Searching for the perfect crockpot cookbook
February 12, 2023 4:37 PM Subscribe
I am looking for a printed cookbook (not online recipes or ebooks) of recipies for complete meals (not just main dishes) that can be cooked using a crockpot only (not recipes that require starting or finishing with the stove or oven). Does that describe a cookbook that you've personally read or used?
An example of the type of crockpot meal that meets my critera: pot roast with potatoes, carrots, onions, frozen peas, and store-bought beef stock. There's a meat, there's a starch, and there's vegetables. All you have to to do is season the meat, cut up the potatoes, carrots, and onions, and then dump everything into the crockpot and turn it on low. But we can't eat pot roast every day so I am looking for a crockpot cookbook full of recipes that are simple and complete meals like that.
My husband can follow a recipe to put a list of ingredients requiring minimal prepwork into the crockpot at the beginning of the day and turn it on, but multi-stage recipes that involve also using the stove or oven tend to overwhelm him, and he can't consistently remember to prep sides to go with a meat-only crockpot recipe before I come home starving from work. He does much better following lists and written instructions that are on paper whereas he misses items and steps when he's reading from a screen, so he needs a printed cookbook not a website.
My husband literally has brain damage so please just accept the limitations as given in this question instead of suggesting that he improve his cooking skills or arguing that it's not that difficult to prep sides to go with a main dish. It's an executive functioning limitation, not a lack of skill or desire to cook. Meanwhile, I'm physically disabled and chronically ill with a full-time job, long commute, and online courses, so I just don't have any time/energy left to do the cooking myself.
Before I posted this question, I already spent hours browsing/previewing crockpot cookbooks that claim to be one-pot meals, dump meals, fix it and forget it, simple, etc. and still couldn't find one that met all of my criteria. All the ones I looked at were just straight-up lying in their titles regarding what the majority of the actual recipes contained inside the book were like -- how is a meat-only dish a "one-pot meal"? how is something that has to be taken out of the crockpot 30 minutes before dinner and finished in the oven "fix it and forget it"? -- so please don't suggest cookbooks based on an internet search you did just now, please only suggest cookbooks that you've personally read or used and thus know for sure actually feature the type of recipes I'm looking for.
Thanks in advance for your help!
An example of the type of crockpot meal that meets my critera: pot roast with potatoes, carrots, onions, frozen peas, and store-bought beef stock. There's a meat, there's a starch, and there's vegetables. All you have to to do is season the meat, cut up the potatoes, carrots, and onions, and then dump everything into the crockpot and turn it on low. But we can't eat pot roast every day so I am looking for a crockpot cookbook full of recipes that are simple and complete meals like that.
My husband can follow a recipe to put a list of ingredients requiring minimal prepwork into the crockpot at the beginning of the day and turn it on, but multi-stage recipes that involve also using the stove or oven tend to overwhelm him, and he can't consistently remember to prep sides to go with a meat-only crockpot recipe before I come home starving from work. He does much better following lists and written instructions that are on paper whereas he misses items and steps when he's reading from a screen, so he needs a printed cookbook not a website.
My husband literally has brain damage so please just accept the limitations as given in this question instead of suggesting that he improve his cooking skills or arguing that it's not that difficult to prep sides to go with a main dish. It's an executive functioning limitation, not a lack of skill or desire to cook. Meanwhile, I'm physically disabled and chronically ill with a full-time job, long commute, and online courses, so I just don't have any time/energy left to do the cooking myself.
Before I posted this question, I already spent hours browsing/previewing crockpot cookbooks that claim to be one-pot meals, dump meals, fix it and forget it, simple, etc. and still couldn't find one that met all of my criteria. All the ones I looked at were just straight-up lying in their titles regarding what the majority of the actual recipes contained inside the book were like -- how is a meat-only dish a "one-pot meal"? how is something that has to be taken out of the crockpot 30 minutes before dinner and finished in the oven "fix it and forget it"? -- so please don't suggest cookbooks based on an internet search you did just now, please only suggest cookbooks that you've personally read or used and thus know for sure actually feature the type of recipes I'm looking for.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Oh I thought I had the perfect book- hotpot, crockpot, one pot from Reader's digest, but I think it's not, actually.
