Slow cooker hacks to save you money and time! (Plus: a free conversion chart!)

We all love our Crock Pots, right? They save time and money by allowing us to cook at home even when we’re not home. Today I wanted to share some tips to get MORE out of your crockpot.

Warm your buns!

Did you know you can use your crockpot as a bun or tortilla warmer? If you’re making something like tacos or pulled meat sandwiches you can warm your buns or tortillas while your meal finishes cooking.

Simply place the buns or tortillas in a glass pie plate. About 15 minutes before you’re ready to serve, place the pie plate on top of our meat in the crockpot and place the lid on top. If it doesn’t fit all the way down in the pot it’s fine. By the time you eat you’ll have warm buns.

Too much condensation?

If you need your recipe to be thicker with less liquid, simply remove the lid for 30 minutes. This will allow the moisture to release.

Add dairy at the end

If your recipe calls for dairy add it before you serve. Otherwise, it will curdle or separate.

Use the warm setting to reheat frozen leftovers

I love to freeze leftovers instead of throwing them out. This gives me a few go-to meals on days when I am super busy. To reheat already cooked, but frozen food, I use the warm setting on my crockpot. I set out my frozen leftovers for a few minutes to soften just enough to release from the container. Then I pop the frozen block of food into my slow cooker and allow to warm until we’re ready to eat. The time will depend on how much- but it usually takes about 6 hours.

Keep meat hot

Are you serving a crowd and trying to keep your meal hot? The warm function works great for this even if you didn’t cook the meat in the crockpot. I do this for tacos all the time. I cook meat on the stove and then transfer to the slow cooker to keep warm.

Sear your roasts

We love to make a roast in the crockpot. But searing the roast before placing it in the slow cooker takes it to a whole new level. It is an extra step but it is 100% worth it.

Simply heat up some olive oil in a pan. Place your roast, fatty side down in the pan for 1-2 minutes. Then flip and do the other side. Then place your roast in the slow cooker. It will seal in juices and LOTS of flavor.

Convert the time!

If you can cook it in the oven you can cook it in the crockpot. And if it can be cooked on low it can be cooked on high. You just need to convert the time. You can download a pdf of this chart here.

Overnight oats

I love the idea of overnight oats, but the thought of eat cold oatmeal makes me want to gag. But did you know you can cook your oats overnight on warm? Add two cups of steel-cut oats and 7 cups of water and cook on the WARM setting. Do not add any sugar until you are ready to serve or it will scorch.

Easy clean

Do you have stuck on stains? That’s the thing about the slow cooker, so easy to use, so hard to clean. I see a lot of people use those plastic liners, but I’m not a big fan of single-use items. So instead I do this. I fill my slow cooker with dish soap and water and then turn it on high for 15 minutes. Then I turn it off, use an oven mitt to dump out the water (it will be very hot BE CAREFUL) and scrub the pot. Cooked on food comes right out with very little effort.

Finish with pasta

Just like dairy, if your recipe calls for pasta add it about 30 minutes before you’re ready to serve. Otherwise, you might end up with soggy noodles.

Starting cold?

Prepping your crockpot the night before and then sticking it in the fridge will DEFINITELY save you time in the morning. But if you’re staring with a cold slow cooker you need to add about 30 minutes to your cook time.

I really hope these tips save you time. Leave me a comment with your best crockpot hack!