Easy Slow Cooker Recipes

For stress-free family dinners, these easy slow cooker recipes are hard to beat: just prep, set and forget. I love the feeling of preparing dinner in the morning and then leaving it to cook, knowing that whatever happens that day, whether I am working, taking my family to sports, or dashing around with jobs; dinner is done.

Slow cooker meatballs in a slow cooker with a spoon holding a meatball.

Slow cooking is also great for cooking more budget friendly cuts of meat that require long, slow cooking to make them tender; and is a way I often include meat in our weekly menu without going over budget.

These slow cooker recipes are ones that I turn to time and time again, and I hope you will too!

Slow Cooker Lamb Shoulder

This simple slow cooker lamb recipe with lemon and fresh herbs is so tender, and the potatoes are cooked with the lamb, absorbing all that beautiful flavour.

Slow Cooker Lamb

My slow cooker lamb shoulder is so tender and moist and the meat just falls off the bone. Prepare it in the morning and then leave it to cook for the rest of the day. Come evening time, you have melt in the mouth lamb and flavour packed potatoes ready to enjoy.

Go To Recipe

slow cooker lamb shoulder on a white serving plate with lemon wedges and fresh herbs.

Slow Cooker Sausage Casserole

This fuss free sausage casserole is packed with vegetables and loved by kids. Serve with cooked pasta, rice or mashed potatoes.

Slow Cooker Sausage Casserole

This easy slow cooker sausage casserole is a family favourite, with juicy sausages and tender vegetables in a thick flavour packed gravy. This fuss free dinner is perfect for busy weeknights.

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slow cooker sausage casserole in the slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Beef Curry

This mild beef curry is suitable for kids and those that aren’t fans of spicy heat. It is great for making ahead as the flavours improve over time. Serve with rice, chapati or if you have a little more time, some fluffy naan on the side.

Slow Cooker Beef Madras

This slow cooker beef madras recipe is full of tender beef in a rich spiced tomato gravy. It is a fuss free family dinner that is budget friendly and loved by kids. It is freezer friendly too!

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a plate of slow cooker beef madras served with rice and naan bread.

Slow Cooker Chilli con Carne

With minced beef and kidney beans in a flavour packed sauce, this recipe is delicious served with rice, on jacket potatoes or, for a super easy dinner, on corn chips as nachos!

Slow Cooker Chilli Con Carne

This slow cooker chilli con carne recipe with tender minced beef in a rich, flavour-packed sauce, is a delicious and easy dinner. Serve with rice or tortilla chips and your choice of toppings for a weeknight dinner that all the family will enjoy!

Go To Recipe

slow cooker chilli con carne in a bowl with rice and corn chips, topped with grated cheese, sour cream fresh corainder.

Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup

This is such a winter warmer! It has all the classic lasagna flavours, but in soup form. It is a meal in itself, but some crusty bread or garlic bread is always a favourite side!

Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup

This slow cooker lasagna soup is the perfect comforting family dinner! Minced beef is cooked in a rich tomato sauce, then the pasta is added in the last half hour of cooking and absorbs all that flavour. Topped with 3 cheeses before serving, it has all the flavours of classic lasagna!

Go To Recipe

A bowl of slow cooker lasagna soup served with a slice of garlic bread.

Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks

Lamb shanks are slow cooked with Greek spices and then orzo (risoni) is added towards the end of cooking which absorbs all the delicious flavours and creates a comforting dish.

Slow Cooker Greek Lamb Shanks

These slow cooker Greek lamb shanks are cooked with Greek spices and tomatoes until meltingly soft and tender, then pasta is added to create a rich comforting lamb dish that only requires one pot!

Go To Recipe

a white bowl of cooked Greek lamb shanks served topped with crumbled feta and fresh oregano

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

This stroganoff is a great simple stewing beef recipe. Meltingly tender beef with mushrooms in a sour cream gravy – this is comfort food at its best!

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

This slow cooker beef stroganoff with melt in the mouth chunks of beef in a rich and creamy sour cream mushroom gravy is comfort food at its best!

Go To Recipe

A bowl of beef stroganoff served on pasta.

Slow Cooker Meatballs

A recipe my son insisted I put straight on the website! Minced beef meatballs are cooked in a thick tomato sauce until soft and tender. This recipe freezes beautifully too.

Slow Cooker Italian Meatballs

These juicy ground beef meatballs with parmesan and parsley and slowly cooked in a rich tomato sauce flavoured with onion, garlic and Italian herbs are the most delicious comfort food that is always popular with the whole family!

Go To Recipe

Slow cooker Italian meatballs in the slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Bolognese

This easy spaghetti bolognese sauce is not only delicious on pasta or polenta but this versatile recipe can be used to make lasagna or a beef pie!

Slow Cooker Bolognese

This easy minced beef slow cooker bolognese recipe is rich and flavour packed, and an easy, budget friendly dinner loved by kids!

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A bowl of spaghetti and slow cooker bolognese sauce.

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup

This vegan and gluten free soup is made from just 6 ingredients and takes 10 minutes to prepare. It’s warming, comforting, and filling thanks to the addition of red lentils.

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup

Made with red lentils and creamy coconut milk, this easy slow cooker pumpkin soup is a comforting, nourishing and economical soup, perfect for cold winter days.

Go To Recipe

slow cooker pumpkin soup in a bowl topped with a swirl of coconut milk.

FAQ

Can you just throw everything in the slow cooker?

Quite often, yes you can just throw the ingredients in the slow cooker; however browning the meat first adds flavour and colour, as does cooking the onions and softening vegetables.

What to never put in a slow cooker?

Lean cuts of meat (they’ll go tough!), seafood, chicken with skin, delicate vegetables, some dairy products (they can split), and frozen meat.

Tips when using a slow cooker

Try not to lift the lid off too often – it will cause the temperature inside the slow cooker to drop.
Thaw / defrost frozen food before adding to the slow cooker – it takes too long for the slow cooker to reach a safe temperature for frozen food.
Prepping ahead – if you want to prep the recipe the night before, prepare and place the ingredients in a bowl(s) in the fridge, don’t store the slow cooker insert in the fridge as it will take too long to get up to temperature.