Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
My Slow Cooker Cookbook Obsession Killed My Takeout Habit With 5 Ingredient Meals
60
items Weeknight dinners used to mean staring at my fridge for ten minutes then ordering pizza again — until I grabbed a slow cooker cookbook that only uses five ingredients per recipe. If you're someone who gets home exhausted and can't face a sink full of...
Sections
12
5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Cookbooks
Reliable Slow Cookers That Don't Burn Everything
Cheap Pantry Staples That Show Up in Every Recipe
Cutting Boards and Prep Tools for Speed
Slow Cooker Liners That Save Your Sanity
Freezer Storage for Batch Cooking Days
5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Cookbooks
Before these books showed up, I thought slow cooking meant buying 47 spices and chopping vegetables for an hour. Turns out the best dump-and-go recipes need five things max.
Grab this if you panic every Sunday trying to meal plan — the pulled pork recipe uses four pantry staples and my husband asked if I ordered it from a restaurant.
Pre-Owned Fix-It and Forget-It 5-Ingredient Favorites
Perfect for anyone just starting out with slow cooking. Tried the chicken tortilla soup on a Monday morning, prepped in eight minutes flat, came home to dinner already done.
The Easy 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Cookbook
Keep this on your counter, not your shelf — the beef stew recipe got me through last winter and my grocery bill dropped because every recipe uses stuff I already had.
Pre-Owned Taste of Home Everyday Slow Cooker & One
Snag this if you've been burned by cookbooks that say ‘simple’ but then ask for truffle oil and saffron. Everything here is real-people food with real-people ingredients.
Slow cooker Deals & More(127)
Toss everything in before work, that's literally the whole concept. Bought this when I was working double shifts and it saved me from eating cereal for dinner five nights a week.
Dump Dinners by Cathy Mitchell
Reliable Slow Cookers That Don't Burn Everything
My first slow cooker scorched every single thing on the edges. Replaced it and suddenly understood why people love these machines.
Use this if you're feeding more than two people — fits a whole chicken without shoving the lid down. Paid for itself in saved takeout money within a month.
Crock-Pot Manual 7-Quart Slow Cooker, Black
Switch to this if you've ever come home to overcooked mush because your old cooker doesn't have a timer. The auto-warm feature is why my roasts actually stay juicy now.
Hamilton Beach 6 Qt Programmable Slow Cooker
Grabbed this when I wanted slow cooking AND pressure cooking without two appliances eating my counter space. Studio apartment people, this one's for you.
Crock-Pot Express 6-Quart Oval Max Pressure Cooker
Try this beast if you meal prep on Sundays for the whole week — the size handles double batches and I freeze half. Batch cooking changed my entire budget.
Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker PRO 8.5 Quart Multi-Cooker
Perfect if you live alone and a full-size cooker feels ridiculous. Made mac and cheese for one in this and felt like a functioning adult for the first time in months.
Crockpot™ Design Series 3-Quart Manual Slow Cooker
Cheap Pantry Staples That Show Up in Every Recipe
Noticed the same five or six ingredients popping up in every cookbook recipe, so I started buying them in bulk. Prep got even faster when everything was already in my cabinet.
Toss one packet in with chuck roast and potatoes — I stopped measuring individual spices entirely. For anyone who hates cleaning seven tiny spice jars after cooking.
McCormick, Slow Cooker Savory Pot Roast Seasoning Mix
Keep a stack of these in your pantry because every other slow cooker recipe calls for it. Bought the four-pack after running out mid-recipe one too many times.
Great Value Cream of Mushroom Condensed Soup, 10.5 oz
Pair this with cream cheese and chicken in a slow cooker and you've got queso chicken that disappears at potlucks. My coworker literally asked me to make it three weeks in a row.
ROTEL Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, 28 oz
Use this instead of water in literally any slow cooker recipe and the flavor difference is wild. Swapped it once and never went back to plain water.
