Delicious & Affordable: 5 Must-Try Slow Cooker Meals
Easy, Affordable Slow Cooker Meals for Busy Days
In today’s fast-paced world, finding the time and energy to cook can feel impossible. That’s where the slow cooker comes in—a kitchen superhero that helps you make hearty, home-cooked meals with minimal effort. Whether you’re feeding a family or cooking on a budget, the slow cooker is your best friend. It’s perfect if you are just looking for a stress-free way to eat well.
Why Use a Slow Cooker?
- Saves Time: Simply throw in your ingredients, set it, and forget it. No need to babysit a stove or oven.
- Budget-Friendly: Slow cookers make it easy to use affordable ingredients like beans, lentils, and cheaper cuts of meat. Turning them into tender, flavorful meals.
- Minimal Cleanup: Since most of it cooks in one pot, you’ll spend less time doing dishes.
- Big Batch Cooking: Make extra servings and store leftovers for future meals—perfect for meal prepping. Even better is to turn them into freezer meals as well for more time and budget savings.
Simple and Affordable Slow Cooker Meal Ideas
1. Hearty Soups and Stews
Nothing warms the soul like a bowl of homemade soup. Slow cookers are perfect for making large batches of hearty stews with inexpensive ingredients like potatoes, carrots, beans, and grains. Toss in some protein—whether it’s chicken, beef, or lentils—and let the flavors meld together over hours of slow cooking.
2. Budget-Friendly Beans and Rice
A slow cooker transforms dried beans into a tender, protein-packed meal with hardly any effort. Add rice, canned tomatoes, and spices for a complete, satisfying dish that costs next to nothing.
3. Shredded Chicken or Pork for Multiple Meals
A simple slow-cooked chicken or pork shoulder can be the base for tacos or sandwiches. It can also be used in salads or grain bowls throughout the week. Cook it with broth and spices, then shred it for a variety of meals.
4. Comforting Pasta Sauces
Skip the jarred sauce—making your own marinara or bolognese in the slow cooker is incredibly easy. Toss in canned tomatoes, onions, and garlic. Add ground meat or lentils for a vegetarian option. Let the slow cooker do the work.
5. Breakfast Without the Hassle
Wake up to a hot breakfast with overnight oatmeal or a slow cooker egg casserole. You can use pantry staples like oats, milk, and spices. Prep your meal the night before. Then enjoy a stress-free morning.
Tips for Slow Cooking on a Budget
- Buy in Bulk: Stock up on staple ingredients like beans, rice, and canned goods when they’re on sale.
- Use Cheaper Cuts of Meat: The slow cooker works magic on tougher cuts. These cuts are more affordable and include chicken thighs, pork shoulder, and beef chuck.
- Stretch Meals with Veggies and Grains: Load up your slow cooker meals with affordable vegetables like carrots. You can also add potatoes and cabbage. These additions make dishes go further.
- Make Use of Leftovers: Repurpose slow-cooked meals into new dishes. Use shredded meats for sandwiches. Use extra beans for burritos. Use extra soup as a base for another meal.
The slow cooker isn’t just a tool—it’s a game-changer for easy, budget-friendly meals. With a little prep and creativity, you can enjoy homemade meals without the stress of cooking every day. What’s your favorite slow cooker meal? Share your ideas in the comments.
To watch the Video
5 EASY Slow Cooker Meals for Busy Weeknights
Try this lovely bread with any of these meals Simple and Quick Crusty Bread Loaf
To make your own balsamic glaze The Ultimate Guide to Making Balsamic Glaze
Creamy Tomato and Sausage Pasta
Print Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Slow Cooker or Multi Cooker
Ingredients
- 6 sausages any flavor is fine
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cups tomatoes diced
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup fresh spinach leaves
- 1 cup capsicum (bell pepper) sliced
- 1 tbsp garlic chopped
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp italian herbs
- 2 tbsp balsamic glaze see my recipe for this
- 1 tbsp garlic powder optional
- 1 tbsp onion powder optional
- ½ tsp turmeric optional
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup cream
- ½ cup parmesan cheese optional
- 500 g cooked and drained pasta I used curly fettuccini style noodles
Instructions
To the Slow Cooker
- Add everything except the final three ingredients to the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours, until the sausages are cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
- Use kitchen shears to cut the sausage links into bite-sized pieces directly in the slow cooker. Or remove the sausages and cut them into rounds and add back to the sauce.
