7 Tasty Dishes You Won’t Believe You Can Make in a Slow Cooker

When you think slow cooker meals, you probably think chili and soups (which we love, of course!).

RELATED: 5 Healthy Soup Recipes for Warming Winter Meals

But there are so many other amazing things you can do with a Crock-Pot—and there are many reasons to take advantage of its powers.

First of all, it saves clean-up time, since you tend to throw everything in the pot together. Second, once you’ve got a dish going, it basically cooks on its own. There’s no waiting and watching. You can just walk away (and finally finish Stranger Things!) and come back to a perfectly cooked dinner, side dish, or even breakfast bowl.

Convinced? Check out seven brilliant ways smart nutritionists, healthy peeps, and food bloggers are using their slow cookers to make healthy, delicious meals, below.

10 Surprising Slow Cooker Meals

1. Quinoa Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

The make-ahead Meatless Monday recipe you’ll want to make every other day of the week, too, courtesy of Pinch of Yum.

2. Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

Brussels are delicious roasted, but you can also throw them in a Crock-Pot, a la Damn Delicious, and they’ll basically cook themselves.

3. Spaghetti and Meatballs

Forget multiple trays, pots, and pans, Make this classic family meal (healthified, of course, with grass-fed beef and whole wheat pasta) in one (slow-cooking) pot.

RELATED: The 5 Healthiest Pastas That Are Also Delicious

4. Homemade Applesauce

You can boil apples and then mash them, or avoid the entire process of fishing them out of the hot water by using this more simple method described by Yummy Healthy Easy.

5. Banana Bread Quinoa

Forget oatmeal. The Realistic Nutritionist shows you how to make breakfast quinoa that tastes exactly like warm, sweet banana bread…and will be ready and waiting for you when you wake up.

6. Honey Garlic Chicken

Spend with Pennies demos a super easy way to turn organic chicken breasts into a flavorful meal you can enjoy over brown rice.

7. Slow Cooker Stuffing

Bookmark this one for the holidays: When oven space is at a major premium as you prep a feast, take Well Plated’s advice and make our stuffing in the Crock-Pot.

(Featured Photo: Foodiesfeed.com)

About Nutritious Life Editors

The Nutritious Life Editors are a team of healthy lifestyle enthusiasts who not only subscribe to — and live! — the 8 Pillars of a Nutritious Life, but also have access to some of the savviest thought leaders in the health and wellness space — including our founder and resident dietitian, Keri Glassman. From the hottest trends in wellness to the latest medical science, we stay on top of it all in order to deliver the info YOU need to live your most nutritious life.

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