Crockpots are one of my favorite cooking appliances! I use the slow cook function of my Instant Dutch Oven multiple times each week. Crockpots use a slow cooking method — which is why they’re also called slow cookers — to gradually heat your meal throughout the day. I love being able to start my day tossing ingredients in my crockpot, setting the time and cooking temperature, then walking away knowing that when dinner time comes I’ll have a hot and ready meal with no night-time effort required by me.
The slow cooking style of a crockpot produces extremely tender meats and rich and hearty stews. That’s why it’s one of my go-to ways to cook a delicious pot roast (or use cubed meat for a hearty beef stew). They’re also handy in the fall when you may be using your oven and stove to cook up tasty treats, or holiday sides to get ready for parties. Similar to a sheet pan dinner, I know at the end of the meal there’s only one dish to scrub making cleanup a breeze.
Since fall is now upon us I thought I’d share a few of my favorite fall crockpot recipes with you to bring a comforting warmth to your table in a simple and satisfying way. Be sure to let me know in the comments which ones were your favorites or if you have a recipe rec that I need to try.
8 Best Fall Crockpot Recipes
Crockpots are a versatile tool and they’re adaptable to a wide variety of ingredients, meals, and diets. Here are some of my favorite fall dinner ideas that you can make using a crockpot.
Fall Chicken Crockpot Recipes
Chicken is a dream to cook in a slow cooker as it absorbs the flavors it’s cooked with while it gets fall-apart tender.
Slow Cooker Creole Chicken and Sausage
A Pinch of Yum has come up with a real winner in this easy crockpot recipe! It has all the warmth and heartiness you could ask for in a fall recipe and to top it all off you can whip it up in less than 30 minutes! After cooking your creole chicken and sausage, you can serve it over rice, pasta, potatoes, or cauliflower rice.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes.
- Cook Time: Low for 6-8 hours or high for 3 hours.
- Ingredients: Chicken breasts, Andouille sausage, Creole seasoning, tomato sauce, tomato paste, cayenne, onions, garlic, diced tomatoes, and chicken broth.
Slow Cooker Chicken Piccata
If you’re a fan of piccata, you probably know it as a dish that you bread and then fry in the skillet. Defined Dish has come up with a delicious crockpot chicken piccata that has all the classic Italian flavors you love but prepared in a way that allows you to do the prep work mid-day and have it ready for family or guests in the evening! Using chicken breasts, you still pound the cutlet thin, bread it, and fry it to get a crisp golden exterior. After the chicken has crisped nicely on the outside, create a roux in the same skillet, pour it over the chicken with some lemon juice, and let the whole thing cook to tender perfection in the crockpot.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes.
- Cook Time: Low for 4 to 6 hours.
- Ingredients: Chicken breasts, salt and pepper, flour, olive oil, parsley, lemon juice, capers, chicken broth, and butter or ghee.
Fall Crockpot Side Dishes
Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese
I may be biased, but I love my slow cooker mac and cheese recipe! It’s simple enough for the kids to help with, quick to prepare, and makes a creamy, cheesy, delicious side dish for cool fall nights. Mac and cheese is the perfect fall comfort food, and the crock pot makes the process easy because you cook low and slow, melting the cheese so there’s no risk of it burning.
Pro tip: use this countertop grater to quickly shred your own cheese; it melts better than the prepackaged shredded cheese which is coated with a powder to prevent caking and inhibits smooth melting.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: Low for 2.5 hours
- Ingredients: Elbow macaroni, salt and pepper, water, butter, sharp cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, Dijon mustard, sour cream, whole milk, and evaporated milk.
Crockpot Three Cheese Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are a perfect fall side dish to make in your slow cooker. While your main dish is cooking in the oven, or on the stove, you can make use of this handy appliance to cook up a delicious side dish with zero stress. Half Baked Harvest’s three-cheese mashed potatoes are as good as it sounds. To make this simple recipe, cook the potatoes in the slow cooker on high for 4 to 5 hours, and when the potatoes are tender, add in your milk and your cheese. The crockpot keeps the potatoes nice and warm, evenly melting the cheese and giving you a creamy, filling side dish your whole family will love.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 to 5 hours on high, or 6 to 8 hours on low.
