Slow-Cooker & Crockpot Special Diet Recipes

Browning the chicken and sautéing the aromatics before everything goes into the crock pot is key to building the flavors in our version of this popular curry.

This slow-cooker turkey and butternut squash chili is the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. The sweetness of the butternut squash tames the kick from cayenne, making this easy crock-pot chili just right for kids and adults alike. For those who prefer a spicier chili, just pass hot sauce at the table.

This is a soup with a long history (references to it in English go back to 1784) that can now be conveniently made in a modern appliance. Although it's technically an English soup, its origins are decidedly Indian. (The name loosely means "pepper water" in the Tamil language of Southern India.) The sweetness of apple and coconut milk counterbalances the garlic, ginger, curry and cayenne.

Loosely translated as "minced meat," the traditional texture of carne picada ranges from finely chopped to ground. Here we start with brisket, which becomes nice and tender in the slow cooker, then shred and chop the meat before serving. The seasoning is flavorful but not too spicy. Blistered jalapeños added at the end will satisfy the heat-lovers in the family. Pile the brisket into warmed corn tortillas, with lettuce, the jalapeños, cheese and avocado salsa for a healthy dinner that'll wake up your taco night routine.

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.

This healthy vegetarian take on the Mexican stew pozole gets tons of flavor from poblano peppers, ancho chile powder and dried herbs and spices, while cannellini beans provide substance, protein and fiber. Chewy hominy--corn that has been treated with lime to remove the tough hull and germ--is integral to the stew. Look for it in cans in the Latin section of your supermarket. Serve the stew with shredded cabbage, radishes, fresh cilantro and sour cream.

Let your slow cooker do the heavy lifting to make a Sunday dinner that yields leftovers for another night. Tuck the rest of the spiced beef and your favorite fixings into corn tortillas or spoon over baked sweet potatoes.

This vegetarian Sloppy Joe recipe uses pinto beans and a heap of veggies tossed in a sweet, tangy sauce for the filling of a tad messy kid-friendly sandwich you can make in your slow cooker.

In this delicious main dish, cauliflower is slow-cooked with curry powder and aromatic vegetables, and shrimp and chickpeas are added in towards the end of the cooking time. Served over brown basmati rice and sprinkled with cilantro and peanuts, this dish will get a thumbs up from anyone eating it!

Potatoes and beans make this tomato-based crock-pot vegetable stew super-hearty. You could also add briefly sautéed chunks of zucchini or fresh corn kernels just before serving, or add another can of cannellini beans for more substance. A dollop of pesto on top is also super-delicious. Adding homemade garlic croutons is an easy way to elevate this healthy dinner.

Grab your crock pot for this hearty and easy vegan chili, which is chock-full of great-tasting and good-for-you ingredients, including pinto and black beans, red pepper, tomatoes and butternut squash. Once a little chopping is done, all you have to do is dump the ingredients in the slow cooker, making this colorful veggie chili the perfect weeknight dinner. A garnish of fresh avocado and chopped cilantro is a nice touch.

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.

Perfectly seasoned red potatoes and baby carrots accompany this filling brisket dish.

This creamy, veggie-packed chicken dinner comes together easily in your slow-cooker-and makes enough for another night's casserole (see associated recipe)!

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.

Packed with protein and fiber, this soup doesn't need meat to be satisfying. Soaking and cooking the beans yourself, rather than opening a can, ensures you'll have wonderful flavor and texture. (And the slow cooker does most of the work!)

Use your slow cooker to create this tasty vegetarian soup. If you like a little kick, a few drops of hot sauce does the trick.

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.

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.

The sauce in this recipe is a heavenly mixture of tomatoes, spices, herbs and mustard. It provides amazing flavor to the lamb as they spend up to 12 hours together in the slow cooker.

Using a slow cooker to prepare this diabetic-friendly, Italian Wild Rice Soup makes this scrumptious recipe easy and low maintenance.

This slow-cooker Beef Stroganoff recipe brings together tender beef and fresh mushrooms served over hot noodles with a creamy sauce.

Modeled on North African stews, this aromatic vegetarian main course can be served over brown rice or steamed spinach.

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.