If you want to take back control of your eating, maintain a healthy diet, and save money from eating out, there’s only one thing you need to do: learn how to start meal prepping.

There are so many benefits of meal prepping, namely those mentioned above. Investing in the right kitchen tools can help you make meal prep easier and more convenient. 

A slow cooker is one of the best tools you can use to help prepare healthy and delicious meals in advance. Today, I’m sharing a round up of meal prep ideas you can make using a slow cooker.

6 Slow Cooker Meal Prep Recipes

Mississippi Pot Roast in a Bun

If you’re wanting a comfort food with a ton of flavor for dinner, you’ve got to try this Mississippi Pot Roast in a bun. I love this recipe for easy meal prepping ahead. Just cut the onions and the rest of the ingredients are dump and go. Let your slow cooker do all of the work. Come back in a few hours (maybe after work) and you’ve got an immense amount of flavor, tender meat, and an incredibly comforting dinner ready to serve.

Ingredients

6 oz Beef, chuck roast (stew meat), raw – 364 calories

½ Onion, yellow, large – 28 calories

2 tsp Ranch Seasoning – 16 calories

1 Tbsp Gravy mix (seasoning) – 20 calories

6 Peperoncini, jarred – 20 calories

1 Hot dog bun, whole wheat – 114 calories

Instructions

1. Chop onion into medium-sized chunks
2. Add roast, onion, seasonings, and drained peperoncini to your slow cooker
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours
4. Add to your bun
5. Enjoy!
6. No meat? Use chicken, or swap this meal out for another

Salsa Verde Slow Cooked Chicken

Not sure what to do with the chicken you bought? Try out this easy salsa verde chicken recipe idea. Using a slow cooker will help you save time from having to stand over the stove cooking, so you can get back focusing on other areas of your life that need attention. 

For the prep work, you’ll just need to cut the onions. And for the rest of the ingredients, just set it and forget it in the slow cooker.

Ingredients

1 Onion, yellow – 55 calories

6 oz Chicken breast, boneless, skinless, raw – 190calories

⅛ tsp Garlic salt – 0 calories

1 Tbsp Avocado oil (Tbsp) – 124 calories

½ cup Salsa verde – 32 calories

1 Tbsp Parsley, fresh – 0 calories

Instructions

1. Peel and quarter onions
2. Add oil, chicken, onions & seasoning to a crockpot/slow cooker
3. Cover, and cook on Low for 6-8 hours
4. With 30 minutes left in your slow cooker, shred your chicken and add in salsa verde, mix to combine
5. Enjoy!
6. No chicken? Swap this meal out for another

Slow Cooker Enchilada Bake

If you’re looking for another comforting meal, this is a recipe you can try that requires hardly any prep work. All the ingredients can be bought pre-prepped and it’s so easy to make a large batch. Just dump everything into your slow cooker and set it and forget it. When ready, it’s so delicious you’ll probably want to make it every week.

Ingredients

6 oz Chicken thigh, boneless, skinless, raw – 190calories

½ cup Corn, canned – 63 calories

¼ cup Beans & legumes, black beans, cooked – 57calories

¼ cup Enchilada sauce – 24 calories

⅛ cup Salsa – 8 calories

1 Tbsp Green Chiles, canned – 5 calories

2 Tbsp Cheese, shredded, cheddar (Tbsp) – 60calories

1 tsp Taco seasoning – 5 calories

Instructions

1. Note: this recipe works best when making multiple servings at once
2. Add chicken, enchilada sauce, salsa, green chiles, and taco seasoning to your slow cooker
3. Cook on low heat for 6 hours or high heat for 2-3 hours
4. Shred chicken with a fork, then add in corn, beans, and top with cheese
5. Heat in the slow cooker for another 30 minutes
6. No chicken? Use beans and cook for 1.5-2 hours total, or heat the contents on the stovetop. No dairy? Top with diced avocado.
7. Note: I ate this dish on top of stir fried cauliflower rice, so you can do so too, or regular rice if you prefer!

Slow Cooker Lamb Stew

If you’re wanting to make this one in the slow cooker during the week, it’s best to do the prep work ahead of time or even the night before. but don’t fret, you’ll only need to chop celery, carrots, and onions. You can prep-bag the ingredients and dump them into your slow cooker in the morning before heading off to work.

