Summery Slow Cooker Meals for Blazing Hot Days

When it’s hot outside, no one wants to be in the kitchen. No one. But the family needs to be fed. So what do we do? I invite you to pull out your slow cooker.

Wait. The slow cooker? That’s only for winter, right? No, my friends. It is not.

When you stop and think about it, it’s really the perfect way to cook in the summer. You put ingredients in it, you turn it on low, and you walk away. It doesn’t heat up the kitchen like the stove or oven. You don’t have to stand over it. You just wait, and voila! Dinner is ready!

I’ve included some of our family’s favorite summer slow cooker recipes. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

Summery Greek-Inspired Chicken

This is a favorite at our house. We use chicken thighs as they don’t dry out, and they have more flavor than most commercially available chicken breasts. It’s delicious and healthy (don’t tell the kids!) and easy.

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 to 5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 small red onion, halved and sliced into half moons
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried dill
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 8-ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1 12-ounce jar roasted marinated red peppers, drained and sliced
1 cup pitted, halved Kalamata olives
1 3-ounce jar capers, drained
Juice of 1 lemon
1 lemon, sliced
½ cup chicken broth
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 block feta cheese, crumbled

Directions

Place the chicken thighs in the bottom of a six-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle with the smashed garlic, sliced red onion, salt, pepper, oregano, and dill. Layer the grape tomatoes, artichoke hearts, peppers, olives, and lemon slices over the chicken. Pour the lemon juice and chicken broth over everything and cook on LOW for 4 hours or HIGH for 2 hours.

About 30 minutes before serving, remove the lid and drizzle the chicken with olive oil and crumbled feta. Replace the lid and cook for 30 minutes more. Serve over rice, orzo, couscous, pasta, or just with some lovely bread to sop up all the juices. Serves 4 to 6 people.

Thai-Inspired Corn Chowder

We love Thai flavors in our house, and this is a great chowder that uses Thai flavors with summer produce.

A basket of sweet corn, three ears partially husked

Ingredients

6 ears corn, husked and kernels removed
1 pound baby golden potatoes, halved
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
2 stalks lemongrass, lightly pounded
2 to 4 Thai chile peppers*
4 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 cup canned coconut milk
Chopped cilantro, Thai basil, and/or mint to garnish

*Depending on your heat tolerance, you can either slice the chile peppers, leaving in or removing the seeds and ribs (the source of most of the heat), or you can just throw them in whole to get the flavor of the chiles without much of the heat.

Directions

Place the corn, potatoes, onion, garlic, lemongrass, and chiles in the bottom of a six-quart crockpot. Add in the chicken or vegetable broth and season with salt and pepper. Cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours or HIGH for 2 to 3 hours.

About 30 minutes before serving, remove the lid, remove the lemongrass stalks, give everything a good stir, and add in the lime juice, fish sauce, and coconut milk and stir again. Replace the lid and let cook for another 30 minutes on LOW. To serve, scoop into bowls and garnish with cilantro, Thai basil, and/or mint. Serves 4 to 6.

Slow Cooker Summer Squash and Pasta

Pasta in a slow cooker? Yes! This is a delicious summer meal and is ridiculously healthy. It’s super easy, so it’s one of my go-to meals when I don’t want to cook.

Just picked tomato and squashes on the white structured background. Just harvested vegetables. Top view.

Ingredients

1 24-ounce jar pasta sauce (I always look for no sugars added sauces)
1 pound shaped pasta (I use whole grain ziti, penne, or cavatappi)
1 zucchini, halved and sliced into half moons
1 yellow summer squash, halved and sliced into half moons
1 small yellow onion, halved and sliced into half moons
2 to 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 cup cottage cheese (please don’t use the fat free stuff)
1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 8-ounce bag shredded Italian cheeses
1 bunch basil, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped

Directions

Combine the pasta sauce, pasta, zucchini, summer squash, onion, garlic, cottage cheese, Italian herbs, and salt and pepper in a six-quart slow cooker. Cook on LOW for about 2 hours. Check occasionally, and if it’s looking a little dry, add in some water, chicken or vegetable broth, or dry white wine.

About 30 minutes before serving, remove the lid, give it a good stir, and add in the shredded Italian cheeses and basil. Replace the lid and cook for about another 30 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.