26 High-Protein Dinners You Can Make in a Slow Cooker

Make your BBQ or cookout easy with this slow-cooker beef brisket recipe. Rauchbier, a smoky German beer, gives this fork-tender brisket real pit-barbecue flavor, but you can use any beer that suits your taste, or even substitute beef broth, to achieve mouthwatering results. While the brisket is cooking, whip up the quick pickle recipe and stir together a garlic mayo to top off the sandwiches.

These slow-cooker fish tacos require only 15 minutes of hands-on prep to whip together, making them a home cook's hero. The balance of cooked fish, tomatoes and onions with the raw cabbage and cilantro gives the dish a light, fresh feel. If desired, lightly toast the tortillas (see Tip) before filling and garnish the tacos with crushed red pepper. Serve with hot sauce, if desired.

This taco-bowl--style recipe will be a hit with both adults and children. The 10-minute sit time allows the cheese to melt into the quinoa, making this dish super decadent. If you cannot find Cheddar-Jack cheese, use Monterey Jack or sharp Cheddar. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves, lime wedges and additional cheese, if desired.

This hearty jambalaya is bursting with chicken, smoked turkey sausage, and shrimp. It takes just 25 minutes to prep in the morning and then your slow cooker will work its magic and deliver a tasty meal at the end of the day.

This simple Italian-inspired recipe combines pork shoulder with aromatic fennel. As the pork cooks, its juices drip down to flavor the sweet potatoes that are nestled in the bottom of the slow cooker. Serve with steamed green beans for a complete meal.

Cooking the spicy coconut milk mixture for longer and at a lower temperature, and then adding the crunchy bok choy and scallops for a short time at high temperature crafts complex flavor. To make these slow-cooker scallops gluten free, use a gluten-free green curry paste such as the one from Thai Kitchen.

Sure, the slow cooker's great for stews and soups, but it also happens to make a mean lasagna! In this ingenious slow-cooker recipe, all you have to do is chop your veggies, then layer the ingredients (raw) into the crockpot. Serve with: Garlic bread and a green salad.

Combine orange juice, cornstarch, soy sauce, honey, ginger, garlic, salt and crushed red pepper with chicken and butternut squash in this delicious slow-cooker recipe. Serve over high-protein quinoa, which contains all nine essential amino acids.

Cajun seasoning adds flavor and spice to this delicious slow-cooker pork and shrimp pasta dish. Our recipe calls for salt-free seasoning to lower the sodium content, or you have the option to make your own Cajun seasoning blend.

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.

You won't believe this enchilada-like casserole isn't made with meat! The smoky chili powder and cumin give it a satisfying meat-like flavor. Look for meatless crumbles in the produce section of the supermarket near the other vegetarian and vegan products. For a twist, swap the meatless crumbles for black beans or ground beef.

Paella is an iconic Spanish dish made with rice, seasonings and various meats or seafood, depending on the paella type. Our slow-cooker paella recipe features shrimp, brown rice, turmeric, a host of vegetables and Spanish chorizo--not to be confused with Mexican chorizo, which isn't dried or cured like the Spanish variety.

The classic pairing of shallots and mushrooms gives this easy slow-cooker chicken recipe a timeless quality that's sure to please everyone at your table. Swirling the stock and flour together at the beginning is a pro tip for creating a thick sauce that moistens the final dish and helps all the ingredients come together.

Here's the meaty, saucy pasta that we all crave. If you have any slow-cooker bolognese leftovers, freeze them and reheat on a cold night when you're in need of a hot, comforting dish. Serve with a simple, crisp salad and crusty bread. For the prettiest appearance, sprinkle with whole fresh basil leaves instead of chopped oregano.

Feel free to experiment with the spices in this simple slow-cooker beef stew--keep cumin and cinnamon in the mix, but try adding cardamom and ginger for greater depth of flavor. Both the stew and the almond couscous are very easy to prep, and the active time is just 20 minutes. Recipe adapted from Slow Cook Modern.

A slow cooker makes easy work of this colorful coconut curry dinner-but don't just toss everything in at once! Reserving the bell peppers and snap peas until the end keeps the vegetables crisp.

Creamy shrimp and grits is a comfort food classic, and everyone at your table will love this version with coriander-accented slow-cooker shrimp. Turn on the slow cooker before picking up the kids from school, and add the shrimp and make the grits right before dinnertime.

This slow-cooker chuck roast is winter comfort food at its finest. A bright, slightly sweet sauce balances the rich and tender braised beef. You can substitute multi-colored baby potatoes (halved) for the Yukon variety and fresh fennel fronds for the parsley, if desired.

Beans stand in place of ground beef in this hearty vegetarian sauce that's ready when you are--thanks to the crock pot. The prep is quick and easy to do in the morning before heading off to work. When you get home, just cook up some whole-wheat pasta to serve it over and dinner is ready. If you have leftovers, freeze them for an easy meal another day.

Sauerkraut is at the heart of this simple German-style slow-cooker pork stew.

We serve these lemon-oregano chicken pitas with lots of fixings tucked in, but you could ditch the pita and serve it all over cooked bulgur, cauliflower rice or a bed of greens.

This delicious dump-and-go, Indian-inspired curry comes together in a snap. The rich tomato sauce nicely coats the vegetables and slow-cooker shrimp, and the garam masala (Indian curry seasoning) and paprika amp up the spice. Serve this one-dish meal with naan, crushed red pepper flakes and thinly slice the lemon wedges, if desired.

Thai flavors--curry paste, fish sauce, lime and coconut milk--and a cabbage and cilantro slaw update this healthy slow-cooker pulled-pork sandwich recipe. A smaller slow cooker (such as a 4-quart model) is ideal for this healthy crock pot pulled-pork recipe. Look for red curry paste in jars in the Asian section of the supermarket.

Mole sauce is a Mexican condiment primarily composed of fruit, chile pepper, nuts and spices. In our rendition, these ingredients take the form of raisins and tomatoes; ancho chiles; smoked almonds; and cocoa, cumin and cinnamon. The rich mixture coats the browned chicken thighs in the slow cooker, and doubles as a topping on the final dish. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves, if desired.

Goulash is one of the national dishes of Hungary and therefore, many variations of Hungarian Goulash exist. It can be prepared with beef, veal, pork or lamb and is seasoned with paprika and other spices. We chose pork for our version and rest assured, our recipe is bursting with flavor.

This excellent chicken soup--packed with hearty, nutritious ingredients--is easy to make and may become your new standby. It makes enough to freeze a portion for easy lunches or when you need to deliver food to someone in a pinch.