Favorite Fall Slow Cooker Dinners
Slow cooker dinners are EVERYTHING. Let's just start with this right here – if you don’t have a slow cooker yet, stop reading this, get in your car, drive yourself to Target (or wherever the nearest slow cooker is) and get yourself one. Or, if you're the same vibrational plane as me, you'll order one on Prime Now because who wants to actually leave the house? Ew. Guys, this is essential. Slow cookers allow you to make a lot of really good, healthy food all at once and it requires almost no time prep on your part. So, a $30-40 slow cooker is going to save you a ton of time every week AND money if you’re someone who grabs take-out when you don’t have something healthy to grab quickly.
These babies are the lazy girl's BFF in the kitchen, and here are a couple of my favs - this one (because it's pretty) and this one (because it's inexpensive and programmable).
Glad we got that out the way.
Fall gets busy, and I find myself having less and less time to actually prepare dinner. I think for me it’s just the fact that weather in Atlanta is absolutely beautiful, and I’m out and about a lot. This is our season for hiking, walks, outdoor shopping - we are soaking it in down South! And I don’t want to be in the kitchen at all. For many others, it means school and sports are starting – for your kids or for yourself – which means you have even less time to prepare lunch and dinner every single day.
I still use my slow cooker all summer long, but slow cooker dinners are often in that “comfort” category, which makes them more and more appealing as the weather gets cooler. My slow cooker is out at least once a week from now until March, so I’ll be throwing a lot more great recipes your way as the fall and winter unfold. But, for now, my most popular recipes on The Nutrition Addiction are actually my slow cooker recipes and I wanted to share my favorites with you so you have a quick reference for dinners the next couple of weeks.
Side note - I HATE the word crock pot which is why I'm avoiding it. It makes me shutter.
1. Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken
My #1 recipe – this healthy chicken dish has all the deliciousness of a basket of buffalo wings, but is made with chicken breasts and far less butter than a regular buffalo sauce. Make a batch of Herby Yogurt Ranch Dip to go along with it! Serving ideas:
Buffalo chicken tacos or quesadillas
Buffalo bowls with rice or riced cauliflower, mozzarella, slightly sautéed celery and Herby Yogurt Ranch Dip.
Wraps using romaine or your favorite wrap with a side of steamed broccoli
Buffalo chicken scramble with eggs, cauliflower and hash browns
2. Slow Cooker Pork Chops with Bacon & Sauerkraut
I’ve been eating this since I was a little girl. These smoky, tangy chops will be fork tender and will melt in your mouth. Pork chops are great in the slow cooker if you're like me and constantly overcook them.
For serving, I love to just eat these by themselves, over rice, and with a Fall Kale Salad. Sometimes I'll do mashed potatoes instead of rice. This dinner is just dripping with fall and it’s the only way I eat it in my house!
3. Slow Cooker Philly Chicken
An incredibly versatile, savory chicken recipe that goes great on sandwiches, stuffed inside of a baked potato or in a bowl of rice and made into an Ultimate Babe Bowl. Serving ideas:
These are delicious stuffed into a regular or sweet baked potato and topped with cheddar, green onions, extra red peppers
Philly tacos stuffed with more bell peppers, The Best Damn Guacamole and plain Greek yogurt
Make a Babe Bowl and top with chopped tomatoes, broccoli and cheddar cheese
On a hoagie roll, of course. We all need a hoagie moment from time to time. Just add a side of roasted squash and #health.
What are your go-to fall slow cooker dinners?
I really want to know! I’m always looking for something new to try. I’m thinking of experimenting with some potato recipes in there. I really want to throw a bunch of potatoes in with cheese and bacon and butter but I’m going to try to come up with something a little more slimming, I guess. Thoughts?