21 high-protein dinners you can make in the slow cooker
Your slow cooker is on the job for dinner tonight, thanks to these delicious dishes! These healthy dinner recipes are packed with at least 15 grams of protein at a time to help support muscle repair, keep your body strong and more. Recipes like Slow-Cooker Sun-Dried Tomato & Spinach Pasta Bake and Slow-Cooker Loaded Broccoli & Chicken Soup are filling, delicious and require little effort on your part.
Slow-Cooker Marry Me Chicken with Barley
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell
Love this simple recipe for Marry Me Chicken—a dish with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes swimming in a delicious sauce. Our version adds cherry tomatoes and zucchini for an extra boost of veggies, as well as barley that soaks up the sauce and makes this dish a complete meal in one pot. Make sure the barley is completely submerged in the liquid so that it cooks evenly.
Bake Slow-Cooker Sun-Dried Easter & Spinach Pasta
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell
This easy vegetable pasta is high in protein and comes together effortlessly in the slow cooker, for an easy one-pot meal. A combination of sun-dried tomatoes, sun-dried tomato pesto and lots of vegetables provide a combination of sweet and savory flavors in every bite. Feel free to replace the sun-dried tomato pesto with basil pesto, which gives a new twist on the dish.
Broccoli and Slow Cooker Chicken Soup
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
This comforting soup is filled with broccoli and chicken in a creamy, cheesy base and finished with classic bacon and scallions. Frozen onions and rice retain their integrity and texture in the soup, but fresh chopped onions and cooked (not frozen) brown rice can be used in their place.
Slow-Cooker Three-Bean Chili Mac
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell
Chili meets mac and cheese in this slow cooker dinner. Hot tomato sauce, a Mexican canned tomato sauce that includes spices and cheeses for heat, kicks up the flavor.
Slow-Cooker Spinach & Artichoke Chicken Soup
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
If you love spinach and artichokes, this is the perfect soup for you. The cream base contains veggies and shredded chicken, which soaks up the broth while adding a protein boost.
Slow Cooker Chicken, Bacon & Potato Soup
This chicken potato soup is perfect for starting fall: It’s sweet enough for the start of soup season, yet brothy and veggie-packed so it doesn’t feel too heavy. This recipe is perfect for the weekend, when you can check out the slow cooker in just a few hours. Pair this easy soup with slaw or kale salad and whole-grain bread for a healthy, satisfying dinner.
Slow-Cooker Beef Curry
The long, slow cooking of delicious flavors while bold spices, in abundance, will hold their own over time. That’s what’s happening here with great flavors of Thai curry and fish sauce finished with fresh cilantro and lime juice, and together, they take inspiration from Thai curry. Serve over a bed of brown rice or brown rice noodles to soak up all the sauce.
Slow-Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili
Jason Donnelly
If you love Buffalo wings, you’ll love the flavors of this warm, flavorful chili that comes together easily in the slow cooker. Sour cream helps reduce the heat, but you can also use sour yogurt.
Beef marinated in black vinegar
The sweet aroma of star anise will welcome you home after this braise has been cooking all day. Serve with rice or rice noodles.
Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
This recipe for chicken and dumplings uses store-bought biscuits for moist and tender dumplings once they’re tossed in a delicious mix of delicious mushrooms, chicken, and veggies. In order to season the chicken stew, we use flour and a butter paste known as beurre manié—a common ingredient in soups, stews and sauces.
Kale, Wild Rice & Chicken Stew
Chicken thighs are perfectly tender in just a few hours in the slow cooker. Plus, cooking everything together on the bottom and slowly infuses all the flavors together for added complexity in every bite.
Slow-Cooker Arroz con Pollo (Chicken and Rice)
This one-pot chicken dish, inspired by traditional Spanish and Latin American cuisine, comes together easily in the slow cooker.
Creamy White Bean Soup with Smoked Ham Hocks
Sweet, starchy and filling, this hearty, rustic soup is the epitome of comfort. And it’s easy: The beans are dry – no need to soak them.
Chicken Pita Sandwiches with Harissa Sauce
We serve lemon-oregano chicken pitas with lots of toppings, but you can ditch the pita and serve it over cooked bulgur, cauliflower rice or a bed of greens.
Crock-Pot Pineapple Chicken
This Slow Cooker Chicken with Pineapple has a ginger and sesame coating and is made with simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry! Look for fresh peeled and cored pineapple to make the assembly even easier. Serve over brown rice to enjoy the sweet and savory sauce.
Slow-Cooker Chicken Marsala
This slow-cooked chicken Marsala gets its full flavor from lots of mushrooms and fragrant shallots. Wheat pasta soaks up the delicious broth. Serve it with a simple green salad for a comforting dinner.
Slow-Cooker Chicken & White Bean Stew
Artist: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Phoebe Hausser, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall
This slow cooker chicken recipe is perfect for a weeknight dinner. Serve this Tuscan-inspired dish with crusty bread, a glass of Chianti and a salad.
Slow-Cooker White Bean & Sausage Cassoulet
This slow cooker cassoulet comes together quickly without the fuss. Grinding some of the beans makes the broth more flavorful, while a sprinkling of fried panko adds a different thickness. Serve on a crusty baguette to soak up every last drop of sauce. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs, if desired.
Slow Cooker Glazed Meatballs
Delicious, delicious, delicious, delicious – these slow-cooked meatballs might just be your new go-to dish. They cook in a pot in only about an hour and a half, so it’s a great dinner solution for days when you don’t have much time to prepare dinner.
Slow-Cooker Pork Bolognese Sausage
Here’s the meaty, saucy pasta we all crave. If you have leftover slow cooker bolognese, freeze it and reheat it on a cold night when you need a hot, comforting dish. Serve with a light, hearty salad and crusty bread. For the best look, sprinkle with fresh basil leaves instead of chopped oregano.
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