Crockpot Meals

Are you looking for easy, flavorful dinners that you can get on the dining room table with very little evening effort? Crockpot meals are great dishes to add into your weekly meal plan. But sometimes we can feel stuck in making the same crockpot dinners over and over again. Get inspired to cook something new in the crockpot this week! Chef Nakia guides you through all the do’s and don’ts of crockpot cooking and shares ideas for how to make your very own convenience meals. What do we add to the crockpot in the beginning? What do we add at the end? And which ingredients should we avoid in the crockpot altogether? Discover tips to take your crockpot cooking to the next level!

What are some of the best dishes to cook in a slow cooker?

• Soups

• Minestrone

• Turkey Chili

• Tender Meat

  • Pork

  • Chicken

  • Lamb

  • Beef (chuck, skirt, brisket)

• Potluck Dishes

  • Buffalo Chicken Dip

  • Spinach Artichoke Dip

• Drinks

  • Apple Cider

  • Mulled Wine

So what does the process look like? Can you just dump it all in at the same time?

Soups

• Add stock, veggies, seasoning etc. at the beginning

• Add cooked beans and pasta at the end

• Add dairy and any fresh, finishing herbs at the end

Meat

• Add a liquid (beer, wine, soda, fruit juice, stock) at the beginning with your meat (not frozen) 

• Include garlic, herbs, and some salt at the beginning.

• If you are using a tougher cut of meat, add acid - it will tenderize the meat

Veggies

• Think of this on a pendulum. What is the texture of the fresh vegetable vs what is the desired texture of the cooked vegetable?

  • The more dramatic the texture change, the earlier you will add it to the crockpot so it can cook longer.

• Flavors will lose their freshness the longer they cook.

Additional Tips

• Liquid is your friend! (especially in Colorado and high altitude environments)

• Don’t overcrowd your crockpot - aim for ½ full to ¾ full

• Avoid using frozen meat - it will take too long to thaw and cook which increases the chance for foodborne illness and can result in dry/chewy meat

• If you are cooking meat and root vegetables together, put your root veggies on bottom and meat on top.

• Keep the lid on as much as possible!!

• Always taste before serving - this is your chance to add an extra touch of seasonings, salt, acid, creaminess, or texture variation

Crockpot Recipes