Top 70+ of our Best Slow Cooker Recipes
- Best cuts of meat for the slow cooker
- Can you use dried beans in a slow cooker?
- Tips for freezing
- Slow cooker chicken noodle soup
- Slow cooker beef ramen with shiitake mushrooms
- Slow-cooker coconut pumpkin soup
- Slow cooker curried lentil and tomato soup
- Slow cooker tomato soup with basil dumplings
- Slow-cooker chicken hot and sour soup
- Slow-cooker lamb with kale and pomegranate
- Slow-cooker spicy upside down pineapple chicken
- Shepherd’s pie in the slow cooker
- Slow cooker potato bake
- Deep-pan pepperoni pizza
- Slow-cooker lamb kleftiko with potatoes
- Slow cooker biryani
- Slow cooker Greek ‘sausages’ with olives and risoni
- How to make classic chocolate brownies in your slow cooker
- Slow cooker five ingredient cottage pie
- Slow cooker five ingredient pecan pie
- How to make passata in your slow cooker
- Slow cooker pineapple coconut cake
- Slow cooker whole chicken with a peri peri marinade
- Slow cooker Hainanese-style chicken
- Slow-cooker lamb cassoulet
- Slow-cooker beer and thyme beef cheeks
- Slow cooker veal rolls (involtini) with prosciutto and sage
- Slow-cooker chicken tikka masala
- Slow cooker caramel pork with crispy crackling
- Slow cooker pulled pork
- Slow cooker honey soy lamb chops
- Slow-cooker lamb madras
- Slow-cooker red pork curry
- Slow-cooker lamb & eggplant curry
- Slow-cooker pork and lemongrass curry
- Slow-cooker cashew and cauliflower curry
- Slow cooker chickpea and sweet potato curry
- Slow cooker butter chicken
- Slow cooker Greek lamb stifado
- Slow-cooker massaman beef curry
- Slow cooker pork and fennel meatball pasta
- Slow-cooker beef stroganoff
- Slow-cooker beef cheeks in pedro ximénez
- Slow cooker beef soup with chickpea & chorizo
- Slow cooker lamb shanks with tomato, chilli and fetta
- Creamy rice pudding with cinnamon sugar
- Slow-cooker five-ingredient berry cobbler
- Sticky date and fig steamed pudding
The versatile slow cooker really comes into its own in winter. After all, cold weather calls for hearty, warming and flavoursome meals—savoury or sweet! These super-easy, melt-in-the-mouth meals and delicious desserts are something that the whole family can look forward to after a long, chilly day. From soups and shanks to stews and steamed puddings, hit the supermarket, grab your ingredients and try one of the Test Kitchen’s best slow cooker recipes this winter.
Best cuts of meat for the slow cooker
Long, slow cooking will tenderise even the toughest cuts of meat. Stewing or braising cuts are the best choices. Tough cuts are usually inexpensive, but cutting the meat off the bone yourself can save you more money, as you’re not paying for the convenience of pre-cut meat. Cutting up the meat yourself also gives you the opportunity to trim off visible fat and make the pieces a more uniform size.
The best cuts of meat to use are:
- Beef: topside, oyster, blade, skirt, round, chuck, gravy beef
- Veal: osso buco, shanks, shoulder
- Lamb: neck chops, boneless shoulder, shanks, boneless forequarter
- Pork: forequarter chops, neck, belly shoulder
- Chicken: any pieces on the bone, such as drumsticks, thighs and marylands
- Seafood: is generally not suitable for slow cooking as it toughens quickly. However there are some recipe for sauces that can be cooked in the slow cooker, then add the seafood just before serving. The exception is large octopus, which will cook and become tender in a slow cooker.
Can you use dried beans in a slow cooker?
Some dried beans need to be cooked before adding to a slow cooker because of a certain chemical they contain. Kidney-shaped beans of all colours and sizes are related to each other and MUST be washed, drained and boiled in fresh water until tender. Add these cooked beans to the slow-cooked dish just like you would with canned beans.
Dried, unsoaked chickpeas and soy beans are fine to use in the slow cooker; just rinse them well first – there is no need for overnight soaking before cooking.
Tips for freezing
Many slow cooked meals can be frozen for up to three months. There is usually a large quantity of liquid so transfer the meat and vegetables to appropriate-sized freezer-friendly containers, then pour in enough of the liquid to cover the meat and/or vegetables. Leave a 2.5cm space between the food and the lid to allow for expansion, then seal the container. Label and date the container before placing in the freezer.
If the recipe has a large quantity of mushrooms or potato, or a large piece of meat as an ingredient, we usually advise against freezing. However, if you don’t mind the food looking a bit sad after it’s thawed, almost anything will tolerate being frozen.

