Budget Slow-Cooker & Crockpot Recipes

Find healthy, delicious budget slow-cooker and crockpot recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Most Popular

Slow-Cooker Vegetable Soup

Rating: 4 stars 17
Make this low-calorie vegetable soup recipe with ease in this load-and-go crock pot recipe. After simmering away in the slow cooker, portion it into individual serving containers and store in the fridge or freezer for fast, healthy lunches or an easy, satisfying snack. This weight-loss vegetable soup fills you up without a lot of calories, plus it's an easy way to eat more vegetables.
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By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Slow-Cooker Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Rating: 4.5 stars 4
Skip the roasting in this butternut squash soup recipe and let your slow cooker do the work instead. Just load up all the ingredients into the crock pot, set it and forget it for an easy, healthy dinner or packable lunches.
By Carolyn Casner

Slow-Cooker Chicken & Orzo with Tomatoes & Olives

Rating: 4 stars 24
Perk up basic chicken breast and whole-wheat orzo with the vibrant flavors of the Mediterranean, like lemon and olives. This load-and-go recipe makes a complete and satisfying meal; just add a green salad.
By Carolyn Casner

Slow-Cooker Pasta e Fagioli Soup Freezer Pack

Rating: 3.5 stars 2
Your favorite restaurant soup just got easier and healthier with this freezer-to-crock-pot recipe. If you keep a special bottle of olive oil on hand for stand-out dishes, this is the recipe to pull it out for. The headiness of the fruity olive oil truly elevates the flavors in this Italian meal-prep slow-cooker soup.
Katie Webster
By Katie Webster

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

Rating: 1 stars 1
These easy Mexican enchiladas are filled with flavorful, shredded slow-cooked shredded chicken. Placed on a bed of fresh lettuce, this delicious recipe is sure to be the hit of any dinner occasion.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

Rating: 4.5 stars 5
Load the crock pot and go with this stew recipe that's prepped in the morning and simmers all day so you'll come home to a Sunday-worthy dinner (and your house smelling downright heavenly). Tender beef, melt-in-your-mouth potatoes and carrots in a rich broth--this could be the best and easiest beef stew you've ever made.
By Carolyn Casner

Slow-Cooker Baby Back Ribs

Rating: 5 stars 4
This easy load-and-go crock pot recipe is a great dinner to make with your kids. Let the kids stir the sauce while you rub the ribs, then just let the slow cooker do the rest of the work! Serve with a colorful coleslaw and brown rice.
By Carolyn Casner

Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows

Rating: 5 stars 2
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.
By Carolyn Casner

Slow-Cooker Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Onions

Rating: 4 stars 2
Thanks to fresh green beans, an easy homemade cream sauce and crispy onion topping, this green bean casserole recipe is healthier and more delicious than traditional recipes that use canned soup, beans and onions. Plus, the slow cooker saves you time cooking at the stove. Make sure to use fresh green beans, as frozen green beans will become mushy.
By Carolyn Casner

Slow-Cooker Vegetarian Lasagna

Rating: 4.5 stars 26
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.
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By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Hungarian Beef Goulash

Rating: 3.5 stars 26
This streamlined goulash skips the step of browning the beef, and instead coats it in a spice crust to give it a rich mahogany hue. This saucy dish is a natural served over whole-wheat egg noodles. Or, for something different, try prepared potato gnocchi or spaetzle.
Patsy Jamieson
By Patsy Jamieson

Nonna's Spaghetti & Meatballs

Rating: 4.5 stars 8
The meatballs and sauce are cooked in the slow cooker for this traditional Italian spaghetti and meatballs recipe. You could also serve the meatballs over creamy polenta or on a sandwich with melted provolone.
By Carolyn Malcoun
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Inspiration and Ideas

Barbecue Pulled Chicken
Rating: Unrated 21
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.
Slow-Cooker Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Rating: Unrated 2
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.
Pulled Pork with Caramelized Onions
Rating: 4.5 stars 21

Traditional pulled pork is barbecued, which gives it a smoky flavor. But the slow cooker happens to be the absolute easiest way to cook pulled pork--and you can get a hint of smoke by adding chipotle chile. Serve the pulled pork with potato salad, collard greens and grits. Or make it into a sandwich and serve it on a bun with coleslaw.