37 Simple Crock Pot Family Meals To Take The Struggle Out Of What’s For Dinner
You’ve got that crockpot AND you’ve got that family to feed – what should you make that everyone will EAT?
Ah, the struggle of busy mom life! But I’ve got you covered with these dump and go crockpot meals to make ahead on those busy days for dinner when YOU are ready!
Welcome to Life Hacks for Moms - we hope you enjoy all our tips and tricks for busy moms! Please note that we use affiliate links and ads to generate income at no cost to you.Thanks for visiting - and please feel free to share!
I don’t know about you, but after a LONG day, the last thing I feel like doing is COOKING! That’s why I keep a going list of LAZY EASY Crockpot dump meals.
Those types of make ahead meals truly save me on those evenings when I really could just eat a sandwich and go to bed (and yes, let everyone else fend for their own food haha!)
But since I fell in love with my crockpot, I tend to eat less sandwiches and make more REAL dinners that simmer away during the day.
I’ve also learned some nifty slow cooker tricks too.
Like how to cook chicken leg quarters in the crockpot so they’re juicy AND have crispy skin!
It’s a simple little crockpot cooking hack that’s SO easy, but I never thought you could do it.
Just crumble up aluminum foil and put it at the bottom of your crock. THEN lay your chicken legs on TOP of the foil.
Season your chicken quarters however you’d like then cook on HIGH for 5 hours.
That’s it!
No, you do NOT add liquid of any kind!
All the grease from the chicken will cook AWAY from the legs to the bottom of the crock so your chicken turns out so moist, fall off the bone tender and with a yummy crispy skin!
Yep, I love me my crockpot!
When I’m rockin’ mom life, I’ll pick one of these recipes and dump everything in my slow cooker in the morning… and let it cook all day until we are ready to eat.
Or at least until I hear:
Hey Mom! What’s For Dinner???
So here ya go….
Here’s what’s for dinner!
Simple Crock Pot Family Meals
Oh so simple family meals to make in your crockpot slow cooker! From tender roasts to pork chops, pasta, sausage and ground beef options, these the highest-approved crock pot meals I've made for my family (and will make again!)
This Crockpot Chicken Marsala serves up tender chicken served with creamy mushrooms and wine sauce. Hearty, delicious, and simple to make!
Flavorful shredded chicken and tender penne pasta come together in a light and creamy sauce. This Crock Pot garlic Parmesan chicken pasta is an easy dinner that the entire family will love!
This creamy potato hamburger soup is such a simple homemade soup with ground beef and veggies. Perfect for cold nights when you need an easy meal to warm you up!
This Slow Cooker Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing recipe reminds me of a meal that my mom would have made when I was growing up! Toss a few easy ingredients into the slow cooker and dinner will be ready without much work at all! This 1980s Slow Cooker Chicken and Stuffing only takes about 5 minutes to toss together!
Dinner is a breeze with this Crock Pot Chicken and Rice Recipe. The tender chicken and cheesy rice make an amazing meal your family will go crazy for.
This is THE best slow cooker chuck roast EVER! Only 4 ingredients to dump and go in your crockpot for a cut-with-a-fork tender crock pot pot roast and the best gravy!
Crockpot pork chops and rice with cheese is a great slow cooker dinner, is budget-friendly, and is one of the easiest meals to make. The recipe is a great way to jazz up pork chops and create a filling, hearty meal for the family.
When it comes to cooking simple meals in my slow cooker, this crockpot chicken and noodles is probably my family’s favorite.
Best of all, you can use fresh OR frozen chicken breasts! And oh MY - the gravy is SO good!
If you want an easy comfort food meal in the slow cooker, this cheesy kielbasa meal is for you! You can also make it into an actual soup by adding more milk at the beginning if you prefer.
This Beef and Broccoli takes just minutes to throw in the slow cooker and is among my top five favorite recipes on the site! The slow cooker beef and broccoli melts in your mouth, and the flavor is out of this world!
Crockpot Swiss steak is one of those rich, hearty, meaty dinner recipes that has stood the test of time!
Tender beef steaks are cooked in a rich tomato brown gravy with veggies. This recipe is perfect over mashed potatoes or egg noodles!
This Slow Cooker Queso Chicken Tacos recipe can easily be prepared in 10 minutes and then cooks itself in the crockpot until you’re ready to enjoy your Mexican meal. Tender shredded chicken is simply combined with flavorful seasonings, diced tomatoes and green chiles, smothered in salsa con queso, and served in tortillas.
This crock pot Teriyaki Chicken recipe only takes 5 minutes to prepare. Slow cooker teriyaki chicken is a flavorful main dish, perfect for busy weeknights! Serve with stir fry vegetables and fried rice.
This Chicken Enchilada Soup can be made on the Stove Top or the Crock Pot and is easy to make with chicken breast, thighs, or leftover chicken! It’s creamy, it’s cheesy, and it’s made with simple ingredients. Perfect for cozy soup weather.
Crock Pot Million Dollar Spaghetti is a hearty slow cooker pasta recipe loaded with Italian sausage, marinara sauce, cream cheese, sour cream and mozzarella cheese.
Crock Pot Beef Ragu Recipe has everything you need for a great dinner in the slow cooker. This dish is loaded with lots of beef, tomatoes, pasta and more for the best meal your family will love.
Slow Cooker Stuffed Shells with Meat – loaded with creamy ricotta, parmesan cheese and melty mozzarella, add sausage or ground beef to make it a hearty meal.
Slow cooker honey garlic chicken is just 5 ingredients and minutes to prep and smells amazing as it cooks! You’ll want to drizzle this delicious sauce over your whole plate!
This super easy slow cooker meal is made with just 2 ingredients, and is perfect for the entire family on busy weeknights.
Crockpot Chicken and Potatoes is a delicious crock pot meal made with juicy chicken thighs, potatoes and carrots in a flavorful gravy. This is one of the best slow cooker recipes for an easy dinner!
Rich sausage, hearty potatoes, and tender, earthy green beans come together in this incredibly flavorful one-pot meal. It turns out that cooking sausage and potatoes in the crockpot is one heck of an awesome dinner plan!
This easy Crock Pot Taco Casserole is simple dump-and-go slow cooker recipe that everyone will love. The ground beef requires no pre-browning, so you can easily whip up a hearty and delicious crowd pleasing casserole for a crowd or for dinner tonight.
With just 7 simple ingredients, you can transform a boring pork loin into a stunning and delicious Cranberry Orange Pork Roast that is perfect for entertaining dinner guests or a simple Sunday family meal.
Dump and go crockpot dinners – 19 super simple crock pot “struggle” meals to throw together when money is tight and the eaters are picky!
Ever heard of “struggle meals”? They’re dinner recipes that are dirt cheap to make PLUS, for ME, school night dinners ARE a struggle with my table full of picky eaters...
These EASY “dump ‘n go” recipes are perfect for busy school nights when you just want to throw cheap ingredients into a crockpot and forget about it until YOU are ready for dinner.
Super simple, low prep AND budget-friendly – yes!
Planning Sunday Dinner?
Why not let your crockpot do the cooking?
