The Crock-Pot is such a great tool for families that have after-school sports and activities. You can just throw it in in the morning before you go to work, before you start your day, and it’s ready.
It’s literally a lifesaver in our house, and you can use it all season long. It doesn’t just have to be in the winter.
1) Mississippi Pot Roast
Pot roast is so delicious because it has this yummy au jus sauce, and of course the beef, which is high in protein. Then you can combine it with any sort of veggies and carbs that you like.
A favorite for us is going to be potatoes, either roasted or mashed, and then some veggies, whatever hits the spot that night. You could do some carrots, green beans, or a side salad, and that is a well-balanced, delicious, nourishing meal, especially after sports.
2) Salsa Verde Chicken
This is a quick dish. You just put some chicken there in the Crock-Pot with some cumin and some garlic. You could put some salsa as well if you’d like, and then by the time you get home from work, it’s ready. You shred it up, and this is really great.
You can serve it with whatever you’d like, such as tortillas or rice, whatever carb you choose, and then you could put some avocado or guacamole, salsa, and cilantro if you want to lean into those flavors. You could also put some veggies with this, like a side salad, or some carrots, Brussels sprouts, or green beans.
3) Honey Garlic Chicken
This is such a great combo. You’re gonna have the wonderful flavor of the garlic, so good for you, and then also the sweetness of the honey, some soy sauce and some ketchup. Then dump it in, and it’s ready, and you can combine this with whatever you’d like.
So you’ve already got the protein. You can add some carb and some veggies to this. You could do some sort of pasta, or a potato or sweet potato would be good as well, and whatever veggies you have on hand. You could do a side salad, or some green beans would be really good with this too.
4) Beef And Bean Chili
So great. I think of this as a winter meal, but it does not have to be. You can eat this at any time. The beef is gonna give you your protein, and of course the beans are gonna give you plenty of fiber and protein as well.
I would add some sort of veggies for color, like onions and tomatoes. You could even easily put some carrots in there if you’d like, and whatever carb of your choice. You could just put potatoes in there too if you’d like. This is such a yummy, delicious meal that’s well-balanced and easy for the whole family.
5) Italian Meatballs
Yes, you could put Italian meatballs right in the crock pot if you’d like. You can also put some spaghetti squash in the crock pot. You would set the spaghetti squash halves open side down, and then surround them with marinara and the meatballs in there as well if you’d like, and then you’re checking off the protein and the veggies altogether.
If you just want to do the meatballs, you can absolutely do that, and I always have frozen meatballs in the freezer because it’s just such a quick protein for our family. Then you can easily combine that with whatever shape pasta you have in the cupboard, and some veggies if you want to add some, or if you consider the tomato sauce your veggie for the evening, then you’re done.
6) Ranch Chicken And Potatoes
Delicious. What kid does not like, what family does not like the ranch and chicken combo? It’s so good, and with the potatoes, you’ve got your protein and your carbs handled right there in the crock pot, couldn’t be easier.
Then you’re gonna be adding some potatoes and some carrots in there as well. This is just a quick dump and go sort of meal that your family is gonna absolutely be asking for again and again.
7) BBQ Pulled Pork
I’m gonna be honest, I don’t know any other way to make pulled pork but in the crock pot. It just makes it so much easier. You just dump it in and then literally shred it up later, and it’s so good, especially with the brown sugar and whatever flavoring sounds good to you, some paprika, some diced onions, and it is so good with some barbecue sauce.
Then you can add whatever you like to this. I like to put some coleslaw, so you’re gonna find some coleslaw in the grocery store that’s either made or shredded and ready to just mix up with some sort of vinegary dressing. Or you could do some sort of veggies if you like, some Brussels sprouts or broccoli, something on the side.
If you end up going with the sandwich route, you could add some sort of hamburger bun, and you’ve got the hamburger bun and the pulled pork and the coleslaw. Or you can do the pork on its own with some sort of veggies and maybe potatoes on the side. Such a great, well-rounded meal that your family will love.
8) Chicken Tortilla Soup
Delish, this is such a great meal because the whole family loves it. What’s fun about it is I love adding the toppings on top, so you could have a little topping bar next to it, and after you put your soup in your bowl, you add whatever toppings you like.
In the soup, you’re gonna have chicken, diced tomatoes, black beans, corn, and onion, and that’s gonna give some beautiful color, and you’re gonna have protein and fiber and some veggies in there, so good. For your sides to add to this, I would have some sour cream. Even if some kids or some family members might think the tortilla soup broth tastes a little spicy, the sour cream is really great because it kind of mellows that out.