Kitchen Basics Original Chicken Stock, 32 oz Carton
Dump this over frozen chicken breasts with a little ranch seasoning — that's the whole recipe. My kids eat it without complaining, which is basically a miracle in this house.
Sweet Baby Ray's
Cutting Boards and Prep Tools for Speed
When your entire cooking philosophy is ‘ten minutes or less of prep,’ you need tools that don't slow you down. Ditched my warped old cutting board and everything got faster.
Grab the set so you can chop meat on one and veggies on another without washing between. Color-coded so even my partner stops cross-contaminating things.
Farberware 3-Piece Essential Poly Kitchen Cutting Board Set
Swapped my dull dollar-store knife for this and chopping an onion went from two minutes of struggle to thirty seconds. Your prep time is only as fast as your blade.
KitchenAid Gourmet Forged Chef Knife with Custom-Fit
Sounds boring until your electric one dies mid-recipe and you're standing there with a can of tomatoes and no plan. Keep a manual one in the drawer, trust me.
Mainstays Manual Can Opener Stainless Steel Hand Grip
Try this if cutting onions makes you cry so hard you can't see the slow cooker. Three pushes and the onion is done. My mascara survives dinner prep now.
Prepworks Progressive Fruit & Veg Chopper
Use this for potatoes and carrots when a recipe calls for them — peels so fast I actually stopped buying pre-cut vegetables and saved a few bucks each trip.
OXO Good Grips Swivel Peeler
Slow Cooker Liners That Save Your Sanity
Scrubbing baked-on food out of a ceramic insert at 9 PM was the reason I almost quit slow cooking entirely. Liners fixed that problem overnight.
Toss the liner after dinner and your slow cooker looks brand new. For anyone who lets dishes pile up in the sink — this removes the worst one from the equation.
Reynolds Kitchens Slow Cooker Liners, Regular Size, 24 ct.
Snag these if you use your slow cooker three or four times a week like I do. Cheaper per liner and they hold up just as well as the name brand ones.
Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners 13' X 21", 4 Liners
The elastic band keeps the liner from slipping down into the food, which happened to me once with a cheaper brand and ruined a whole pot of chili. Never again.
Pansaver 43321 Slow Cooker Liner with Sure Fit Band
Try these if your slow cooker is slightly smaller — they fit snugly without bunching up at the top. Less bunching means less weird texture on the food near the edges.
KOOC Slow Cooker Liners, 14"x22", Disposable, Extra Large
Grab these if you're trying to avoid plastic liners touching hot food. Compostable too, so the guilt factor drops to zero. Worked perfectly with my 6-quart Crock-Pot.
Reynolds Kitchens Slow Cooker Liners
Freezer Storage for Batch Cooking Days
Sunday became my dump-bag day — I prep five meals worth of ingredients into freezer bags and just pour one into the slow cooker each morning. Absolute lifesaver.
Use these for dump-bag meal prep — label them on Sunday, stack in the freezer, pour one into the slow cooker half-asleep on Wednesday morning. Changed my entire week.
Ziploc, Freezer Bags, Gallon, Grip 'n Seal Technology, 28 ct
Keep leftover broth and sauces in these instead of flimsy containers. Survived three freezer-to-microwave cycles without cracking. Just leave headspace so they don't shatter.
Ball, Glass Mason Jar, 32 Oz. Quart, Regular Mouth 12-Count
Perfect for portioning out finished slow cooker meals into lunch servings. The lids actually snap shut and don't leak in my work bag, which my old containers absolutely did.
Rubbermaid Brilliance 10-Piece Set, Leak-Proof and Clear
Pair these with your freezer bags so you stop playing ‘mystery meat roulette’ three weeks later. Wrote the recipe name AND the date — future me was grateful every time.
Sharpie Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Black, 12 Count
Splurge on this if you batch cook seriously — sealed bags last months longer than zip bags. Made twelve freezer meals in one Sunday and didn't cook again for almost three weeks.
FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer Machine with 4 Settings
Spice Blends That Replace Measuring Six Things
Measuring individual spices was eating up half my prep time. Pre-mixed blends cut that down to one scoop and done — flavor stays the same or honestly better.
Toss this into any tomato-based slow cooker recipe instead of buying oregano, basil, thyme, and rosemary separately. One grinder replaced four jars on my spice rack.
McCormick Italian Herb Seasoning Grinder, 0.77 oz Bottle
Sprinkle this on chicken before it goes in the slow cooker and skip the garlic-salt-pepper-onion-powder dance. My mom used this for decades and I finally understand why.
Lawry's Kosher Economy Size Seasoned Salt, 16.0 oz Bottle
Try this on slow cooker corn or Mexican-style chicken — one shake and it tastes like street food. Brought leftovers to work and three people asked for the recipe.
Trader Joe's Everything But The Elote Seasoning
Use this on any beef slow cooker recipe when you want it to taste like it came off a grill. Rubbed it on a chuck roast once and my neighbor knocked on the door asking what smelled so good.
Weber Chicago Steak Seasoning 13 oz Shaker for Beef
Shake this into slow cooker pulled pork for a tangy kick that wakes the whole dish up. Also works on the leftover fruit in your fridge, which sounds weird but just try it.
Tajin Clasico Seasoning, Chili Lime Seasoning, 9 oz
Protein Staples I Always Keep Stocked
Running to the store mid-week because I forgot to buy chicken was killing my motivation. Now I keep these proteins on hand so there's always something ready to dump in.
Toss these in frozen with sauce and seasoning — no thawing needed for most slow cooker recipes. Bought a bag every two weeks and never scrambled for protein again.
Great Value Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts 3 lb
Grab this for pot roast night — throw it in with potatoes, carrots, and a packet of onion soup mix. Eight hours later it falls apart with a fork. No knife needed.
Chuck Roast, Choice Angus Beef, Tray, Fresh, 2.00 - 2.75 lb
Use this for pulled pork that feeds a crowd or gives you leftovers for days. Shredded it into tacos, sandwiches, and rice bowls all from one Sunday cook.
Customer reviews for Smithfield All Natural Boneless Pork
Switch to this for slow cooker chili if you're trying to eat lighter without sacrificing flavor. Brown it for five minutes, dump it in with beans and tomatoes, walk away.
Jennie-O Fresh Lean Ground Turkey 93% Lean 7% Fat
Toss frozen meatballs into marinara sauce in the slow cooker and serve over pasta. My kid thinks I hand-rolled them. That's a secret I plan to keep for at least five more years.
Great Value Fully Cooked Italian Style Meatballs
Serving Tools That Make Dinner Feel Real
Eating straight from the slow cooker insert was my low point. Added a few serving pieces and suddenly weeknight dinner felt like an actual meal instead of survival mode.
Grab a real plate set if you've been eating off paper plates for months — these survive drops, microwaves, and dishwashers. Made dinner feel like dinner again.
Corelle Winter Frost White 66-Piece Glass Dinnerware Set
Use wooden spoons that won't scratch your slow cooker insert. Learned that lesson after gouging my ceramic liner with a metal spoon and watching the coating flake off.
TOTALLY BAMBOO Bamboo Utensil Set, 5-Pc. 20-2069
Transfer leftovers into this for fridge storage or reheating — goes from fridge to oven without switching containers. Fewer dishes means I actually clean up the same night.
Pyrex Easy Grab Glass Baking Dish with Red Lid, 3-Quart
Try a proper ladle instead of using a regular spoon for soups and stews — sounds small but I stopped dripping broth across the counter every single time I served chili.
OXO Good Grips Brushed Stainless Steel Ladle
Pair these with your plates and suddenly the kitchen table looks intentional. Cost almost nothing but my partner commented on it the first night, which felt weirdly validating.
