Slow cooker recipes are an easy go-to for comfort meals when the weather gets cooler. The benefits of using a slow cooker are endless; not only does it add ease and convenience to your cooking, but it allows you to create beautifully tender, fragrant and hearty one-pot meals every time, without fail. Simply pop your ingredients in your slow cooker, and come back to a delicious dinner. Too easy!
The versatile slow cooker really comes into its own in winter. After all, cold weather calls for hearty, warming and flavoursome meals—savoury or sweet! These super-easy, melt-in-the-mouth meals and delicious desserts are something that the whole family can look forward to after a long, chilly day. From soups and shanks to stews and steamed puddings, we’ve tested them all in The Australian Women’s Weekly Test Kitchen. So all you have to do is hit the supermarket, grab your ingredients and sit back and relax as your slow cooker does the rest.
You’ll need these…

Slow cooker chicken pot pie soup

Slow cooker satay chicken

Slow cooker butter chicken

Slow cooker chickpea and sweet potato curry

Slow cooker Greek lamb stifado

Slow-cooker spicy upside down pineapple chicken

Slow-cooker cashew and cauliflower curry

Tunisian lamb stew with almonds

Deep-pan pepperoni pizza

Slow-cooker loaded veg ‘bolognese’ baked potatoes

Slow-cooker beef korma

Slow-cooker chicken tikka masala

Slow cooker shredded beef tacos

Slow cooker pulled pork

Slow-cooker honey mustard chicken

Slow-cooker lamb & eggplant curry

Slow-cooker lamb shanks

Slow cooker vegetable minestrone

Slow-cooker ribollita

Slow-cooked Mexican beef chilli mole

Vietnamese beef brisket

Beer and thyme beef cheeks

Slow-cooker borscht

Cock-a-leekie soup

Beef and vegetable soup

Split pea and capsicum curry

Peppered pork curry

Slow-cooker coq au vin

Lamb, spinach and chickpea rice pilaf

Slow-cooked beef rib bourguignon

Chicken and mushroom soup

Shredded Mexican chicken and beans

Boston baked beans

Lamb, kumara and almond curry

Sicilian meatballs in spicy tomato sauce

Coconut curried beef

Sun-dried tomato and balsamic lamb stew

Moroccan chickpea stew

Red pork with lychee curry

Lamb shanks and eggplant stew
If you can’t get enough of slow cooking we have plenty more recipes in our delicious chicken recipes to make in your slow cooker and beautiful beef recipes for your slow cooker collections.
How to adapt your favourite recipes for a slow cooker
When it comes to winter comfort food, you can’t go past a heart slow cooker recipe. These one-pot wonders, perfect with almost any cuts of meat, are guaranteed to turn out fragrant, tender meals every time. Best of all, you can just pop your ingredients in and return in a few hours with all the work done for you.
However, not all of our favourite recipes were designed with the slow cooker in mind. Luckily, most of your favourite casserole, curry and soups can easily be converted for a slow cooker.
Here, we’ll take you through what you need to know for adapting your favourite recipes.
Keep in mind that a recipe that takes 2 hours to simmer or slow-roast will take about 6-8 hours on Low or 3-4 hours on High in the slow cooker.
And, as a general rule, a slow cooker should be at least half-full when cooking casseroles, curries and soups. Place vegetables into the cooker, put meat on top, then add the liquid.

The best cuts of meat for a slow cooker
Budget-friendly, and light on prep-work, it’s the tougher cuts of meat that tenderise well in a slow cooker. Look for:
BEEF: Topside, oyster, blade, skirt, round, chuck, gravy beef.
VEAL: Osso buco, shanks, shoulder.
LAMB: Neck chops, shoulder, shanks, forequarter.
PORK: Forequarter chops, neck/scotch, belly, shoulder.
CHICKEN: Drumsticks, thigh cutlets.
SEAFOOD: Seafood is generally not suitable for a slow cooker. The exception is large octopus, which becomes tender in a cooker.
Looking for more tips on adapting recipes to your slow cooker?