Stock your kitchen with 6 All Day Slow Cooker Freezer Meals in just 1 hour! These simple prep-ahead recipes are an easy way to serve homemade dinners -- even on your busiest evenings. Just dump the ingredients into your Crock Pot, set it, and GO!
You guys asked for them, and here they are!
After I shared my most recent freezer meal session, I received a lot of requests for All Day Slow Cooker recipes. If you work outside of the home or if you're going to be away from the house for the day, you need options that can cook for 8 hours or more!
A few notes about ALL DAY SLOW COOKER RECIPES before we get started:
Some cuts of meat do better than others with these long cooking times. For instance, boneless skinless chicken breasts will be dry and nasty after 8+ hours in the Crock Pot. By contrast, a big pork shoulder or a soup does better as an All Day Slow Cooker recipe because that extended time allows the meat to break down and become tender while the flavors come together.
These three new recipes work well as All Day Slow Cooker Freezer Meals because they cook for at least 8 hours AND they don't require much prep before you toss all of the ingredients into a bag!
I like to DOUBLE these 3 recipes so that I end up with a total of 6 meals. It's the most efficient way to cook since I already have all of the ingredients out and ready to go!
You can print my shopping list for the 6 meals HERE (<-- this list doubles the ingredients for the 3 recipes below so that you end up with 6 total meals)
Ready to get started? Here we go...
All Day Slow Cooker Freezer Meal #1: Slow Cooker Meatball Soup
I love that this soup uses familiar Italian flavors that my kids always enjoy, but it's also loaded with veggies for a complete meal. Serve with some crusty bread for a cozy and delicious weeknight dinner!
Slow Cooker Meatball Soup
Ingredients
- 1 (20 ounce) package mini Italian meatballs
- 24 oz jar of marinara sauce
- 4 cups beef stock or broth
- 1 pound carrots peeled and chopped
- 3 red bell peppers seeded and chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
- Cover, and cook on “low” for 8 hours.
To Freeze and Cook Later
- Combine all ingredients (except stock) in a large zip-top freezer bag. Remove as much air as possible, seal, and freeze for up to three months. When ready to cook, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and add to slow cooker with stock. Cook on LOW for 8 hours.
Nutrition
All Day Slow Cooker Freezer Meal #2: Slow Cooker Shredded Pork Barbecue
Barbecue is always a favorite, and this particular pork is tender, juicy, and flavorful. Pile it on a sandwich bun and top with coleslaw, if desired. Serve with a simple salad, steamed veggies, chips, potato salad, fries, fruit, or baked beans. It's also great served on top of cornbread!
Slow Cooker Shredded Pork Barbecue
Ingredients
- 1 boneless pork shoulder or butt roast (about 3 lbs.)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1 (18 ounce) bottle barbecue sauce
- For serving: sandwich buns; coleslaw
Instructions
- Season pork with salt, cumin, paprika, and garlic.
- Place onion in slow cooker; add pork on top. Pour barbecue sauce over the meat. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
- Remove roast from slow cooker and place on a cutting board. Trim any noticeable fat from the pork. Shred remaining meat with two forks and return to slow cooker to keep warm. Serve on buns with sauce and coleslaw.
TO FREEZE:
- Place raw seasoned pork in a large zip-top freezer bag. Pour sauce into the bag. Add onion to the top of the bag and seal tightly. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to cook, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Empty contents of the bag into the slow cooker so that the onion is on the bottom. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
Nutrition
All Day Slow Cooker Freezer Meal #3: Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
This meal is surprisingly kid-friendly! Even if your family isn't used to eating Indian food, this mild dish appeals to just about every little one who has tasted it. Serve the chicken with rice and steamed veggies for an easy dinner!
If you’ve tried these All Day Slow Cooker Recipes or any other recipe on The Seasoned Mom then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to see what I’m up to.
Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, NOT drained
- 1 (15-ounce) can coconut milk
- 3 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 teaspoons Garam Marsala
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low for about 8 hours.
- Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces and serve over rice.
FOR FREEZER MEAL OPTION:
- Place all ingredients into a large zip-top bag. Seal and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, thaw in refrigerator overnight. Dump ingredients from bag into slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
Nutrition
Once you've placed all of these recipes in zip-top freezer bags, you can stack them flat so that they don't take up too much space...then stash them away for a busy day!
Enjoy, friends!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
This is such a great idea, Blair! I am always looking for new slow cooker recipes. And I love how easy the prep is, too. I've got to try your chicken tikka marsala...sounds delish!
