These healthy crockpot recipes make great dump dinners and can be made ahead of time. Try sweet and sour chicken, minestrone soup and more!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like avocado or canola oil.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Yellow onion – white onion or shallots can be used instead.
Sweet & sour chicken
- Chicken breasts – boneless skinless chicken thighs would also work.
- Canned diced pineapple chunks – you could try using fresh pineapple but you might need to add in a bit of extra pineapple juice.
- Rice vinegar – apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar are the best substitutes here.
- Brown sugar – swap out for some honey or maple syrup instead.
- Ketchup – tomato paste will work but it will alter the flavour of the dish.
- Soy sauce – tamari or coconut aminos are the best soy sauce substitutes.
- Bell peppers – use any colour combination of bell peppers of your choice.
Peanut stew
- Chickpeas – lentils are the best substitute here.
- Sweet potato – butternut squash, acorn squash or regular diced potatoes would also work.
- Curry powder – make your own using a combination of cumin, coriander, chili, turmeric and pepper.
- Cumin – add more curry powder or use coriander instead.
- Canned diced tomatoes – a can of crushed tomatoes would also work.
- Peanut butter – another nut or seed butter like almond butter or tahini can be used.
- Chopped peanuts – leave these off if you don’t have any on hand.
- Spinach – another dark leafy green such as kale would be good too.
Beef & broccoli
- Fast fry steak – you can try using another cut of beef, just make sure it’s cut thinly so it cooks the same.
- Broccoli – the broccoli is one of the stars of this dish but you can swap out for another veggie of your choice.
- Fresh ginger – ground ginger powder will work in a pinch.
- Soy sauce – tamari or coconut aminos are the best soy sauce substitutes.
- Rice vinegar – apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar are both good alternatives to rice vinegar.
- Honey – use brown sugar, maple syrup or agave instead.
Minestrone soup
- Dry macaroni or shell pasta – swap out for another pasta of your choice.
- Kidney beans – pinto beans, black beans or cannellini beans would also be good in this soup.
- Canned diced tomatoes – a can of crushed tomatoes would also work.
- Vegetable bouillon cubes – you can use chicken bouillon cubes for a non-vegetarian option.
- Bay leaves – dried oregano or thyme would also work.
- Italian seasoning – use a blend of oregano, basil, thyme, sage and rosemary to make your own Italian seasoning.
- Parmesan cheese rind – a pecorino romano rind will work as well or you can leave this out.
- Frozen veggies – use any frozen vegetable blend of your choice.
Butter chicken
- Chicken – you can use either chicken breasts or chicken thighs.
- Canned crushed tomatoes – a can of diced tomatoes would also work.
- Minced ginger – ground ginger powder will work in a pinch.
- Brown sugar – use a combination of white sugar and molasses to make your own brown sugar.
- Garam masala – swap out for chili powder or a blend of allspice and cumin.
- Turmeric – saffron is a good substitute here.
- Chili powder – make your own using a blend of paprika, cumin and cayenne.
- Cumin – add extra chili powder if you don’t have any cumin.
- Heavy cream – coconut cream would also work but it will change the flavour of the dish.
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How to make a dump dinner
Step 1: Assemble your ingredients.
Step 2: Prep a Ziploc bag.
Step 3: Add everything to the Ziploc.
Add ingredients to a large freezer Ziploc bag if freezing or refrigerating for later.
Step 4: Dump everything into a crockpot.
Step 5: Cook on high or low.
Step 6: Serve and enjoy.
Meal prepping with a slow cooker
Do you have a dedicated meal prep day? If you have a meal prep routine already in place, crock pot dump meals can speed that process up.
With a few freezer-safe Ziploc bags or meal prep containers, you can assemble any or all of these five meals in a short amount of time – usually within an hour you can have everything assembled and ready to go. You’ll be prepared for dinners for at least a week, and that's having a different dinner every single day!
Gathering and preparing all of the ingredients is the only hands-on work for dump meals. If you do that ahead of time, all you have to do the day you want to eat the meal is throw it all in the crockpot and let it cook.
Healthy Crockpot Recipes
Your choices for crock pot dump meals are nearly limitless. These five recipes are easy to prepare and taste amazing when cooked. Start with these and then start expanding your repertoire.
Minestrone Soup
Enjoy your favourite comforting soup full of vegetables with ease! This hands-off soup recipe is full of veggies and super easy to prep ahead of time.
Sweet and Sour Chicken
This dump dinner will give you a taste of takeout at home! It’s made with a homemade sweet and sour sauce, chicken breasts, pineapple chunks and bell peppers.
