Low-Carb Slow-Cooker Recipes

Both the meat and the sauce are versatile and could work in other applications: Use the slow-cooker lamb for a stew or drizzle the sauce on grilled chicken. If mint is polarizing for your crowd, use parsley. A salad and couscous with toasted sliced almonds make nice accompaniments. Garnish with additional fresh mint leaves, if desired.

With the glamour of a fancy entrée yet all the ease of slow-cooker prep, this is ideal to serve to dinner guests or family for Sunday supper. Let the braised lamb shanks and sauce be the star of the meal, and serve with blanched beans or roasted carrots.

The name of this recipe says it all: It's an easy, mostly hands-off jerk pork dish that comes together in a snap. The cayenne provides a little heat, but mostly the slow-cooker pork shoulder gets its flavor from the cinnamon and allspice. The bright salsa-pineapple topping cools the dish off and gives it a pretty, dinner-party-worthy appearance. Serve the meat alone, or pile it on buns for sandwiches or shredded atop nachos. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs, if desired.

The bright flavors in these slow-cooker pork lettuce cups are a creative spin on weeknight dinner. Pickled carrots and radishes lend tartness to the dish while the orange peels and cinnamon add citrus and spice. You can make the pickled vegetables up to 5 days ahead.

With its comforting flavors contributed by savory meat, mushrooms, onions, carrots and fresh herbs, this slow-cooker braised beef is a wonderful supper on cold-weather days. Consider freezing it into portions for busy weeknight meals. You could also shred the meat and serve it on sandwiches.

Rice vinegar, sesame seeds and brown sugar make this simple sauce irresistible! One-fourth cup of sesame seeds may sound like a lot, but it's the perfect amount to give the sauce its nutty, earthy flair. Serve this slow-cooker Korean beef with hot cooked rice and garnish with thinly sliced red and green jalapeño peppers, if desired.

Making turkey breast in the slow cooker guarantees moist, juicy meat every time. And it creates intensely flavorful drippings for homemade gravy. This slow-cooker turkey breast is perfect for Thanksgiving but it's easy enough that you can pull it together anytime you're in the mood for a turkey dinner (or a sandwich stuffed with leftover turkey).

What if you could have tender, slow-cooker chicken thighs and crisp Broccolini to feed four with 10 minutes of hands-on time and eight common ingredients? Now, you can, and here's the recipe to prove it. Garnish with fresh oregano leaves and additional kosher salt and black pepper, if desired.

When making a whole, slow-cooker chicken, it's best to buy a better-quality chicken such as one from a farm stand. The flavor and texture of the bird will hold up best over the long cook time. Also, leaving the skin on during cooking will ensure that the chicken stays moist. If you have leftover chicken, use it for a chicken soup or in a chicken salad sandwich. For a beautiful presentation, serve the chicken surrounded by fresh sage leaves and roasted, halved lemons and garlic heads.

Brown sugar makes this slow-cooker beef stew a tad sweet, which beautifully complements the spicy kimchi. You can make this soup ahead and refrigerate it until ready to eat. If you opt to make it ahead, wait until you reheat the soup to add the cabbage.

Treat dinner guests to this premeal soup loaded with earthy, umami flavor from the mushrooms and soy sauce. Puréeing only some of the slow-cooker mushroom soup gives the dish complex texture and eye appeal. Garnish with additional black pepper and chopped fresh thyme, if desired.

This is a salty, sweet and smoky onion jam with a noticeable pork and black pepper flavor. It may seem slightly runny when hot, but when cooled it's thick and tender. Eat this tasty slow-cooker jam on burgers, especially with blue cheese, or serve on a cheese board. It will keep in the refrigerator for about 5 days.

Don't expect this slow-cooker chutney to be like the American version, which is jam-like and almost a preserve. This recipe is true to the original Indian style of chutney, which is more of a thick sauce. With spices and tomato, it's both slightly hot and sweet. It's best eaten warm or at room temperature on crackers or grilled meats, and it will keep in the refrigerator for about 5 days.

These slow-cooker onions are an ideal condiment for burgers, steaks, a grilled chicken breast or sautéed fish. They also make a pleasing addition to a cheese board or topping for Brie. They're best eaten cold or warm, but not hot.

In addition to being a great stand-alone side, these slow-cooker mushrooms are also excellent tossed in a salad or stir-fry. Be sure to buy whole cremini mushrooms so they will retain their texture and not turn mushy during the long cook time. If you don't want to wait for the mushroom mixture to concentrate during the 1 hour and 30 minutes of cooking it uncovered, then cook it, uncovered, just long enough for the mushrooms to brown. Then drain the liquid and bring it to a boil in a saucepan. Once the liquid has thickened, stir in the mushrooms and vinegar and sprinkle with the scallions.

Collard greens have large, dark green leaves that are dense with vitamins, calcium and fiber. The briny pepperoncini and salty pancetta add enough brightness to this dish to balance the collards' vegetal flavor. These slow-cooker collard greens pair perfectly with braised meat or barbecue.

Brussels sprouts are a versatile accompaniment for so many entrées. Here, the burst of lemon juice and the addition of pine nuts and pecorino Romano keep the flavor profile interesting. Furthermore, broiling the sprouts after slow-cooking caramelizes them and gives them crispness.

We've discovered the perfect pairing for this moist, lemony, slow-cooker salmon--slightly chewy leeks. Like other alliums, leeks become sweet and rich when roasted slowly for a long time. When cooked in the slow cooker they "melt," becoming jam-like but still retaining pleasant chewiness. Garnish with fresh sage leaves and thyme sprigs, if desired.

As a true dump-it-and-leave-it dish, this slow-cooker salmon is a weeknight-dinner go-to. The lime and scallion flavors will soak into the salmon, leaving it with a light Asian flavor. Be sure to spray the foil with cooking spray before adding food to the slow cooker to ensure that nothing sticks to it.

Cooking swordfish in a slow cooker ensures an uber-moist steak. Be sure to remove the bloodline--a particularly strong-flavored muscle--from the fish as well as any skin and dark meat, or better yet, have your fishmonger do it for you. Garnish this slow-cooker swordfish with fresh oregano sprigs and leaves, if desired.