Recipes Everyday Cooking Family-Friendly Recipes Back to School 20 Back-to-School Dinners From Your Slow Cooker By Kimberly Holland and Vicky McDonald Vicky McDonald Vicky McDonald is a Seattle-based editor with over 15 years of experience in the media industry. She currently works as an editor for ParentMap.com. Prior to that, she was a senior content manager at Allrecipes. She loves baking, developing new recipes, and growing vegetables. Allrecipes' editorial guidelines Updated on July 7, 2023 Trending Videos It's back-to-school time, and back to a routine. It's a busy time for everyone in the family, especially the parents. Between making school lunches, helping with homework, and after-school sports, there's little time to even think about dinner. To make the transition a little easier, we're sharing our top-rated slow cooker recipes that kids and parents really love. Most of these recipes take 15 minutes or less to prep, and then your slow cooker does the rest. When you all come home after a busy day your home-cooked dinner will be ready and waiting. 01 of 20 Slow Cooker Pulled Pork for Tacos View Recipe My Hot Southern Mess Tacos are one of the fastest weeknight dinners, but you can make it even faster by letting the pork cook while you're at work and the kids are at school. When you get home, shred the pork, and put out toppings and tortillas for everyone to make their own. That leaves plenty of time for homework. 02 of 20 Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings View Recipe Rave Review: "Even the PICKIEST kids will eat this! My kids love this dish! It's super easy and very tasty!" — Holly Shattuck 03 of 20 Slow Cooker French Onion Pork Chops View Recipe thedailygourmet This easy slow cooker dinner requires just four ingredients (plus salt and pepper), which means you may well soon be a back-pocket dinner, one you always have in the ready, for every week's meal plan. Swap up the sides to keep things interesting. 15 Best Side Dishes for Pork Chops 04 of 20 Slow Cooker Beef Stew View Recipe Dianne Rave Review: "This recipe was great. It was easy and fast to prepare. My son asked if I could make this every night so I call it a winner." — KITTIE 05 of 20 Slow Cooker Pineapple-Teriyaki Pork Chops View Recipe bikerfamily Start these tart, tangy pork chops at lunch, and they'll be juicy, tender, and perfect for the whole family at dinner. A tropical-inspired side like Pineapple-Lime Rice is the perfect option for a side. 15 Quick and Easy Side Dish Salad Recipes 06 of 20 Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff View Recipe CC<3's2bake Rave Review: "My nieces (ages 10 and 14) can be VERY picky so I was careful to choose something to make that I thought might please their palates. Well — winner, winner, chicken dinner! This was a huge hit with everybody!" — Jersey Tomato 07 of 20 Slow Cooker Vegan Leek and Potato Soup View Recipe Buckwheat Queen Rich, creamy, and filling on a cool night, this slow cooker potato soup is made without animal products if someone at your table has given up meat or dairy, but it's so decadent even meat eaters will want to lick the bowl. More Slow Cooker Soups 08 of 20 Slow Cooker Sausage with Sauce View Recipe Melissa Goff Rave Review: "This recipe went over well with the entire family. This recipe is definitely going to be on the rotation with our family. It's very rare that I am actually able to find a recipe that everyone enjoys." — Girlyone123 09 of 20 Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Chili View Recipe Steph Shake up your basic meat-rich chili with this plant-based one. Consider this slow cooker chili a starting point; add any ingredients you think will work and please your family. Allrecipes cook Steph, who took this photo, added corn, which is a fine idea. 16 Side Dishes That Go Great With Chili 10 of 20 Slow Cooker Butter Chicken View Recipe jess8852 Rave Review: "My family loves this dish — even my very picky 15-year-old considers it one of his favorites. We make it about twice a month." — goneabroad71 11 of 20 Slow Cooker Mojo Pork View Recipe Yoly If you prep dinners and lunch on Sundays before the week turns hectic, put this pork butt roast into the marinade, and then Monday morning, crank up the slow cooker to let it cook while you're away. Broiling the pork just before serving creates crispy bits reminiscent of classic mojo pork. 12 of 20 Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup View Recipe cmorales Rave Review: "Delicious! whole family loved it. I will be making it again & again!" — CBrow 13 of 20 Slow Cooker Mozzarella-Stuffed Turkey Meatballs View Recipe vicki936 This meatball recipe is quick and great to make on a weekend and store for dinner later in the week. Use the meatballs with pasta, or stuff them into Italian bread for a quick sub. 14 of 20 Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese View Recipe Natasha Titanov Rave Review: "My kids love this and ask for it weekly." — BTang 15 of 20 Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken View Recipe Rave Review: "This was surprisingly good. I added an extra tbs of brown sugar because I didn't think it was sweet enough. I checked the chicken in 2.5 hours and it was done. It was so easy to make this. Thanks you for sharing your recipe." — Yoly 16 of 20 Laura's Quick Slow Cooker Turkey Chili View Recipe Melissa Goff Rave Review: "This is wonderful! Just the right amount of "heat" to it and very filling. Even my four-year-old daughter loved it." — lala3237 17 of 20 Charley's Slow Cooker Mexican Style Meat View Recipe Paula Burritos, tacos, quesadillas — there's no wrong way to use this tender, flavorful meat. If you're sensitive to heat, scale back on the hot sauce and let each person add a few drops of their own. 18 of 20 Slow Cooker Lemon Garlic Chicken II View Recipe Dianne Rave Review: "I have used this recipe for a long time and I love it. Delicious over angel hair mixed with olive oil and fresh ground salt and pepper. My kids who are 3 and 5 love this chicken too!" — smorehead 19 of 20 Slow Cooker Lasagna View Recipe Sheila LaLonde Rave Review: "This is such a hit! I have made it several times before and people always ask for the recipe." — ANGELAGRANT 20 of 20 Melt-In-Your-Mouth Meat Loaf View Recipe Kim's Cooking Now Rave Review: "This turned out great! I had my reservations that it would hold together, but it did! Next time, I'll use foil in the bottom as others suggested." — KelliontheCoast More Slow Cooker Dinners Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit