Are you tired of spending countless hours in the kitchen, slaving over a hot stove? Do you long for delicious, home-cooked meals that practically cook themselves? If so, then slow cooking may be the answer you’ve been searching for. Let’s have a look at the best slow cooker recipe books in 2023.
The best overall slow cooker cookbook for one is The Ultimate Cooking for One Cookbook: 175 Super Easy Recipes Made Just for You (Ultimate for One). It has several recipes that one can easily be made for one person. They are specifically for one to two people so no adjustments need to be made to the recipe.
This exceptional cookbook has been meticulously crafted to make your life easier, providing a treasure trove of delicious, hassle-free recipes specifically designed for slow cookers.
It offers a diverse range of recipes to suit every palate and dietary preference. From comforting soups and stews to mouthwatering curries and casseroles, this book has it all. Whether you’re a meat lover, a vegetarian, or have dietary restrictions, you’ll find a multitude of options that will leave you excited to try something new.
What sets this recipe book apart is its focus on simplicity and convenience. Each recipe is carefully crafted to ensure that the ingredients are readily available and the instructions are easy to follow. The book also provides helpful tips and tricks to make the most of your slow cooker, ensuring that every meal turns out perfectly.
“The Ultimate Slow Cooker Recipe Book” is an essential addition to your kitchen. And also the perfect gift for those loved ones.
The beauty of slow cooking lies in its simplicity: just gather your ingredients, set the timer, and let the magic happen while you go about your day.
Slow cooking makes having a meal ready easy, but what if you have a restricted diet, like being gluten-free? Ultimate guides are great for having an overall look at slow cooker recipes, but they don’t offer a variety of different options like vegan, paleo, or soul foods.
In this article, we’ll look at an assortment of slow cooker books for different tastes and diets.
Slow Cooking Recipe Books for One
The best slow cooker book for one is The Ultimate Cooking for One Cookbook: 175 Super Easy Recipes Made Just for You (Ultimate for One).
This book offers a variety of options for slow cooking for yourself or a couple of people. The book has plenty of pictures to show you exactly how the recipe should look along the way.
Since the book specifically states it’s for cooking for one person the recipes don’t need to be adjusted and are ready to use.
A Complete Guide
If you’re looking for something that has more recipes then check out The Complete Slow Cooker: From Appetizers to Desserts – 400 Must-Have Recipes That Cook While You Play (or Work) (The Complete ATK Cookbook Series).
This book contains 450 recipes from appetizers to desserts that have all been tested by American Kitchen. These recipes are made for large slow cookers, but they can be adjusted down to a smaller size. If you have a large slow cooker but only want a small meal you can add an oven-safe baking dish to your slow cooker to cook the smaller meal.
Specific Diet Books
In this section, we’ll discuss a few slow cooker books for different diets. The three main diets we’ll cover will be Vegan, Gluten-free, Paleo, and Mediterranean.
Below is a short description of each diet and what they consist of. Ingredients that are typically found in the diets will be listed in their description to get a better understanding of each one.
Defining Paleo
The Paleo diet is an easy diet to understand, it takes the concept of what early humans ate and applies it to the modern world. The diet consists of meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit while avoiding processed foods, wheat products, and dairy.
Paleo Dishes
The book chosen for the Paleo diet is The Big Book of Paleo Slow Cooking: 200 Nourishing Recipes That Cook Carefree, for Everyday Dinners and Weekend Feasts.
This book contains 200 Paleo-specific recipes that can go in your slow cooker. It contains easy recipes for the weekdays, more complicated recipes for when you have more time, and a pantry staple section. If you’re doing Paleo, this is the book for slow cooker recipes.
Defining Gluten-Free
Gluten is a protein that can be found in wheat products and some other grains as well. Generally, people avoid gluten products because of an allergy to the gluten protein. Others who don’t have an allergy avoid gluten as a weight-loss option.
Gluten-Free
The best Gluten-free slow cooker cookbook with the most recipes is The Everything Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook.
This slow cooker book contains 300 recipes that are all gluten-free. If you can’t have gluten or you’re just avoiding it this book has plenty of recipes that you can leave to cook all day.
Defining Vegan
Vegans replace meat products, eggs, and dairy with plant-based options. They eat lots of vegetables, whole grains, seeds, nuts, and legumes. Everything eaten is to avoid eating an animal product, and that’s why the diet is plant-based.
Vegan
For the Vegans, there is The Plant-Based Slow Cooker: 225 Super-Tasty Vegan Recipes – Easy, Delicious, Healthy Recipes For Every Meal of the Day!
This Vegan slow cooker book contains 225 recipes that everyone, Vegan or not, will enjoy. With so many plant-based recipes you won’t have to worry too much about what to cook.
Defining the Mediterranean diet
The Mediterranean diet is derived from countries around the Mediterranean sea. Countries like Italy, Spain, Greece, and Turkey inspired the diet. It consists of consuming high amounts of vegetables, olive oil, and low protein consumption.
If you’re looking for some slow cooker recipes for the Mediterranean diet then take a look at Mediterranean Diet Slow Cooker Cookbook: 100 Healthy Recipes.
This recipe book contains 100 healthy Mediterranean options for your slow cooker. It contains simple recipes with easy-to-find ingredients so you can begin enjoying cooking right away.
Options from Around the World
If you’re looking for something a little different from what you’re used to then let’s take a look around the world. There are so many different cultures out there with amazing food options. Whatever you’re in the mood to cook in your slow cooker there is more than likely a book out there for you.
Before exploring the foods around the world there will be a brief description of what makes up those foods.
