The holidays, while joyful, often bring the stress of meal preparation, especially when it comes to juggling multiple dishes and limited oven space. This year, transform your holiday cooking experience by harnessing the incredible power and convenience of your crockpot for side dishes. From timeless classics to inventive new favorites, slow cookers are the unsung heroes that can lighten your load, keep food warm, and ensure every element of your feast is perfectly cooked and ready to serve.
Imagine a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal where your oven isn’t overflowing, and you’re not constantly checking temperatures. This dream can become a reality when you utilize multiple slow cookers. Once a dish is perfectly cooked, simply transfer it to another slow cooker set to “warm.” This brilliant strategy ensures that all your delectable sides remain hot and ready, allowing you to focus on carving the main roast or enjoying precious moments with your loved ones, rather than being tethered to the kitchen.
Mastering Crockpot Side Dishes for Any Occasion
Our comprehensive collection of easy side dish recipes offers a fantastic blend of traditional and contemporary ideas, many designed specifically for your slow cooker. This method is especially invaluable during the holidays when oven real estate is at a premium. Let’s dive into some crowd-pleasing potato options that are guaranteed to be a hit.
Creamy Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes: A Holiday Essential
Mashed potatoes are a quintessential side dish, and making them in a slow cooker frees up a crucial stovetop burner. This method yields incredibly tender, fluffy, and consistently warm mashed potatoes, perfect for a large gathering. For a batch that serves a generous crowd, you’ll need:
- 5 lbs Sierra Gold or red potatoes, diced with peel (or peeled and diced Russets for fluffier results)
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 and 1/3 cups milk, warmed
To prepare, simply combine the diced potatoes and water in your slow cooker. Cook on high until the potatoes are fork-tender, typically 3-4 hours. Drain any excess water, then add the butter, salt, pepper, and warmed milk. Mash thoroughly with a potato masher until you reach your desired consistency. For an extra creamy touch, you can stir in a spoonful of cream cheese or a dash of garlic powder. The beauty of this recipe is that it can stay warm in the slow cooker for hours, ready whenever your guests are.
Thanksgiving Crockpot Side Dishes: Potatoes for Every Preference
When hosting a large holiday feast, offering a variety of potato dishes ensures everyone finds their favorite. Beyond mashed, consider these equally delicious and easy slow cooker options. Pair your creamy mashed potatoes with slow cooker baked potatoes, offering a different texture and an opportunity for guests to customize their toppings. If you also own an Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi, you can even whip up additional pressure cooker mashed potatoes for ultimate variety and speed.
Don’t forget to include a bubbling pot of slow cooker cheesy potatoes, especially if you’re serving a brunch or a more casual holiday meal. These irresistibly gooey, “Cracker Barrel-style” cheesy potatoes are incredibly simple to prepare with hash browns or diced potatoes and can simmer to perfection in your Crock-Pot, providing that comforting, cheesy goodness right from your kitchen. A 4-quart crockpot is ideal for serving 5-6 people, while a larger 8-quart version is perfect for bigger crowds, ensuring you always have enough of this popular side.
Versatile Side Dishes You Can Master in a Crockpot
Beyond potatoes, the slow cooker excels at many other classic holiday sides. Let’s move on to another beloved Thanksgiving staple: green bean casserole. The slow cooker transforms this dish into an effortless marvel, ensuring a consistent texture and rich flavor without taking up valuable oven space.
Easy Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole
Our Crockpot Green Bean Casserole recipe offers the ultimate convenience. While it can be served directly from the slow cooker, a quick transfer to the oven for the last few minutes can achieve a beautifully crispy topping if desired. Here’s what you’ll need for this hearty dish:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- ¼ cup onion, finely diced
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 (14.5 ounce) cans French style green beans, thoroughly drained
- 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
- ½ cup crumbled buttery round crackers (for topping)
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted (for topping)
How to Cook Green Bean Casserole in a Crockpot (with optional oven finish)
This recipe can be made entirely in the slow cooker, or you can finish it in the oven for a crispy topping. Here are the steps:
- In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour until a smooth paste forms, and cook for one minute.
- Add the salt, sugar, diced onion, and sour cream to the skillet, stirring well to combine.
- Fold in the drained French style green beans, ensuring they are well coated with the creamy sauce.
- Transfer this mixture to your slow cooker. Cook on low for 2-3 hours, or on high for 1-1.5 hours, until heated through and bubbling gently.
- **For an optional crispy topping:** Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread the shredded Cheddar cheese evenly over the top of the green bean mixture. In a small bowl, toss together the cracker crumbs and the remaining 1 tablespoon of melted butter, then sprinkle this mixture over the cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.
- Alternatively, if serving directly from the slow cooker, you can stir in half the cheese during the last 30 minutes of cooking and sprinkle the remaining cheese and cracker topping on top before serving, allowing the residual heat to melt the cheese slightly.
Effortless Slow Cooker Vegetables for Any Meal
Beyond the holidays, slow cookers are fantastic for preparing everyday vegetables with minimal fuss. Get all your slow cookers out, because you can prepare various vegetable sides and serve them directly from the pots, significantly cutting down on cleanup and keeping you out of the kitchen and enjoying your guests. You deserve to relax!
Our slow cooker cheesy cauliflower is a creamy, cheesy delight that even the pickiest eaters will ask for seconds of. It’s a simple yet incredibly satisfying side, perfect for pairing with roasted meats or poultry. For a budget-friendly and delicious green option, give our cubed slow cooker cabbage a try. It cooks down to an incredibly tender texture with just a few seasonings, creating a luscious butter cabbage in Crockpot dish. Enhance its flavor further with a touch of apple cider vinegar, a pinch of red pepper flakes for heat, or some crispy diced bacon.
Crockpot Potluck Dishes: Easy Transport, Delicious Results
Bringing a dish to a potluck or friend’s house is a breeze with a slow cooker, especially one with a locking lid for easy transport. A simple yet universally loved sweet side like Crockpot glazed carrots is always a huge hit, even with children. The slow cooking process tenderizes the carrots beautifully while allowing them to absorb the sweet glaze.
Speaking of sweetness, our slow cooker apple butter is another fantastic offering. It’s incredibly versatile, perfect with a batch of baked pork chops with dry rub, or as a spread for toast, bagels, and even as an accompaniment to slow cooker eggs at a brunch bar.
The Unexpected Art of Baking in a Slow Cooker
Did you know you can actually bake in a slow cooker? It might sound surprising, but it’s entirely possible and opens up a whole new realm of easy Crockpot recipes. The secret lies in placing a paper towel between the lid and the pot itself. This simple trick absorbs excess moisture as the food steams, preventing condensation from dripping back onto your baked goods and keeping the top from becoming soggy. We’ve successfully used this technique for delightful recipes such as no-yeast slow cooker rolls and perfectly moist Crockpot cornbread, which can be made plain or with a kick of chiles.
More Incredible Side Dish Recipes from Your Slow Cooker
While the slow cooker is a star, remember that other kitchen appliances can also assist with your side dish lineup. We have a collection of Instant Pot side dishes for those who own that versatile machine. However, for true “set it and forget it” slow cooking, especially for delicate textures, the traditional Crock-Pot remains unparalleled. The slow cook functions on multi-cookers often don’t achieve the same consistent, low-and-slow results as a dedicated slow cooker.
For dishes where you crave a bit of crispness, air fryer side dishes are a wonderful complement. Think roasted butternut squash with crispy edges or even quick breads. But for comfort foods that demand a super soft and tender finish, like a creamy slow cooker risotto, nothing beats the gentle, prolonged heat of a slow cooker.
Now, let’s talk about some personal favorites. Brussel sprouts in the Crockpot are a revelation. While they might be an acquired taste for some, slow cooking them can bring out their sweetness and mellow their flavor, making them more appealing. You can enhance them with brown sugar for a sweeter profile or savory herbs and bacon. And when it comes to pleasing everyone, especially the younger crowd, mac and cheese in the slow cooker is always a guaranteed winner. It can simmer all day, developing incredible creaminess, and pairs perfectly with virtually any holiday protein. Similarly, hearty Crockpot baked beans are another staple that brings warmth and flavor to any gathering.
Recipe: Crockpot Glazed Carrots
Crockpot Glazed Carrots
Equipment
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1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2 lbs carrots, baby are best
- 1/2 c brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2.5 tbsp butter
Instructions
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Lightly spray the inside of your slow cooker pot with non-stick spray. Add the carrots, then sprinkle evenly with brown sugar and salt. Place pats of butter on top of the mixture.
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Cover with the lid and cook on high for 4-5 hours, stirring halfway through the cooking time to ensure even glazing. Once the carrots reach your desired tenderness, turn the slow cooker to the “warm” setting and serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 130kcal,
Carbohydrates: 24g,
Protein: 1g,
Fat: 4g,
Saturated Fat: 2g,
Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g,
Monounsaturated Fat: 1g,
Trans Fat: 0.1g,
Cholesterol: 9mg,
Sodium: 256mg,
Potassium: 382mg,
Fiber: 3g,
Sugar: 19g,
Vitamin A: 19054IU,
Vitamin C: 7mg,
Calcium: 50mg,
Iron: 0.4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Additional Info
This extensive list of slow cooker side dishes offers incredible versatility and convenience for any meal, especially during the bustling holiday season. From savory potatoes and vibrant vegetables to unexpected baked goods, your slow cooker is an invaluable tool for creating delicious, stress-free meals. We continuously add new recipes to our blog, so be sure to check back often as we expand this collection year after year, always striving to integrate new and exciting dishes into our holiday traditions. Happy cooking!
