18 Slow Cooker Recipes and Braises: Pulled Pork, Beef Stew and Hearty Fall Dinners

Floured, browned beef cubes with carrots, parsnips, rosemary and beer, simmered until meltingly tender. Oven or slow cooker, it’s the same comfort. Start with a good cut of meat: the tenderness is there before it even cooks.

Pork shoulder braised in coconut milk, soy sauce and rice vinegar, then shredded and coated in a General Tao sauce. Perfect for entertaining without stress. Brown the meat first, whether you use the oven or the slow cooker.

Dried beans soak during the day, cook in the slow cooker overnight and are ready when you wake up. Dark beer, maple syrup, molasses and pork belly melt together. Canned beans? Never. The whole point is that it’s homemade!

A chuck roast cooked low and slow with red wine, dried cranberries and orange zest until it falls apart with a fork. Don’t skip the searing: the slow cooker only heats, it doesn’t brown anything.

Pork tenderloins seared in a pan, then shredded in a sticky sauce of honey, maple, garlic, soy and hoisin. The slow cooker does the rest while you go about your day. Don’t skip the pan, it’s what gives the grilled flavor.

A classic chili with well-browned ground beef, kidney beans, corn, green pepper, cumin and chili powder. It simmers gently on the stove until thick. Make a big batch: it freezes really well.

Chuck roast braised with bacon, red wine, mushrooms and pearl onions. Make it in a Dutch oven in the oven or finish it in the slow cooker. Blanch the pearl onions in boiling water and they peel in a snap.

Strips of beef chuck cooked in the slow cooker in a soy, brown sugar and ginger sauce with a ginger-infused beer. Serve on corn tortillas with sour cream and a crunchy coleslaw. I devour these!

The real sugar shack split pea soup, with smoked ham, carrots, celery and a touch of maple. The peas soak for a long time to turn creamy, then everything simmers gently with the bone, and the hand blender does the rest.

Pork shoulder braised in maple syrup, soy sauce and Dijon mustard, shredded and served over mashed potatoes. Oven or slow cooker for an effortless Sunday, but always sear it first.

Lamb shanks seared and braised in port, cherry beer, honey and star anise, with prunes and figs. The slow cooker does all the work for hours. A Sunday dinner that’s both relaxed and impressive.

Chuck roast braised slowly in the oven until it shreds, with kidney beans, tomatoes and warm spices. The champion of meal prep and freezing. Take the time to brown the meat well at the start, that’s where the flavor is built.

A smoked pork shoulder bathing in pineapple juice, white beer, maple syrup and cloves until it shreds. It’s simple, and the slow cooker works really well for it. Spoon the cooking juices over the meat before serving.

Old-fashioned boiled dinner: chuck roast, salt pork, cabbage and vegetables in one pot, deglazed with red wine and finished with a bit of maple. Grab your biggest pot, a whole cabbage takes up room. It feeds the whole family.

A ragù where chuck roast braises until it melts with carrots, white wine and tomatoes, ready to coat pasta. The collagen gives it body without a drop of cream. If you’re leaving the house, it works in the slow cooker too.

A braised beef stew with caramelized onions, white wine and beer, broiled with bread and cheese like a French onion soup. Comfort food at its most decadent. And yes, it works in the slow cooker too!

Beef cheeks braised long and slow in port with carrot, celery and red onion until they fall apart with a fork. Serve over celery root purée with the sauce from the pot. A Sunday dinner that impresses.

A chuck roast braised in dark beer with carrots, celery and baby potatoes, tender enough to shred. The slow cooker works too, but brown the roast in a pan first: it heats, it doesn’t brown. Winter comfort.