It definitely ticks off the "meal" option with hearty soups, stews, curries etc.
It fails in a few ways though: not every recipe is "no sides required" (though if we're allowing a crusty bread there are some that squeak in) and while pretty much everything is in the slow cooker, it does say "if you don't have a slow cooker you can saute in, use an extra pan or skip step 1" and you have to figure out what steps pertain to what.
I'm sorry- I pulled the book off my shelf excitedly and it turned out to be a no.
I wonder if it would be possible to commission a one off book that meets your requirement?
posted by freethefeet at 5:30 PM on February 12, 2023
It definitely ticks off the "meal" option with hearty soups, stews, curries etc.
It fails in a few ways though: not every recipe is "no sides required" (though if we're allowing a crusty bread there are some that squeak in) and while pretty much everything is in the slow cooker, it does say "if you don't have a slow cooker you can saute in, use an extra pan or skip step 1" and you have to figure out what steps pertain to what.
I'm sorry- I pulled the book off my shelf excitedly and it turned out to be a no.
I wonder if it would be possible to commission a one off book that meets your requirement?
posted by freethefeet at 5:30 PM on February 12, 2023
I had exactly one slow cooker cookbook and it contains both a bunch of things that would not meet your specs (dips, protein only, etc), there does seems to be some full meals. Maybe leans a little heavy on the casserole side of things, you know?
Carlean Johnson's Six Ingredients or Less (Slow Cooker)
I have made things from it, but it's been literally a decade, and my slow cooker got recalled for burn issues, soooooo...
I looked at about 20 recipes, and most of them are set it and forget it, though there's the occasional "add another ingredient an hour before it's done" type thing. Not sure if that's acceptable or not. MeMail me and I'll snail mail you my copy if you want, or send you pics of the ToC and you can ask me about recipes that sound good. Happy to help.
posted by AbelMelveny at 5:36 PM on February 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Carlean Johnson's Six Ingredients or Less (Slow Cooker)
I have made things from it, but it's been literally a decade, and my slow cooker got recalled for burn issues, soooooo...
I looked at about 20 recipes, and most of them are set it and forget it, though there's the occasional "add another ingredient an hour before it's done" type thing. Not sure if that's acceptable or not. MeMail me and I'll snail mail you my copy if you want, or send you pics of the ToC and you can ask me about recipes that sound good. Happy to help.
posted by AbelMelveny at 5:36 PM on February 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: To clarifiy: I don't need a cookbook where 100% of the recipes meet my criteria, just one where MOST of the recipes do. We're not going to cook 100% of recipes in any cookbook anyway just because of personal tastes etc.
I was crabby about the ones I'd looked at so far because it seemed like 80+% of the recipes didn't fit the claims made by the titles. Sometimes cookbook authors/publishers just churn out collections of recipes they've never tested, slap a new title on an old cookbook, etc. Like spam in book form.
posted by Jacqueline at 5:55 PM on February 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
I was crabby about the ones I'd looked at so far because it seemed like 80+% of the recipes didn't fit the claims made by the titles. Sometimes cookbook authors/publishers just churn out collections of recipes they've never tested, slap a new title on an old cookbook, etc. Like spam in book form.
posted by Jacqueline at 5:55 PM on February 12, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've seen a lot of instant pot recipes like this but nothing really for crockpots. Maybe you could reverse engineer the instant pot ones for a crockpot? Even my America's Test Kitchen slow cooker book doesn't have much for this, although I do know that you can take any side that would be done in 4-6 hrs in a crockpot and wrap it in tin foil or an put it in an oven safe dish (old recipes suggest a large steel can) and put it in with every thing else. I do corn, carrots or potatoes in foil and just drop them in with the meat. A modern crockpot is essentially a small oven that runs about 300* on high, so I treat it accordingly.