Ingredients

5 oz Lamb shoulder, raw – 398 calories

1 cup Celery stalks, chopped in half – 16 calories

2 Carrots, whole, large – 50 calories

1 Onion, yellow, large – 55 calories

1 tsp Avocado oil (tsp) – 41 calories

¼ tsp Garlic salt – 0 calories

1 tsp Thyme, dried – 0 calories

Instructions 

1. Note: This recipe works best when making multiple servings at once
2. Slice carrots, onion, and celery into medium chunks
3. Add oil to your slow cooker (instant pot, crock pot), then your vegetables, then your meat (you can place the meat in whole, or sliced into large chunks), then your seasonings
4. Cook on low heat for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours
5. Slice or shred your lamb into strips, and mix back into the stew
6. Add more seasoning to taste if you like
7. No meat? Swap this meal out for another.

Slow Cooker Taco Chicken

This is another staple when it comes to slow cooker recipes. What I love about this idea is the simplicity of the ingredients (requiring no additional prep work), yet it’s jam packed with flavor. 

Ingredients

6 oz Chicken breast, boneless, skinless, raw – 190calories

½ cup Beans & legumes, black beans, cooked – 114calories

½ cup Corn, canned – 63 calories

½ cup Salsa – 32 calories

1 tsp Avocado oil (tsp) – 41 calories

¼ tsp Garlic salt (tsp) – 0 calories

¼ tsp Red pepper flakes (tsp) – 0 calories

Instructions

1. NOTE: This is a “slow cooker” meal – you can use a crockpot, the instant pot, etc. You’ll likely prefer to make multiple servings at once.
2. Add oil to the bottom of your slow cooker, then add in the rest of your ingredients & give them a stir.
3. Cook your food on LOW for 6-8 hours, or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
4. Shred your chicken with a fork (either in the pot or out of the pot on a cutting board & re-mix it in).
5. Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Beef & Broccoli

This is one of those meals that could work for breakfast (as a rice bowl) or dinner. Save time by cutting your vegetables ahead, then the rest should be smooth sailing.

Ingredients

6 oz Beef, chuck roast (stew meat), raw – 364calories

1½ cups Broccoli – 36 calories

½ Onion, yellow, large – 28 calories

2 Tbsp Soy sauce (Tbsp) – 20 calories

1 tsp Avocado oil (tsp) – 41 calories

1 Tbsp Sesame seeds (Tbsp) – 50 calories

¼ tsp Ginger, ground – 2 calories

¼ tsp Garlic powder – 0 calories

¼ tsp Salt – 0 calories

Instructions 

1. This recipe works best when making multiple servings at once
2. Slice beef into strips
3. Add to a slow cooker (crock pot, Instant pot) with soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and oil
4. Stir contents
5. Cook on “low” for 6 hours or on “high” for 3 hours
6. Add broccoli florets to pot, stir to mix through, re-cover and cook for another 15 minutes on “low”
7. Top with sesame seeds, and enjoy!
8. No beef? Swap this meal for another.
9. Note: This recipe does not include rice, if you want rice – just add it and track it, if you’re tracking calories.

Can You Cook A Slow Cooker Meal The Night Before

Can you cook a slow cooker meal the night before? Yes. Making your meals the night in a slow cooker is safe as slow cookers are designed to cook food over a longer period of time. If you do choose to cook the food in your slow cooker overnight, just be sure to use a low heat setting and follow your user manual to make sure your batch is filled adequately.

How To Freeze Slow Cooker Meals For Meal Prep

Pick the right meal.

Not every slow cooker meal is created equal. If you desire to freeze a slow cooker meal you make, choose meals that include a sauce as to not make your protein become tough and dry. Great meals that freeze well are casseroles, stews, soups, and the taco slow cooker recipes I mentioned above.

Pre-portion your food.

When considering freezing a meal to eat later, consider getting individual food safety storage containers. You’ll want to pre-portion your food in smaller portions to make for easy reheating later. 

Lay a storage bag flat on a surface.

If freezing the full batch of the meal you just prepped, consider laying a storage bag flat to ensure you’re maximizing whatever space you have in the fridge.  Also, write instructions of the bag to include reheating instructions like oven temperature and number of minutes to reheat.

Like this and want more? Try these healthy breakfast meal prep ideas!