Crockpot Recipes

I am a little late to the party, but the Instant is seriously the next best thing since “sliced bread” (or bone broth).

I got my bad boy as a Christmas gift this year and today, meal prep or dinnertime=One hour (or less) for recipes and dishes that used to take 6 to 8 hours in the traditional crockpot!

How does it do it?

The Instant Pot is a multi-cooker that offers the same functionalities you’d find in a slow cooker, electric pressure cooker, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker, sauté/browning pan, and warming pot—all in one. It cooks meals faster, and offers the option for a delayed programmable start time. When in “pressure cooker” mode, it decreases cooking time exponentially—without drying out or overcooking your food.

Dinner is served!

Even if you don’t have an Instant Pot, whip out your good ol’ slow cooker for my favorite slow-cooker recipes (that cook themeselves):

Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients

• 3 lbs sweet potatoes, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 5 cups bone broth or vegetable broth
• 1 cup full fat coconut milk
• Sea salt and pepper

Directions

Place all the ingredients except for the coconut milk in a slow cooker. Season everything to taste with the salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 4 hours. Puree everything until smooth using a blender or an immersion blender. Add the coconut milk, give everything a good stir, and cook for another 30 minutes. Adjust the seasoning and serve warm. Add in pulled chicken or ground turkey/bison/beef for extra protein, as well as wilted spinach or kale for some extra greens.

Pulled Pork BBQ

Ingredients

• 4 lbs. pork shoulder
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• sea salt & pepper to taste
• 1 cup homemade no-sugar BBQ sauce (optional; below)

BBQ Sauce

Ingredients

• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp smokey paprika
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 can (20 ounces) pineapple chunks, with juice

Directions

Mix all of the seasonings (except BBQ sauce) in a small mixing bowl, mix it all well making your spice rub. Rub over the meat, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap to refrigerate for at least 3 hours (or 1-2 days). Unwrap the roast and place it in crockpot. Add 1/4 cup of water and turn crock pot on low to cook for 8-10 hours until the meat shreds. Make sauce: (In a blender, combine all ingredients for barbecue sauce and blend it until smooth). Shred meat with fork and mix in BBQ sauce. Turn crock pot to warm for at least 60 minutes.

Chicken Curry & Butternut Squash

Ingredients

• 1 medium butternut squash, diced and de-seeded
• 1.5 lbs. chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp fresh ginger (grated)
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 3 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 can full fat coconut milk
• 1 medium lime, juiced
• sea salt, pepper, to taste
• fresh cilantro, garnish

Directions

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker pot (except lime juice). Stir to coat all chicken, and add water if necessary to make sure everything is covered. Cover, cook on low for 6-8 hours. Before serving, squeeze in the lime juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with the cilantro before serving.

Savory Pot Roast

Ingredients

• 2.5 – 3 lb grass-fed chuck roast
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• ½ yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 1 cup baby carrots (or chopped carrots)
• 2 cups of water or broth

Directions

Season roast with salt and pepper. Sear in a hot pan until browned on all sides. Add to a crock pot. Add everything but the parsley to the pot and cover. Cook on high for five hours, or low for 6-8 hours. Taste and season with more sea salt and pepper if desired. Serve with cauliflower or parsnip mash.

Chocolate Chili

Ingredients

•  2 lbs. grass-fed ground bison, turkey, or beef
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 onion, diced (about 2 cups)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano leaves
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tbsp organic raw cacao or cocoa
• 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) fire-roasted, chopped tomatoes (optional; may substitute 1 lbs.
• butternut squash diced or 1-2 diced sweet potatoes)
• 2 cups chicken or beef bone broth
• 1 cup water

Directions

Place all ingredients in slow cooker for 6-8hours until cooked through.

