Chicken
$2.24per plate
Set it and forget it
7 Easy Crockpot & Slow Cooker Recipes
7 real crockpot and slow cooker dinners on Budget Plates - load the pot in the morning, walk away, and come back to dinner. Every recipe here shows its exact cost per serving, total time, and servings up front, from a $0.71 bowl of vegetable soup to a full pot roast that feeds a family for $2.61 a plate.
7recipes
$0.71cheapest plate
$1.71median price
3categories
The full collection
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All 7 crockpot & slow cooker recipes
Chicken
$1.88per plate
Slow Cooker
$1.71per plate
Slow Cooker
$1.60per plate
Slow Cooker
$2.61per plate
Slow Cooker
$1.21per plate
Soup
$0.71per plate
Good to know
Cooking with a crockpot or slow cooker
Crockpot or slow cooker - what's the difference?
“Crockpot” is a trademarked brand name for what is generically called a slow cooker, the way people say “Kleenex” for tissue - most home cooks use both words for the same appliance.
Every recipe in this collection works in any brand of slow cooker, or the “slow cook” setting on a multi-cooker; none require the specific branded appliance.
Food safety in a slow cooker
Thaw meat in the refrigerator before it goes in - starting from frozen leaves it in the USDA's 40–140°F “danger zone” too long before the slow cooker catches up.
Go by temperature, not just the clock: 165°F for poultry, 160°F for ground meat, and 195–205°F for a whole cut of beef or pork you're pulling or shredding.
Storing and reheating leftovers
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of cooking, covered, and use them within 3–4 days (or freeze for longer).
Reheat on the stovetop over medium-low heat or in the microwave, stirring occasionally, until it reaches 165°F throughout - a splash of broth loosens anything that thickened in the fridge.
How we price these recipes
Every cost per serving on this page is each recipe's total ingredient cost divided by its servings, based on typical U.S. grocery prices at the time it was costed - not a live checkout total.
See how we calculate costs for the full method.
Questions
FAQ
How many crockpot and slow cooker recipes are in this collection?
7 as of this page's last build, spanning Chicken, Slow Cooker, Soup. Prices run from $0.71 to $2.61 a serving, and total time (mostly hands-off) runs from 4 to 8 hours.
What makes a recipe a “crockpot” recipe on this page?
The dish is cooked primarily in a slow cooker or crockpot, as written in the recipe's own instructions - not a recipe that merely mentions a slow cooker as one optional method among several. A short stovetop step (like browning meat first) doesn't disqualify a recipe when the actual cooking - hours of it - happens in the slow cooker.
What's the cheapest crockpot recipe here?
The least expensive plate in this collection costs about $0.71 a serving, and the median across all 7 recipes is $1.71.