6 Slow-Cooker Recipes to Make Weeknight Dinners Easier

At Cook’s Country, we love the convenience and effectiveness of this loyal gadget, and to celebrate the beginning of slow-cooker season, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorite recipes to put it to use.

This recipe may very well be the simplest in our list. Embracing the true functionality of the slow cooker, there are only two steps you have to follow to achieve bright, citrusy chicken cooked in a vibrant and aromatic sauce. First, add your ingredients to the slow cooker. Second, serve.

It really is that easy.

Once you sauté a few aromatics, you’re well on your way to a slow-cooked masterpiece. This Sausage Ragu recipe breaks down hot Italian sausages to such a tender state that you’re able to simply mash them with a potato masher to create a robust sauce. With the addition of red wine, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and a handful of cooked fennel, this one’s going to be a new weeknight favorite.

Did you know you can cook an entire pot roast in your slow cooker? That’s right, this incredibly hands-off method delivers a full meal that is easy to prepare and can simmer away while you have the day to yourself. Perfectly marbled chuck-eye roast simply melts into a fork-tender morsel in the slow cooker, while potatoes and carrots benefit from cooking in the meat’s savory juices.

For pork carnitas with those signature crispy edges, start the cooking in the slow cooker and finish it in a skillet. Mixing the pork with onion, orange zest and juice, lime zest and juice, garlic, ground cumin, and oregano makes for a zesty, savory, and well-rounded base. And as it cooks, it becomes fork-tender. To get the crispiness we all love so much, all you need to do is pull out your skillet and fry the mixture for a few minutes. Simple!

I don’t make the rules—chilly fall evenings call for ramen. And this recipe will give you the warm, comforting vibes of a hug in a bowl, with about 10 times the flavor. Umami-rich ingredients such as miso, shiitakes, and kombu are layered to create a complex yet homey flavor base, while pork butt roast cooked in an earthy and deeply savory broth makes this dish ultrasatisfying.

The very best thing about your slow cooker is just how hands-off even the most complex and deeply gratifying dishes can be. Such is the case in this hearty and filling soup that was made to stick to your ribs in the cooler months. Cured, ready-to-eat Spanish-style chorizo gives this meal a smoky richness and infuses it with flavors of paprika, and a host of other warm spices complement the lentils (that are topped off with a cooling dollop of tart yogurt) for a perfectly balanced meal.