Then you can add some shredded Mexican cheese on top, dice up some avocados on top, definitely crunch up some tortilla chips, and put some cilantro on top. Delicious.
9) Lemon Garlic Chicken
I love this. I love anything where you can just put the chicken in, add a couple seasonings, and forget it, and just come home and eat it as is, either shredding it up or just eating it while it’s all together. It’s delicious.
I would combine this with some rice, pasta, potatoes, or sweet potato, and then whatever veggies of your choice, maybe some broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, or green beans, whatever sounds good to you.
10) Teriyaki Chicken Bowls
Delish. This is a crowd pleaser in our house, because we love anything with teriyaki, of course. You’re gonna have the teriyaki chicken right there cooking in the crock pot, and it’ll be done by the time you get back.
You can shred that up and serve it over some rice, which you can cook in the rice cooker if you’d like. That works for us. Then you could serve it with some broccoli and some carrots, pour a little extra teriyaki sauce on top, and you’ve got a complete meal.
11) Sausage And Peppers
This is gonna roast together in that crock pot so nicely. All the flavors are really gonna blend together, and it’s gonna be really delicious. You can pour in some crushed tomatoes and Italian seasoning to add a little bit more if you’d like.
Then you can serve this with any sort of carb that you’d like, like a pasta or rice or polenta or couscous or quinoa. And I would add a little bit more veggies to this just to give it more color, like the crushed tomatoes is a fun choice, or some sort of green beans or broccoli. Zucchini would be delicious as well.
12) Butter Chicken
Just like at the restaurant, right? So good and perfect for a busy family. Toss the chicken and the tikka masala or the butter chicken sauce, and just cook that there in the crock pot. For a creamy finish, go ahead and add the heavy cream, or if you want, you could do coconut milk.
Then you can serve this up with any sort of carb you like, pasta or rice, couscous, or quinoa, and then have some veggies there on the side, or a side salad would go really good with this too.
13) Beef Stroganoff
This is so yummy, and of course I love to add in the mushrooms to give a little more veggies. And with the Dijon, it’s gonna all come together nicely with the garlic and the onion, and it’s gonna be done by the time you get home from work. You can add some sour cream or cream cheese on top of this if you’d like.
I would serve this on top of some egg noodles or some pasta, whatever shape that you have lying around. You could add more veggies if you want, or not, and stick with the mushrooms in there if you like mushrooms. I think the mushrooms hide well in this dish as well, so don’t worry about the kids.
14) White Chicken Chili
Oh yes, this is a crowd pleaser. Delicious, so good with the chicken for the protein, and also the white beans, gonna give you plenty of fiber, and the delicious flavor of the oregano and the onion in there. It’ll be ready by the time you get home from work or soccer practice.
You can add in some cream cheese, and you could add some cilantro on top if you’d like, or some avocado on top would be really, really good, or serve it as is. Delicious and beautiful. You could chop up some carrots if you want to sneak a little more veggies in there.
15) Balsamic Beef
This one’s so good, and the beef is delicious and gonna give you lots of protein and lots of flavor. Your family’s gonna swear that you were home cooking this all day. It’s gonna be delish.
You can serve it with any sort of carbs that you like. You could do potatoes, pasta, rice, some garlic bread or toast on the side, and you could add whatever veggies you’d like. You could do some sauteed mushrooms, a side salad, some carrots. You could do any combination.
16) Chicken And Dumplings
This is such a delicious meal because you are going to cook that chicken right there in the crock pot, and then the biscuits, you know, the canned ones that pop open, you’re gonna put those in a pan and puff them up, and then serve them right on top of the chicken.
I would add some veggies on the side, of course, whatever your choice is. I feel like broccoli would go really well with this, but you could do some carrots, something like that, to give it a chicken pot pie sort of feel. That would be good too.
17) Slow-Cooker Lasagna
This is the only way that I make lasagna, I’m gonna be honest. It is so perfect. You’re just gonna get lots of sauce. I use a little bit more spaghetti sauce than I think I’m going to need, and you could put whatever sort of cheese you want in the layers here. Ricotta is good, mozzarella. I also like cottage cheese in there.
