Some mornings there is no time to brown meat, sauté onions or wash a skillet. That is what dump and go crockpot dinners are for. Everything goes into the pot raw, the lid goes on and dinner cooks itself while you get on with your day.
These 15 dump and go crockpot recipes were chosen because none of them need precooking. No searing, no browning and no stovetop step before the slow cooker. A few have a short finishing step at the end, like stirring in cream or adding noodles, and each entry tells you exactly what that is so there are no surprises at six o’clock.
Each recipe lists its hands on prep time, the real total time from the recipe card and how many people it feeds. Want recipes sorted by when to start the cooker instead? See our easy crockpot recipes list, or browse every slow cooker dinner on the site.
Dump and go chicken dinners
Boneless chicken thighs are the best friend of a dump and go cook. They go in raw, stay juicy through hours on LOW and shred with two forks. A few of these finish with a quick stir in step, like noodles or rice, but nothing needs a pan before the crockpot goes on.
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
Chicken thighs go in, a whisked sauce of honey, soy, garlic, ginger and a little ketchup goes over the top, and the lid goes on. At the end a spoonful of cornstarch turns the juices into a sticky glaze. It is the fastest recipe on this list and uses pantry staples you probably already have.
At the end: Nothing. Just shred or stir and serve.
Prep: 10 minutes | Total: about 3 hours 40 minutes | Serves: 6
Get the full Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Creamy Tuscan Chicken
Chicken, garlic and sun dried tomatoes cook with a splash of broth, then cream cheese, cream, Parmesan and spinach get stirred in for the last few minutes. The result tastes like a restaurant pasta sauce with almost no effort. Serve it over pasta or mashed potatoes.
At the end: Stir in the cream, cheese and spinach at the end.
Prep: 10 minutes | Total: about 4 hours | Serves: 6
Get the full Slow Cooker Creamy Tuscan Chicken recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
A homemade taco seasoning rub, a jar of salsa, a little broth and lime are all the chicken needs. Shred it in the pot and let it soak up the juices while you set out the toppings. It covers taco night, burrito bowls and quesadillas for the rest of the week.
At the end: Nothing. Just shred or stir and serve.
Prep: 10 minutes | Total: about 5 hours 10 minutes | Serves: 8
Get the full Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice
Thighs, carrot, celery, onion and broth cook together, then rinsed rice goes in for the final hour on HIGH so it turns fluffy instead of mushy. It is a complete dinner in one pot with the side built in. A handful of peas and Parmesan at the end makes it feel finished.
At the end: Add the rice for the last hour.
Prep: 15 minutes | Total: about 5 hours 15 minutes | Serves: 6
Get the full Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
Bone in thighs, carrots, celery, onion and herbs make a golden broth with nothing browned first. Egg noodles go in at the end on HIGH so they stay tender. It is the soup to start on the first cold morning of the season.
At the end: Add the noodles for the last 20 minutes.
Prep: 15 minutes | Total: about 7 hours 15 minutes | Serves: 8
Get the full Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Fire roasted tomatoes, chipotle in adobo and spices go straight into the pot with the chicken, and black beans and corn follow near the end. Baked tortilla strips are the only extra step and are optional if you use store bought chips. Top with avocado, lime and cheese.
At the end: Bake the tortilla strips while the soup finishes, or use chips.
Prep: 15 minutes | Total: about 6 hours 55 minutes | Serves: 8
Get the full Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili
Chicken thighs, white beans, green chiles and a cumin and oregano broth all go in raw. Cream cheese and lime at the end make it creamy and bright, and a scoop of mashed beans thickens it without flour. It feeds eight and reheats beautifully.
At the end: Stir in the cream cheese and lime at the end.
Prep: 15 minutes | Total: about 6 hours 45 minutes | Serves: 8
Get the full Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings
The chicken and vegetables simmer untouched all day in a thyme broth. In the last stretch you stir together a simple dough of flour, baking powder, butter and milk and drop it on top to steam. It is cozy, old fashioned comfort food with no stovetop work at all.
At the end: Drop the dumpling dough on top for the last hour.
Prep: 20 minutes | Total: about 7 hours 50 minutes | Serves: 6
Get the full Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings recipe with the printable card
Dump and go beef and pork
Big, tough cuts like chuck roast and pork shoulder are made for the crockpot, and none of these ask you to sear them first. A spice rub or a few packets of seasoning go on, the lid goes on, and eight hours later the meat falls apart.
Mississippi Pot Roast
The original dump and go dinner. A chuck roast gets a packet of ranch, a packet of au jus mix, a stick of butter and a few pepperoncini, and no other liquid. It shreds into tangy, rich beef that is perfect over mashed potatoes or piled onto rolls.
At the end: Nothing. Just shred or stir and serve.
Prep: 5 minutes | Total: about 9 hours 5 minutes | Serves: 8
Get the full Mississippi Pot Roast recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
Pork shoulder chunks get a cumin and oregano rub, then cook with orange, lime, onion and garlic until they shred. A few minutes under the broiler at the end crisps the edges the way real carnitas should be. Skip the broiler on a busy night and it is still excellent.