vegetable minestrone

Slow-cooked pumpkin soup

Slow cooker chicken noodle soup
Slow cooker chicken noodle soup

Bowl of beef ramen with shiitake mushrooms
Slow cooker beef ramen with shiitake mushrooms

Bowl of pumpkin soup
Slow-cooker coconut pumpkin soup

Bowl of Curried lentil & tomato soup
Slow cooker curried lentil and tomato soup

Chicken soup in a mug with pastry round on top

Slow cooker chicken and corn soup

slow-cooker chickpea and tomato soup
Slow cooker tomato soup with basil dumplings

chicken hot & sour soup
Slow-cooker chicken hot and sour soup

Slow-cooker apricot chicken

Slow-cooker lamb with kale and pomegranate
Slow-cooker lamb with kale and pomegranate
Slow-cooker spicy upside down pineapple chicken

Slow-cooker silverbeet dhal

Shepherd’s pie in the slow cooker
Shepherd’s pie in the slow cooker

Slow cooker potato bake
Slow cooker potato bake

Deep-pan pepperoni pizza
Deep-pan pepperoni pizza

slow cooker lamb shoulder recipe
Slow-cooker lamb kleftiko with potatoes

Slow cooker bean bourgignon

Slow cooker biryani recipe
Slow cooker biryani

Slow cooker Greek ‘sausages’ with olives and risoni
Slow cooker Greek ‘sausages’ with olives and risoni

How to make classic chocolate brownies in your slow cooker
How to make classic chocolate brownies in your slow cooker

Slow cooker five ingredient cottage pie
Slow cooker five ingredient cottage pie

Slow cooker five ingredient pecan pie
Slow cooker five ingredient pecan pie

tomato passata in jars
How to make passata in your slow cooker

Slow-cooker dessert recipes
Slow cooker pineapple coconut cake

Slow cooker chilli con carne served with with corn chips and lime wedges

Peri peri chicken cooked in the slow cooker served with mayonnaise
Slow cooker whole chicken with a peri peri marinade

Slow cooker meatballs

Slow-cooker Hainanese chicken rice
Slow cooker Hainanese-style chicken

Slow-cooker lamb cassoulet
Slow-cooker lamb cassoulet

slow cooker lamb chops

Slow-cooker lamb chops

spinach and ricotta lasagne

tray of cooked beef cheeks
Slow-cooker beer and thyme beef cheeks

SLOW-COOKER SEAFOOD IN ROMESCO SAUCE

Slow cooker veal rolls (involtini) with prosciutto and sage
Slow cooker veal rolls (involtini) with prosciutto and sage

slow cooker chicken tikka recipe
Slow-cooker chicken tikka masala

Slow-cooker pork gyros

Slow cooker caramel pork with crispy crackling
Slow cooker caramel pork with crispy crackling

MEXICAN PULL-APART PORK
Slow cooker pulled pork

honey soy lamb chops
Slow cooker honey soy lamb chops

Slow cooker lamb shanks

Slow-cooker lamb madras
Slow-cooker lamb madras

Slow cooker lamb keema

RED PORK CURRY
Slow-cooker red pork curry

SLOW-COOKERLAMB&EGGPLANT CURRY
Slow-cooker lamb & eggplant curry

Slow-cooker pork and lemongrass curry
Slow-cooker pork and lemongrass curry

Slow-cooker Caribbean fish curry

Bowl of cashew and cauliflower curry.
Slow-cooker cashew and cauliflower curry

Sweet potato and chickpea curry
Slow cooker chickpea and sweet potato curry

butter chicken
Slow cooker butter chicken

Satay chicken in a slow cooker

Greek lamb stifado
Slow cooker Greek lamb stifado

slow cooker lamb & rosemary stew

Slow-cooker massaman beef curry
Slow-cooker massaman beef curry

Slow cooker sweet and sour pork

Slow cooker peppered pork curry

Meatball pasta
Slow cooker pork and fennel meatball pasta

slow cooker beef stroganoff
Slow-cooker beef stroganoff

two bowls filled with beef cheeks, beans and mash on a set table
Slow-cooker beef cheeks in pedro ximénez

Slow cooker beef soup with chickpea & chorizo
Slow cooker beef soup with chickpea & chorizo

Slow cooker lamb shanks with tomato, chilli and fetta
Slow cooker lamb shanks with tomato, chilli and fetta

Slow-cooker loaded veg ‘bolognese’ baked potatoes

Spaghetti bolognese

Slow cooker satay pork stew served with steamed jasmine rice and sliced cucumber

Slow-cooker coq au vin

creamy rice pudding with cinnamon sugar
Creamy rice pudding with cinnamon sugar

Slow-cooker five-ingredient berry cobbler
Slow-cooker five-ingredient berry cobbler

sticky date and fig steamed pudding