These are my favorite crock pot recipes from my farm kitchen that cook while you get on with your day. Some are made start to finish in the crock pot, and the rest are stovetop favorites I’ve written a crock pot version for. I’ll tell you which is which, so there are no surprises at six o’clock.
Why I Picked These Crock Pot Recipes
I love a crock pot dinner, but I’ll be honest with you: I don’t always think far enough ahead to start one in the morning. So the recipes I actually reach for fall into two camps.
A few are built for the crock pot from the first step. My pot roast, pulled pork, meatball subs, and apple butter all do their real work in there. The rest are stovetop recipes we make all the time, and each post has a crock pot version written out for the days you’d rather walk away. I’ve split this page the same way, so you know what you’re signing up for before you pull the crock out of the cupboard.
Every one of these is a recipe I’ve cooked here at Maker Farm.
Let’s dig in!
Which Crock Pot Recipe Should You Make?
Skim this first. If one of these sounds like your day, jump straight to it.
| If today is a day where you are… | Make this |
|---|---|
| Gone all day (8+ hours) | Pot Roast or Pulled Pork |
| Starting after lunch | Meatball Subs (4 to 5 hours on LOW) |
| Feeding a crowd | Pulled Pork or Turkey Chili |
| Stretching a pound of beef | Taco Soup |
| Meat and potatoes night | Beef Tips and Gravy or Beef Stew |
| Cooking now to freeze for later | Taco Soup, Turkey Chili, or Beef Tips |
| A side for a cookout | Baked Beans |
| Something to put up or give away | Apple Butter |
Made for the Crock Pot
These four are written for the crock pot from the first step. The crock pot is the method, not a backup plan.
Slow Cooker Pot Roast (with a Secret Ingredient)
This is the one to make on a day you’ll be gone. You sear a chuck roast, build the sauce in the same skillet, pour it over, and let it go for a full eight hours on LOW. My secret is a teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder in the sauce. You won’t taste chocolate. You just get a deeper, rounder, beefier gravy.
I tested this one carefully. I checked mine at 7 hours and it wasn’t there yet, and it really did need the full 8. So start it by 9 in the morning for a 6 o’clock dinner.
Crock pot: LOW for 8 hours (I’ve only tested LOW on this one)
Before it goes in: Sear the roast and make the sauce in a skillet
Serves: 6, in a 5-quart or larger crock pot
Freezes? Yes, for up to 3 months, though the potatoes come back a little grainy
My take: It will look like there isn’t enough liquid. There is. Resist adding more. Leftovers make a great filling for my beef pot pie, which is where a lot of ours ends up.
Best Pulled Pork for Sandwiches, Tacos & Sliders
This is the easiest start on the whole page, because there’s no browning at all. You rub a pork shoulder with brown sugar and spices, pour Dr Pepper down the side of the crock, and walk away. The crock pot is my go-to for this one. The last time I wrote it up, it was cooking away on a date night while Greg and I played a game, and it was ready right when we were.
It’s also my pick for a crowd. A 4 to 6 pound shoulder goes a long way, and you can cook it the day before and chill it right in its juices.
Crock pot: LOW for 8 to 10 hours or HIGH for 4 to 6 hours, until it reaches 200 to 205°F
Before it goes in: Nothing but the rub
Makes: About 14 sliders
Freezes? Yes. Freeze it flat in bags for up to 3 months
My take: Pour the soda down the side of the crock, not over the meat, so the rub stays put. And trust a thermometer more than the clock. Greg piles his on a slider with our homemade bread and butter pickles.
The Best Homemade Meatball Sub Recipe
This is the crock pot recipe for when you didn’t get it going first thing. The meatballs only need 4 to 5 hours on LOW, so you can start them after lunch. They’re made to hold their shape in the crock. I mix shredded mozzarella right into the meat, which worked better than stuffing them with cheese.
We got at least two dinners out of one batch, maybe three.
