Chicken Soup Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Despite its name, everyone (married or not) will love this sun-dried tomato and Italian seasoning flavored soup. Parmesan adds extra creaminess along with cheese tortellini making every bite delicious. get the recipe 05 of 26 Slow-Cooker Black Bean Soup Southern Living Simply dump the ingredients for this soup into your slow cooker and let it do all the work. You will want to add the tomatoes about one hour before serving, but you can prep all the topping during the final few minutes of cooking. get the recipe 06 of 26 Slow-Cooker Chipotle Brisket Sliders Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Once you remove your brisket from the crock to shred it, make sure to reserve some of the cooking liquid to use to make the sauce. get the recipe 07 of 26 Slow-Cooker French Onion Soup Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Torie Cox Make French onion soup without the usual time it takes to make caramelized onions thanks to the help of your slow cooker. You will want to broil the soup once you add the cheese and bread, but it's definitely worth the extra 3 minutes. get the recipe 08 of 26 White Chicken Chili Hector Manuel Sanchez It's easy to see why this recipe is our most popular fall recipe of all time. Just stir everything together and a flavorful chili will be ready when you're ready for dinner without any time spent by the stovetop. get the recipe 09 of 26 Slow-Cooker Salisbury Steak Jennifer Causey; Food Stylist: Melissa Gray; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Serve an impressive dinner without all the work thanks to this slow-cooker salisbury steak recipe. Simply prepare the beef patties, sear them, then add them to the slow cooker along with broth for 5 to 6 hours for perfectly tender meat. get the recipe 10 of 26 Slow-Cooker Cowboy Beans Slow-Cooker Cowboy Beans Straight-out-of-the-can beans will do just fine in a pinch, but these soaked and slow-cooked pinto beans are worth a little extra planning ahead time (but only take 15 minutes of hands-on time). get the recipe 11 of 26 Lemon Chicken Soup Morgan Hunt Glaze; Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen; Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey If you or a family member is feeling a bit under the weather, the healing power of this soup is just what you need. Plus, it couldn't be easier. get the recipe 12 of 26 Slow-Cooker Grape Jelly Meatballs Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Ali Ramee; Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland Whether for a snack dinner or a hearty game day appetizer, this classic meatball recipe is filling enough to satisfy even the hungriest crowds. Just stir halfway through and they'll be ready in just a couple hours. get the recipe 13 of 26 Slow-Cooker Cheddar Soup Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Christine Keely Just a little stirring is required to help this cheesy soup come together. Store-bought pretzel bowls take this dinner to the next level. 14 of 26 Easy Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork Iain Bagwell; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham Requiring just 10 minutes of hands-on time, this pulled pork is even easier than driving to your local barbecue joint for takeout. Plus, you'll probably have leftovers to eat the rest of the week. 15 of 26 Slow-Cooker Chicken And Dumplings Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Comfort meals don't have to require a lot of attention. This slow-cooker recipe calls for simple noodle-like dumplings that are hand rolled and cut to keep prep work to a minimum. get the recipe 16 of 26 Slow-Cooker Barbecue Chicken Morgan Hunt Glaze; Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley Fresh lemon slices add a nice brightness to this barbecue chicken recipe that'll be one of your family's new go-to dinner recipes. get the recipe 17 of 26 Ham-And-Bean Soup HECTOR MANUEL SANCHEZ; PROP STYLING: HEATHER CHADDUCK HILLEGAS; FOOD STYLING: TORIE COX Anytime you have a leftover ham bone, we recommend adding this easy slow-cooker soup to the menu. Cut vegetables into similar sized pieces so they'll cook evenly. 18 of 26 Slow-Cooker Honey-Garlic Chicken Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox The sweet and salty, garlicky sauce that these chicken thighs are cooked in is perfect for serving over rice with steamed veggies. get the recipe 19 of 26 Slow-Cooker Pork Roast Recipe Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Switch up your go-to chicken and try this one-pot boneless pork loin roast. Cooking the meat low and slow ensures it is perfectly juicy and flavorful. get the recipe 20 of 26 Slow-Cooker Chicken Soup Iain Bagwell After cooking for 6 hours, your chicken should be so tender that it falls off the bone easily. You'll add the noodles for the last 20 minutes of cooking. 21 of 26 New Orleans Red Beans And Rice Greg DuPree; Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley This slow-cooker version of red beans and rice comes together by simply dumping the ingredients into your slow cooker. Just add hot cooked rice for serving. 22 of 26 Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Corn Slow-Cooker Chowder Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Stelling; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Chicken breasts can also be used instead of chicken thighs in this chowder. Whichever you use, just make sure to remove the skin before adding them to the slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients. 23 of 26 Spaghetti Casserole Jennifer Davick A box of noodles and jar of store-bought sauce will do in a hurry, but this slow-cooker version has way more flavor thanks to garlic, onion, ground beef, and Italian seasoning. get the recipe 24 of 26 Easy Chili Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Torie Cox From weeknight dinners to game days, this slow-cooker chili recipe is a make ahead classic. All you need in 15 minutes to toss everything together. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and scallions. get the recipe 25 of 26 Slow-Cooker Moroccan-Inspired London Broil Greg DuPree; Food Stylist: Ali Ramee; Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood Thanks to spices like turmeric, cumin, and coriander, plus apricots and honey for sweetness, there is no shortage of flavor in this slow-cooker dinner recipe. Serve over couscous or rice. get the recipe 26 of 26 Classic Slow-Cooker Beef Stew Alison Miksch; Food Stylist: Karen Rankin; Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle A medley of hearty vegetables and tender chuck roast come together for a delicious stew worth soaking up every last bite with crusty bread. get the recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit