These recipes prove that you can have tasty meals with basic ingredients.
Sometimes, less is more. You don’t need a dozen ingredients to create an interesting meal, and you don’t need every bottle in the spice aisle to flavor meat. These 5 ingredient or less crock pot recipes prove that you can enjoy a tasty, satisfying meal with basic ingredients. Each of them is made with five or fewer ingredients (plus the occasional salt or water)—many of which you might already have in your pantry. They can also all be made in a slow cooker, meaning meals have never been simpler!
Our 21 Favorite 5 Ingredient or Less Crock Pot Recipes
Breakfast
1. Overnight Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Steel Oats
This oat recipe can be cooked as you sleep. It takes about 8 hours in the slow cooker. Just combine the ingredients the night before, and a nice breakfast will be waiting for you in the morning.
Get the recipe: Overnight Slow Cooker Pumpkin Pie Steel Oats
2. Slow Cooker Creamy Almond Oatmeal
This creamy almond oatmeal takes less time to cook than our pumpkin pie oats recipe – it’s ready in four to five hours. It’s the ideal breakfast when you need to feed your entire family.
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Creamy Almond Oatmeal
3. Slow Cooker Frittata with Artichoke Hearts, Roasted Peppers, and Feta
This veggie frittata is full of flavor and low in calories. It’s made with simple ingredients and can easily be made vegan by foregoing the feta cheese and subbing a plant-based egg substitute.
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Frittata with Artichoke Hearts, Roasted Peppers, and Feta
Main Dishes
4. Slow Cooker Barbecue Pulled Chicken
Chicken, broth, barbecue sauce, salt, and pepper: these are all basic ingredients that you may already have in your kitchen. You can also make our clean-eating Barbecue sauce recipeto avoid the unnecessary additives in store-bought brands.
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Barbecue Pulled Chicken
5. Slow Cooker Everything Chicken
This chicken breast is flavored with clean, basic ingredients: olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook the chicken in the slow cooker, and you’ll have tender meat for any recipe. Serve with a side dish, shred into salads, or wrap in a tortilla. The possibilities are endless!
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Everything Chicken
6. Slow Cooker Basil Chicken with Carrots
You probably already have these ingredients. The chicken is flavored with fresh lemon juice and basil then cooked in broth with sliced carrots. With only 165 calories per serving, this is a go-to slow cooker recipe for the whole family.
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Basil Chicken with Carrots
7. Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken
This recipe is simple yet zesty. It’s a nice change to the average chicken dinner. The best part? It’s incredibly healthy. This dish contains 30 grams of protein per serving and only 2 grams of carbohydrates.
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken
8. Slow Cooker Herb Crusted Turkey Breast
This recipe proves that you don’t need a hundred ingredients to have a well-seasoned, flavorful meal. It uses poultry seasoning, garlic, onion, thyme, and pepper to add tons of interesting flavors to the turkey breast.
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Herb Crusted Turkey Breast
9. 5-Ingredient Easy White Chicken Chili
This healthy chicken chili recipe can be made overnight or while you’re at work. Cook it on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. It’s tasty and incredibly easy to make.
Get the recipe: 5-Ingredient Easy White Chicken Chili
10.White Bean & Sausage
This simple crock pot stew is delicious and filling. The sausage makes this dish a savory treat that you can enjoy guilt-free.
Get the recipe: White Bean & Sausage
11. Slow Cooker Macaroni & Cheese
Paired with a large serving of mixed vegetables, this five-ingredient mac & cheese is the perfect savory treat to complement a balanced meal.
Get the recipe:
Side Dishes and Sauces
12. Slow Cooker Homestyle Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary
Pair this simple side with lean chicken or turkey to make a classic meal everyone will love.
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Homestyle Potatoes with Garlic and Rosemary
13. Slow Cooker Mexican Oats
Who says oats are just for breakfast? Oats can replace traditional rice. This recipe is low in fat and sugar and delivers all the savory Mexican flavor you crave.
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Mexican Oats
14. Slow Cooker Pomegranate Spiced Applesauce
For a twist on traditional applesauce, try this pomegranate-spiced version! It technically uses six ingredients, but two of them are spices that you may already have in your pantry (feel free to use just cinnamon or cloves, or sub them out with nutmeg, ginger, or a pumpkin pie spice blend if you have it). This recipe can be cooked overnight in the slow cooker while you sleep. If you want to stick to the basics, we have a traditional crockpot applesauce recipe.
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Pomegranate Spiced Applesauce
15. Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce
This cranberry sauce recipe is super easy. It uses four basic ingredients: fresh cranberries, orange juice, cinnamon, and honey. Throw everything in the slow cooker and chill after cooking.
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce
16. Slow Cooker Roast Vegetables
Side dishes don’t get any easier than this. This recipe is simple and requires very little effort. Since it’s made in the slow cooker, the vegetables can cook while you’re at work or running errands.
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Roast Vegetables
Desserts
17. Slow Cooker Molten Lava Cake
Dessert has never been so simple. With only four ingredients and the crockpot, this molten lava cake is easy and decadent. If you’ve got an extra two ingredients on hand, you can whip up a dreamy nice-cream topping to go with it!
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Molten Lava Cake
18. Slow Cooker Fudge
Fudge is a great slow cooker recipe. Combine the ingredients and allow them to sit in the crockpot. You don’t even need to worry about it burning!
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Fudge
19. Slow Cooker Bananas Foster
For a less traditional dessert, try this New Orleans classic. This recipe is a clean-eating version sweetened with honey and cooked with unrefined coconut oil.
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Bananas Foster
20. Slow Cooker Honey Banana
This honey banana recipe is similar to Bananas Foster, but instead of flavoring with rum extract, it uses lemon, honey, and cardamom seed.
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Honey Banana
21. Slow Cooker Pecan Pie
Pecan pie is an all-time holiday favorite. Our Skinny Ms. recipe keeps it simple and healthy. It’s sweetened with honey, which contains nutrients that refined sugar lacks.
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Pecan Pie
Meals don’t get much simpler than these 5 ingredient or less crock pot recipes. They’re a testament to the fact that basic ingredients, minimal prep, and a little time in your slow cooker can lead to mealtime greatness. Make them for your family this week and save yourself time, energy, and money!
Do you have any favorite 5 ingredient or less crock pot recipes? Let us know in the comments!
Enjoyed this post? Read more:
- 7 Breakfasts You Can Make in the Crock Pot
- Stay Healthy Slow Cooker Brown Rice and Chicken
- Crock Pot Low-Fat Beef Stew
- Slow Cooker Hearty White Bean Stew Recipe
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