Crock pot: LOW for 4 to 5 hours or HIGH for 2 to 3 hours
Before it goes in: Brown the meatballs in a skillet (they don’t need to cook through)
Serves: 6
Leftovers: Keep the meatballs and sauce apart from the bread, up to 4 days in the fridge
My take: Don’t skip soaking the breadcrumbs in milk. I rushed it once and the meatballs cracked. Toast the rolls, too, so the sauce doesn’t turn them soggy.
Spiced Apple Butter (Slow Cooker, No Peeling!)
This is the one recipe here that isn’t dinner, and it’s the one I’m proudest of. It won a ribbon at our local fair. The apples go in with the peels on, the crock pot softens them, and then it cooks the pulp down slowly with brown sugar and warm spices until it’s thick and dark.
When I was a kid here in Michigan, I remember apple butter cooking in giant copper kettles. The crock pot is a lot easier to tend than a kettle, and it’s much less likely to scorch.
Crock pot: HIGH for 3 to 4 hours (or LOW for 6 to 8) to soften, then LOW with the lid cracked for 3 to 5 more hours
Before it goes in: Just core and quarter the apples. No peeling!
Makes: About 4 half-pints
Keeps: Up to a year canned, 3 weeks in the fridge, or a year in the freezer
My take: Crack the lid for the second stage. That gap is the whole point, because it lets the steam out so the apple butter can thicken. If you’re canning it, reheat it on the stove first, since a crock pot can’t get it hot enough to hot pack the jars safely.
Stovetop Favorites That Work in the Crock Pot
These six are written for the stove or oven first, and each post has a crock pot version for the days you’d rather walk away. Most want a few minutes of browning before anything goes in the crock.
Tender Beef Tips and Gravy
Greg is a solid meat and potatoes guy, and this is meat and potatoes at its best. It’s tender beef in a rich brown gravy with no packet. The post gives you both methods side by side. On the stove it’s fast with sirloin. In the crock pot, a chuck roast turns meltingly tender.
Pick this over the beef stew when you want gravy to spoon over mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice, rather than a whole meal in one bowl.
Crock pot: LOW for 7 to 8 hours or HIGH for 3½ to 4½ hours with chuck (sirloin only needs 2 to 3 hours on LOW)
Before it goes in: Brown the beef and make the gravy base
Serves: 6
Freezes? Yes, for up to 3 months. Freeze it without the potatoes or noodles
My take: Don’t crowd the pan when you brown the beef. If it starts steaming instead of sizzling, do it in batches. Mashed potatoes are our favorite underneath.
Easy Taco Soup
This is the budget hero. One pound of ground beef stretched into dinner for us plus lunches and dinners all week. It’s beans, corn, tomatoes, and taco seasoning. My two secret ingredients are a spoonful of cocoa and fresh cilantro stirred in at the end to wake up all those canned ingredients. On the stove it’s done in 30 minutes, but the crock pot is my favorite way to make it when I want to walk away.
It’s mild, because I’m a supertaster and spicy food isn’t my friend. Set out toppings and let everyone build their own bowl.
Crock pot: LOW for 6 to 8 hours or HIGH for 3 to 4 hours
Before it goes in: Brown the beef (optional, but I recommend it)
Serves: 8
Freezes? Yes, for up to 3 months. Thin it with a little broth when you reheat
My take: Don’t skip the fresh cilantro at the end. Greg usually salts his food before he tastes it, and with this soup he never reached for the shaker.
Easy & Healthy Turkey Chili
I’ve been making this for YEARS. The twist is pumpkin puree and a little cocoa, which make it rich without making it taste sweet. When I made it for our Christmas gathering, I put it all in the crock pot in the morning, and it was ready by the time everyone arrived.
It’s the lighter choice on this page, and it’s very mild. It tastes even better the next day.
Crock pot: LOW for 6 to 8 hours or HIGH for 3 to 4 hours
Before it goes in: Brown the turkey and soften the onions and garlic
Serves: 6
Freezes? Yes, for up to 3 months (and it keeps 5 days in the fridge)
My take: Use 100% pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. They sit right next to each other on the shelf.
