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Make dinner easier this October with 31 Slow Cooker Recipes for Crocktober! You’ll find a full month of cozy dinners, including chicken, beef, pork, soups, tacos, roasts, and more.
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Table of Contents
October is officially Crocktober around here, and honestly, I can’t think of a better time to put the slow cooker to work.
The weather is cooling down, schedules are busy, and we’re heading straight into the busiest few months of the year. Having dinner quietly cooking away while you get on with everything else? That’s the kind of help I need in my life.
So, I’m celebrating Crocktober with 31 slow cooker recipes, one for every day of October. We’re talking cozy comfort food, easy weeknight dinners, hearty soups, tender roasts, taco-night favorites, and plenty of meals the whole family can dig into.
And no, you don’t actually have to make one every single day. Although if you want to take that challenge, I fully support your commitment to not turning on the oven for an entire month. 😅
What is Crocktober?
Crocktober is basically an excuse to show your slow cooker some extra love during October.
And really, the timing couldn’t be better. Fall is when I start craving the kinds of meals slow cookers do especially well. Think tender meat, hearty soups, rich sauces, and dinners that have been simmering away for hours.
For me, the biggest advantage is convenience. You can get dinner started earlier in the day, walk away, and come back later to most of the work already done.
Some days that’s just nice. Other days it feels like a minor miracle.
A whole month of slow cooker dinner ideas
I pulled together 31 of my favorite slow cooker recipes so there’s something different to try every day of the month.
You’ll find plenty of classic comfort food along with a few dinners that shake things up. There are beef, chicken, and pork recipes, soups, sandwiches, tacos, meatballs, and other easy family meals.
You certainly don’t need to follow the list in order, either. Pick whatever sounds good, move things around based on your schedule, or come back whenever you need another easy slow cooker dinner idea.
The goal isn’t to give you another October challenge you have to keep up with. It’s to make figuring out what’s for dinner a little easier.
📌 Save this Crocktober list
If your slow cooker tends to spend part of the year hiding in a cabinet, consider this its official invitation back to the kitchen.
Save or bookmark this post so you have all 31 Crocktober recipes in one place. It’s an easy list to come back to when you’re meal planning, making your grocery list, or staring into the refrigerator at 4 p.m. wondering what you’re supposed to do about dinner.
Been there. More times than I’d care to admit. 😂
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It31 days of Crocktober recipes
I’ve included a full month of slow cooker dinner ideas below. You can work your way through the list day by day or completely ignore it and choose whatever sounds best.
Slow Cooker Beef and Noodles
Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken
Slow Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast
Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Slow Cooker Stuffed Peppers
Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli
Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
Slow Cooker Carnitas
Slow Cooker Asian Pot Roast
Crockpot Shredded Chicken Tacos
Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
Easy Slow Cooker Pork Chops
Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken
Slow Cooker Dill Pickle Pot Roast
Slow Cooker Chicken Posole
Slow Cooker Chicken Stuffing Green Bean Casserole
Slow Cooker Italian Beef Sandwiches
Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice
Slow Cooker Mediterranean Pot Roast
Crockpot Creamy Chicken Enchiladas
Slow Cooker Hot Dog Chili
Slow Cooker Polynesian Pork
Slow Cooker Mississippi Meatballs
Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce
Slow Cooker Sauerbraten Beef in Gingersnap Gravy
Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken
Eastern NC Slow Cooker BBQ Pork and Sauce
Slow Cooker Italian Parmesan Tomato Soup
Slow Cooker Chipotle BBQ Meatballs
Slow Cooker Pork Roast
Tips for better slow cooker meals
Slow cookers are pretty forgiving, which is one reason I love them. Still, a few simple things can make the difference between an okay dinner and one you’ll actually want to make again.
- Know your slow cooker. They don’t all cook exactly the same. An older slow cooker may behave differently from a newer model, and even two similar models can run at slightly different temperatures. Once you know how yours cooks, it’s easier to adjust recipes when necessary.
- Try not to lift the lid. I know it’s tempting. Every time you remove the lid, though, you’re letting heat escape. Unless the recipe tells you to stir or add something, leave it alone and let the slow cooker do its job.
- Don’t automatically add extra liquid. Unlike cooking on the stovetop, very little moisture escapes from a covered slow cooker. Recipes often need less liquid than you might expect.
- Add certain ingredients later. Pasta, dairy products, and some vegetables don’t always need hours in the slow cooker. Follow the individual recipe instructions so they don’t end up mushy, curdled, or overcooked.
- Don’t overfill it. Your slow cooker needs enough room to cook food properly. If you’re doubling a recipe, make sure your slow cooker is large enough to handle the extra food safely.
Make Crocktober work for you
One of the best things about slow cooker meals is how easily they can fit into real life.
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Use the recipes with longer cooking times on your busiest days. Save the ones that need a little more attention for weekends or days when you’ll be around the house. If a recipe makes plenty of leftovers, plan it for a night when tomorrow’s lunch could use some help too.
You can also use this list to plan a week at a time instead of thinking about the entire month. Choose a few recipes, add the ingredients to your grocery list, and you’ve already answered the dreaded “what’s for dinner?” question several nights in advance.
That’s a win in my book.
FAQs
For many recipes, yes. You can often chop vegetables, measure seasonings, and prepare other ingredients ahead of time. Store everything safely in the refrigerator overnight, then assemble the recipe in the slow cooker in the morning. Avoid refrigerating food in the slow cooker insert unless the manufacturer says it’s safe to go directly from the refrigerator to cooking.
It’s best to thaw meat and poultry before adding it to the slow cooker. Frozen meat can take too long to reach a safe temperature when cooked low and slow. Thaw it safely in the refrigerator first, then follow the recipe as written.
A 6-quart slow cooker is a good all-purpose size for many family meals. However, the best size depends on the recipe. Slow cookers generally work best when they’re about halfway to two-thirds full, so use the size recommended in the individual recipe whenever one is given.
Sometimes, but LOW and HIGH aren’t always interchangeable for every recipe. A general rule is that cooking on HIGH takes roughly half as long as cooking on LOW, but ingredients and recipes behave differently. Large cuts of meat, in particular, often benefit from the longer, slower cooking time. When possible, follow the cooking setting and time listed in the recipe.
Many slow cooker meals freeze really well, especially soups, chili, shredded meats, sauces, and some casseroles. Let leftovers cool promptly, transfer them to freezer-safe containers, and freeze them in portions that make sense for your family. Creamy dishes, pasta, and potatoes can sometimes change texture after freezing, so check the individual recipe for specific storage and freezing instructions.
More slow cooker recipes
Thirty-one recipes should keep your slow cooker pretty busy this October, but you definitely don’t have to put it away when Crocktober ends.
I’ve got even more slow cooker and Crockpot recipes here on Love Bakes Good Cakes for those nights when you want dinner cooking without having to stand over the stove.
Because once we hit November and the holiday chaos starts?
We’ll probably need that slow cooker more than ever. 😅
Slow Cooker
Slow Cooker Refried Beans
Appetizers
Cranberry Chipotle Meatballs & Sausage
Slow Cooker
