5 Quick & Easy Crockpot Meals
Some days, the last thing I want to do at 5:30 is stand in the kitchen trying to figure out what everyone is going to eat.
That’s why I love a good crockpot meal. If I can throw a few ingredients in earlier in the day and have dinner basically waiting on us later, that’s a win in my book.
These five meals are simple, family-friendly, and made for the nights when you need dinner to be easy without feeling like you’re serving the same thing over and over again. Most of them use just a handful of ingredients, and several can be turned into more than one meal depending on what you serve them with.
Creamy Salsa Chicken
This one is probably the easiest of the bunch. It’s creamy, flavorful, and you can serve it so many different ways depending on what you already have at home.
What You’ll Need
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 jar salsa, about 16 oz
1 packet taco seasoning
1 block cream cheese, 8 oz
1/2 cup chicken broth
How to Make It
Place the chicken breasts in the bottom of the crockpot.
Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the chicken.
Pour the salsa over the top.
Cover and cook on LOW for 5–6 hours or HIGH for 3–4 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and shreds easily.
Shred the chicken directly in the crockpot using two forks.
Add the cream cheese and stir everything together.
Cover for another 15–20 minutes, then stir again until the cream cheese is completely melted and the sauce is smooth.
Serve With
Spoon it over white rice, stuff it into tortillas, make nachos, or use it for burrito bowls.
Little Nest Tip: If you have leftovers, turn them into quesadillas the next day. One crockpot dinner = two easy meals.
Crockpot BBQ Chicken
This is one of those dinners that tastes like you did way more work than you actually did. It’s perfect for sandwiches, but you can also serve the chicken by itself with your favorite sides.
What You’ll Need
2–3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1½ cups BBQ sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
Hamburger or brioche buns for serving
How to Make It
Place the chicken in the crockpot.
In a small bowl, mix the BBQ sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Pour the sauce over the chicken.
Cook on LOW for 5–6 hours or HIGH for 3–4 hours.
Once the chicken is tender, shred it with two forks.
Stir the shredded chicken back into the sauce and let it sit for another 10–15 minutes before serving.
Serve It With
Pile it onto a toasted bun and serve with coleslaw, pickles, fries, baked beans, or even a bag of chips if we’re keeping dinner extra easy.
Little Nest Tip: This chicken is also really good on baked potatoes or flatbread pizza if you don’t want sandwiches.
Easy Beef Tips & Gravy
This is pure comfort food and one of those meals that makes the house smell amazing all afternoon. Serve it over mashed potatoes and dinner feels like a whole Sunday meal with almost no work.
What You’ll Need
2 lbs beef stew meat
1 packet brown gravy mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
How to Make It
Add the stew meat to the crockpot.
Sprinkle the gravy mix, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper over the meat.
Add the cream of mushroom soup, beef broth, and Worcestershire sauce.
Stir everything together.
Cover and cook on LOW for 7–8 hours or HIGH for 4–5 hours, until the beef is tender.
Stir well before serving. If you want the gravy thicker, leave the lid off for the last 15–20 minutes.
Serve It With
Mashed potatoes are my favorite, but rice or egg noodles work just as well.
Little Nest Tip: Frozen mashed potatoes or refrigerated mashed potatoes make this meal even easier on a busy night.
Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings
Warm, creamy, filling, and basically everything you want when you need a cozy dinner without spending the evening standing over the stove.
What you’ll need
2–3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon dried parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can refrigerated biscuits
How to Make It
Place the chicken in the crockpot.
Add the cream of chicken soup, broth, seasonings, peas, and carrots.
Cover and cook on LOW for 5–6 hours or HIGH for 3–4 hours.
Remove the chicken, shred it, and stir it back into the crockpot.
Cut each refrigerated biscuit into 4–6 pieces.
Drop the biscuit pieces over the top of the chicken mixture.
Cover and cook on HIGH for about 60–90 minutes, or until the biscuit pieces are cooked through and no longer doughy in the center.
Serve It With
Honestly, this one is a whole meal by itself. If you want something on the side, add a simple salad or green beans.
Little Nest Tip: Try not to lift the lid while the dumplings are cooking. Keeping the heat trapped inside helps them cook properly.
Slow Cooker Sausage & Potatoes
This one is hearty, inexpensive, and requires hardly any prep. It’s also a great recipe for those weeks when you need something simple that everybody can scoop onto a plate and eat.
What You’ll Need
1–1½ lbs smoked sausage, sliced
1½–2 lbs baby potatoes, halved
1 small onion, sliced
3 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup chicken broth
How to Make It
Add the potatoes and sliced onion to the bottom of the crockpot.
Add the sausage on top.
Sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
Pour in the chicken broth.
Dot the butter over the top.
Cover and cook on LOW for 5–6 hours or HIGH for 3–4 hours, until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Stir everything together before serving.
Serve It With
Add green beans, broccoli, corn, or a simple side salad and dinner is done.
Little Nest Tip: You can throw a handful of baby carrots or chopped bell peppers into the crockpot too if you want to sneak another vegetable into the meal.
A Few Crockpot Tips That Make Busy Nights Easier
You really don’t have to overthink crockpot meals. A few little habits can make them even easier:
Prep ingredients the night before and keep them together in the fridge.
Use crockpot liners when you know cleanup is going to be the last thing you want to do.
Keep frozen rice, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and rolls on hand for quick sides.
Shred chicken right inside the crockpot whenever possible so you’re not dirtying another bowl.
If you’re cooking chicken, make sure it reaches 165°F in the thickest part before serving.
And remember: the crockpot is supposed to make your life easier. If that means using bottled sauce, canned soup, frozen vegetables, or refrigerated mashed potatoes, use them. Dinner still counts.
Some nights call for a homemade dinner from scratch, and some nights call for throwing a handful of ingredients into the crockpot and letting it do the work for you.
These five meals are the ones I’d keep in my back pocket for busy weeks, school nights, long workdays, or those afternoons when you already know you’re not going to want to cook later.
Pick one, toss everything in, and give yourself one less thing to worry about by dinnertime.