Low-Carb Slow-Cooker Recipes

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

The richly flavored red braises characteristic of Chinese cooking make warming winter meals that can be adapted to a slow cooker. Typically, seasonings of anise, cinnamon and ginger distinguish these dishes. Pork shoulder becomes meltingly tender during the slow braise. Serve over noodles or brown rice, with stir-fried napa cabbage.

This tomato sauce gets its heat from Calabrian chiles.

A twist on a classic! This beef stroganoff is cooked in a slow cooker and served over zucchini noodles with onions and mushrooms in a mouthwatering gravy.

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.

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.

Short on time? Consider this slow-cooked chicken stew recipe. Spend just 20 minutes prepping in the morning and you'll come home to a hearty dish. Serve it over basmati rice or with a slice of crusty bread.

This healthy copycat recipe for classic Buffalo dip cooks in your slow cooker for an easy, hands-off appetizer you can keep warm for the whole game, party or any casual gathering. Serve with carrot sticks, celery sticks and tortilla chips for dipping.

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.

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.

This recipe is reminiscent of a pot roast made with onion-soup mix, but the flavors are true and pure--and nobody misses the excess sodium. (For a slow-cooker variation, see below.)

Busy week coming up? Cook up these easy poached chicken breasts infused with the flavors of the ubiquitous Vietnamese sauce nuoc cham in your slow cooker on Sunday. Then enjoy the leftover chicken three different ways over the days to come--ladled with the broth over rice noodles, layered with vegetables on a sandwich and mixed with mayo to make a creamy chicken salad.

While cooking pork in the slow cooker may not yield the crusty ends you'd get making a traditional Chinese roast pork recipe, the flavor more than makes up for it. It's worth heading to your local Asian market for dark soy sauce for this recipe (or order it online)--it's thicker than regular and less salty, with a touch of sweetness. You can make a substitute by combining regular soy sauce with a bit of molasses.

Let your slow cooker do the work of making these tasty appetizers.

Here chicken thighs cook in a simple herb-infused tomato-and-wine sauce. The bone-in thighs give it plenty of hearty flavor, and since you cook them without the skin, it keeps the dish healthy. There's plenty of sauce, so serve it over pappardelle or brown rice. Steamed broccoli or sautéed broccoli rabe tossed with olive oil and a splash of lemon juice complete the meal.

This easy slow-cooker recipe makes enough pork chops for two meals. Turn the reserved chops into a cheesy casserole another night (see associated recipe).

This slow-cooker main dish recipe is full of warming spices, hearty beef, and vegetables. Start it in the morning before work and arrive home to a delicious entree the whole family will enjoy. Make it a meal--serve it alongside Polenta with Olive-Raisin Compote (see associated recipe).

A quick fresh-made blender enchilada sauce makes all the difference in this slow-cooker recipe for Mexican cheese dip. Serve it straight from the crock pot, with tortilla chips, to keep it warm and gooey.

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.

Sichuan peppercorns give this brothy slow-cooker chicken dish a distinctive lemony, mouth-numbing flavor. Unrelated to peppercorns, they're the dried berries of the prickly ash tree. Look for them in specialty markets and online. If you've never had them before, try one first and add more or less to taste. Serve with sesame baby bok choy (which takes just a few minutes to prep) and Chinese noodles for an easy, healthy dinner that'll get you out of your same-old-chicken-dish rut.

This low-calorie main dish stew gets its lively flavor from a tantalizing mix of mustard, allspice, and Worcestershire sauce.

Use your slow cooker to make a fresh tomato soup with plenty of tasty vegetables.

A hearty beef and beans dish has Texas-sized flavor. Just put the ingredients in your slow cooker, press the button, and you're done until dinner time.

Mellow, slightly sweet and devoid of the overt fishy flavor that's polarizing for so many, this slow-cooker cod is perfect for pairing with a show-stopping sauce like this tomato-balsamic jam. Diced pancetta provides a salty counterpart to the sweet onion, tomatoes, vinegar and honey and gives the jam complexity. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs, if desired.