Now that I think about it, I wonder if foil packet recipes might work?
posted by fiercekitten at 6:42 PM on February 12, 2023
Now that I think about it, I wonder if foil packet recipes might work?
posted by fiercekitten at 6:42 PM on February 12, 2023
Best answer: ....see what you think of Slow Cook Modern. A lot of the recipes within fit your criteria - but even better, each recipe also comes with a second recipe for a side dish that would coordinate with the main recipe (and they often suggest alternates from elsewhere in the book).
And even better - it's written with the more contemporary family in mind, where it's likely both parents are working and so would be out of the house for 8 hours or more - so all the recipes take at least 8 hours.
And - each recipe is scaled to a smaller size as well (most other crock pot cookbooks I've seen call for a 6 quart cooker and serve like 6-8 people - so if you have a smaller family you either have to cut things in half all the time or expect a ton of leftovers). The recipes in this are written for the 3-4 quart cookers.
And - they spell out which recipes call for more work in the morning, and which call for more work in the evening. And they call your attention to that - so instead of just saying "1. Chop all vegetables, and add everything except for the spinach to the cooker. 2. cook for 8 hours on high. 3. Add spinach and cook for another 30 minutes." they would say something like:
"Morning: Chop all vegetables. Save spinach in a bowl in the fridge. Add all else to the cooker, and cook 8 hours on high. Evening: add spinach to cooker and cook for 30 more minutes."
So that way you can easily find the recipes that need no initial prep work on the days when that's what you need.
And there's still more - the last section has a bunch of "batch cooking" recipes telling how to use your slow cooker to do a bunch of "ingredients-prep" kind of things - soup stocks, fresh cheese, a batch of beans, stuff like that. They even have a recipe for something they call a "chili base", where you cook a bunch of dried chilies and some tomato down into a paste, and a cup or so of that paste plus meat and cooked beans can give you chili.
And the recipes are KICK ASS. I've made 3 things from it already and I've only had it for a month, and I've got two more things bookmarked for later this month.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:07 PM on February 12, 2023 [14 favorites]
And even better - it's written with the more contemporary family in mind, where it's likely both parents are working and so would be out of the house for 8 hours or more - so all the recipes take at least 8 hours.
And - each recipe is scaled to a smaller size as well (most other crock pot cookbooks I've seen call for a 6 quart cooker and serve like 6-8 people - so if you have a smaller family you either have to cut things in half all the time or expect a ton of leftovers). The recipes in this are written for the 3-4 quart cookers.
And - they spell out which recipes call for more work in the morning, and which call for more work in the evening. And they call your attention to that - so instead of just saying "1. Chop all vegetables, and add everything except for the spinach to the cooker. 2. cook for 8 hours on high. 3. Add spinach and cook for another 30 minutes." they would say something like:
"Morning: Chop all vegetables. Save spinach in a bowl in the fridge. Add all else to the cooker, and cook 8 hours on high. Evening: add spinach to cooker and cook for 30 more minutes."
So that way you can easily find the recipes that need no initial prep work on the days when that's what you need.
And there's still more - the last section has a bunch of "batch cooking" recipes telling how to use your slow cooker to do a bunch of "ingredients-prep" kind of things - soup stocks, fresh cheese, a batch of beans, stuff like that. They even have a recipe for something they call a "chili base", where you cook a bunch of dried chilies and some tomato down into a paste, and a cup or so of that paste plus meat and cooked beans can give you chili.
