Easy Slow Cooker Recipes For Weeknight Back-To-School Meals
“What’s for dinner?!”
That’s a tough question when you’re not even sure – and it’s 5:30 pm. Be prepared with a simple gesture toward the slow cooker. Check out our favorite easy slow cooker recipes perfect for weeknight meals making your back-to-school routine effortless.
1. Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
It’s a fiesta! Make a batch of shredded chicken in the slow cooker and customize your tacos with all of your favorite toppings. Get the recipe here on Hip2Save.
2. Slow Cooker Wild Rice Soup
Ladle up a big helping of this veggie and herb soup. While the vegetables get a quick sauté in a pan beforehand, all the ingredients are added together to the slow cooker (including the rice) to meld the flavors together as they cook. Get the recipe here on Hip2Save.
Other slow cooker soups to try:
3. Slow Cooker Stuffed Shells
The most labor-intensive part of this meal is stuffing the shells, which tends to go pretty quickly once you get the hang of it (and there’s no boiling the pasta beforehand)! Scroll through to the bottom of the recipe post to check out the slow cooker instructions for this dish. Get the recipe here on Hip2Save.
4. Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken
With some chicken, salsa, cheese, and spices, you can put together this yummy chicken dish in the slow cooker. Serve it alongside your favorite Mexican sides, like black beans and rice. Get the recipe here on Hip2Save.
5. Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
Skip the takeout and make your own Chinese restaurant-inspired dish as home. This recipe was originally made in the Instant Pot but can be adapted for the slow cooker with time adjustments. Get the recipe here on Hip2Save.
6. Slow Cooker Creamy Italian Chicken
This creamy dish will put a smile on a kid’s face after a long day at school. Better yet, it tastes like you spent hours laboring over it. Get the recipe here on Hip2Save.
7. Slow Cooker Chicken & Rice Burrito Bowls
Who needs Chipotle when you can cook up a burrito bowl at home? Although the chicken is removed from the cooker before the rice is added to round out the meal, all ingredients use the slow cooker, making it just one dish to clean up. Score! Get the recipe here on Hip2Save.
8. Slow Cooker Honey Mustard Chicken
The sweet and tangy glaze coating the chicken in the dish is the true winner here. This versatile shredded chicken can be served on top of rice, lettuce, or even bread for some truly tasty sandwiches. Get the recipe here on Hip2Save.
9. Slow Cooker BBQ Wings
Who wouldn’t love to come home from school to find out that wings are being served for dinner? They couldn’t be easier to make with this simple slow cooking method (with the option to broil in the oven for added crispiness). Get the recipe here on Hip2Save.
10. Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Shredded Sliders
These sliders are sure to be gobbled up in no time! The spicy shredded chicken with the cool, crunchy slaw is a flavor combination the whole family will love. Get the recipe here on Hip2Save.
11. Slow Cooker Cowboy Supper
This incredibly hearty dish is also incredibly easy! Brown the beef, layer all ingredients in the slow cooker, set the heat, and let the magic happen. Get the recipe here on Hip2Save.
12. Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
Another take on Chinese takeout that doesn’t require a trip to the restaurant. Plus, your kitchen will be fragrant with Asian flavors from cooking while you enjoy this meal. Get the recipe here on Hip2Save.
13. Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
Raid your pantry to make use of some common staples to whip up this easy weeknight meal. Ramp up the dish by ladling over rice, potatoes, or a bread bowl. Get the recipe here on Hip2Save.
14. Slow Cooker Vegetable Lasagna
Try out a meatless meal like our vegetable lasagna that layers hearty veggies, noodles, sauce, and cheese to create a decadent, yet very simple, weeknight meal. Get the recipe here on Hip2Save.
15. Slow Cooker Sausage & Pepper Freezer Bag Meal
Make meals even easier by having them prepped and frozen ahead of time. With these dishes, you simply dump the ingredients into the slow cooker, turn it on, and they’re ready to eat a few hours later! Get the recipe (and more like it!) here on Hip2Save.
I am going to try the chicken sliders without the buffalo sauce. None of us like spicy foods and we all have acid reflux so don’t even want to try spicy foods. It sounds delicious though. Can’t wait to try it.
Let us know what you think, Pat!
If you leave out the buffalo sauce, you’re going to be putting chicken with butter & ranch powder…?? I think you might want to try a different recipe because the buffalo sauce is an important part of that recipe.
These all look delicious! Thank you!
You are so welcome, Mary!
when you click in each recipe… there is an ad box that covers a in the middle of the ingredients… 🙁 can’t figure out how to remove… but printing doesn’t work!
Oh darn! Thanks for the feedback, Julie. I don’t see that as I click through, but we’ll be sure to look into it. Maybe try again in a different browser. I had success using Chrome on my laptop. Hoping that helps!
I have the same exact issue. When I go to print an ad covers most of the recipe and it appears also when you print the recipe.
Bummer! Sorry for the issues, Cindy. If this happens again, be sure to send us a screenshot of what you are seeing and the type of device you are using, so that we can get that fixed ASAP! collin@hip2save.com. Thanks so much!
Julie, I get boxes like that on the left side of all Hip2Save pages when I check out the site on my desktop. I use the Google Chrome browser and notice when you start scrolling up, a small “close” box appears at the bottom of the ad. Maybe this is the same thing?
SO sorry about that, Kristi S. If this continues, be sure to send us an email with any details you are seeing and the type of device you are using, so that we can fix this. collin@hip2save.com. Thanks so much for the feedback!
I would like to see these recipes in a instant pot variation now that would be a time saver.
I’ll pass that along to the team, q! In the meantime, have you seen the instant pot recipes here: https://hip2save.com/recipe-type/dinner-ideas/
Thanks for including a vegetarian option! I would love to see more of those 🙂
Thanks for the suggestion, Amanda! I’ll let the team know!
Thank you for this! I still love my slow cooker, even with those other new fangled small appliances!
Me too. I will be trying almost all of these recipes for sure. I always miss my slow cooker in the summertime. Seems like no one wants warm comfort food meals like this when it’s hot out (except me) :-/
You are very welcome, hbee!
Thank you! I’d totally forgotten about the wings recipe since it was last posted! Dying to try it with football season right around the corner!
You are so welcome, Suzanne!
I have the instant pot 9-in-1 which I think means both high and low pressure, will these recipes work in that pot or do I need a dedicated slow cooker? Thanks in advance🌺
I would also like the answer to this question. Got rid of my slow cooker when I bought the instant pot, thinking I could use it for both. Only tried it once and didn’t turn out too well – but it may have been the recipe.
You just select the slow cook option on the instant pot, works the exact same as a slow cooker.
Thank for posting this… I do not have an instapot and don’t intend on getting one.
Thanks so much, I’ve been making freezer meals for years. More recipes to add to my collection.