Diabetes-Friendly Slow-Cooker & Crockpot Recipes

Tossing all the ingredients into a slow cooker makes this Italian-inspired beef stew virtually a hands-off meal. The long simmer time is the secret to the beef's fork-tender texture and rich-tasting tomato-based gravy.

Here is an easy way to serve a crowd a hearty breakfast before facing the elements for a day of winter sports. You can assemble it in the slow cooker in the evening and wake up to a bowl of hot, nourishing oatmeal. The slow cooker eliminates the need for constant stirring and ensures an exceptionally creamy consistency. It is important to use steel-cut oats; old-fashioned oats become too soft during slow-cooking.

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.

For a meal that's ready when you get home after a long day, try this flavorful and hearty pot roast.

A slow-cooker will do all the work for this delicious, diabetic-friendly Vegetable and Pasta Soup. Opt for vegetable stock to make this soup vegetarian.

This BBQ pulled chicken recipe is a fanciful reinterpretation of pulled pork that slow-cooks chicken in lots of tangy tomato sauce. Have sliced jalapenos, sliced red onions and some sour cream on hand to top this barbecue pulled chicken, which makes a hearty main course. You can turn it into an unbelievable sandwich or serve it on mashed potatoes or even whole-grain spaghetti. Serve with shredded napa cabbage tossed with low-fat mayonnaise, cider vinegar, celery seed and honey to taste.

Using a slow cooker means this simple crowd pleaser can be cooking while you're at work. A persillade is a mixture of parsely and other seasonings that adds flavor and pizzaz to a dish. Try this one, with Kalamata olives and zesty lemon peel over the roast garnished with lemon wedges.

Layer the vegetables, meat and tomato mixture in your slow cooker in the morning and let it cook it until dinner. All you'll need to do is prepare the noodles and this beef stew will be ready to serve.

This Mexican-inspired meal is an easy crowd-pleaser. Savory pulled pork is served atop crisp corn tortillas and topped with sour cream and salsa in this simple slow-cooker recipe.

Mushroom soup and fresh mushrooms give earthy flavor to pork chops in this slow-cooker recipe.

For a fall open house, make this beef chili in the slow cooker. As guests arrive, set out chips and cheese and let them help themselves to a bowl.

These cozy dinners have something to offer everyone at the table—from hearty stews to comforting braised beef and veggies, you're sure to find something delicious for dinner tonight. Each of these recipes follows our parameters for a diabetes-friendly meal, focusing on complex carbs like whole grains and aiming for a heart-healthy level of sodium and saturated fat.

This meltingly tender pork shoulder ragout has a savory broth that's full of fennel. White wine gives the stew a bright edge of acidity.

This chicken ragout main dish is an easy choice for dinner. Made with carrots, onion, mushrooms, and tomatoes and flavored with rosemary and thyme, it cooks in the slow cooker and is served over whole-wheat noodles.

This version of the favorite ground beef sandwich is livened up with jalapeño peppers and chili powder.

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.

This simple slow-cooker mashed potatoes recipe skips tedious peeling and boiling and helps save precious stovetop space by letting the slow cooker do the work. It's a great timesaving set-it-and-forget-it side dish recipe to round out any hearty meal. Buttermilk makes the mashed potatoes creamy while garlic and shallots add flavor.

Fruity mango chutney, zesty barbecue sauce, and a bit of curry powder are the secrets to success in this slow-cooker chicken recipe. They combine to form a delicious glaze on the chicken, which is served over a brown rice and fresh mango mixture.

Healthy fats, plant protein, vitamins and minerals are just some of the benefits to this delicious vegetarian main dish.

Perfect for tailgates, these delicious BBQ wraps are made in your slow cooker.

The genius hack in this recipe: topping sweet potatoes with marshmallows while they're still piping hot from the slow cooker yields a baked marshmallow topping that's typical with baked sweet potato casseroles.

This easy slow-cooker method preps chicken for a multitude of recipes. Bonus: Rich-tasting chicken stock to keep on hand in your freezer as well.

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.

Chicken thighs are slowly cooked with Italian-style sauce and herbs, then served on crusty bread slices with olives and two savory cheeses.