At the end: Optional: broil for crispy edges.
Prep: 15 minutes | Total: about 9 hours 35 minutes | Serves: 10
Get the full Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
A brown sugar and smoked paprika rub goes on the pork, onions go under it and a little vinegar goes around it. That is the whole morning job. The juices become a quick barbecue sauce at the end, or use your favorite bottled sauce and skip that step.
At the end: Optional: simmer the juices into sauce and broil.
Prep: 15 minutes | Total: about 9 hours 15 minutes | Serves: 10
Get the full Slow Cooker Pulled Pork recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli
Sliced chuck roast goes in raw with a garlic ginger soy sauce, no browning needed. A cornstarch slurry thickens the sauce and the broccoli goes in for the last 20 minutes so it stays bright and crisp. It tastes like takeout and costs a fraction of it.
At the end: Add the broccoli for the last 20 minutes.
Prep: 20 minutes | Total: about 5 hours 20 minutes | Serves: 6
Get the full Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli recipe with the printable card
Dump and go soups
Soup is where dump and go cooking shines. Chop, add, cover and walk away. These three are thick, filling and budget friendly, and each makes enough for leftovers.
Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup
Cubed squash, apple, onion, garlic, sage and broth go in raw, and an immersion blender does the rest at the end. A little cream and lemon keep it savory. Buy pre cut squash and the prep drops to about ten minutes.
At the end: Blend and stir in the cream at the end.
Prep: 20 minutes | Total: about 6 hours 20 minutes | Serves: 6
Get the full Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Loaded Potato Soup
Potatoes, onion, garlic and broth cook until soft, then half get mashed right in the pot. Sour cream, cheddar and butter make it rich. Top it with bacon, green onions and more cheese like a loaded baked potato.
At the end: Mash and stir in the dairy at the end.
Prep: 15 minutes | Total: about 7 hours 55 minutes | Serves: 8
Get the full Slow Cooker Loaded Potato Soup recipe with the printable card
Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Ham
Dried split peas, a ham bone or smoked hocks and chopped vegetables go in together with no soaking at all. The peas break down into a thick, smoky soup on their own. It is one of the cheapest dinners on the site and freezes perfectly.
At the end: Nothing. Just shred or stir and serve.
Prep: 15 minutes | Total: about 8 hours 45 minutes | Serves: 8
Get the full Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup with Ham recipe with the printable card
How to make dump and go dinners even easier
Prep the night before. Chop the vegetables, mix the spice rub or sauce and store everything in the fridge, either in the crockpot insert itself or in a covered container. In the morning you only need to add the meat, pour and press start.
Want these dinners planned out for you? The 4 week crockpot meal plan puts every slow cooker recipe on the site into a night by night schedule with weekly shopping notes.
Make freezer dump bags. Most of the chicken recipes on this list can be packed raw into a labeled zip top bag with their sauce and vegetables, then frozen flat for up to 3 months. Thaw the bag in the refrigerator overnight before it goes into the crockpot. Never cook it from frozen, since the meat would spend too long at unsafe temperatures.
Buy the shortcuts. Pre cut butternut squash, bagged mirepoix, jarred minced garlic and rotisserie style seasoning blends all cut prep time without hurting the result. Boneless chicken thighs are more forgiving than breasts over a long cook, so reach for those first.
Keep the lid on. Every peek lets out heat and adds 15 to 20 minutes of cooking time. Trust the recipe time and check doneness at the end, with chicken at 165°F and pork shoulder or chuck roast tender enough to pull apart with a fork.
Frequently asked questions
What does dump and go mean for crockpot recipes?
It means every ingredient goes into the crockpot raw, with no browning, searing or precooking on the stove first. You add the ingredients, turn it on and walk away. Some recipes still have a quick step at the end, like stirring in cream or noodles, which is listed with each recipe here.
Does meat taste worse if you skip browning?
Browning adds a deeper roasted flavor, but well seasoned dump and go recipes make up for it with spice rubs, smoked paprika, soy sauce, tomato paste or seasoning packets. For tough cuts like chuck roast and pork shoulder, the long cook matters far more than the sear.
Can I put frozen chicken straight into the crockpot?
No. Frozen meat stays too long between 40°F and 140°F, where bacteria grow quickly. Thaw chicken and freezer dump bags in the refrigerator overnight first. Frozen vegetables such as corn and peas are fine to add straight from the bag.
What size crockpot do these recipes need?
They were tested in a 6 quart oval slow cooker, which should be half to two thirds full. A 5 or 7 quart cooker works for all of them. Halve the recipe for a 4 quart cooker, and allow a little extra time for a double batch in an 8 quart cooker.
Which dump and go crockpot dinners freeze well?
The white chicken chili, pulled pork, carnitas, Mississippi pot roast, split pea soup and butternut squash soup all freeze well for up to 3 months. Freeze soups before adding noodles, dumplings or dairy, then finish them when you reheat.
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