Loaded Potato Soup
All the toppings of a loaded baked potato in a creamy soup, and the whole pot cooks in bacon fat. I mash about a third of the potatoes right in the pot so it’s thick without being gluey. Chicken bone broth gives each bowl a good bit of protein, too.
The crock pot version is written out in the recipe notes. The dairy goes in at the very end, so you still finish it by hand.
Crock pot: LOW for 6 to 7 hours or HIGH for 3 to 4 hours
Before it goes in: Crisp the bacon and soften the vegetables with the flour in a skillet
Serves: 6 to 8
Freezes? No. I keep this one in the fridge (3 to 4 days)
My take: Turn the crock pot off before you stir in the sour cream and cheese, and use room-temperature sour cream so it doesn’t curdle.
Old Fashioned Beef Stew
I’ll be honest with you on this one: my favorite way to make beef stew is in the Dutch oven, because the gravy gets a depth the crock pot can’t quite match. But I don’t always plan far enough ahead for an all-day cook, and sometimes you need dinner to cook itself. So the crock pot version is in the post, and it’s a good one.
I made this batch for Greg after he spent his whole Saturday building me new canning shelves in the pantry.
Crock pot: LOW for 7 to 8 hours or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, with the peas added in the last 15 minutes
Before it goes in: Brown the beef and deglaze the skillet with wine
Serves: 6
Freezes? Yes, for up to 3 months. Leave out the potatoes if you plan to freeze it
My take: The crock pot gravy comes out thinner. Mash a few of the potatoes into it, or stir in a cornstarch slurry and give it 10 minutes on HIGH.
Better Baked Beans (Sweet & Saucy)
These are from-scratch baked beans with bacon, molasses, and brown sugar, and they’re my better second version. I cut back the molasses so they’re good cold, too. They’re the side dish on this page, and they belong next to the pulled pork.
A heads-up so you’re not surprised: the crock pot alone won’t thicken the sauce. I learned that the hard way. Plan on uncovering them at the end, or finishing them in the oven for half an hour. You’ll also soak the beans overnight, so start the night before.
Crock pot: LOW for 8 to 10 hours, then uncovered on HIGH for 30 to 90 minutes (or bake uncovered at 350°F for 30 minutes)
Before it goes in: Soak the beans overnight, simmer them, and partly cook the bacon and onion
Serves: 8 as a side
Freezes? Yes, for up to 3 months
My take: Hold off on salt and anything acidic while the beans simmer, because both can keep them firm.
Crock Pot Tips From My Kitchen
Do I really need to brown things first? For most of these, yes. Browning is where a lot of the flavor comes from. The pulled pork is the exception, and it goes straight in with just the rub.
Why does it look like there isn’t enough liquid? Because the crock pot barely lets anything evaporate, and the meat and vegetables release their own juices. Start with less liquid than seems right. The pot roast is the best example, so resist topping it off.
LOW or HIGH? LOW whenever you can, especially for roasts. Every recipe above lists both times where I have them. The pot roast I’ve only tested on LOW.
What size crock pot do I need? A 5-quart or larger handles every recipe here. I use a bigger 8.5-quart one when I double the apple butter.
Looking for more? You’ll find everything in my recipe index, and if you’re after chicken, my easy chicken recipes for dinner are sorted the same way, by the kind of night you’re having.
I hope one of these makes your next busy day a little easier. If you try one, come back and tell me which one won!
Love,
Jennifer
Meet Jennifer
Jennifer cooks and experiments in the kitchen at Maker Farm, where she focuses on simple pantry cooking, homemade staples, and practical recipes that make everyday meals easier. Over the years she has tested many ways to make cooking simpler and more dependable, and shares the methods that work best in her own kitchen, occasionally showing them on her Heart to Home at Maker Farm vlog.