Protein is filling and satisfying and having plenty of it for dinner will help prevent the midnight munchies. And loading up your slow cooker in the morning makes it easy to get a healthy high-protein meal on the table by dinnertime.
These dinners feature proteins like beef, chicken and turkey so you get at least 15 grams of protein per serving all in 400 calories or less—and all from your slow cooker. Recipes like Slow-Cooker Beef Curry and Slow-Cooker Carne Picada Tacos with Avocado Salsa are healthy and delicious.
Slow-Cooker Braised Beef with Carrots & Turnips
The spice blend in this healthy beef stew recipe—cinnamon, allspice and cloves—may conjure images of apple pie, but the combo is a great fit in savory applications too. Serve over creamy polenta or buttered whole-wheat egg noodles.
Slow-Cooked Ranch Chicken and Vegetables
This creamy, veggie-packed chicken dinner comes together easily in your slow cooker and makes enough for another night’s casserole!
Slow-Cooker Carne Picada Tacos with Avocado Salsa
Loosely translated as “minced meat,” the traditional texture of carne picada ranges from finely chopped to ground. Here we start with brisket, which becomes nice and tender in the slow cooker, then shred and chop the meat before serving. The seasoning is flavorful but not too spicy. Blistered jalapeños added at the end will satisfy the heat lovers in the family. Pile the brisket into warmed corn tortillas, with lettuce, the jalapeños, cheese and avocado salsa for a healthy dinner that’ll wake up your taco night routine.
Slow-Cooker Beef Curry
Long, slow cooking periods mellow flavors while bold spices, in bold amounts, will hold their own over time. That’s just what happens here with big flavors from Thai curry paste and fish sauce finished with fresh touches of cilantro and lime juice that together, draw inspiration from Thai curry. Serve over a bed of brown rice or brown rice noodles to catch all the sauce.
Slow-Cooker Chicken & Orzo with Tomatoes & Olives
Perk up basic chicken breast and whole-wheat orzo with the vibrant flavors of the Mediterranean, like lemon and olives. This load-and-go recipe makes a complete and satisfying meal—just add a green salad.
Slow-Cooker Turkey Chili with Butternut Squash
This slow-cooker turkey and butternut squash chili is the perfect balance of sweet and spicy. The sweetness of the butternut squash tames the kick from cayenne, making this easy chili just right for kids and adults alike. For those who prefer a spicier chili, just pass the hot sauce at the table.
Pasta Puttanesca with Beef
This easy slow-cooker ground beef and pasta recipe makes a great meal any night of the week.
Slow-Cooker Jambalaya
This hearty jambalaya is bursting with chicken, smoked turkey sausage and shrimp. It takes just 25 minutes to prep in the morning and then your slow cooker will work its magic and deliver a tasty meal at the end of the day.
Slow-Cooker Sweet & Sour Scallops
This recipe for slow-cooker scallops is sure to become a tried-and-true favorite for any seafood lover. Tender scallops quickly poach in a sweet and spicy sauce that has been cooking for hours. Brown rice completes the meal.
Slow-Cooker Pork Tenderloin
This tender slow-cooker pork tenderloin picks up tangy and sweet flavors from a tomato-based sauce that features the flavors of classic barbecue. Serve with crusty bread to sop up the sauce. Serve the leftover sauce with steamed hearty greens, creamy grits or shredded pork.
Corn Bread-Topped Chicken Enchilada Casserole
For a twist on the classic chicken enchilada casserole, this slow-cooker recipe is topped with homemade cornbread.
Slow-Cooked Beef with Carrots & Cabbage
In this main-dish recipe, the pot roast is slow-cooked with carrots and low-sodium beef broth. Toward the end of the cooking time, shredded cabbage is added in to round out the meal. Each of the two servings has just 215 calories.
Lamb Curry with Winter Squash
Serve this lamb curry with a steamed grain like brown rice, millet or whole-wheat couscous for soaking up the sauce. Or try a pile of al dente braised curly kale—its frilly leaves catch and hold the sauce nicely. If you prefer things spicier, use a hot Madras-style curry powder and add an extra Scotch bonnet pepper or two.
Slow-Cooker Shrimp Noodle Bowls
The aromatic vegetables in the broth create a light yet distinct flavor of classic noodle bowls. Adding the lime juice, fish sauce and shrimp at the end keeps them from overcooking and their flavors from becoming diluted. If you have it, drizzle toasted sesame oil on top of this slow-cooker shrimp dish for nutty flair. For the prettiest appearance, use whole basil and cilantro leaves instead of chopping them. Look for packaged lemongrass stalks near the plastic clamshells of herbs in the produce section of your supermarket.
Spicy Chicken Lasagna
Instead of spending hours at the stove making an Italian tomato sauce for your lasagna, let your slow cooker do the work. Your family will love the chicken and mushrooms in this makeover recipe for traditional lasagna.
Slow-Cooker Cod with Tomato-Balsamic Jam
Mellow, slightly sweet and devoid of the overt fishy flavor that’s polarizing for so many, this slow-cooker cod is perfect for pairing with a showstopping sauce like this tomato-balsamic jam. Diced pancetta provides a salty counterpart to the sweet onion, tomatoes, vinegar and honey and gives the jam complexity. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs, if desired.
Slow-Cooker Chicken & Vegetable Noodle Soup
This slow-cooker chicken noodle soup fits nicely into the Mediterranean diet thanks to plenty of vegetables, lean chicken breast and whole-wheat pasta. Pair it with a salad and toasted whole-grain bread for an easy, healthy dinner.
Pork Carnitas
This Mexican-inspired meal is an easy crowd-pleaser. Savory pulled pork is served atop crisp corn tortillas and topped with sour cream and salsa in this simple slow-cooker recipe.
Layered Brisket Dinner with Tangy Mustard Sauce
Perfectly seasoned red potatoes and baby carrots accompany this filling brisket dish.
Slow-Cooker Chicken & Wild Rice Soup with Asparagus & Peas
Use your crock pot all year with this healthy slow-cooker chicken soup recipe with fresh spring ingredients. Adding the asparagus and peas to the slow cooker for the last 20 minutes of cooking and leaving the lid off ensures that the vegetables stay bright green and are perfectly done without getting mushy.
Lamb & Rice
The sauce in this recipe is a heavenly mixture of tomatoes, spices, herbs and mustard. It provides amazing flavor to the lamb as they spend up to 12 hours together in the slow cooker.
Slow-Cooker Beef-Barley Soup with Red Wine & Pesto
Hearty, thick, rich—this is just how a winter soup should be. The meat and carrots become tender yet retain their texture, and the kale offers freshness. Garnish each serving of this slow-cooker beef and barley soup with additional pesto and fresh basil and oregano sprigs, if desired.
Weeknight Honey-Orange Chicken with Butternut Squash
Combine orange juice, cornstarch, soy sauce, honey, ginger, garlic, salt and crushed red pepper with chicken and butternut squash in this delicious slow-cooker recipe. Serve over high-protein quinoa, which contains all nine essential amino acids.
Slow-Cooker Chicken Chili
This simple slow-cooker chili features plenty of veggies and shredded chicken breast simmered in a smoky broth of chipotle chiles and tomato. The chili is finished with shredded cheese, avocados and cilantro, but feel free to add your own favorite toppings to jazz it up!
