Slow cooker recipes are an essential for any home cook – time saving, low cost and reliably delicious. The Good Food kitchen has produced hundreds of brilliant recipes over the years, and this collection gathers 150 of the very best.
Slow cookers allow anyone to create mouth-watering dishes that can be cooked overnight or while you’re at work so that you can enjoy your meal as soon as you get home. From family favourites like curries, chillis, soups and puddings, to fresh ideas for stews, fish and tasty vegetarian meals, Good Food Ultimate Slow Cooker Recipes has something for everyone.
All recipes are short and simple with easy-to-follow steps, and are accompanied by a full-colour photograph of the finished dish.
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Epub ISBN: 9781473530546
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BBC Books, an imprint of Ebury Publishing,
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Photographs © BBC Magazines 2016
Recipes © BBC Worldwide 2016
Book design © Woodlands Books Ltd 2016
All recipes contained in this book first appeared in BBC Good Food magazine.
Cover image: Stuart Ovenden © BBC Worldwide 2016
First published by BBC Books in 2016
www.eburypublishing.co.uk
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9781785941641
Project editor: Charlotte Macdonald
Design: Interstate Creative Partners Ltd and Kathryn Gammon
Cover Design: Interstate Creative Partners Ltd
Production: Alex Goddard
Picture Researcher: Gabby Harrington
Good for you and tasty too, this thick soup can easily be served as a filling supper or casual weekend lunch with toast and houmous.
3-4 hours 
4-5
• 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 leek, washed and finely sliced
• 4 fat celery sticks, chopped into small pieces
• 3 large carrots, chopped into small pieces
• 2 big parsnips, peeled and chopped into small pieces
• small pack coriander, stalks finely chopped, leaves reserved to serve
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp each ground cumin, coriander, cinnamon and turmeric
• 2 tbsp harissa (we used Belazu)
• 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
• 2 chicken stock cubes, crumbled
• 85g/3oz dried green lentils
• zest and juice 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp golden caster sugar
• natural yogurt, to serve (optional)
1 Heat the slow cooker if necessary. Heat half the oil in a frying pan, season the thighs and brown really well on both sides. Remove to a plate. Tip a mug of water into the pan and simmer, scraping up all the browned bits. Tip this liquid into a measuring jug for later.
2 Put the remaining oil, the vegetables and coriander stalks in a big saucepan. Gently cook until the veg is softened about 5 mins. Stir in the spices, turn up the heat, and cook for a few mins. Stir in the harissa, followed by the tomatoes, the chicken, stock cubes and lentils. Top up your jug of chickeny juices to 500ml/18fl oz with water, then add this, too. Bring to a simmer, then tip into the slow cooker, cover and cook for 2-3 hours until the vegetables are tender.
3 Lift the chicken from the soup and shred finely using a couple of forks. (The chicken will be very tender, so stirring the soup may well break it up for you instead.) Return to the soup with the lemon zest and juice and sugar, and season to taste. Ladle into bowls and top with a dollop of yogurt and the coriander leaves.
PER SERVING (5) 316 kcals, fat 14g, saturates 3g, carbs 28g, sugars 17g, fibre 7g, protein 22g, salt 1.6g
Make this with leftovers from the Sunday roast, or simply poach a couple of chicken breasts in the slow cooker first, following the manufacturer’s instructions.
3-4 hours 4
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, chopped
• 1 tbsp thyme leaves, roughly chopped
• 1 litre/1¾ pints chicken stock
• 300g/10oz leftover roast chicken or poached chicken, shredded, or 1 roasted chicken carcass
• 200g/7oz frozen peas
• 3 tbsp Greek yogurt
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• squeeze lemon juice
• crusty bread, to serve
1 Heat the slow cooker if necessary and heat the oil in a large heavy-based pan. Add the onions, carrots and thyme, then gently fry for 15 mins. Tip the veg into the slow cooker pot with the stock. If you’re using a chicken carcass, add it now, breaking it in half if you need to. Cover and cook for 2–3 hours on High until the vegetables are tender.
2 If you used a carcass, remove it now, and shred any remaining chicken off the bones. Stir this back into the soup, or add your leftover shredded chicken, if using that instead, plus the peas, and cover and cook for 30 mins more.
