8 Lazy Crockpot Dinners You Dump In and Forget

If you’re like me, the best dinners are the ones you finished thinking about at eight in the morning.

A crockpot is the only kitchen tool I own that works harder when I ignore it.

I’ve ruined a few by lifting the lid every hour to check, which turns out to be the one thing you’re not supposed to do.

Everything here goes in before work, and dinner is waiting when you get home.

1. Mississippi Pot Roast

Mississippi pot roast got famous because it takes a handful of ingredients and almost no work.

A chuck roast goes into the crockpot with a packet of ranch seasoning, a packet of au jus gravy mix, six tablespoons of butter and a handful of pepperoncini with some of their juice.

Ten minutes of prep, about eight hours of cooking, eight servings.

The pepperoncini add tang more than heat, and that’s what keeps all the butter from tasting heavy.

Serve it over mashed potatoes so the gravy has somewhere to go.

2. Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches

The crockpot makes the beef and the dipping sauce at the same time.

A chuck roast cooks in beef broth, water and two packets of dry onion soup mix until it shreds, and the liquid left behind becomes the au jus.

Pile the beef onto toasted crusty rolls with provolone or Swiss and melt the cheese under the broiler.

Fifteen minutes of prep and about four hours of cooking for eight sandwiches.

Skim the fat off the top of the jus before you pour it into dipping cups.

3. Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa

This barbacoa uses eye of round, a lean and usually inexpensive cut that turns tender after a long, slow cook.

The beef cooks with chipotle in adobo, lime juice, cider vinegar, garlic, onion, chili powder, bay leaves and a pinch of ground cloves.

It goes for about ten hours, so start it the night before or first thing in the morning, and you’ll have enough for ten.

Shred it and let it sit in the cooking liquid for a few minutes so it soaks some back up.

Tacos are the obvious move, and leftovers are just as good in burrito bowls or on nachos.

4. Slow Cooker Beef and Onion Ragu

The sauce in this ragu is mostly onion, two large ones that melt down completely over six hours.

Chuck cooks with carrot, celery, garlic, tomato paste, a splash of red wine and a spoon of soy sauce, which adds savoriness without tasting like soy.

Prep takes fifteen minutes, and the pot serves six.

Shred the beef right in the crock and toss it with wide egg noodles or pappardelle.

5. Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks

Lamb shanks look like restaurant food and are one of the easiest things you can put in a slow cooker.

Four shanks cook for eight hours in red wine, tomatoes, stock, onion, garlic and rosemary until the meat slides off the bone.

Browning the shanks first takes about fifteen minutes and is the only real work involved.

It serves four, one shank each.

Creamy polenta underneath, with plenty of the sauce spooned over the top.

6. Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

These carnitas happen to be keto and Whole30, though nobody at the table will notice.

Pork butt cooks with orange juice, lime juice, jalapeño, onion, cumin and paprika until it falls apart.

Ten minutes of prep, about six hours of cooking, eight servings.

The one extra step worth taking is spreading the shredded pork on a sheet pan and broiling it for a few minutes so the edges crisp up.

Drizzle some of the cooking juices over the pork before it goes under the broiler so it doesn’t dry out.

7. Crockpot White Chicken Chili

Nothing gets browned and nothing gets precooked, so this one really is dump and go.

Chicken breasts, two kinds of white beans, green chiles, fire-roasted corn, onion, garlic, jalapeño and cumin all go into the crock with chicken broth.

Frozen cauliflower rice disappears into it and makes the chili thicker.

Greek yogurt and lime juice make it creamy without any heavy cream.

About eight hours of cooking and fifteen minutes of prep, for eight bowls.

8. Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

Three ingredients and five minutes, which is about as lazy as dinner gets.

Chicken breasts go into the slow cooker with a big jar of salsa and some corn, and four hours later you shred it with two forks.

It makes six servings.

The salsa you buy is the whole flavor, so pick one you’d happily eat with chips.

Spoon it into tacos, over rice, or onto a baked potato with a little cheese and sour cream.

Tips for Crockpot Cooking

Keep the lid closed, since every peek lets out heat and can add a good fifteen minutes to the cooking time.

Fill the crock between half and two-thirds full so it cooks evenly.

Tough cuts like chuck, pork shoulder and shanks are the best match for long cooking, and chicken breast dries out if it goes too long.

Never put frozen meat straight into a slow cooker, because it can sit too long at an unsafe temperature before it heats through.

Notes on Leftovers

Shredded meat lasts up to four days refrigerated and freezes for about three months.

Freeze it with some of the cooking liquid so it doesn’t dry out when you reheat it.

Carnitas and barbacoa make the best leftovers here, since one batch covers tacos, bowls and quesadillas through the week.