And the recipes are KICK ASS. I've made 3 things from it already and I've only had it for a month, and I've got two more things bookmarked for later this month.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:07 PM on February 12, 2023 [14 favorites]
Response by poster: EmpressCallipygos: I just browsed the Kindle version and although some of the meals still involve extra steps and sidedishes, the clear instructions on what to do in the morning vs. in the evening and what to serve with what should bypass the executive functioning issues he's been having with cooking. Ordered a print copy, thanks!
posted by Jacqueline at 9:35 PM on February 12, 2023
posted by Jacqueline at 9:35 PM on February 12, 2023
Yeah, some of the recipes do have the added "brown the meat" kinds of extra steps - but there are several that don't, and it lets you know up front which ones don't; I've definitely made two that are of the "dump everything in the cooker and turn on in the morning" variety, and for one of them the added step in the end was "chop this and add it in for another half hour". Also, I've considered the "side dishes" to be suggestions more than requirements - one I've made had this cheese popover type of thing as a side dish, but I just got a corn muffin from the local bodega or something instead and it was fine.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:51 AM on February 13, 2023
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:51 AM on February 13, 2023
Not sure if this is helpful given your constraints, I often brown meat and freeze it in the appropriate quantity (ie 1lb ground beef, or 1lb pork cubes), and then just dump the frozen meat in crock pot with whatever else it needs.
posted by Ftsqg at 5:54 AM on February 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Ftsqg at 5:54 AM on February 13, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have a copy of "Fix-It And Forget It Recipes for Entertaining" by Phyllis Pellman Good and Dawn J. Ranck, (c)2002, and while quite of the few recipes start with "brown the meat in a skillet", that's about the extent of the "external to the crock pot" prep for most of them, and from a quick flip through, I'd say half to 2/3 of the recipes are of the "just dump all this into the crock pot and walk away" variety. Some of the recipes are standalones, like meatballs or chili, and others are more complete meals like you described. Some kind of bake with meat, veggies, etc. My copy is quite banged up and stained, so I guess that's a good sign?
posted by xedrik at 2:01 PM on February 13, 2023
posted by xedrik at 2:01 PM on February 13, 2023
Oh, I think I may have found you another resource!
I started following Brooklyn Farm Girl for the gardening-in-Brooklyn content - but she does WAY more recipes. And a surprising number of them are slow cooker recipes that may work (highlighting the recipes I found that do not call for browning or any other prep work other than chopping):
Kielbasa and green beans (Those aforementioned ingredients, plus potatoes and chicken broth, chopped and dumped into the slow cooker)
Kielbasa and cabbage (see above)
Meatballs and potatoes (She calls for pre-packaged meatballs, this is indeed a "dump-and-heat" meal)
Sausage and cabbage
Beef Stew (this one does NOT require browning the beef beforehand)
Italian Chicken Soup (you do have to shred the chicken AFTER it's cooked a bit, but that's it)
Ham and sweet potato soup
Chicken and dumplings (uses refrigerated biscuit dough for the dumplings)
Tomatillo black bean soup (you can use canned black beans, there are instructions for how to adapt)
Macaroni and cheese with sugar snap peas
She's pretty prolific, so my guess is there will be more.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:53 AM on February 15, 2023
I started following Brooklyn Farm Girl for the gardening-in-Brooklyn content - but she does WAY more recipes. And a surprising number of them are slow cooker recipes that may work (highlighting the recipes I found that do not call for browning or any other prep work other than chopping):
Kielbasa and green beans (Those aforementioned ingredients, plus potatoes and chicken broth, chopped and dumped into the slow cooker)
Kielbasa and cabbage (see above)
Meatballs and potatoes (She calls for pre-packaged meatballs, this is indeed a "dump-and-heat" meal)
Sausage and cabbage
Beef Stew (this one does NOT require browning the beef beforehand)
Italian Chicken Soup (you do have to shred the chicken AFTER it's cooked a bit, but that's it)
Ham and sweet potato soup
Chicken and dumplings (uses refrigerated biscuit dough for the dumplings)
Tomatillo black bean soup (you can use canned black beans, there are instructions for how to adapt)
Macaroni and cheese with sugar snap peas
She's pretty prolific, so my guess is there will be more.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:53 AM on February 15, 2023
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posted by pairofshades at 5:24 PM on February 12, 2023 [1 favorite]