(4 pack) Mainstays Round Braided Placemat - Hedge Green
Side Dishes That Take Zero Extra Effort
A slow cooker handles the main dish, but sides were still stressing me out. Found products that cook themselves or need zero prep so the whole meal stays under ten minutes.
Microwave these for four minutes while the slow cooker meal is being served. Vegetables done, guilt gone, and no cutting board needed. Weeknight side dish problem solved.
Birds Eye
Toss this in a pot with water and butter while you're plating the main course — ready in seven minutes. Tastes way better than plain rice and my kids actually eat it.
Knorr, Chicken Flavor Rice, Cooks in 7 Minutes, 5.6 oz
Pair these with pulled pork or any saucy slow cooker recipe. No baking required, just tear open the bag. Honestly these rolls could make cardboard taste good.
King's Hawaiian Original Hawaiian Sweet Rolls 12 Count
Boil water, stir, done. Serve next to pot roast and people assume you peeled actual potatoes. My secret weapon when company shows up and I need a side dish in two minutes.
Recipes
Dump the bag into a bowl, add mayo and vinegar, and you have coleslaw faster than you can set the table. Goes with BBQ chicken, pulled pork, basically any slow cooker protein.
Buy Salad Bags & Coleslaw Mix Online at Low Prices
Morning Prep Shortcuts for Before-Work Cooking
Setting up the slow cooker at 6 AM before work meant I needed everything to be grab-and-go. These products shaved minutes off my bleary-eyed morning routine.
Sprinkle one packet over a roast with a splash of broth and that's the entire recipe. Did this half-asleep last Thursday and came home to the best pot roast I've made yet.
Lipton, Soup and Dip Mix, Onion Dry, 2 oz
Pour the packet over pork shoulder, add a little water, set it on low, leave for work. Came home to a house that smelled like a backyard cookout in January.
McCormick Slow Cooker Barbecue Pulled Pork Seasoning
Grab these so you never have to chop an onion at 6 AM again. Scoop out what you need, dump it in, put the bag back in the freezer. Morning prep in under a minute.
Great Value Chopped Onions, 10 oz (Frozen)
Pop out two cubes instead of peeling and mincing garlic before your coffee has even kicked in. Each cube is one clove. My mornings got measurably less angry after finding these.
Dorot Crushed Garlic Frozen, 16 Count
Use this to cover your prepped slow cooker insert the night before, then just pull the wrap off and hit start in the morning. Shaved five minutes off my routine by doing prep at night.
Glad, Press'n Seal Plastic Food Wrap, 100 sq ft, Clear
Cleanup Supplies Because Dishes Still Happen
Even with liners and shortcuts, some cleanup is unavoidable. Found products that make the after-dinner part less painful so I don't dread the whole cooking process.
Use the warm water side for stuck-on slow cooker residue — it softens and grips without scratching ceramic. Replaced my gross old sponge and cleanup went from ten minutes to three.
Scrub Daddy 3 Pack | Walmart Canada
Spray this directly on the slow cooker insert, wait sixty seconds, wipe. No soaking overnight, no scrubbing your arm off. Wish someone had told me about this two years ago.
Customer reviews for Dawn Platinum Powerwash Dish
Keep one of these by the sink specifically for the nights you forget the liner and cheese bakes onto the ceramic. Scrubs it clean without leaving scratches you'll regret later.
Scotch-Brite Zero Scratch Scour Pads, 3 Pack
Swap your sponge for this when you need to reach the bottom of a deep slow cooker insert. The handle keeps your hand out of gross dishwater, which is a small joy I didn't know I needed.
OXO Good Grips Dish Brush, White/Black, 1EA
Try this if dish soap fragrance gives you headaches after a long day. Cuts grease on slow cooker residue just fine without smelling like artificial lemons. Sensitive-nose people, this one's yours.
Seventh Generation, Dish Soap Liquid, Free and Clear