53 Quick and Easy Crock Pot Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between a slow cooker and a Crockpot? ›

A slow cooker and a Crockpot are the same thing, essentially. A slow cooker is an appliance of which there are lots of brands. Crockpot is one brand of slow cooker.

Change cooking times depending on your schedule. One hour on HIGH generally equals two hours on LOW.

For many dishes, particularly soups and stews, you really can just throw all the ingredients in.

Technically you can cook raw meat in a slow cooker, but it's tricky and requires a bit of preparation in order for it to be really worth it. If you simply pop some raw meat in your slow cooker, it won't have a chance to brown, which adds some much-needed flavor and cuts down on plenty of unappealing grease.

Try putting a tea towel over the top of the slow cooker before replacing the lid. This absorbs the excess moisture, thickening the dish and deepening its flavours. The cloth can be replaced with a fresh one when needed, but usually one tea towel during the final couple of hours will do the trick.

You will often see in recipes that people will state to lay a tea towel (the cloth you dry your dishes with) between the inner slow cookerbowl top and the lid of the slow cooker (see photo below). This is to absorb condensation and stop it from dripping down into the dish inside.

The heat bounces off from the lid and allows your food to cook faster. Also, you will not lose any of the steam that usually evaporates.

Yes, if you use them correctly. The slow cooker cooks foods slowly at a low temperature, generally between 170 and 280 degrees F, over several hours. The combination of direct heat from the pot, lengthy cooking and steam, destroys bacteria making the slow cooker a safe process for cooking foods.

Generally low is about 200 degrees Fahrenheit and High is 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Given this information, the simplest conversion is to set the oven at the same temperature as your slow cooker and bake the dish for the same amount of time called for in the recipe.

Can you start a crockpot on high then low? ›

If possible, turn the cooker on the highest setting for the first hour of cooking time and then to low or the setting called for in your recipe. Foods take different times to cook depending upon the setting used. Certainly, foods will cook faster on high than on low.

On some occasions, you'll want to leave food in the slow cooker to keep warm, during Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner, for example, or any other event or holiday. While it's perfectly ok to use your crock pot in this way, try to avoid leaving food on the warming setting for more than four hours.

Place the cooker on a high setting, and open the lid for 30-45 minutes to let excess moisture cook off. The liquid will reduce, leaving you with a thick and delicious gravy or sauce. (Tip: This trick can also be applied for thickening stews, or when you've accidentally added too much liquid.)

Slow cooker recipes are often designed for an eight-hour cook so that the food is ready when you return home after a long day. Is it safe to leave a slow cooker on for 12 hours? Yes, you can use your slow cooker for longer than eight hours, as long as you keep an eye on it.

What are the disadvantages of a slow cooker? Slow cookers only apply heat to the bottom of the crock, which cuts down on their ability to reduce liquids and brown foods, and develop flavor the same way a Dutch oven or pressure cooker can.

Foods take different times to cook depending upon the setting used. Certainly, foods will cook faster on high than on low. However, for all-day cooking or for less-tender cuts, you may want to use the low setting.

Impressively easy use and clean, the Crockpot Lift and Serve is a must-have kitchen gadget. It's not the cheapest model out there for a device that functions as a slow cooker only, but we think it offers good value for money thanks to its versatility – meats, casseroles, and stews were all a doddle to cook in it.