One of our favorite parts about Southern living is the slow pace of life. Your daily routine shouldn’t be rushed, and neither should cooking your meals. Of course, you might not want to spend all day in the kitchen (especially on a hot & humid day), so let your slow cooker do the work for you. Coming at you from the Carolinas, Texas, and everywhere in between, here are 22 Southern slow-cooker recipes.
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Bananas Foster
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Did you know Bananas Foster—the delectable dessert made with bananas, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, coconut, and sweeeeet sweet rum hails from New Orleans? Neither did we, and we didn’t know you could make it in the slow cooker either, until we stumbled upon this recipe from Taste of Home.
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Candied yams
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First, let’s set something straight: Yes, candied yams are really just candied sweet potatoes. But does it really matter? These brown sugar and cinnamon-covered beauties are absolutely delicious, and you can make this classic comfort-food side dish in your slow cooker. Flour on My Face can show you the way—a way that includes mini marshmallows on top, of course.
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Chicken & dumplings
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Hot and hearty, chicken and dumplings is basically creamy chicken soup with little doughy biscuits floating in it. Soups are always easier in the slow cooker, so check out this recipe from Spend with Pennies for the details on how to make it at home.
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Collard greens
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Collard greens are a frequent guest on dinner tables in the South, so we’re also welcoming them to this list. Despite the veggie-centric name, collard greens usually contain some sort of meat, whether it’s ham hock, ham shanks, bacon, turkey drumsticks, or Kielbasa. The Magical Slow Cooker can help make dinner magically appear (almost).
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Corn chowder
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Why are creamy soups the most comforting kind of soup? We can’t answer that, but we can tell you how to make this tasty bacon-topped dish in your slow cooker. Or, better yet, Southern Living can.
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Cornbread
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Cornbread in the slow cooker? That’s either blasphemy or brilliance. We think it’s the latter, but be the judge yourself with this slow-cooker cornbread recipe from Fuss Free Flavours.
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Cubed steak & gravy
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Cubed steak isn’t steak cut into cubes, it’s a flat, tenderized round of beef—the same kind used for chicken fried steak. Chicken fried steak would be pretty tricky in a slow cooker, but cubed steak with gravy is a cinch! In fact, this version from The Country Cook uses just seven ingredients.
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Jambalaya
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Give your slow cooker (and your taste buds!) a bit of New Orleans flavor with this classic Jambalaya recipe with a slow-cooker twist. Sausage, chicken, and shrimp all go into this rice-centric classic, which Simply Recipes can show you how to make.
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Mac & cheese
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You can’t have a list of Southern dishes without mac & cheese, which is a meal, a side dish, a snack, and everything in between. We’ll let a Georgia-born country singer show you the way with Trisha Yearwood’s slow cooker mac & cheese recipe via Spicy Southern Kitchen.
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Meatloaf
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Once upon a time, someone said, “Bread is great, but what if it was made out of meat?” Meatloaf was born, and the world was never the same. Your life will never be the same after you try this melt-in-your-mouth slow-cooker version from Taste of Home.
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Mississippi mud cake
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Mississippi mud cake is a chocolate-lover’s dream. Making it in a slow cooker is a baker’s dream. Food.com can help make this dream a reality.
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Nashville hot chicken
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Hattie B’s Nashville hot chicken is world famous, and this recipe from Plain Chicken adapts it into a slow-cooker-friendly version that’s pulled instead of fried. Put it on a bun, some slider rolls, a sub sandwich, tacos, or anything else you want!
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Peach cobbler
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Georgia gets all the attention when it comes to peaches, but did you know “The Peach State” actually ranks third in production volume behind California and South Carolina? Thankfully, you can make delicious peach cobbler regardless of what state you live in—and you can make it in your slow cooker, too! Recipes That Crock has an easy version you can put together in five minutes.
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Pecan pie
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People still debate whether it’s pronounced “pee-can” or “pe-cahn,” but we want to make a different pecan pie pronouncement: The easiest way to make this Southern staple dessert is in a slow cooker. In fact, only eight ingredients are needed for this version from The Country Cook. We rest our case.
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Pot roast
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If you want your pot roast to be tender and juicy (who doesn’t?) then you’ll want to make this classic comfort food in the slow cooker. For a Southern-style recipe, try this version from Recipes Worth Repeating.
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Pulled pork
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Pulled pork needs to be slow-cooked for hours, so why not use your slow cooker to make everything easier? To step up the Southern flavor, try this Carolina-style pulled pork recipe from Spicy Southern Kitchen. Then put it on a bun with coleslaw, atop mac & cheese, or eat it straight-up!
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Ribs
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Ribs are one of the easiest meals you can make in a slow cooker. Sure, they take at least four hours to cook, but this recipe from Simply Happy Foodie calls for just four ingredients—ribs, barbecue sauce, spice rub, and an onion—and takes only 10 minutes of prep time.
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Sausage gravy
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You never saw such an easy sausage gravy recipe as this one from Mostly Homemade Mom. Not only does it include only three ingredients, but you can actually make the biscuits right in the slow cooker. If you cook carefully on high, your sausage and gravy meal can be ready in less than two hours.
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Shrimp & grits
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Shrimp and grits is a Southern staple, and with this recipe from Taste of Home, it can become a staple of your slow cooker, too. And although we haven’t used the word “cheesy” yet, don’t fret: The recipe calls for two heaping cups of cheddar (and we won’t tell anyone if you add a little extra).
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Spaghetti casserole
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Baked ziti is a standard in Italian households, but in the South, families opt for baked spaghetti—also known as spaghetti casserole or spaghetti pie. All the usual ingredients go into it (beef, pasta, tomato sauce, onion, garlic, herbs, spices, and three types of cheese) but the whole thing comes together in a baking dish...or, as in this recipe from The Magical Slow Cooker, a crock pot.
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Texas chili
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This isn’t your Cincinnati, served-over-spaghetti chili—this is Texas chili, made with beef, chili peppers, and not a bean in sight. Don’t be thrown off by the long list of ingredients, this recipe from The Stay at Home Chef is actually pretty simple.
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Venison stew
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Deer hunting is a way of life in the Southern states, and so are different ways of using the meat. Venison stew is a hearty meal that, like other stews, also includes potatoes, carrots, and celery. Buy This Cook That can make sure you know the way and don’t get caught in the headlights.