Mexican Dishes
Before Mexico was colonized their meals consisted of a lot of squash, corn, chili peppers, and beans. These foods still remain as a staple in Mexican dishes, but they have blended with other native American ingredients such as avocados, tomatoes, potatoes, and turkey. Traditional Mexican dishes look quite different from their American counterparts and can be quite spicier.
Best Mexican Slow Cooker Book
If you’re in the mood to make some delicious Mexican from scratch in your slow cooker try Mexican Slow Cooker Cookbook: Easy, Flavorful Mexican Dishes That Cook Themselves.
This Mexican slow cooker cookbook contains 80 recipes for the slow cooker and 10 other recipes, like corn tortillas, so you can make your own Mexican dishes at home.
Asian Dishes
Asia is a whole continent and has a plethora of different cultures. Here will be listed a few different options that encompass Asian recipes. There are many familiar recipes and some new exciting ones.
Indian Dishes
Indian dishes are based heavily on religion and spices. They consist of lentils, rice, meat, vegetables, and flatbread. If you know anything about Indian curry then you know the spices are what make a good curry. A good Indian meal will have many spices added to make the meal amazing.
Best Indian Slow Cooker Book
If you’re looking for some traditional Indian food then check out The Indian Slow Cooker: 70 Healthy, Easy, Authentic Recipes.
70 recipes are contained in this slow cooker cookbook. These recipes require less fat and oils and are much healthier than restaurant versions.
Chinese-American Dishes
Chinese food made its way into American culture in the 1800s, but it was quite difficult to get traditional ingredients from China. To substitute this Chinese Americans had to use local ingredients. As it’s become easier to get ingredients, the food that American love is becoming closer to traditional meals.
The difference between Chinese food and Chinese American food is that the American version has more meat, more deep-fried foods, and has more sauce.
Best Chinese American Slow Cooker Book
If you’re craving some American-made Chinese food then look at The Asian Slow Cooker: Exotic Favorites for Your Crockpot.
As Chinese American dishes are turning back to their traditional counterparts this slow cooker book is closer to Chinese dishes.
Thai Dishes
Thai dishes are made up of five primary ingredients, usually allium vegetables (onions, shallots, garlic, and scallions), coconut milk, chiles, fish sauce, and fresh herbs.
Best Thai Slow Cooker Book
If you’d like to try some Thai slow cooker recipes then read Thai Slow Cooker Cookbook: Classic Thai Favorites Made Simple.
Included in this book are several slow cooker recipes that you can prep in 20 minutes or less. There are also sides included that you can make with your slow-cooked meal.
Middle East Dishes
The Middle East is quite a big place, but they have several foods in common due to the locale. The most important ingredient and has been for thousands of years is yogurt.
Other important ingredients include wild thyme, olive oil, sesame seeds, pomegranate molasses, couscous, and feta cheese.
Best Middle East Slow Cooker Book
If you’re looking for something flavorful then try Middle East Delicious Slow Cooker Recipes: Eating healthy.
This book contains several middle eastern meals that you can slow cook all day and have later.
African Dishes
Like Indian food, Africa accumulated several spices due to the spice trade. They have become the cornerstone of African meals, alongside maize meal, chutney, and pickles.
Many shy away from African meals because they are finger foods, but seem messy. They are worth trying because the spices blend into the meal to create something unbelievably delicious and healthy.
Best African Slow Cooker Book
When it comes to foods from the African continent it can be hard to find them. A Field of Greens: African Slow Cooker African Recipes is a great place for beginner Southern African meals that can be cooked in a slow cooker.
Soul Food Dishes
Soul food can best be described as comfort food. It consists of a warm meal made up of meat, macaroni, and fried greens. Usually, the meat is also fried up.
Many chefs will tell you that soul food and Southern American food are the same, and in many ways they are, it just depends on what you would call comfort food.
Best Southern Slow Cooker Book
Here is a book described as the bible to southern slow cooking The Southern Slow Cooker Bible: 365 Easy and Delicious Down-Home Recipes.
This slow cooker book contains a whole year of southern cooking for your slow cooker. That is a whole year of comfort food right from your kitchen with little effort.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Slow Cooker Good for One Person?
Slow cookers are great for one person. If you have a small-sized slow cooker, 1.5 to 3 quarts, then you can make enough food ahead of time for yourself. Usually, these sizes make enough for a couple of people, but if it’s just for one then you have leftovers.
What if My Slow Cooker is Too Big?
If you already have a slow cooker but it’s too big for you, there’s no need to get rid of it. You can place an oven-safe baking dish inside your slow cooker, place your meal in the dish, and cook as you normally would. This is the best workaround for making smaller meals in a large slow cooker.
Which is Better: a Crock Pot or a Slow Cooker?
They are the same thing. The terms slow cooker and Crock Pot are used interchangeably, but Crock Pot is a specific brand of slow cooker. They are one of the most popular brands of slow cookers, and that’s why they get mixed up frequently.
Is 3 Hours Long Enough to Slow Cook?
It depends on what you’re cooking, but for specific things you can slow cook on high for 3 hours and the meal inside will be done. The advantage of slow cooking is that they cook slowly, but if you don’t cook the food long enough it won’t reach above 140℉ and is in danger of growing bacteria.
Final Thoughts
There are so many slow cooker books out there to help you along on your slow cooker journey. The books about meals for one are great for when you’re looking to just start, or expand your slow cooker recipes. Having several options from around the world will give your meals that kick they need to pull into a fantastical world of slow cooking bliss.
