Best Money Saving Slow Cooker Recipes

It is one thing to consider money-saving recipes and another to use the same recipes on a slow cooker. A slow cooker is a convenient and safe home appliance that not only allows you to cook your food in a long and undisturbed way but also retains moisture, infusing flavors and spices into the food while keeping it warm for longer periods.

Here are a few pocket-friendly slow cooker recipes you can consider.

1. Beef Stew

Ingredients:

• 400g Chopped/chunked beef
• 1 large onion
• 1 finely chopped celery stick
• Small bunch of finely chopped parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 21/2 stock cubes
• 2 carrots largely cut
• 1 tablespoon tomato purée/paste
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp Cooking oil
• ½ pack thyme
• Pepper (Optional)

Method:

1. Add the onion and celery into the 1 tbsp oil and fry them over low heat till they soften.
2. Add the other ingredients (bay leave, thyme and carrots and fry them for about a minute and half.
3. Add the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce, stir well then add about 600ml of boiling water.
4. Add all that into a slow cooker before throwing in beef stock cubes. Season with pepper to your desired taste.
5. In the same frying pan (the one you used to fry the onions), fry the beef cubes until a brown color is achieved. Then add these into the slow cooker and let it slow-cook for about 8-9 hours.

2. Chicken Drumsticks

Ingredients:

• Well-crushed ginger and garlic
• Chicken stock
• Honey

• Skinless drumsticks/thighs
• Ketchup
• Soy sauce
• Pepper for seasoning
• Spices of your choice (tastier with sesame seeds and oregano)

Method:

1. Mix all your ingredients (soy sauce, ketchup, honey, garlic and ginger paste, oregano, sesame seeds, and pepper).
2. Prepare your slow cooker by coating it with a cooking spray before adding your drumsticks then pouring your mixture on top.
3. Cover your chicken then set to low heat and cook for about 6 hours (until the chicken is tender and soft).
4. Let this rest for a couple of minutes before serving. Upon serving on a platter, sprinkle some bit of the sesame seeds. Serve hot with rice or mashed potatoes.

Note: For a thicker sauce, get the chicken thighs out and add a mixture of corn-starch and water then let it cook for a few more minutes. After a thick sauce has been achieved, you can either add the chicken pieces back into the sauce or pour it on top of the chicken in a platter. Remember to sprinkle your sesame seeds as your final stage.

Another chicken thigh recipe that can be cooked in a slow cooker is the chicken in vegetable/lemon cream sauce.

3. Chicken in Vegetable/ Lemon Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken thighs/drumsticks
• Crushed garlic
• 1 large chopped onion
• 2 corn pieces (halved corn on the cob)
• 1 fresh Rosemary
• 2 thickly sliced carrots
• 1 wedged lemon
• 2 ½ tbsp of butter
• 6 red-baby potatoes
• 1 cup of chicken stock
• 1 tsp flour
• Salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. In a slow cooker, mix the chicken and the vegetables.
2. Separately, add the chicken stock, flour and lemon juice then whisk them.
3. Pour the whisked mixture into the chicken and veggies in the slow cooker.
4. Season to your desired taste. Add the herbs and butter and allow the mix to cook for about 7-8 hours.
5. Serve hot with rice.

4. Stuffed peppers

Ingredients:

• 1 large chopped onion
• ½ a tbsp of olive oil
• 35g of finely chopped kale
• 90g chestnuts
• 35g feta cheese grated
• A pinch dried oregano
• 2 large red peppers
• 125g chopped chestnut mushrooms

Method:

1. Heat olive oil in a frying pan and add your onions. Cook them till soft.
2. Add the chestnut mushroom and cook further for another 3-4 minutes. Then, add the chopped kale and stir-fry for a minute.
3. Turn the heat off and then add the chestnuts while carefully mashing them using a fork before sprinkling the oregano and feta on top then mix well. Season to your desired taste.
4. While this is resting, cut the top of the peppers. Remove the seed and equally stuff your mixture into the peppers. Set them to the slow cooker dish. Cook for five hours until soft

While the peppers are cooking, make your pesto by crushing the remaining chestnuts then add lemon juice and olive oil to make a smooth paste. Serve your stuffed peppers with this on the side.

5. Sriracha Corn

Ingredients:

• 16 small sweet corn husked
• 4 tablespoons of honey
• 1 cup softened butter
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• ½ cup of water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tbsp Sriracha chili sauce
• Kitchen foil

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients.
2. Spread/ coat the corn pieces with the mixture then tightly wrap each piece independently in a foil.
3. Transfer them into a slow cooker, add water and cook on low heat for about 4 hours (or until they are tender and soft).
4. You can choose to season this more with smoked paprika or serve as it is.

Also, check out “Five Alarm Slow Cooker Chili” for our chili recipe using your brand new slow cooker.

6. Lamb Curry

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 sliced onion
• 3 chopped tomatoes
• 1 finely chopped green chili (optional)
• Crushed garlic and ginger
• 2 thickly sliced carrots
• ¼ cup of light coconut milk
• ½ tbsp garam masala
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• A bunch of spinach
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 50ml lamb stock
• 300g packs diced lamb leg
• Small bunch of finely chopped coriander stalks

Method:

1. Heat oil in a frying pan under medium-high heat.
2. Add the lamb chops and cook them till brown. Season to your preferred taste before transferring to a slow cooker.
3. In the same pan, add the onions, carrots and cook them over medium heat till they are soft.
4. Add the ginger-garlic paste, chopped coriander stalks, green chili together with the spices while stirring and then transfer the mixture to the slow cooker.
5. Finish things off by adding the diced tomatoes then add the lamb stock then again, give it a good stir.
6. Turn the slow cooker to low heat and cook for six hours. Add your coconut milk and cook for another half an hour.
7. Once this is done, add your spinach leaves and give it a good stir for a few minutes (until the spinach noticeably wilts).
8. Sprinkle your green chili chops.
9. Serve hot with rice.

7. Sugared Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

• ½ brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup melted butter
• ½ cup of sugar
• 1 ½   tbsp corn-starch
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ½ tbsp cold water
• 3 large peeled and chopped sweet potatoes

Method:

1. Start by mixing the sugars together.
2. Grease your slow cooker and then layer your sweet potatoes by adding some of the sweet potato chops. Sprinkle them with a portion of the sugar, repeatedly doing so till all your potatoes and sugars are used.
3. In a bowl, mix salt, butter, and the vanilla extract then sprinkle the mixture over the potatoes on the slow cooker.
4. Let the potatoes cook (while covered) on low heat for close to six hours.
5. Once they are well cooked, transfer them to a saucepan and pour the cooking juices in then allow everything to boil. Add the corn-starch mixture and cook further while constantly stirring.
6. When the sauce has thickened, switch off the heat and sprinkle with a leaf-spice of your choice then serve.

With the growing and demanding daily schedules, a slow cooker is becoming a necessity in the home as it can be left unattended for hours. It has proven to be a convenient and reliable appliance, especially for working parents who can attend to their busy schedules and be able to lay something to eat on the table for their families at the end of the day.

Thank you for reading with us today! Looking for more ways to save money on food? Check out “18 Ways To Save Money Eating Out” for ways to save money when eating out with your family.

Join us on Instagram and Pinterest for more fun content from the world of motherhood. See you there!

Other Posts You Might Like