Edited by Isabel Ehlert
There is a specific kind of tired that happens around 4 p.m. on a Tuesday. The kids have practices.
The dog has been outside three times and still wants to go again. I have been on my feet since 6 a.m.
And somebody is going to want dinner in two hours, and that somebody is going to be everybody.
These are the dinners that save me on those days. You dump the ingredients in a crockpot or a casserole dish, you close the lid or the oven door, and you walk away.
No standing at the stove. No babysitting the timer.
By dinnertime, there is something hot and real on the table, and you did not have to find another reserve of energy to make it happen.
Mississippi Pot Roast▼
If I could only keep one slow cooker recipe, it would be this one. A chuck roast, a packet of ranch, a packet of au jus, a stick of butter, and some pepperoncini peppers.
That is it. Five ingredients into the crockpot, lid on, eight hours later you have a beef roast that practically falls apart when you look at it.
I serve it over mashed potatoes, in sandwiches the next day, and sometimes I just eat it out of the bowl. There is nothing about this recipe that is hard, and there is nothing about the result that tastes like it came from five ingredients.
I toss the roast in frozen more often than not and just add an hour or two to the cook time. Nobody has ever been able to tell.
Leftovers freeze great in a freezer bag with some of that gravy spooned over the top. Thaw it in the fridge overnight and warm it low and slow so it stays tender instead of dry.
Get the recipe: Mississippi Pot Roast
Crockpot BBQ Chicken▼
Chicken breasts in the crockpot with barbecue sauce. That is the whole recipe.
Six hours later you have shredded barbecue chicken that you can serve on buns, over rice, in tacos, on a salad, or honestly just by itself with a fork.
This is the recipe I make on weekends when I know the week is going to eat me alive. We eat it for two or three different meals, and I do not feel like I am serving leftovers because the format keeps changing.
Frozen chicken breasts work fine here, just plan on the longer end of the cook time. I always double the batch because it disappears fast once it hits taco night.
A cheap bag of coleslaw mix on top of the sandwich adds crunch without any extra work. It also freezes well once shredded, so I portion it flat in bags for quick lunches later.
Get the recipe: Crockpot BBQ Chicken
No Peek Chicken▼
This is the casserole my mom Carol used to make on Wednesday nights in the 90s. You dump rice, broth, soup, chicken, and onion soup mix into a casserole dish, cover it tight with foil, and you do not look at it for an hour and a half.
That is where the name comes from. You really do not peek.
When you finally pull the foil off, the chicken is tender, the rice has soaked up everything good, and you have a real dinner that took you about four minutes to put together. Some recipes from the 90s should stay in the 90s.
This is not one of them.
The foil seal is the whole trick, so press it down tight around the edges of the dish. Steam builds up underneath and that is what cooks the rice properly without it turning gummy or dry.
This one reheats beautifully covered with a splash of extra broth in the microwave. It is also an easy dish to bring to a church potluck since it travels well straight in the casserole dish.
Get the recipe: No Peek Chicken
Angel Chicken Rice Casserole▼
The sweet name is because the casserole tastes a little heavenly, which sounds dramatic until you eat a bite. Tender chicken and rice in a creamy, dreamy sauce, baked together until the edges turn golden.
It is somehow elegant and incredibly easy at the same time.
I serve this when I want a weeknight dinner that feels a little nicer than usual without me doing anything extra.
This is a great one to assemble the night before and just slide into the oven the next evening. Cover it tight and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to bake.
A simple green salad or steamed vegetable is really all it needs alongside it. The rice and sauce are rich enough to carry the whole plate on their own.
Get the recipe: Angel Chicken Rice Casserole
Crock Pot Shredded Beef Tacos▼
A chuck roast, some spices, a can of green chilies, into the crockpot. Eight hours later, the beef shreds with a fork.
Pile it into warm tortillas with whatever toppings you have, and you have taco night without standing at the stove browning meat.
I make a big batch on Sundays. Taco Tuesday is suddenly the easiest night of the week.
The meat freezes beautifully in the leftover juices, which keeps it from drying out when you reheat it. I portion it into meal sized bags so I can pull just what I need.
Warm your tortillas in a dry skillet for ten seconds a side so they do not tear. It is a small step that makes the whole taco feel like it came from a restaurant.
Get the recipe: Crock Pot Shredded Beef Tacos
Pulled Beef Slow Cooker▼
Same idea as the shredded beef tacos but seasoned more for sandwiches and rice bowls. Tender, savory, falls apart when you so much as point a fork at it.
I make this when I know I want a week of different dinners from one batch of meat.
Sandwiches on Monday. Rice bowls on Tuesday.
Stuffed sweet potatoes on Wednesday. Pulled beef does a lot of heavy lifting in this house.
I always save some of the cooking liquid separately in the fridge. A splash of it stirred back in when reheating brings the whole thing back to life.
This is an easy one to double if you have a big crockpot, since the extra meat freezes flat in a bag for another week entirely. It thaws quick enough to use straight from frozen in a skillet.
Get the recipe: Pulled Beef Slow Cooker
Crockpot Apple Dump Cake▼
Dessert counts. Sometimes the dump and go dinner needs a dump and go dessert to go with it.
Apple pie filling, a box of yellow cake mix, a stick of butter, all in the crockpot. Three or four hours later you have a warm apple cake that tastes like fall in a bowl.
Serve it with ice cream. Eat it for breakfast the next day.
Pretend you tried.
I like to slice the butter thin and lay it evenly over the dry cake mix so it melts down instead of pooling in one spot. That gives you a more even, golden top all around.
