Slow Cooker Meal Plan: 7 Dump-and-Go Crockpot Dinners
The short answer
Every dinner in this slow cooker meal plan goes into the crockpot in the morning with 5 to 20 minutes of prep and is ready when you get home: salsa chicken, beef stew, pork carnitas, chicken tikka masala, lentil soup, white chicken chili and honey garlic chicken. Most cook 4 to 8 hours on low, so they fit a full workday.
- 7 dinners
- About 13 min of prep a night
- 55 items on one grocery list
- 1 meatless
Best for: Households out all day who want dinner waiting.
Puts these dinners on next week's calendar and builds the grocery list. Free account, no credit card.
The week
- MondaySlow Cooker Salsa Chicken
Three main ingredients, five minutes of prep, and shredded chicken that works in tacos, burrito bowls or over rice all week.
4h 5m - TuesdaySlow Cooker Beef Stew
Tender beef, potatoes and carrots in a rich gravy that's thickened with cornstarch, so it's naturally gluten-free.
8h 20m - WednesdaySlow Cooker Pork Carnitas
Pork shoulder braised with orange and spices until it falls apart, then crisped under the broiler for real carnitas texture.
8h 15m - ThursdaySlow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
A mild, creamy, family-friendly curry. The slow cooker does the simmering; coconut milk keeps it dairy-light and rich.
5h 15m - FridaySlow Cooker Lentil Vegetable Soup
Pantry lentils, carrots and tomatoes turn into a thick, protein-rich vegetarian soup for well under a dollar a serving.
6h 15mVegetarian - SaturdaySlow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Chicken, white beans and green chiles in a creamy, mildly spiced broth — high in protein and easy to scale for a crowd.
5h 10m - SundaySlow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
Sticky, sweet-savory chicken thighs that kids reliably finish. The sauce thickens at the end into a glaze for rice and vegetables.
4h 10m
Grocery list for the week
Every ingredient from all seven recipes, combined and sorted by store aisle. Check your pantry for oils, salt and spices before you shop.
Produce
- 3 cupbaby spinach
- 12 ozbroccoli florets
- 7carrots
- 2celery stalks
- 1 cupfresh cilantro
- 1 tbspfresh ginger
- 23 clovesgarlic
- 2green onions
- 1lemon
- 4lime
- 1orange
- 1/2red onion
- 5yellow onion
- 1 1/2 lbYukon Gold potatoes
Dairy & Eggs
- 4 ozcream cheese
Meat & Poultry
- 2 lbbeef chuck roast
- 3 lbboneless pork shoulder
- 4 lbboneless skinless chicken breasts
- 4 lbboneless skinless chicken thighs
Bakery
- 16corn tortillas
- 1crusty bread loaf
Grains & Pasta
- 2 cupbasmati rice
- 2 cupjasmine rice
- 2 cuplong-grain white rice
Canned Goods
- 3 cupbeef broth
- 1 canblack beans
- 2 canscannellini beans
- 3 cupchicken broth
- 1 cancoconut milk
- 1 candiced green chiles
- 1 candiced tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cupdried brown lentils
- 1/4 cuptomato paste
- 1 cantomato sauce
- 6 cupsvegetable broth
Condiments & Sauces
- 1/3 cuphoney
- 2 tbspketchup
- 1/3 cuplow-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbspolive oil
- 1 tbsprice vinegar
- 1 1/2 cupsalsa
- 1 tbspWorcestershire sauce
Spices & Seasonings
- 1/2 tspblack pepper
- 1 tspchili powder
- 2 tspdried oregano
- 1 tspdried thyme
- 2 tbspgaram masala
- 2 tbspground cumin
- 1 tspground turmeric
- 2 1/3 tbspkosher salt
- 1 tspsmoked paprika
- 1 tbsptaco seasoning
Baking
- 1/4 cupcornstarch
Frozen
- 2 cupfrozen corn
- 1 cupfrozen peas
Prep ahead
- Chop the next day's vegetables the night before and store them in the slow cooker insert in the fridge; in the morning just set it in the base.
- Brown the beef for the stew the night before — it's optional but adds a lot of flavor.
- The carnitas make 8 servings: save half for tacos or bowls later in the week.
Questions
Can I put frozen chicken in the slow cooker?
No. USDA guidance is to thaw meat first, because frozen meat can stay in the bacterial danger zone (40–140°F) too long as the slow cooker heats up. Thaw it in the fridge overnight.
What if I'm gone longer than 8 hours?
Use the low setting and pick the beef stew or carnitas, which tolerate 9 to 10 hours. Many slow cookers switch to warm automatically when the time is up.