10 Dump and Go Dinners to Make This Week in the Slow Cooker

This roundup gathers 10 dump-and-go dinners from my slow cooker, including beef casseroles, sloppy joes, chili, soups, stews, and chicken and pork suppers. Most use five or six pantry ingredients. Pick one for a hands-off supper on a busy day.

Some nights I want supper on the table without standing over the stove for an hour. That’s what dump-and-go dinners are for. You throw everything in the crock, put the lid on, and go about your day while the slow cooker does the work.

These are the ones I keep coming back to. You’ll find a pot of cheesy sloppy joes, a creamy tortilla soup, two stews, a hamburger soup, a chili, and a few chicken and pork suppers. Most run on five or six ingredients you probably already have, and a few go in with raw meat straight from the package. That’s one less pan to wash.

I’ll tell you when a cook time can’t be skipped, which ones need a little extra attention, and how many each one feeds. Some of these are perfect for two with leftovers, and some are made for a crowd at the table. Pick one for tonight and see if it doesn’t turn into a regular.

• 6-Ingredient Crock Pot Sausage, Red Beans, And Rice
• 5-Ingredient Crock Pot Tomato Beef Pasta Casserole
• Crock Pot Beef And Cabbage Stew With Potatoes
• Crock Pot Beef and Black Bean Chili (No Browning)
• Crock Pot Cheesy Sloppy Joes with Velveeta
• Five-Ingredient Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Crock Pot Honey Garlic BBQ Chicken
• Creamy Crock Pot Hamburger Soup With Ro-Tel
• Crock Pot Smothered Pork Steaks With Onion Soup Mix
• 6-Ingredient Crock Pot Beef And Mushroom Stew

1. 6-Ingredient Crock Pot Sausage, Red Beans, And Rice

 

Crock Pot sausage, red beans, and rice is the Southern classic you can make without babysitting a pot. Smoked sausage, kidney beans, Creole seasoning, and minute rice go in, and the rice gets stirred in at the end so it doesn’t turn mushy. It’s six ingredients, and it feeds four to six.

2. 5-Ingredient Crock Pot Tomato Beef Pasta Casserole

If you want something that really fills people up, this pasta casserole is the one I reach for. Ground beef, two cans of diced tomatoes with the juice, beef broth, onion soup mix, and egg noodles cook together in the Crock Pot, and the noodles go in right at the end. Five ingredients and five hours on low.

3. Crock Pot Beef And Cabbage Stew With Potatoes

Cold weather means this stew, and it’s the first thing I make when the air turns chilly. Stew meat, half a head of cabbage, frozen cubed potatoes, petite diced tomatoes, beef broth, and beefy onion soup mix all go in with no peeling or browning. Eight hours on low gets the beef tender, and it feeds six to eight.

4. Crock Pot Beef and Black Bean Chili (No Browning)

This chili asks the least of you. The ground beef goes into the slow cooker raw and crumbled, with three cans of black beans, a can of mild Ro-Tel, chili seasoning, and water. Prep takes about 5 minutes, and eight hours on low gives you a thinner, soupy chili for four to six.

5. Crock Pot Cheesy Sloppy Joes with Velveeta

If you want the cheese in the sandwich and not on the side, these sloppy joes are the answer. There’s no sauce packet, just ground beef, ketchup, mustard, and a full sixteen ounces of cubed Velveeta melted down in the slow cooker. It’s three hours on low, so plan it for the afternoon, and toast the buns so they hold up.

6. Five-Ingredient Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

This soup earns its spot because it really does turn creamy. Chicken breasts cook with Ro-Tel, taco seasoning, chicken broth, and a block of cream cheese that melts right into the broth. Give it 7 hours on low in a 6-quart slow cooker, shred the chicken with two forks, and finish with crushed chips and a squeeze of lime.

7. Crock Pot Honey Garlic BBQ Chicken

Start this one early on the days you know the hungry crowd is coming home. Four chicken breasts cook in minced garlic, honey, ketchup, soy sauce, and Worcestershire sauce for 8 hours on low. It shreds right back into that sweet and tangy sauce, and I serve it on buns with coleslaw alongside.

8. Creamy Crock Pot Hamburger Soup With Ro-Tel

This soup can’t decide between brothy and creamy, so it does both. Ground beef, Ro-Tel, corn, cream cheese, and broth cook for 7 hours on low in a 6-quart slow cooker. Break the beef up well before it goes in, or you’ll end up with big clumps floating around.

9. Crock Pot Smothered Pork Steaks With Onion Soup Mix

Pork steaks are the budget cut in this group, and they come out fork-tender after 7 to 8 hours. Five ingredients go in: pork steaks, cream of mushroom soup, onion soup mix, beef broth, and butter. I like the gravy over mashed potatoes with green beans, because that gravy needs something to land on.

10. 6-Ingredient Crock Pot Beef And Mushroom Stew

Pick this stew when you want a sit-down supper that cooks itself. Stew beef, onion soup mix, brown gravy mix, cream of mushroom soup, beef broth, and sliced mushrooms make a creamy gravy, and prep takes about 5 minutes. Plan on 8 hours on low, because 6 to 7 can leave the beef a little chewy.

Pick one of these for your next busy day and let the slow cooker take it from there. Once you’ve tried one, come back and tell me which one y’all liked best. I’ll be right here with another pot on.