- Stir in heavy cream and grated parmesan cheese until well combined and creamy.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain and toss with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent it from sticking.
- Serve the creamy sausages over the cooked pasta and garnish with extra parmesan if desired. Alternatively, add the cooked pasta to the slow cooker and toss together before serving.
Servings: 5 servings
Cost: $15
Slow Cooked Chicken Teriyaki on Rice
This incredible slow cooker recipe couldn't be any easier. With just a few steps, you will have delicious homemade chicken teriyaki on rice for quick food prep or lunches.
Print Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Slow Cooker or Multi Cooker
Ingredients
- 3 large chicken breasts you can add more chicken if you want to cook more. You won't need to double the sauce as it makes quite a bit anyway
- 1½ cups of low-sodium soy sauce add an extra cup of water if you don't have low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 cup water see the message above for normal soy sauce
- 4-6 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp chinese cooking wine or rice or white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger ½ tsp ground if you don't have fresh
- rice cook as much as you require
- 3 tbsp corn flour for the slurry
- 4 tbsp water for the slurry
- kewpie mayo to garnish
- toasted sesame seeds to garnish
Instructions
- In the slow cooker, add all ingredients except the corn flour and 4 tbsp water for the slurry.
- Cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 2 hours, or until the chicken is cooked.
- In the meantime, cook up the required amount of rice, following the packet instructions.
- Once the chicken is cooked take the breasts out and add the corn flour and water slurry to thicken the sauce. You can do this step in a pot if you want to speed up the process.
- Using two forks, pull apart the chicken breast. Set aside to cool down, although serving it warm is quite nice as well.
- Once the sauce has been thickened, add a few spoons of the sauce over the chicken.
- To a bowl, in this order add rice, chicken, teriyaki sauce, kewpie mayo, then toasted sesame seeds if you are using them.
Servings: 5 people
Slow Cooked Honey Garlic Chicken with Rice
This lovely fresh slow cooker recipe was so easy to throw together. It has a lovely subtle sweetness paired with lovely mild garlic flavors. The vegetables are a hit with this lovely dish as well.
Print Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Slow Cooker or Multi Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken breast cut into tender strips or diced
- ½ cup honey add an extra ¼ cup if you like it sweeter
- 1 cup water or stock
- 2 tsp chicken stock powder if not using chicken stock already
- 6 minced garlic cloves add extra if you enjoy garlic like us
- 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine or rice wine vinegar white vinegar will do as well
- 6 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger ½ tsp ground ginger
- 2 cups frozen asian stir fry vegetables
- 2 tbsp corn flour for the slurry to thicken the sauce
- 2 tbsp water for the slurry to thicken the sauce
- rice or thin asian egg noodles amounts as required
- toasted sesame to garnish (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In the slow cooker
- In the slow cooker, add all ingredients except the corn flour and 4 tbsp water for the slurry and the frozen vegetables.
- Cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 2 hours, or until the chicken is cooked.
- In the meantime, cook up the required amount of rice or noodles, following the packet instructions.
- In the last 20 minutes, add the frozen asian vegetables to the slow cooker. Don't add them too soon otherwise the vegetables will overcook.
- Once the chicken is cooked, add the corn flour and water slurry to thicken the sauce. If you like your sauce thicker, add another tbsp of corn flour and water and thicken some more.
- Serve over rice or noodles and garnish with toasted sesame seeds if you like.
Servings: 5 people
Cost: $15
Slow Cooked Creamy Pork Chops with Potatoes
I loved this dish so much. It was so easy and simple to put together, and it was so GOOD! This is definitely a must-try on your menu this week.