Leftovers reheat fine in the microwave for twenty or so seconds, straight in the bowl. It also holds up cold from the fridge if anyone in your house eats cake for breakfast without pretending otherwise.
Get the recipe: Crockpot Apple Dump Cake
Crockpot Lava Cake▼
The chocolate version of the dump dessert situation. Chocolate cake mix, pudding mix, milk, eggs, chocolate chips.
Dump it in the crockpot, set it, and a few hours later you have a warm gooey chocolate cake with a molten center that ruins you for boxed brownies.
This is the dessert I make when I want my kids to think I am magical. They do not need to know how easy it was.
Try to resist lifting the lid while it cooks, even though the smell makes that hard. Every peek lets heat escape and can leave you with a less gooey center.
It is best eaten warm the same night while that molten middle is still soft. If you do have extra, a quick reheat in the microwave with a scoop of ice cream on top brings it right back.
Get the recipe: Crockpot Lava Cake
Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff▼
Tender beef in a creamy mushroom sauce, served over egg noodles. It is the food version of a really cozy blanket.
I make this when the weather turns and we all need a little extra comfort at the dinner table.
The crockpot does the long, slow work that makes the beef so tender. You stir in the sour cream at the end and serve it.
That is the whole job.
Cook your egg noodles fresh right before serving so they do not turn mushy sitting around. The sauce itself keeps and reheats fine on its own in the fridge for a couple days.
If you are feeding picky eaters, mushrooms are easy to leave out or blend into the sauce so nobody even notices. It is also a good one to freeze in portions, minus the noodles, for a night when you truly cannot even.
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
Pork Butt Roast▼
A pork butt is the most forgiving piece of meat there is. Rub it with spices, put it in the crockpot, walk away.
Eight hours later you have pulled pork that tastes like you spent the day tending a smoker, except you spent the day at work or running errands or sitting on the porch.
I make this on the weekend and we eat it three different ways through the week. It is the gift that keeps on giving.
I like to shred it while it is still warm and stir some of the juices right back in before it cools. That keeps it from drying out even after a few days in the fridge.
It is also one of the easiest meats to freeze in flat bags for later. A frozen bag of pulled pork thawed overnight is basically a whole dinner already done.
Get the recipe: Pork Butt Roast
Crockpot Philly Cheesesteak▼
Tender beef, peppers, onions, and provolone, slow cooked until everything melts together. Serve it on hoagie rolls with extra cheese melted on top, and you have a dinner that feels like a treat without any of the standing at the grill effort.
This is the recipe I make when my husband asks me what is for dinner and I want him to be impressed. It works every time.
A cheap bag of frozen peppers and onions works just as well as fresh if that is what you have on hand. Nobody has ever complained at my table about that swap.
The meat and juices freeze well on their own, so I just toast fresh rolls and melt the cheese under the broiler when I am ready to serve again. It tastes just as good the second time around.
Get the recipe: Crockpot Philly Cheesesteak
Crockpot Crack Chicken Pasta▼
The recipe got its name for a reason. Chicken, ranch seasoning, cream cheese, bacon, and pasta.
It is creamy, salty, savory, and the kind of dinner the kids ask for again the next week.
This is one of those recipes that everybody seems to have an opinion about because everyone has tried a version of it somewhere. This version is the one I keep coming back to.
I throw the chicken in frozen before I leave for the day and forget about it until the whole house smells like a ranch dressing miracle. No browning, no babysitting.
Shred it right in the pot with two forks and stir the cooked pasta in at the very end. The leftovers reheat like a dream with a splash of milk.
Get the recipe: Crockpot Crack Chicken Pasta
Crack Chicken▼
The base recipe that started the whole crack chicken empire. Cream cheese, ranch, bacon, cheddar, and chicken, all in the crockpot.
You can use it as a dip, as a sandwich filling, over rice, over potatoes, or right out of the pot with a spoon.
This is the recipe I send to my friends who are new moms. Five ingredients.
Zero standing. Endless ways to serve it.
I like to make a double batch and use half for dinner, then send the other half home in the good Tupperware for whichever friend needs it most that week. It reheats gently on the stove with a splash of milk stirred in so it does not break.
Leftovers freeze fine too, though the texture is smoothest if you thaw it in the fridge overnight rather than the microwave. It is also the easiest game day dip you will ever make since it is basically already one.
Get the recipe: Crack Chicken
More set it and forget it reads: crockpot dump dinners | crockpot recipes lazy moms swear by | 78 dinners that cook themselves
Questions I Get About These Dinners
Can I make these ahead of time?
Most of these come together fast enough that you do not need to, but the casseroles like No Peek Chicken and Angel Chicken Rice Casserole can be assembled the night before. Just cover and refrigerate, then cook as directed.
What is the best way to freeze the leftovers?
Let everything cool first, then portion it flat in freezer bags so it thaws quickly and takes up less space in the deep freezer. Most of the shredded meats and saucy dinners freeze beautifully this way.
Can I use frozen meat straight in the crockpot?
I do it all the time with chicken breasts and roasts, just plan on extending the cook time by an hour or two. Check that everything reaches a safe temperature before you shred or serve it.
My kids are picky. Will they eat these?
These are pretty mild and familiar flavors on purpose, which is why they land well even with picky eaters at my own table. Mushrooms, peppers, and onions can usually be left out or swapped without ruining the dish.
Can I double any of these for a bigger crowd or more leftovers?
Almost all of them double easily as long as your crockpot or casserole dish has the room. Just know it may add some time to the cook, especially for the slow cooker meats.