Slow-Cooker Meals

Have an Italian palate but don't exactly have the time on Sunday like an Italian grandma? "Cheat" with this recipe and your slow cooker.

This warming eastern European short rib stew is best served in deep bowls over buttery noodles.

Grace Parisi cooks pork shoulder with bold ingredients like fresh ginger, garlic, curry powder, cumin and turmeric. The flavors intensify and penetrate the meat after four hours in the slow cooker.

Napa cabbage and thinly-sliced sour pickles add texture and tang to this hearty stew. Searing the pieces of beef chuck before putting them in the slow cooker gives the stew a rich flavor.

This gingery soup features meaty shiitake mushrooms, shredded beef chuck and chewy Japanese udon noodles.

The Thai accents in this fragrant chicken stew come from creamy coconut milk, fresh ginger, salty fish sauce and lime.

Looking to warm up after a cold day? Throw this savory chicken dish in your slow cooker before you face the say and you'll come home to the ultimate comfort-food meal.

F&W's Marcia Kiesel credits split pea soup, one of her favorites, as the inspiration for this hearty stew. Like split peas, chickpeas need to simmer for a long time, making them great for a slow cooker.

"The chicken is braised in the oven, but you can make it in a slow cooker or completely on the stove, in a casserole," says Jenn Louis. There are many versions of tinga--the smoky Mexican tomato sauce--and this one is especially easy, calling for only a few simple ingredients.

You've never had Texas brisket like this before, but it may change the way you enjoy it forever.

This is the most forgiving and delicious duck recipe you'll ever find. By slow-cooking duck with aromatics until it's as tasty and tender as confit, then broiling it until the skin is shatter-crisp, Paula Wolfert manages to play to all of the bird's strengths. If you're feeling lazy, you can simply serve the duck with the strained pan juices and forego the stock and olive sauce altogether. If you're feeding a crowd, you can cook three ducks in a large roasting pan, increasing the onions and aromatics slightly and allowing just a little more cooking time. And you can prepare the dish two days ahead and finish it off at the last moment. Just be sure to have the butcher cut the duck for you--that's the only step that can be tricky.

This classic Irish-American dish gets simplified in the slow cooker.

In this intensely comforting spiced chicken and black lentil stew, bold ingredients like fresh ginger, garlic, tomatoes, and white wine simmer slowly with an Ethiopian spice blend called Berbere. The berbere spice blend can be substituted with an equal amount of Garam Masala for a very similar flavor profile in this dish.

In this soup, fresh turmeric pairs up with cinnamon, cumin, and coriander to spice up red lentils and wilted Swiss chard. It's power-packed full of flavor and warmth and also subtlety sweet. To serve, add a dollop of yogurt for a bright, creamy, and cooling topping.

This cut takes a long time to cook, but the prep is minimal and the results are outstanding: supercrispy skin and meltingly tender meat.

Adding tart caper berries to a cacciatore go a long way toward brightening the flavors.

For Paula Wolfert, this rustic Lyonnais dish is comfort food. Slow cooking transforms red wine vinegar, tomato, shallots, garlic and a touch of honey into a perfectly balanced sauce for chicken.