6 Healthy Crock Pot Meals for Minimal Effort Dinners

Ever since my kid became a toddler, I have relied on my crock pot a lot more heavily, but sometimes finding healthy crock pot recipes is a challenge. My ideal crock pot dinner is relatively healthy and ideally something that has a veggie included in it, so it’s even less work to put together a full meal. This way, I can assemble everything in the crock pot during my son’s nap and have a meal ready with minimal effort at 5:30/6pm!

When my son was little, it was somehow easier to cook, I could put him in his carrier while I cooked, or I could put him in his play pen area right next to me. But now? The kid is always on the move, cannot be contained, and is trying to get into something! We do have a helper stool (that he LOVES) and he sometimes likes to help me cook, but a lot of times making dinner gets complicated with him around. So my crock pot really saves the day lately!

All of these healthy crock pot recipe ideas have chicken. I think its a healthier meat option, and I often find that when cooking beef in the crock pot, that it need to be browned in a skillet before transferring to the crock pot. Because of that extra step and dish to clean, I am generally NOT interested 😉 I prefer chicken thighs in the crock pot, because they don’t dry out nearly as easily as chicken breast does. However, if you want to use chicken breast, I would recommend cooking on the lower end of the recommended cooking time. That way you won’t end up with dry chicken! If you use chicken thighs, I often find that you can cook for longer than the directions call for and you will still have a super yummy meal.

Also, for reference, I use a 6 quart crock pot, nothing fancy, but it is the perfect size when you are initially cooking a protein in the crock pot and then later on need to move it over a bit to add something like a veggie inside!

Honey Garlic Chicken and Broccoli

This is one of our favorites. We often serve with rice or cauliflower rice, and for a super convenient option, you could use microwaveable rice packets! You could also add some frozen bell peppers and onions to make this similar to a Chinese take-out like dish.

Mississippi Chicken from Salt and Lavender

This recipe calls for chicken breast, but we like to sub for chicken thighs, so that it comes out more moist.

Pesto Ranch Chicken and Broccoli

You don’t have to do broccoli in this recipe, that is just what we always choose because it is a fave in our house! You could easily sub for green beans or any other vegetable you like. Or leave a vegetable out altogether, it’s your life!

We like to serve this over whole grain spaghetti, egg noodle, rice, or mashed potatoes.

Creamy Southwest Chicken from Wholesomelicious

Mexican Chicken & Quinoa

This is one of my older recipes (forgive the worse photography than normal), but it is truly a 1-pot dish. It has your quinoa, veggies, and protein all included!

Slow Cooker “Crack” Chicken from Diethood

When I make this one, I add brocoli to it, however, you could omit or sub for any veggie you like. We like to serve over mashed potatoes or rice.

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