Blair
Thanks, Gayle! That recipe is YUM. 🙂
Sarah @ The Gold Lining Girl
Blair, this is a FANTASTIC resource. I have a series of slow-cooker recipes coming up for winter because it is basically the ONLY way I cook, and I am always looking to add more slow-cooker recipes to my stash. I love that these are make-ahead too. It's already easy enough to use my slow-cooker, but you found a way to make it the prep-time that much more simple. This is awesome. I want to pick up everything for the Chicken Tikka Masala! That's getting made first!
Blair
Thanks, Sarah! I rely on my slow cooker ALL OF THE TIME during the week. It's such a lifesaver! I'm on a constant mission to find new EASY ideas, so I can't wait to see what you come up with too!
Megan @ Skinny Fitalicious
Love these! I'm a huge fan of using the slow cooker to make healthier foods and I love your meal prep tips too!
Blair
Thanks, Megan!
Jen | Baked by an Introvert
There are so many great recipes in here! I love that you can prep them and stash them away for a busy weekday!!
Blair
Thanks, Jen!
Kristy from Southern In Law
I never use my slow cooker but I really need to start as all of these meals sound incredible!
Blair
Oh, you should totally take advantage of the slow cooker. It makes life so much easier!
Leah
Sounds Delicious!!! I can't wait to try these. Thank you so much, and if you come up with additional recipes for the crock pot, please let me know!
Blair
Enjoy, Leah! I've always got new slow cooker recipes in the works! And I hope that you try these recipes. The meatball soup is a favorite and it's actually in my Crock Pot right now so that we can eat it for dinner tonight! 🙂
Dina
I had bad experience in yhe past adding the coconut milk in the begining of slow cook meal rather than at the end- can i add it at the end.
Blair
Hi Dina! I haven't had any problems with this recipe, but I think it would probably be fine to add it at the end.?
SuzieW
The slow cooker is my favorite small appliance. I really appreciate the photos of the ingredients...it helps me to know what to look for at the grocery store.
Blair
It's one of my favorites too, Suzie! I'm glad that you find the photos helpful. Enjoy the food!
Holly
My crockpot doesn't have a timer, and I'm often out of the house for 10-11 hours for work. I was thinking about buying an outlet timer to plug my crockpot into, so that I can prep the food in the crock pot and either give it a 2 hour delay or turn it off after the recommended cook time, but I'm concerned about food safety.
Do you think I could take the frozen food out of the freezer in the morning, dump it into the crockpot on "off" for 2 hours to defrost, and then schedule the crockpot to turn on? Or do you have any other solutions to this outside of giving in and buying a crockpot with a timer? I love the idea of the pre-prepped freezer bags that I can just dump and go.
Blair
Hi, Holly! This is a tough one. Honestly, I think that it would be fine to put the frozen food in the crockpot for a couple of hours before cooking. That said, I know that food safety experts do NOT recommend this method because of potential bacteria that could grow before the food gets cooked to a hot enough temperature. Long story short, I would probably do that -- but I wouldn't recommend it to someone else! Hah! 🙂
Jesse
I made the meatball soup and was really excited about it, but was shocked at how bitter the broth and meatballs became from the bell peppers! I only used sweet reds and removed all the seeds, so I never expected it to be bitter, but it ruined the soup even after I added some sugar to balance it out. Did anyone else have this problem?
Blair
Hey, Jesse! That's really strange -- I've never had a bitter taste from bell peppers in this soup (or in any other soup). I have no idea what that would be from. 🙁
Holly
My Tikka Masala seems to have split! ???? It’s just curdled bits of the coconut milk floating in broth/fat. Any ideas on how to save it? Did I do something wrong?
Blair
Hi, Holly! I don't know -- I haven't had that problem, but I know that sometimes folks add the coconut milk at the end of the cooking time to prevent that. I've just never noticed a curdling issue when adding it at the beginning, so that's always how I've done it. 🙁
Diane Anderson
I just found this recipe stashed with others . I made it this evening--using my dutch oven instead of the crock pot as I didn't have a chance to get it cooking this morning.
It Was delicious! My picky son really enjoyed the sauce! My husband, who is cautious about spiced foods loved it, too. Thanks for the recipe! It will now be one of our recurring meals!
diane
Diane Anderson
This is about the Chicken Tikka Masala recipe.
Blair
Thanks so much, Diane! I'm glad that it worked well for you, and I appreciate you taking the time to come here and leave a note. Have a great week!
Crazy Quilter
At our house we love our pulled pork several ways including the sandwiches , with cornbread, and topping baked potatoes complete with sharp cheddar cheese and French fried onions. When the pot is almost empty I make up a pot full of Brunswick stew. I feel like I have eaten that pig twice!
Blair
Great tips! Thank you. 🙂