29 Slow Cooker Recipes We'll Be Making All Winter (2024)

FAQs

How do I get the best results from a slow cooker? ›

Avoid overcrowding: For the best results, fill a slow cooker between one-half and two-thirds full. Go ahead and cook big roasts and whole chickens; just make sure you use a large crock and that the lid fits snugly on top. Trim fat: For silky sauces and gravies, take a minute or two and cut the excess fat from the meat.

Foods take different times to cook depending upon the setting used. Certainly, foods will cook faster on high than on low. However, for all-day cooking or for less-tender cuts, you may want to use the low setting.

The general rule is the high setting cooks about twice as fast as the low setting. Converting a recipe to slow cooking works the best with dishes that are cooked at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius) or lower in the oven or those that are cooked on the stove.

Most people use a slow cooker for meat, poultry and vegetables, although fruits, desserts, stuffing and oatmeal can also be prepared. All ingredients placed in a slow cooker should be thawed. Choose to make foods with high moisture content such as chili, soup, stew or spaghetti sauce.

A general rule of thumb from Luis Sanchez, senior category manager for the appliance manufacturer Breville: To go from "High" to "Low" (or vice versa), multiply (or divide) the original time by 1.5 to 2.5 hours. And as with the cooking times for specific ingredients, these times are approximate.

Chuck Roast

The chuck is best cooked low and slow, leading to a tender piece of flavorful meat. A slow cooker pot roast requires some initial prep, but the result is more than worth the effort and ideal for chuck.

Yes, it's safe to leave a slow cooker on when you leave the house. The purpose of a slow cooker is to allow you to cook while you aren't home. Slow cookers simmer food slowly, killing bacteria and raising meat to the perfect internal temperature.

Yes, you can add raw steak to a slow cooker to cook it to your desired doneness level. Slow cooking steak is a convenient way to cook steak over several hours, tenderizing it and adding exceptional flavor along the way.

Switching to High for the sake of time savings can leave you with a roast that's dried out or even burned on the exterior, but undercooked and not at a food-safe temperature in the center. You'll have cooked a pork roast, but not one you'll want to eat. Switching from High to Low means mucky or dry results.

Can I leave my slow cooker on high all day? ›

Yes, so long as the lid is on and the liquid is topped up. Crock pots are designed to run for long periods of time, that is kinda their thing.

If possible, turn the slow cooker on high to start the cooking process and then switch to low after an hour. This will reduce the amount of time required to cook the food thoroughly. Some models can be set to automatically make this switch.

"Browning, or caramelizing, meat before putting it into a slow cooker isn't 100 percent necessary, but it is well worth the effort for the most flavorful and full-bodied end result," he says. "The caramelized surface of the meat will lend rich flavor and color to the finished dish."

If you don't have enough liquid in the pot, the carrots won't cook evenly and may stay tough. Aim for at least a cup or two of liquid, enough to reach about a third of the way up on the ingredients.

Avoid soft and delicate vegetables like zucchini, asparagus and pumpkin, as they will turn soft and pulpy. If you do want to use these soft vegetables, cut them into large chunks or add them in the last 2 hours of cooking.

Change cooking times depending on your schedule. One hour on HIGH generally equals two hours on LOW.

The only difference between the HIGH and LOW setting on a slow cooker is the amount of time it takes to reach the simmer point, or temperature at which the contents of the appliance are being cooked at. ... Or if a recipe calls for eight hours on HIGH, it can be cooked for up to 12 hours on LOW.