Print Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Slow Cooker or Multi Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 kg moonlight or similar potatoes cut into quarters
- 5 bone in pork chops use as many pork chops as required, you can use pork loin chops instead if you like
- 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
- ½ cup extra water to de-glaze the pan de-glaze the pan after browning the pork and add it to the mix for extra flavor
- 2 onions sliced
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 4 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp sage
- ½ tsp thyme
- 125 g cream cheese
- 1 cup of cream
- 3 tbsp corn flour to thicken the sauce
- 2 tbsp water to thicken the sauce
Instructions
- In the slow cooker
- In the slow cooker, add all ingredients except the corn flour and 4 tbsp water for the slurry, cream and cream cheese.
- Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours, or until the pork and potatoes are cooked.
- Once the pork and potatoes are cooked. Take the chops out and place them onto a plate, and cover with tin foil to rest. Add the corn flour and water slurry to thicken the sauce. If you like your sauce thicker, add another tbsp of corn flour and water and thicken some more.
- Add the chops back to the sauce to coat in the creamy potatoes. I liked serving some steamed green beans with this meal.
Servings: 5 people
Slow Cooked Pork Meatball Stroganoff with Pasta
This is a quick and easy slow cooker recipe, with minimal fuss. I like to make the meat balls with just the pork mince and no added ingredients. It really makes the meatballs stand out on their own. Definitely one to try in this week's meal plan menu.
Print Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Slow Cooker or Multi Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 kg pork mince
- 400 g mushrooms sliced
- 2 onions diced
- 2 cups water or beef stock 2 beef stock cubes with 2 cups of water if you have no beef stock
- 2 tsp garlic
- 1 tsp mushroom salt see my linked recipe to make your own
- 2 tbsp worchestshire sauce
- ½ lemon juiced
- 2 tsp paprika
- pinch dried thyme
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup cream
- fresh parsley to garnish
- 500 g pasta of your choice I used left over spaghetti
Instructions
- Assemble the meatballs by taking the plain pork mince and rolling it into balls. In a frying pan, add 1 tbsp oil and pan fry them until golden on the outside. Do not cook all the way through; add them to the slow cooker.
- Use ½ a cup of the beef stock or water to deglaze the pan. Add it over the meatballs in the slow cooker.
- In the slow cooker, add all ingredients except the corn flour and 4 tbsp water for the slurry, cream and sour cream.
- Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours, or until the pork is cooked.
- Cook the pasta according to the packet directions.
- Once the pork meatballs are cooked. Add the sour cream and cream.
- Mix the corn flour and water together and add to thicken the sauce.
- Add the cooked pasta and stir to combine all the ingredients.
Servings: 5 people
Hey Stace, just thought I’d tell you, it’s just gone 8pm here, across the pond, in Victoria, and I’ve just been able to put the strog on in my crockpot for a very late dinner as it’s been a cracking long day here (thank goodness it’s just me these days as the kids are all grown), so I’m looking forward to trying it when it’s ready in a few hours.
I only had beef mince and bottled lemon juice, but, such is life, and you use what you’ve got.
Thankyou for an amazingly easy recipe to end my very long and busy day with, and thankyou for your videos, it’s lovely to have someone closer to home to watch where the prices are also similar to ours, and someone whom is so down to earth and so lovely.
Keep on doing what you do, you’re awesome, never mind all the negative people, they’re just unhappy in their own lives and are never happy for anyone else who is doing well in theirs, so they have to bring others down to make themselves feel better, but, it only makes them more bitter in the end, and you don’t need that energy surrounding you as you’re such a beautiful positive person.
Good luck with the shop, and with your cookbook, I’m so proud of you!
As for e-books, maybe do some that are individual topics, like, one for preserving, one for slow cookers, one for baking, and have them with just a few recipes or so, but with tips and tricks on how to get the best out of them as that would really help someone starting out on their cooking or preserving journies.
Personally, I want to start canning and making my own preserves/relishes to be a little more self sufficient, instead of relying solely on store bought premade items, just in case it is unavailable for any reason, so, something like that would really benefit someone like me who has no idea what they need to get started, and what to expect, good and bad, during the process of it all.
Just my thoughts on the subject, seeing as you were interested in what people’s thoughts would be on it.
Take care, thankyou so much again, and I look forward to trying more of your recipes and your videos.