Fall is a great time for fun activities like football games and pumpkin crafts, but the food is also a bonus. I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving of course but also warm and hearty meals that I didn’t enjoy as often during the summer since I was usually focused on keeping cool.
Cooking meals in a crock pot is one of the easiest and safest ways to make delicious meals. Also, if you’re busy and tend to run out of time to cook fresh and nutritious meals, owning a crock pot is a must. It’s provides convenient cooking and that’s what will help you avoid resorting to takeout and expensive restaurant bills.
Here are 5 easy crock pot recipes you can try for fall.
1. Lasagna
Lasagna has never been my forte, but preparing it in the crock pot makes it a much easier process. This recipe calls for ground beef, but you can prepare a vegetarian version of the dish without meat. Aside from browning the meat, you can lay everything in the crock pot and let it cook on low for 4 to 5 hours (no need to precook the pasta!
This dish is great to pair with some garlic bread, cheese toast, or a fresh salad.
2. Beef Stew
Beef stew is my absolute favorite as it’s super filling and tasty. I used to use recipes like this one to prepare the meal but I’ve made it so many times I pretty much created my own unofficial recipe. I use chunks of beef stew meat of course, fresh carrots, and potatoes along with beef broth. Then I add my own seasonings and flavors like onion and garlic to seal the deal.
Some recipes may say it takes longer to prepare beef stew in a crock pot like 12 hours but if that seems too long for you to wait, you can always precook your meat or turn the heat up on your crock pot which will reduce the cooking time.
3. Rice and Beans
Rice and beans is an easy crock pot recipe to prepare that has super affordable portion sizes. I can usually feed my family dinner for 2 or 3 days or have lunch for an entire week while only spending $5 or $6 total. Hence, this is why we always prepare rice and beans to fill any meal gaps and stretch our budget.
My favorite rice and beans recipe is an old Southern one my mom showed me. You use raw pinto beans (those are the hard ones, not the canned ones) and soak them overnight or for a few hours before before you put them in your crock pot to cook. I season them with onions and salt only. Then to add more flavor and some extra protein, I boil some smoked turkey tails for an hour then cut the meat up and add it to the crock pot.
It takes about 6-8 hours to cook the beans. When they are finished, I top them over some cooked rice and I usually serve cornbread on the side. It’s delicious, cheap, and packed with protein.
4. Pulled Pork
Sure you can buy pulled pork that’s already prepared at the grocery store. But will it have the same taste and flavor as home made? Probably not. When you prepare pulled pork in the crock pot, you don’t have to be actively involved in the cooking process and you can take care of other tasks around the house which makes this recipe great for tailgating or having friends over for Monday night football.
This easy crock pot pulled pork recipe only requires these ingredients:
- 1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin
- 1 (12 ounce) can of root beer
- 1 (18 ounce) bottle of barbecue sauce
- And hamburger buns, of course!
Don’t Forget to Cook in Bulk
Crock pot cooking makes it so much easier to prepare meals in bulk. If you don’t want to cook every day, you can double your recipes and cook for 2 or 3 nights. While it takes longer to prepare your average meal in a slow cooker, the food often comes out more tender and flavorful because it cooks at a slower rate.
Do you ever cook with a crock pot? What is your favorite crock pot recipe?
See what’s trending today:
Blue Apron review from Budget and Invest
Blue Apron review from Newlyweds on a Budget