Start the year stress-free with these easy crockpot dinner recipes—just throw everything in and let the slow cooker do the work! This New Year’s Day meal roundup includes chicken tortilla soup, crockpot mac & cheese, Olive Garden chicken pasta, ranch pork chops, grape jelly meatballs, and butter chicken. Perfect for cozy family dinners, meal prep, or lazy holiday cooking. Save this for New Year’s Day dinner, slow cooker meals, and easy comfort food recipes!
1.Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ¼ cup taco seasoning, or one taco seasoning packet
- 4 ounces can diced green chiles, mild or hot
- 15.5 ounces can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, juices included
- 15.25 ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups grated Mexican cheese
- 1 cup heavy cream
- tortilla chips, or 6 corn tortillas, cut into strips either air fried or oven baked to crisp them up
- Cilantro, one bunch for garnish
Instructions
- Place the frozen OR thawed chicken breasts in the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Sprinkle the taco seasoning over the top of the chicken breasts.
- Spread green chiles, black beans, tomatoes, and corn over the chicken.
- Slowly pour in the chicken broth.
- Cook on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.
- Remove chicken breasts from the soup and shred with two forks.
- Return the chicken to the soup and add the cheese and heavy cream.
- Cook for an additional 30-minutes to 1 hour, stirring occasionally until the cheese is fully melted and combined and the soup is thickened slightly.
- You can add the tortilla chips directly to the soup along with the cheese and cream and cook for the final 30 to 60 minutes or crisp the corn tortillas in the air fryer or oven. To crisp the tortilla chips in the air fryer, spray liberally with non-stick cooking spray and bake at 400°F for approximately 5 minutes, shaking the basket halfway through cooking.
- Serve soup with additional chopped cilantro, tortilla strips/chips, and avocado, if desired.
Notes
- We recommend that you shred the cheese yourself. Pre-shredded cheese is coated with a preservative that prevents it from melting properly.
- This cozy soup gets some thickness from the cheese and once the chicken is shredded and added back into the mixture. The toppings also help to thicken the soup.
- Some recipes add raw corn tortilla strips to the soup. If you do this, allow them to “cook” awhile during the final 30 to 60 minutes to soften and absorb some of the soup flavors. For added crunch, we toasted them in the air fryer to turn them into “chips”. You can alternately substitute your favorite corn chips!
2.Mac and Cheese Crock Pot Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 ounces elbow macaroni, uncooked
- 4 cups whole milk
- 8 ounces yellow cheddar cheese, extra-sharp, shredded by hand
- 8 ounces white cheddar cheese, extra-sharp, shredded by hand
- 8 ounces Velveeta, 1-inch cubes
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt, optional
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground mustard
Instructions
- In the insert of your crockpot, place the milk, uncooked elbow macaroni noodles, shredded cheeses, and seasonings. Stir well.
- Turn the slow cooker on high and cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Cut the Velveeta into small, one-inch cubes and stir in until it starts to melt.
- Cook on high for an additional 30-60 minutes until it’s hot and creamy, stirring occasionally.
Notes
- Be sure to buy blocks of cheese and shred yourself. Pre-shredded cheese has a coating on it which can impact how it melts and therefore affect the texture of your finished mac and cheese.
- Every slow cooker is different, so keep an eye on it and adjust your cook time slightly if you find it looks ready a bit early or takes a bit longer. The pasta will become mushy if it is cooked too long.
- Stirring is very important to ensure the sauce is evenly distributed and coats all of the pasta.
- You are not cooking the macaroni ahead of time. It will cook in the slow cooker.
- After adding the Velveeta cheese, I set the timer for 30 minutes as it was very runny. I checked again at the 45-minute mark, and it had really thickened up. Once the sauce thickens up like that, it needs to be done, as the pasta will get pasty if it’s overcooked.
Nutrition
Calories: 773kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 1742mg | Potassium: 604mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 1392IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 969mg | Iron: 1mg
3.Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts, 3 to 4 pieces boneless skinless
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided in half
- ½ teaspoon black pepper, divided in half
- 0.7 ounces dry Italian dressing mix
- 1 cup chicken broth, low-sodium
- 16 ounces penne pasta
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons fresh garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 2 cups half & half
- 1½ cups heavy cream
- 1½ cups parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (optional garnish)
Instructions
- In the insert of your slow cooker/crockpot, place your boneless skinless chicken breasts. Sprinkle ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ¼ black pepper evenly over the chicken. Sprinkle the entire contents of the dry Italian dressing mix evenly over the chicken as well.https://static.btloader.com/safeFrame.html?upapi=trueAD
- Pour the chicken broth into the crockpot with the chicken and spices. Cover with the lid and turn on HIGH for 4 hours.
- Once your chicken is done, remove it and shred it using 2 forks to pull it apart into bite-sized pieces.
- Pour out all but 1 cup of the excess liquid that is remaining in the pot. Return the shredded chicken back to the crockpot insert and add back the reserved 1 cup of the seasoned cooking liquid.
- Turn your crockpot to WARM while you cook your pasta and make your sauce.