3 Remove half the mixture, then purée with a stick blender (or ladle half the mixture into a blender or food processor and purée that). Tip back into the pot and check for seasoning.
4 Mix the yogurt, garlic and lemon juice, swirl into the soup in bowls, then serve with some crusty bread.
PER SERVING 339 kcals, fat 13g, saturates 3g, carbs 18g, sugars 11g, fibre 13g, protein 39g, salt 2.0g
If you are looking for an easy starter you won’t go wrong with this delicate, creamy soup. It is quite rich, so ideal to serve in small portions.
3 hours 6
• 50g/2oz butter
• 450g/1lb potatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 onion, chopped
• 450g/1lb leeks (the weight once the tops and outer leaves are trimmed), sliced
• 1 chicken or vegetable stock cube
• 150ml pot double cream
• milk, to taste
TO SERVE (OPTIONAL)
• knob of butter
• the white part of 1 leek, finely shredded
• snipped chives
1 Heat the slow cooker if necessary. Put the butter, potatoes, onion and leeks in a large pan and crumble in the stock cube. Pour in 500ml/18fl oz boiling water and bring to the boil.
2 Tip into the slow cooker, cover and cook on Low for 2½ hours until the vegetables are tender.
3 Add the cream (if garnishing use three-quarters of the pot) and blitz with a stick blender until silky smooth. Season and dilute with milk – you will need approx 50ml/2fl oz.
4 If garnishing the soup, keep it hot while you heat the butter in a small pan, add the leek and cook until softened. Spoon the soup into bowls, top with a swirl of the reserved cream, leek and chives, then grind over some pepper.
PER SERVING 252 kcals, fat 18 g, saturates 11g, carbs 18g, sugars 3g, fibre 3g, protein 5g, salt 0.7g
If you’ve got a very large slow cooker it’s worth making a double batch of this low-fat, super-healthy soup as it freezes beautifully.
3½ hours 4 
easily doubled
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• pinch dried chilli flakes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 600g/1lb 5oz carrots, washed and coarsely grated (no need to peel)
• 140g/5oz red split lentils
• 700ml/1¼ pints hot vegetable stock
• 125ml/4fl oz milk
• plain yogurt and warmed naan breads, to serve
1 Heat the slow cooker if necessary. Put half the cumin seeds, half the chilli flakes, the oil, carrots, lentils and stock in the pot. Cover and cook on High for 3 hours until the lentils are tender.
2 Dry-fry the remaining cumin seeds and chilli flakes just until fragrant.
3 When the lentils are done, stir in the milk and whizz the soup with a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth (or leave it chunky, if you prefer). Add a splash of water if the soup is a bit thick for you. Season to taste and finish with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of the toasted spices. Serve with warmed naan breads.
PER SERVING 238 kcals, fat 7g, saturates 1g, carbs 34g, sugars 5g, fibre 5g, protein 11g, salt 0.25g
The perfect lunch for two, just add some fresh crusty bread and butter, and let the slow cooker do most of the work.
4 hours 2 easily doubled
• knob of butter
• 2 rashers streaky bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 350g/12oz potatoes, cut into small cubes
• 500ml/18fl oz full-fat milk
• 140g/5oz sweetcorn, frozen or from a can
• 300g/10oz smoked haddock fillets, skinned
• chopped parsley, to garnish (optional)
1 Heat the slow cooker if necessary. Melt the butter in a frying pan. Tip in the bacon, onion and potatoes, then fry gently until the onion is soft. Scrape everything into the slow cooker pot with the milk. Cover and cook on High for 3 hours until the potatoes are tender.
2 Stir in the sweetcorn, sit the fish fillets on top and press down so they sit just under the surface of the liquid. Cover and cook for another 20–30 mins until the fish flakes easily when pressed.
3 Turn off the slow cooker pot and carefully lift the fish out and on to a plate. Flake into large chunks, checking for bones and discarding them as you go. Gently stir the fish back into the chowder, season with some black pepper. Scatter over the parsley, if using, and serve with plenty of crusty bread.
PER SERVING 550 kcals, fat 16g, saturates 7g, carbs 59g, sugars 18g, fibre 4g, protein 47g, salt 3.5g
You can easily make this soup ahead, then simply return it to the slow cooker and heat through for an hour on High until piping hot but not bubbling.