- Ingredients: Yukon potatoes, sage, butter, garlic, parmesan, chicken broth, whole milk, salt and pepper, cheddar cheese and gruyere cheese.
Fall Vegetarian Crockpot Recipes
Although meat tastes delicious when cooked in a slow cooker, it’s not the only thing you can put in there! Here are a few of my favorite fall vegetarian crockpot recipes.
Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Dal with Cauliflower Rice
A crockpot favorite of mine is my slow cooker butternut squash dal with cauliflower rice recipe. This meal is perfect for fall with its warm spices and hearty vegetables. The butternut squash and tomatoes pair well with the warm ginger, turmeric, and cumin. Because this recipe is served over cauliflower rice it’s a good fall gluten free crockpot recipe as well!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: High for 3 hours
- Ingredients: cauliflower rice, turmeric, ginger, cumin, butternut squash, garam masala, salt, cilantro, vegetable broth, cayenne pepper, tomatoes, garlic, onion, and olive oil.
Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup
Butternut squash is a classic fall vegetable that’s sweet, versatile, rich and hearty when turned into a soup. Well Plated by Erin has come up with a delicious butternut squash soup that’ll top anyone’s list of favorite slow cooker meals. Using coconut milk, apples, nutmeg, and the rich flavors of the squash creates a creamy soup that’s easy to serve a crowd. Because this soup only takes 10 minutes to prepare and freezes well for up to 3 months, it’s a great meal prep or make-ahead option. When you’re short on time but you want a warm and filling meal, simply pull it out and heat it up.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 hours
- Ingredients: Apples, butternut squash, onions, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, coconut milk, salt, olive oil, and either vegetable or chicken broth.
Fall Paleo Crockpot Recipes
Paleo recipes have a lot of lean proteins, fish, nuts, and seeds while limiting the amount of sugars, starches, and processed ingredients used. Here are a few delicious fall paleo crockpot recipes!
Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
Slow cooker pork is like nothing you’ve ever tasted before. It’s sweet, juicy, and falls apart right off your fork. That’s what makes these slow cooker pork carnitas from Damn Delicious some of the best comfort foods to add to your fall slow cooker recipes. To make this simple recipe, mix your dry seasonings and rub them over the pork, then add your pork and liquid ingredients to the crock pot. Crisp up your carnitas shells in the oven and top them with your delicious slow cooker pork.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: Low for 8 hours or high for 4 to 5 hours.
- Ingredients: Pork shoulder, salt and pepper, oregano, cumin, chilli powder, garlic, onions, and fresh lime and orange juice.
Slow Cooker Paleo Beef Stew
Beef stew is one of my favorite things to cook in the crockpot. The slow and low cooking style breaks up the beef so it’s nice and tender while the rich stew flavors sink into the meat and veggies. Plus, cooking a delicious meal of beef stew in the slow cooker is super simple, and you can make this Paleo beef stew from Parsnips and Pastries with only 20 minutes of hands-on work. One thing to note about this recipe is that it calls for potatoes. For a lower-carb option, swap out the potatoes for cauliflower florets, sweet potatoes, or additional root vegetables.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: Low for 8 hours
- Ingredients: Salt and pepper, oregano, thyme, paprika, rosemary, cremini mushrooms, tomato paste, coconut aminos, garlic, onions, red potatoes, carrots, beef broth, olive oil and boneless beef chuck.
How To Cook In A Crockpot
The key to crockpot cooking is timing. You’ll see a lot of recipes with time based on low slowing cooking and high slow cooking. If I start a meal mid-day, I typically use the high setting, but if you want to start your recipe early, before you leave for work in the morning, turn the temperature down to low and increase the cooking time.
Although clean-up is simple with only one dish, you may want to opt to use a crockpot liner as it can save you a bunch of scrubbing time since the low and slow cooking method tends to cause food to get stuck to the bottom of the slow cooker. However, while they are good for easy clean up, you may want to research the effects on cooking in plastic and see if this is a factor in whether you’d like to use this time saving method or not.
And that’s a wrap on some of my favorites! What’s your favorite fall crockpot recipe? I’d love to hear your ideas and tips, so feel free to share in the comments below! And if you’re cooking for a family, don’t miss my kid friendly crock pot meals for for even more inspiration!