Butter Chicken
This sweet and creamy curry is super simple to prep ahead of time. Add everything to the crockpot, then stir in the cream at the end – easy-peasy!
Beef & Broccoli
Short on time? Make this beef and broccoli dish in the crockpot! It’s super flavourful with fresh ginger and garlic, and a yummy sauce made using pantry staples.
Slow Cooker Peanut Stew
Peanut stew is warm, comforting and packed full of plant-based protein thanks to the chickpeas and sweet potato, with plenty of flavour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dump dinners is just the best way to describe these simple meals. Dump it all in the slow cooker and wait for it to cook. It's really that easy!
Yes! You can definitely cook raw meat in a slow cooker, which is super convenient when it comes to prep since you don’t have to cook anything separately. Just add everything to the pot, including the raw meat, for these crockpot dump meals.
You can put all of the ingredients into the crockpot at the same time for these crock pot dump meals. If you prefer your veggies to be less cooked, you can add them a little later. Frozen vegetables, like the ones you see in the minestrone soup, are good to go in with the rest of the ingredients, as are heartier veggies like carrots, onions, sweet potatoes, etc.
You have several options for making these meals. If you put all the ingredients in an Instant Pot, you will cook it on high for just 5 minutes. If you forgot to put it in the crock pot in the morning, you can still get a healthy meal on the table quickly. On the stovetop, you can dump everything in a large pot and then simmer the meal for 30 minutes. The beef and broccoli is the only exception to these rules. On the stove top, you will want to cook the beef and the broccoli separately. I've got a great recipe for Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli here, too.
Storing and reheating
The best way to use these crock pot dump meals is for meal prep. Put all the ingredients together and refrigerate for 4 to 5 days.
An added bonus to preparing these crock pot freezer meals in advance is by allowing the meat to marinate in the sauce, it will ensure a full flavor. After you cook these meals, you can divide them into individual portions and refrigerate for 3 to 5 days, depending on the ingredients.
Freezing dump dinners
You can freeze all the ingredients for these dump dinners together for up to 3 months. Allow the meal to thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before dumping everything into the crockpot and cooking. You can also freeze the cooked meals for up to 3 months for quick and easy lunches.
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More healthy slow cooker recipes
Meal Prep Tools
- Use these Ziploc bag holders to help you add your ingredients.
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on refrigerating the leftovers of these dump dinners.
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- **Get my full list of tools here**
15 Healthy Dump Dinners for Your Crockpot
Ingredients
Sweet & sour chicken
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb chicken breasts, diced
- 1 can diced pineapple chunks including juices
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 each red, green and yellow pepper, sliced
Peanut stew
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 sweet potato, diced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 (796mL) can diced tomatoes
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
- 2 cups spinach
Beef & broccoli
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb fast fry steak
- 1 head broccoli, chopped`
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Minestrone soup
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup dry macaroni or shell pasta
- 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 (796mL) can diced tomatoes
- 2 vegetable bouillon cubes
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 parmesan cheese rind (optional)
- 1 cup frozen veggies
- 1/2 tsp salt & pepper
Butter chicken
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb chicken, diced
- 1 (796mL) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
Instructions
Sweet & sour chicken
- Add ingredients to a large freezer Ziploc bag if freezing or refrigerating for later, or add to slow cooker if cooking right away. Cook on low for 4 hours. You may choose to leave out the peppers and add them separately from the rest of ingredients in the last 30 minutes of cook time to avoid overcooking them. Onced cooked, serve and enjoy! If freezing, label your Ziploc bags with the recipe title and date and freeze up to 3 months. To serve, defrost the bag in the fridge for 24 hours then dump in your slow cooker and cook for 6 hours on low, following the instructions above.
African peanut stew
- Add ingredients to a large freezer Ziploc bag if freezing or refrigerating for later, or add to slow cooker if cooking right away. Cook on low for 6 hours. Onced cooked, stir in spinach then serve and enjoy! If freezing, label your Ziploc bags with the recipe title and date and freeze up to 3 months. To serve, defrost the bag in the fridge for 24 hours then dump in your slow cooker and cook for 6 hours on low, following the instructions above.
Beef & broccoli
- Add ingredients to a large freezer Ziploc bag if freezing or refrigerating for later, or add to slow cooker if cooking right away. Cook on low for 4 hours. You may choose to leave out the broccoli and add it separately from the rest of ingredients in the last 30 minutes of cook time to avoid overcooking it. Onced cooked, serve and enjoy! If freezing, label your Ziploc bags with the recipe title and date and freeze up to 3 months. To serve, defrost the bag in the fridge for 24 hours then dump in your slow cooker and cook for 6 hours on low, following the instructions above.