5–6 hours, plus overnight soaking 8 easily halved
• 1kg/2lb 4oz ham hock
• 200g/7oz split peas, soaked overnight
• 2 onions, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 celery stick, roughly chopped
• 300g/10oz frozen peas
• crusty bread and butter, to serve
1 Put the ham in a very large pan with 2 litres/3½ pints water and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and drain off the water.
2 Heat the slow cooker if necessary. Add the ham to the pot with the split peas, onion, carrots, bay and celery. Cover with the lid and cook on High for 4–5 hours until the ham is tender enough to shred – check occasionally as the ham cooks and softens. You can halve it if you want, so it is all submerged under the liquid.
3 When it is ready, lift out the ham and bay leaves, and tip the frozen peas into the slow cooker. Cook for another 30 mins while you prepare the ham. Peel off and discard the skin, and while it is still hot (wear a clean pair of rubber gloves), shred the meat. Blend the soup until smooth, adding a splash of water if too thick, and then mix in most of the ham. Serve in bowls with the remaining ham scattered on top, and eat with crusty bread and butter.
PER SERVING 292 kcals, fat 11 g, saturates 4g, carbs 23g, sugars 5g, fibre 5g, protein 26g, salt 3.5g
This is perfect for a Monday night if you have a chicken carcass from your Sunday roast. Any leftover meat can be shredded and added with the noodles and veg.
7–8 hours 4
• 140g/5oz soba or wholewheat noodles
• 100g/4oz beansprouts
• 2 pak choi, leaves separated
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and sliced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp honey
• juice 1 lime, plus extra wedges to squeeze over
• 4 spring onions, sliced, to garnish
• ½ small bunch mint, roughly chopped, to garnish
FOR THE BROTH
• 1 roasted chicken carcass
• thumb-sized piece ginger, bashed and sliced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 5 peppercorns
1 To make the broth, heat the slow cooker if necessary. Put the chicken carcass in the slow cooker pot. Just cover it with hot water, then add the rest of the broth ingredients, and cover and cook on Low for 6–7 hours.
2 Strain the chicken broth into a clean pan. Carefully pick out any pieces of chicken and return them to the broth, but discard the bones. Put the broth back in the slow cooker pot.
3 Add the noodles, beansprouts, pak choi, red chilli, soy sauce, honey and lime juice, adding the squeezed lime halves to the pot, too. Cook on High, covered, for 30 mins more.
4 Ladle the soup into bowls, scatter over the spring onions and mint leaves, and serve with the lime wedges for squeezing over.
PER SERVING 206 kcals, fat 2g, saturates none, carbs 35g, sugars 7g, fibre 2g, protein 15g, salt 1.9g
This makes a big batch – perfect for using up a glut of cheap courgettes and potatoes, but if your slow cooker is small, simply halve the quantities of the ingredients.
4 hours 8 easily halved
• 500g/1lb 2oz potatoes, unpeeled and roughly chopped
• 2 vegetable stock cubes
• 1kg/2lb 4oz courgettes, roughly chopped
• bunch spring onions, sliced, save 1 onion, thinly sliced, to garnish
• 100g/4oz extra mature cheddar or vegetarian alternative, grated, plus a little extra to garnish
• good grating fresh nutmeg
1 Heat the slow cooker if necessary. Put the potatoes in the slow cooker pot with just enough water to cover them and crumble in the stock cubes. Cover and cook for 3 hours on High until the potatoes are tender.
2 Scoop out a couple of ladlefuls of stock and save for the end. Add the courgettes and spring onions, put the lid back on and cook for 30 mins more until the courgettes are tender.
3 Take off the heat, then stir in the cheese and season with the nutmeg, salt and some black pepper. Whizz to a thick soup with a stick blender, adding the reserved stock until you get the consistency you like. Serve scattered with the extra grated cheddar, spring onions and black pepper. Or cool and freeze in freezer bags or containers with good lids for up to 3 months.
PER SERVING 131 kcals, fat 6g, saturates 3g, carbs 14g, sugars 3g, fibre 2g, protein 7g, salt 1.3g
This makes a great starter before a Chinese meal; it’s simple, but the key is allowing time to flavour the broth.
1½ hours, or up to a day if you like 4
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
• 500ml/18fl oz chicken stock
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1–2 tbsp golden caster sugar
• thumb-sized piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced