6 Slow Cooker Tips for Easy Weeknight Meals

Slow cookers and I have a complicated relationship. Growing up, they were the workhorse behind my family’s weeknight pot roasts and chilis, dishes I still love today, especially when the cooler weather calls for cozy cooking. But as someone who creates recipes for a living, I’ll admit to turning up my nose at slow cooker meals because I associated them with a set-it-and-forget-it cooking style — basically, not “real” cooking.

But why blame the appliance? No other piece of kitchen equipment offers the perk of walking away from it all day and returning to a hot meal. There’s real value in that. If I expect my slow cooker to whip up flavorful meals with little effort and no thought, I realized, that’s on me, not my slow cooker. This fall, I decided to show my slow cooker a little respect. I got reacquainted with it, testing various recipes to see what the appliance was good at and not so good at. 

Here’s what works, what doesn’t, and how to get the most flavor out of your slow cooker.

What slow cookers do best

In general, the best meals for the slow cooker are ones that benefit from moist-heat simmering. Here are some particularly great candidates for the appliance.

• Chuck roast: The low-and-slow cooking transforms tough, inexpensive cuts of beef like chuck roast into melt-in-your-mouth dishes like Dr Pepper–braised pot roast. (It’s also great for corned beef.)
• Pork shoulder: Also known as pork butt, this cut is tough yet marbled with fat. A few hours in the slow cooker turns it tender and rich. Barbecue, curry, and three-cup pork are just a few ways to make pork shoulder in the slow cooker.
• Broths and soup: Try using collagen-rich chicken wings and spices to make a fragrant chicken pho broth. 
• Beans: The steady, gentle heat of the slow cooker ensures beans are evenly cooked and perfectly creamy, as in my slow-cooker gigante beans with sausage, or a harissa white bean stew.
• Grains: Grains like farro soak up flavor during the long simmer. 
• Hearty or starchy vegetables: Vegetables such as as eggplant, parsnips, and cabbage can handle a long cook. The slow cooker also coaxes out their natural sweetness.
• Water-bath dishes: Try making jars of perfectly cooked sticky toffee overnight oats in the slow cooker. 

What to skip in a slow cooker

It’s equally important to understand the limitations of slow cookers. Skip lean cuts of meat, like chicken breasts and pork loin, and avoid pasta. There are plenty of slow cooker recipes out there for them, but the slow cooker isn’t the best tool for the job — lean meats can dry out, and pasta becomes mushy when it’s not cooked in boiling water. 

Six rules of slow cooking

The slow cooker is undeniably convenient, but using it incorrectly can lead to common issues like muted flavors or curdled dairy. Follow these rules to maximize the flavor in each slow cooker meal.

Defrost first

Thaw frozen food before placing it in your slow cooker unless a trusted recipe says otherwise. Dumping frozen meat into your slow cooker is a recipe for an upset stomach. Bacterial growth increases rapidly between 40°F and 140°F. In a slow cooker, large pieces of frozen meat won’t reach a food-safe temperature (above 140°F) before bacteria runs rampant. The one exception to this rule: A cup of frozen quick-cooking vegetables may be added to a hot dish as it finishes cooking.

Blend to thicken

Even the best slow cookers are not good at reducing cooking liquid, so to thicken a sauce or enhance the body of a soup, puree about 2 cups of your dish (don’t include any meat) with some cooking liquid until thick and smooth, then stir it back in. Alternatively, whisk 2 to 3 teaspoons of cornstarch with 1 cup of skimmed cooking liquid. Stir that into the slow cooker, and cook on high, uncovered, during the last 30 to 45 minutes of cooking, until thickened. 

Delay the dairy

Cheese is an emulsion of water and fat held together by a matrix of proteins. When exposed to heat for long periods in a slow cooker, the network begins to collapse. Eventually, the proteins bind together, separating from the fat and water, resulting in a curdled disaster. When working with dairy products that need to melt, stir them into your slow cooker during the last 30 minutes of cooking, just long enough to blend into your dish.

Add fresh ingredients at the end

Because slow cooking mutes flavors, save flavor boosters like fresh herbs, citrus juices, and acids for finishing. Add bright and punchy ingredients like vinegar, fish sauce, and mustard during the final few minutes of cooking to ensure they retain their sharpness. Adding tender vegetables and greens such as thinly sliced zucchini or spinach in the last minutes of cooking is another way to add freshness — use the residual heat of the slow cooker to barely cook them.

Less liquid = more flavor

The tight-fitting lid of a slow cooker traps all the moisture and steam from food while it cooks — and the moisture condenses on the lid and rains back onto your dish. The food you’ve added to the slow cooker will also release juices as it cooks. Because there is very little evaporation, reduce the amount of liquid you add to your dish. Otherwise, the flavors you’ve worked hard to build will taste watered down. About 1/2 cup of liquid per pound of meat is plenty when making a recipe in a slow cooker. 

Start with umami 

Flavors mellow but also marry well in a slow cooker, so go big with bringing in umami at the very beginning. More is more when it comes to aromatics, spices, and dried herbs. Front-load your slow cooking with umami-rich and earthy ingredients such as Parmesan cheese rinds, bacon, miso, Worcestershire, and mushrooms to build backbone and depth in your dish. Always brown meat before slow cooking; browning creates new flavor compounds that contribute a more complex flavor to the final result.

Follow these rules and reconnect with your slow cooker. You’ll find that it’s one of the most versatile kitchen appliances you’ve had all along.