You could do a layer of veggies if you’d like. I like to do zucchini and mushrooms, but you could do whatever veggie your family likes, and layer it in there with the lasagna noodles. Make sure to put plenty of sauce on top, and that will be delish and ready when you get home. And when I make it, it feeds a lot of people, so you’re gonna have leftovers.
18) Sweet Potato Black Bean Stew
This is such a delicious meal. I love sweet potatoes, I don’t know about you, I’m a huge fan. They’re so good for you, gonna give you some carbs and also tons of vitamins, and the black beans are gonna give you lots of fiber.
If you’d like to, you could add some sort of protein on the side if you feel like you need a little bit more, or someone in the family likes a little more protein. You could have some tortilla chips on top if you’d like. You could add cheese to this, or sour cream. You could do so much with this to jazz it up if you want.
19) Chicken Fajitas
Who says you have to do chicken fajitas over the stove? You could absolutely do this in the crock pot as well, adding the chicken and all the colors of the bell peppers and onions. I actually put carrots in my fajitas as well. Call me crazy, I don’t know. I like to grate up some carrots in there as well.
Then you’re gonna serve that when you get home, and shred up the chicken, and serve it over tortillas. I like the raw tortillas that you get at the grocery store, they have a little bit less ingredients, and I’m gonna warm that up over the stove, put down some Mexican cheese, and then grab all of my fajita stuff and put that right inside the tortilla. I’m gonna add some avocado, some sour cream, and some cilantro to that, and it is a-dee-lish.
20) Ham And Potato Soup
Delicious, and the ham is gonna give you lots of protein, of course. So good, and it’s gonna be so good after cooking in the crock pot all day. You can add some diced potatoes, or you could mash them up as well, and you could cook the potatoes right there in the crock pot too. It’d be so delicious.
You could add some sort of carrots on the side if you’d like, or a side salad to kind of round this meal out.
21) Slow-Cooker Chicken Shawarma
We love chicken shawarma in our house. It’s a huge crowd pleaser for us. Cooking it in the crock pot is such an easy way to do it, and you don’t have to marinate, because you want to make sure it gets all nice in those flavors. This is such a great way to slow cook it throughout the day, and you can really lean into the Mediterranean flavorings if you’d like.
We eat this with naan, or some sort of pita bread if you like, and some hummus, some cucumbers diced up, and some cherry tomatoes diced up. You could put some feta cheese if you’d like. Such a great meal, so delicious, so colorful.
22) Green Enchilada Chicken
Yes, I love this idea. It’s so great because you can use this delicious green chicken and shred it up. It’s gonna be ready by the time you get home, you’re gonna shred it up, and you can make enchiladas, burrito bowls, quesadillas, whatever you want with this delicious meat that has been cooking all day long.
Of course, I’d add some veggies on the side, or you can do a side salad. This is such a great way to feed your family with such a flavorful chicken, and it’s so versatile. You could even do a salad on top, you just put the chicken on top of the salad. That’d be delicious.
23) Beef Barbacoa
This has such a great flavor. With the chuck roast, you’re gonna cook it all day long in some delicious flavoring, like the cumin and the oregano. When it’s slow-cooked for eight hours throughout the day, you’re gonna shred the meat up, and it doesn’t dry out because there’s plenty of juices in there.
You can serve it with any sort of carb that you’d like. You could do pasta, rice, any sort of carb that your family loves for this meal, and any sort of veggies, like carrots or broccoli, or a side salad if you’d like.
24) Stuffed Pepper Soup
Have you had stuffed bell peppers before? This is such a great way to do it. You’re gonna have the ground beef, which is gonna give you plenty of protein. Of course, you’re gonna have the halved bell peppers. Use all the colors, it’s gonna be so beautiful. And plenty of flavoring from the garlic, tomato, and onion.
Of course, you’re gonna serve it with some rice. And if you want to, you can dice up some veggies to put in it as well. You don’t have to, you have that beautiful bell pepper as well. So that’s gonna give you your carb, your protein, and your veggie. This is such a fun and different meal that maybe your family hasn’t even tried before, and it’ll jazz up your weeknight menu.
25) Slow-Cooker Lentil Soup
Lentil soup is a crowd pleaser at our house, and this is such a great way to cook it, because you’re gonna throw everything in before work, come home, and it’s already done. You can use whatever color lentils that you like, green, brown, or a mixture of them.