Minestrone soup
- Add ingredients to a large freezer Ziploc bag if freezing or refrigerating for later, or add to slow cooker if cooking right away. Add 4 cups water when ready to cook, then cook on low for 6 hours. Onced cooked, serve and enjoy! If freezing, label your Ziploc bags with the recipe title and date and freeze up to 3 months. To serve, defrost the bag in the fridge for 24 hours then dump in your slow cooker and cook for 6 hours on low, following the instructions above.
Butter chicken
- Add ingredients to a large freezer Ziploc bag if freezing or refrigerating for later, or add to slow cooker if cooking right away. Cook on low for 4 hours. Stir in cream at the end of cookj time. Onced cooked, serve and enjoy! If freezing, label your Ziploc bags with the recipe title and date and freeze up to 3 months. To serve, defrost the bag in the fridge for 24 hours then dump in your slow cooker and cook for 6 hours on low, following the instructions above.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
More Dump Dinner Recipes
Want more ideas for dump meals? These slow cooker recipes are fantastic for prepping ahead.
5-Ingredient Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken
The Best Crockpot Vegetable Soup
Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Creamiest Crock Pot Beef Stroganoff
Chana Masala {Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, Stovetop}
Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
Crockpot White Chicken Chili
Easiest 2-Ingredient Crockpot Salsa Chicken
Slow Cooker Tuscan Sausage and Kale Soup
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Comments & Reviews
Janette says
Thanks so much for these recipes!! Do you have instructions to do any of these in an instant pot, instead of a crock pot?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Janette – unfortunately I can’t provide instructions but most of them can be cooked by dumping in the Instant Pot and cooking for 5-10 minutes.
Kristine says
I made all but the soup. All turned out ok and were easy. I was happy to pull them out of the freezer and put them in the crock pot. Dinner when I got home and some leftovers. The African stew was the best and the one I will do again. I was thick (the others were watery) and had the best flavor. I used frozen spinach which was just fine and put it over brown rice.
Taylor Stinson says
Happy you enjoyed, Kristine!
Jamie says
Hi. Is the butter chicken recipe missing the butter? Most recipes I’ve seen do have it so I was curious if it had been overlooked as an ingredient?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Jamie – no, not overlooked! This is just a healthier version. You can use butter in place of the olive oil if you’d like.
Sandy says
Hi, thank you very much for your inspiring recipes! Just one question – do I really need a slow cooker, or is there any other option to make these dishes without one? 🙁
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Sandy – you should be able to cook most of these dishes on a large pot on the stove on low for about an hour. Hope that helps!
Bob says
I meal prepped the Minestrone soup this weekend and it is delicious. I can’t wait to try the other ones in this post. Thanks for these great recipes
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed it Bob! 🙂
Chantelle says
Hey! I’m totally going to try this! Question,
So you have an actual cookbook? I’m more of a paper person instead of digital, but I can’t find anything!
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Chantelle – I don’t have a hard copy cookbook but not ever ruling that out in the future 🙂
Arianne Laframboise says
Love all your recipe ideas ! I’m trying to eat healthy and loose weight and I find myself using your recipes more and more 🙂 It would be awesome if you released a cookbook:)!! I would be a buyer for sure!
Taylor Stinson says
Aww thanks so much Arianne 🙂
Cheryl says
Can you tell me what fast fry steak is? I have seen it in a couple of your recipes. I have never heard of it.
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Cheryl! It’s thinly sliced steak that you can use in stir fries 🙂
Rudy says
I find Flank Steak is the best to use.
Robin Prothro says
Is that a 14.5 oz. can of crushed tomatoes for the Butter Chicken?
Taylor Stinson says
It’s a 28oz can!
Hannah Francois says
Hi Taylor,
I have 5 people in my family,3 if which are teenagers. Will this meal be enough to feed them or should I double these recipes?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Hannah – just one of these meals should be enough to feed everyone but if you’re unsure or would like leftovers, go ahead and double them 🙂
Hannah Francois says
Thank you. I’m looking forward to trying these out! It’s on my grocery list for next week!
Susan says
Made these dump meals this weekend – worked like a charm! I cooked the African Peanut Stew yesterday and it was amazing!
Thanks for your blog!
Susan
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed them Susan!!! Thanks for reporting back and hope you enjoy the others too 🙂