Slow Cooker Salmon Filets

Ingredients

• 1 to 2 pounds salmon fillets, skin left on
• Sea Salt
• Pepper
• Dijon Mustard, 1/4 cup
• Herbs of choice, optional (thyme, basil, sage)
• Sliced lemon
• Yellow Onion, sliced
• 1-1.5 cups liquid, like water or broth

Directions

Cut the salmon into pieces: I usually cut the salmon into large pieces roughly the same size of my slow cooker, staking the smaller piece on top of the larger one. You can also cut them into smaller, individual-serving fillets. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper: Be generous! Sprinkle on any other spices you’re using and rub them in with your fingers. Line the slow cooker: Cut a large square of parchment or aluminum foil and press it into the slow cooker. Place onion slices and lemon over the bottom of the slow cooker. Place one layer of salmon in the slow cooker, skin-side down. Top with more slices of lemon and onion, if using. Pour the liquid over the salmon: If cooking one fillet, add enough water to just barely cover (If cooking two layers, add enough water to come partway up the side of the top fillet). Cook on low 1-2 hours.

Mexican Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato, cubed or shredded
• 8 pasture-raised eggs, whisked
• 1/2 pound nitrate-free turkey bacon
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 (8 ounce) package mushrooms, chopped
• taco seasoning (below)
• Guacamole (garnish)

Taco Seasoning

Ingredients

• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Directions

Fry turkey bacon in a skillet until crispy. Set aside. Crumble. In the same skillet, cook the onions until they are translucent. Transfer the bacon, onions, sweet potato, bell pepper, mushrooms and eggs to the slow cooker. Stir to combine. Sprinkle in your taco seasoning and stir again to dissolve. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless and boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size peaces (pre0cooked)
• 4 cups cauliflower florets
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cups homemade chicken stock or water
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp arrowroot flour (optional)
• 4 pastured bacon slices
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley or 2 tsp dried parsley

Directions

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside. Place cauliflower, and remaining ingredients (except chicken) into a slow cooker. Cook on low 3-4 hours ; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir occasionally. Add in chicken and bacon and parsley when finished.

Orange Ginger Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 bone in chicken breasts (skin on or off)
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
• The juice and zest of two oranges
• ½ cup of low-sodium chicken broth
• ¼ cup of honey
• ¼ cup of coconut aminos
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• ½ cup of finely chopped onion
• ½ tsp of freshly grated ginger
• ½ tsp of red pepper flakes, or to taste (optional)
• Additional chicken broth or water, as needed

Directions

Heat the coconut oil in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. When the oil is hot and shimmery, add the chicken thighs and cook until the under side is browned, about 5 minutes minutes. Flip the thighs and brown the other side for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Once the thighs are fully browned, remove them to a plate and allow them to rest until they’re sufficiently cool to remove the skin (if present) without burning yourself.

While the thighs are cooling, combine the broth, honey, coconut aminos, garlic, onion, ginger, orange zest, and red pepper in a medium bowl and whisk throughly to combined.

Once the thighs are skinned, transfer them to the slow cooker. Make sure they are all laying flat and not overlapping. Pour the prepared sauce over the chicken. Add water or chicken broth until the thighs are almost submerged, but not quite. Cook until the chicken is tender, about 4-5 hours on low. Once the chicken is tender and nearly falling apart, remove the chicken with tongs and shred it using forks.

Spaghetti Squash Bolognese

Ingredients

• 1 28-ounce can tomato puree
• 1 6-ounce can organic tomato paste
• ½ cup chicken broth
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp Italian herb blend
• 1 tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 small carrots, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 lb ground turkey or bison/beef
• Spaghetti Squash, 1 medium

Directions

Add all ingredients except squash to slow cooker. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. While sauce cooks, make your spaghetti squash. Cut in half, discard seeds and brush with 1 tbsp. melted ghee, coconut oil or olive oil. Place face down in baking dish on 400-degrees in oven for 40-50 minutes. Shred strings with fork. Combine with sauce once done.

Buffalo Chicken

Ingredients

• 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 1½ c buffalo sauce [like Franks]
• ½ c water
• 4 Tbsp grass-fed butter
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder

Directions

Place chicken breast as flat as possible in the bottom of a slow cooker. Add remainder of ingredients. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Shred chicken, then let cook in juice for another 30 minutes (optional). Serve with Primal Kitchen Ranch (or homemade paleo version) wrapped in a lettuce wrap.