5 Minute Prep Slow Cooker Meals

I love to have a slow cooker meal ready for dinner each day. But most days I forget to load the meals into my slow cooker when it really just takes a few minutes to prepare a delicious meal.

So I wanted to share with you 5 recipes for the work week that you can throw into the slow cooker in just a few minutes. These are low prep meals with lots of flavor. They are meals with minimal chopping and mostly dumping ingredients into your slow cooker.

All my recipes use a large Slow Cooker. You can check out my Amazon affiliate link for some suggestions for a slow cooker.

The recipes are below but you can click here for the printable versions of the recipe and click here for a shopping list.

Also look for these in your freezer section. They are about $1 a bag and they save so much time. I hate chopping up peppers and onions so these are always in my freezer!

 

Now for 5 delicious dinners you can throw in your slow cooker in under 5 minutes!

Chicken Cacciatore

(Serves 4-5)

• 2 pounds boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 red bell pepper (cut lengthwise)*
• 1/2 large onion, chopped*
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and fresh pepper to taste
• 3-4 potatoes chopped up (not too small)
• 1 bag of pre-cut baby carrots

Use 1 1/2 cups of the onions and pepper mix listed above to make it faster!

Instructions

1. Dump the ingredients into your Slow Cooker.
2. Cook 5-6 hours  on high or 7-8 hours on low.
3. Remove the bay leaves.
4. We also like to sprinkle some parmesan cheese on the dinner.

 

Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

• 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
• ¾ cup Caesar salad dressing
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• a dash of pepper
• ¼ cup fresh Parmesan cheese
• Rolls for sandwiches*
• Romaine Lettuce*
• Parmesan Cheese

Instructions:

Add the chicken, salad dressing, parsley, pepper, and cheese to your slow cooker. Serve on rolls with lettuce and cheese.

Tip – Add the Romaine lettuce to the bottom of the bun so the juices don’t soak into the bread and make it soggy.

This meal is great hot or cold. I have served it for dinner and then ate it cold the next day. It’s great for dinner or a pot luck!

Philly Chicken Sandwich

• 2-3 boneless,skinless chicken breasts (about 1.5 pounds)
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped (Or use the bag that’s already diced)
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoons Montreal Marinade seasoning
• grated Mozzarella cheese
• Good Hoagie Rolls

Instructions

• Add butter, green peppers, onions, chicken, and seasoning into the slow cooker.
• Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high 3-4 hours. Shred the meat and serve on a roll. Add cheese and broil until cheese is bubbly.

 

Delicious Pot Roast
(serves 4-5)

• 1 (2 ½  pound) boneless beef chuck roast
• 1 packet of Ranch dressing mix (dry seasoning mix)
• 1 packet brown gravy mix
• 4 Tablespoon dried onion flakes
• 1 cup of water
• baby carrots

You can chop up and add some potatoes but I prefer to make mashed potatoes to serve with this meal.

• Add all the meat, Ranch dressing packet, brown gravy packet, dried onion flakes, water, carrots, and (if cooking them with the meal) potatoes.
• Cook on high for 6-7 hours or low for 8-9 hours.

 

Ranch Pork Chops

• 1 (1oz) packet Ranch Dressing powder
• 6 boneless pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
• 1 can cream of mushroom or chicken soup
• ½ cup milk

Instructions

• Add all the ingredients to the slow cooker.
• Cover and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low 6-8 hours.

We love to eat this with mashed potatoes and broccoli. It’s important not to overcook them because it makes the best gravy!

Do those meals sound easy enough? You can even throw in the frozen meat and it will cool the meal perfectly! I have never altered the time but all slow cooers are different so take note of how long you cook your meals.

If you need help with meal planning check out this article about How To Save Money On Your Grocery Bill + Printable Menu and Grocery List.

Did you know that I have 40 slow cooker freezer meal recipes that you can prep and freeze and then dump them into the slow cooker?