These easy crock pot recipes can be prepared in 5 minutes or less! Slow cooker recipes like these make busy back to school days so much easier and are a great way to use up your pantry canned food staples. These crock pot main dish and side recipes make it easy to throw together a home cooked meal in a snap for your family to enjoy for dinner after a busy day.
Big thanks to Cans Get You Cooking for sponsoring this post.
Cris here. It is back to school season here in Indiana and I was thrilled when the good people from Cans Get You Cooking asked me to share with you a little about how my pantry helps me feed my family on those busy school days. I instantly thought about all those really great quick prep recipes that are made possible because I can keep the key ingredients on hand in my pantry and throw into my crock pot in no time flat.
Cans Get You Cooking
I have always been a big fan of the convenience canned food offers me. By maintaining a well stocked pantry, I have a lot of options even when I do not have a lot of time. Aside from convenience, I also love the kind of flavors you can add to a dish straight from the can. Substituting chicken broth for water will almost always take the flavor up a notch in any crock pot recipe. Additionally, there are many canned beans, tomatoes, corn, etc. that have delicious additions like garlic, onion, basil, peppers, chilies and more already added into the can.
I love using these kinds of ingredients to make a nutritious home cooked meal for my family even when our schedules are crazy. But how does the nutritional content of canned foods stack up to their frozen and fresh counterparts? Studies conducted by researchers at Michigan State University, UC Davis and Oregon State University all concluded that canned foods have similar (or better) nutritional profiles as their fresh or frozen equivalents.
Main Dish Recipes Ready to Cook in 5 Minutes or Less
These crock pot main dish recipes are some of our go-to recipes on those busy back-to-school days.
- Crock Pot Italian Pot Roast
- One Pot Sausage Dinner
- Crock Pot Italian Chicken
- Fiesta Slow Cooker Pork Chops
- Crock Pot Catalina Chicken Thighs
Easy Side Dishes for Busy Back- to- School Days
Truth be told, side dishes are often an afterthought in this house. I LOVE it when my slow cooker can help me not only put together a fantastic main dish but has my back with my side dishes. Here are some great side dishes that we love to crock!
- Crock Pot Green Beans
- Slow Cooker Beans and Weenies
- Fiesta Mac and Cheese
- Crock Pot Party Beans
- Crock Pot Spanish Rice
Programmable Crock Pot Giveaway Contest Over
Here at Recipes That Crock we want to get you cooking too! We want to give one lucky reader a programmable crock pot to help them be able to utilize their pantry more! (Note: This giveaway is sponsored by Recipes That Crock.)
Enter to Win CONTEST OVER
ENTER: Just comment below and tell me what canned food you always keep on hand?
BONUS ENTRY: Tell me which recipes above you are most interested in trying?
Daily entries (and bonus entries) are allowed and all entries are on the honor system.
Color and model is not guaranteed. Contest ends at midnight on 8/30/2016. Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond. Winning slow cooker will be shipped to continental U. S. addresses only. Must be 18 to enter. GOODe Luck!
I always have canned tuna, canned chicken, instant mashed potatoes, peanut butter, dehydrated potatoes, canned corn and green beans, and a bag of pasta. Gives me enough to make something in a pinch.
I would like to try the beans and wienies. Sounds good.
Italian Chicken were doing tonight and I have a variety of canned vegetables .
I always have canned tomatoes on hand. I would love to try a recipe for stroganoff in the crock pot.
My husband cannot have a lot of salt due to a medical problem. I always keep salt-free broth, salt-free bouillon cubes and various vegetables like canned potatoes, corn and items like that that can be rinsed off.
I always have in my pantry, canned tomatoes,tomato sauce,canned spaghetti sauce, canned milk,sweet condensed milk, spam, cream of mushroom soup, and cream of chicken soup, beef, chicken, vegetable stock,beans all kinds of canned beans, nalley’s chili, mushrooms, vegetables, corn, green beans, spinach, mixed, beets, carrots, mixed veggies,green chilies, so many it’s hard to type these are just a few. I have tried your homestyle pork chops in my slow cooker a couple of weeks ago, so easy and yummy! My next recipe I want to try is the cheesy scalloped potatoes, or saucy potatoes, they both sound very good and pretty easy to make. I use my crock-pot at at least once a week or more.
I would love to own this. But I would love to be able to give it to my busy busy daughter for Christmas.
Beans!
I always have can goods on hand. Fiesta Pork chops look extra good to me. Can’t wait to try. Love your recipes and website.
We have canned pie fillings on hand for the consistency and the ease of use. So easy to prepare.
I always have cream of (fill in the blank) soup and condensed French onion soup. Canned diced tomatoes are a must!
I look forward to trying the green beans. Farmers Market – here I come!
I have creamed soups, canned chicken, tomatoes of all kinds, beans of at least 4 kinds, and many different sauces in my pantry.
I saw many recipes I want to try. One of the most interesting is the chicken and stuffing recipe.
I always have cans of fruit in my pantry. Pineapple and peaches in juice are always great for a quick fruit salad or to add to cottage cheese for a quick side dish.
I’d like to try the Crock Pot Catalina Chicken Thighs…looks yummy…thanks!
CREAMED CORN is my favorite vegetable. It can be used as a soup, add milk; as a gravy over potatoes; and just as a side dish!
I like the Spanish Rice! Now, I am hungry, thank you. LOL
Black beans are always kept on hand. Can’t wait to try FIESTA SLOW COOKER PORK CHOPS.
Rice and beans..must have’s. Also a variety of brownie and cake mixes
I try to keep canned chicken it makes AMAZING chicken salad! I’d like the Mac and Cheese or
Crock Pot Italian Pot Roast
I always have canned tomatoes and canned black beans on hand in my pantry.
I would like to try the Fiesta Slow Cooker Pork Chops!
Chris, I just love your recipes and get a good laugh whenever I watch your Mikey cooking!! I haven’t watched all of them yet but they’re really good! My printer won’t work if I click on your “print” button so I have to write them down since I can’t copy and paste them. It will only copy from a letter. Go figure. A royal pain in the neck for sure! I even bought a new printer a couple of weeks ago and still have this problem…guess it’s the Windows 10 that did it. 🙁
I made your Cowboy Beans last week and OMG they were so good. My son and DIL loved them too. It’s a keeper. And for my daughter’s birthday last Sunday I made the Crock Pot Vanilla Sour Cream Cake…WOW I couldn’t believe it turned out so well and we all loved it including the birthday girl! Honestly I don’t think you can tell by reading the ingredients just how really good it is. And BTW we cooked it for 2 1/2 hrs in my slow cooker, but I think I’ll do 2 1/4 hrs next time. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Now as far as which canned staples we keep on hand… Cream of Mushroom soup, Cream of Chicken soup, Tomato soup, canned milk, tomatoes, kidney beans, pork and beans, white beans, kidney beans, re-fried beans, blackeyed peas, Ro-Tell tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, chicken and beef broth, canned chicken and canned tuna, green beans, spinach, corn and creamed corn.
Thanks for your great website. Also wanted to also thank Aunt Lou.