15 Essential Recipes To Convert To The Slow Cooker

Got a favorite stovetop or oven recipe that you wish you could make in the slow cooker? If it has some moisture in it—whether from water, broth, wine, sauce, or canned soup—you're in luck. Just about anything you can braise, stew, bake, or roast can work well in a slow cooker. Just keep some tips in mind when you're converting a conventional recipe for your crock pot.

Top Slow Cooker Conversion Tips

• Cut liquid amounts from a conventional recipe in half.
• For maximum flavor and a more appetizing color, trim visible fat from meats and remove the skin from chicken, then coat the meat lightly in flour and brown in a hot skillet before adding to the slow cooker.
• For every hour you'd bake, roast, or braise something, allow about 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high in the slow cooker. (When in doubt, turn it on low and leave it all day or overnight.) The low heat setting is about 200F; high heat is about 300F.
• To thicken or enrich sauces, stir in cream, sour cream, shredded cheese, or cornstarch slurries at the end.
• Brighten flavors at the end with salt and pepper, lemon juice, or vinegar. A handful of fresh chopped parsley, basil, or cilantro doesn't hurt anything either.

Convert Your Favorites

These 5-star recipes are easily converted from stovetop or oven to slow cooker.

1) Awesome Red Wine Pot Roast

Lightly coat the roast with flour and brown well on all sides. Then it's everything in the crock pot! Remember to cut the liquids in half, though.

2) Chef John's Coq au Vin

This recipe calls for bone-in chicken thighs -- always a great choice for crock-pot cooking. But you might want to take the skin off for this preparation.

3) Chinese Braised Spare Ribs

Even after cutting the liquids in half, you might end up with too much here. In which case, remove the lid, turn the pot up to high, and cook some of it off.

4) Simple Beef Pot Roast

As the veggies cook, they break down and combine with the meat's juices to create a natural sauce that's terrific with

horseradish mashed potatoes.

5) Ellen's Chicken Cacciatore

This recipe already calls for skinless chicken thighs. Brown 'em up, along with some chopped onions and mushrooms. The slow cooker will take it from there.

6) Spaghetti Sauce with Ground Beef

Here's one of those dishes that just gets more and more delicious the longer it simmers. The slow cooker's the perfect choice for this operation.

7) Pork Chops Italiano

Drain some of the juice off the diced Italian tomatoes. Or cook down the liquid at the end.

8) Chicken Thigh and Dumpling Stew

You know the drill: Remove the skins from the chicken thighs. And add the buttermilk biscuits at the end.

9) Mom's Stovetop Pork Ribs

When you use the slow cooker, you can skip the boiling step. Just give the ribs a good browning, and toss 'em in the crock pot.

10) San Francisco Pork Chops

The recipe calls for boneless chops, but bone-in chops would be terrific here.

11) Sherry-Braised Beef Short Ribs

"The beef must be really well browned," says Chef John. "I'm talking deep, dark, crusty, and caramelized. After browning properly, the only way to mess these up is to undercook them, so don't."

12) Braised Pork Ragu

Brown the pork shoulder in cubes as the recipe says, or leave the meat whole and shred it up after it's cooked to super-tender.

13) Carnitas Filling

Another one that just gets better with more cooking time. Shred the meat and enjoy it in tacos, burritos, and tamales.

14) Beef Bourguignon II

Brown the beef, veggies, and mushrooms in a skillet and then add to the crock pot. Toss in the fresh herbs at the end.

15) Rich and Creamy Beef Stroganoff

Add the sour cream and the secret ingredient -- cream cheese -- at the end of cooking.