Then I like to dice up some carrots, some onions, and some celery. Of course, some garlic, and some diced tomatoes or canned tomatoes is fine as well. It’s gonna give you such a great flavor. We like to put a little Parmesan cheese on top just for a little something extra. You can serve some sort of protein like salmon or chicken on the side, but you don’t have to. This is such a great, high fiber, delicious meal.
26) French Dip Sandwiches
Is there any other way to make French dip sandwiches than in the Crock-Pot? This is so great because it takes forever to cook. You’re gonna put that beef roast right in there with plenty of beef broth. Of course, you’ve got the onions, the garlic, and the Worcestershire sauce. You’re gonna cook that all day long, come home, and shred it up. So delicious.
Now you can get whatever kind of bread you want for this, like some sort of hot dog bun shape. They have a lot of different choices at the grocery store, so get one that looks fun for you. And you could also do a hamburger bun if you have that on hand.
Then of course you’re gonna take the meat out, reserving that delicious au jus sauce, and serve the au jus in a little bowl, so you can dip, dip, dip that sandwich right in there. Delish. And you could easily do some sort of more veggies in this if you like, like you could dice up some mushrooms in there. I feel like you wouldn’t even notice it.
27) Chicken Parmesan
Absolutely, we ate this this week. Chicken parmesan is so delicious. Just a different spin on chicken, you know? It feels like you eat chicken all the time, so this is a great way to jazz it up. You’re gonna have all your delicious Italian seasoning in there, of course, and you’re just gonna put the chicken in there and forget about it.
It’s gonna cook in there with the Italian seasonings and the mozzarella and the marinara sauce, and then you can literally grab this out when you get home from work or sports practice. I would serve it on top of pasta. We do usually spaghetti, but it could be any shape of pasta that you have. We had some asparagus spears on the side, but you can choose any veggie that you like with this one.
28) Coconut Curry Chickpeas
Such delicious flavor in this meal, and the chickpeas are gonna give you lots of fiber and some protein. It’s great to have a can of chickpeas around because they’re so versatile, so this is one of those times where chickpeas is gonna come in handy. And diced tomatoes, that’s another great thing to have in the cupboard.
You’re gonna throw those in with lots of great yummy onion and garlic, and of course the curry or curry paste, and that’s gonna give such a great flavor. I would definitely add some spinach. You could chop up some carrots easily in here if you’d like, but it’s gonna be such a flavorful and colorful, beautiful meal.
29) Turkey Taco Soup
This is delicious. It’s a different spin, it’s not enchilada soup, it’s not tortilla soup, it’s a taco soup. So of course you’re gonna have the ground turkey in there. You’re gonna have the beans, whatever beans you like, black beans, kidney, pinto, whatever you want. Some corn, diced tomatoes, and of course some taco seasoning.
It’s gonna cook all day, the flavors are gonna blend, and it’s gonna be so delicious and cozy. Then you’re gonna spoon that out into a bowl. I would definitely crush up some tortilla chips and put some avocado, sour cream, a little bit of shredded cheese on top, and cilantro.
30) Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta
Sounds de-lish, right? So you’re gonna cook that chicken all day long on low in the crock pot with some garlic and some seasonings. Then mix in the cream cheese and Parmesan cheese. That’s gonna be so delicious and flavorful, and you’re gonna have plenty of protein from the chicken.
All you’re missing now is your pasta. You can add your cooked pasta to the crock pot, or you can cook your pasta right on the stove and then mix it on your plate. Sometimes some kids don’t like their things mixed, so you could keep it separate. Then serve that pasta with the chicken right on top.
You can add any sort of veggies that you like to this. I’m imagining some broccoli right in there. You can do any veggie that you like, or a side salad.
31) Vegetable Beef Stew
This feels like a night that I would serve my family when I feel like, geez, we’ve fallen behind with our veggies this week, so let’s kind of catch up. I love this, and there are so many benefits to combining several veggies in the week, just getting in as many plants as you can.
This is a meal that you could easily add different veggies to. You’re gonna start off with some stew beef, and potatoes, and carrots, and celery, and onions, and garlic, and tomatoes. Look at all that, so colorful, so flavorful. And that’s gonna cook all day long on low.
I usually add some cornstarch in there right at the end. You take some of the broth out, add a little cornstarch, and then put it back in and stir it up, and it makes it thicker. You don’t have to, but that is delicious, and it’s a complete meal. You don’t need to add anything else, because you have the protein, the carbs, and the veggies all together. It’s such a delicious meal any night, especially when it rains, but you can eat it any day you want.