- Cook your pasta according to package directions (8 to 10 minutes) and drain when done.
- In a medium saucepan, on medium heat, melt your butter. Once your butter is melted, whisk in the flour making sure there are no lumps.
- Add your grated garlic, dried parsley, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Whisk to combine. Slowly add the half & half and heavy cream, making sure that you are whisking the entire time. This is very important to avoid any lumps in your final alfredo sauce.
- Cook your cream mixture for 5 to 6 minutes, whisking often, until it starts to bubble and thicken. Once your cream mixture has thickened, turn off the heat and add your grated parmesan cheese. Stir to completely combine.
- Add your cooked and drained pasta to your shredded chicken, then pour your Alfredo sauce on top. Stir to combine. You can top your slow cooker Olive Garden chicken Alfredo pasta with fresh chopped parsley at this time if desired.
Notes
- Heat the butter and cream to bubbling so that the cheese melts better when added.
- To help make your sauce extra creamy, allow your cheese to come to room temperature before adding it to the sauce.
- Alfredo sauce thickens while standing and thickens even more when added to the cooked pasta. If it seems too thin, resist the urge to thicken it as it will thicken once mixed with your pasta.
- You can keep your crockpot on warm for 30 minutes before the pasta gets too soft and absorbs excess moisture.
Nutrition
Calories: 811kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 28g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 206mg | Sodium: 1139mg | Potassium: 731mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1536IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 347mg | Iron: 2mg
4.Crockpot Ranch Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons ranch seasoning, divided in half
- 4 tablespoons softened butter
- 4 to 6 bone-in pork chops
- 2 pounds baby potatoes, quartered
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, optional garnish
Instructions
- Mix 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning with the butter until well combined. Rub mixture onto pork chops.
- Sear pork chops in a hot skillet, about 30 seconds a side.
- Place potatoes in the slow cooker, pour in the broth and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of ranch seasoning. Place pork chops on top.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Notes
- If you’re short on time, you can leave the searing step out. This step is just to give the pork chops a nice brown sear.
- If you use boneless pork chops or a thinner cut of pork, chop your potatoes into eighths to make sure they cook through evenly.
Nutrition
Calories: 337kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 566mg | Potassium: 993mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 346IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 2mg
5.Meatballs with Grape Jelly and BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
- 18 ounces BBQ sauce
- 18 ounces grape jelly
- 32 ounces frozen meatballs
Instructions
- Mix the BBQ sauce and grape jelly in the slow cooker.
- Add the frozen meatballs and stir.
- Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or on high for 2 hours.
Notes
- I love using a crockpot liner to make clean-up easy. You can also spray the slow cooker dish with non-stick cooking spray before pouring in your ingredients.
- If you want to skip the crockpot for these easy grape jelly meatballs, you can add all the ingredients to a pan and simmer for 10-15 minutes over medium heat. Be sure to gently stir occasionally while the meatballs cook.
- The meatball sauce in this recipe is a slightly thinner sauce than some other recipes. Don’t worry if it doesn’t thicken up, it’s supposed to be this way.
Nutrition
Calories: 468kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 591mg | Potassium: 418mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 121IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg
6.Butter Chicken Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 cup onion, diced (1 small onion)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 2½ teaspoons curry powder
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1¼ cups heavy cream, room temperature and divided
- 6 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 pounds large boneless-skinless chicken breasts, (5 to 6)
- 4 cups cooked jasmine rice, according to package directions
- fresh cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- In a saute pan on medium-high heat, melt the butter and add the onions, garlic, ginger, curry powder, chili powder, garam masala, cumin and salt. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes or until the onions are tender and the spices are fragrant.
- In the container of a blender, add the cooked onions and spices, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and ¾ cup heavy cream. Blend until smooth.
- In the insert of a slow cooker (crockpot), add the chicken. Cover with the blended sauce and cook on high for 2½ to 3 hours.
- Once the chicken is cooked, remove the pieces from the slow cooker and cut them into bite-sized, 1-inch pieces.
- In a small bowl, combine the remaining ½ cup heavy cream and cornstarch. Stir to create a slurry. This will thicken up your sauce. Add the slurry to your sauce that is inside your slow cooker and stir to combine and allow your sauce to thicken.
- Place your bite-sized chicken pieces back into the slow cooker and stir them around in your sauce, being careful not to break up your chicken pieces too much. Turn off your slow cooker once the chicken pieces are all coated in sauce and ready to serve.
- In a bowl, place ¾ cup of rice (keeping most of it to one side), then spoon the slow cooker butter chicken next to the rice in the bowl. Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
Notes
- For the best results in this recipe, use full-fat ingredients rather than low-fat. It gives the sauce the creamiest texture.
- Make sure to wait to cut the chicken until it has cooked. The small pieces will fall apart if you cut the chicken before cooking, and you want pieces of chicken rather than shredded chicken for the final result in this recipe.
- This slow cooker butter chicken dish should be served warm and can be kept, on the warm setting, in your slow cooker for up to one hour.
Nutrition
Calories: 688kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 54g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 233mg | Sodium: 831mg | Potassium: 1291mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1660IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 3mg
