How to Adapt Your Favorite Recipes to Easy Crock Pot Recipes

Many of your favorite recipes can be successfully adapted to easy crock pot recipes if you follow a few simple rules. Here you'll find a basic time/temperature guide for converting recipes, some do's and don'ts for specific ingredients and a few tips for making your slow cooker dishes more flavorful.

Recipes that lend themselves to Crock-Pot cooking are limitless. Almost any recipe requiring baking or simmering will work beautifully. Here are a few simple guidelines that will help you prepare your favorites in the crock-Pot; Allow sufficient time on "Low" setting.

Timetable Adaptations:

If your recipe says cook for 15 to 30 minutes - Cook in Crock-Pot 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours on High or 4 to 8 hours on Low.

If your recipe says cook for 30 to 40 minutes - Cook in Crock-Pot 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 10 hours on Low.

If your recipe says cook for 45 minutes to 3 hours - Cook in Crock-Pot 4 to 6 hours on High or 8 to 18 hours on Low.

*Most uncooked meat and vegetable combinations will require at least 8 hours on Low.

Ingredient Adaptations:

Vegetables:

Dense vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and other root vegetables should be cut no larger than 1" thick, and placed in the bottom of the pot, since they take longer to cook.

Liquids:

 Usually liquids may be decreased in slow cooking - about half the recommended amount. Unless the dish contains rice or pasta, one cup of liquid is usually enough.

Pasta and Rice:

If a recipe calls for cooked pasta to be added, cook it until just slightly tender before adding to the crock pot. Add 1/4 extra liquid per 1/4 cup uncooked rice, and use long grain converted rice for the best results. For long-cooking recipes, add cooked rice shortly before serving.

Milk/Cheese:

Milk, sour cream, and cream break down over long periods of cooking, and should be added during the last hour. Condensed cream soups are good substitutions for milk and can be cooked for extended times. "Healthy," or reduced fat cream soups can be used in any recipe as a substitute.

Cheeses don't generally hold up over extended periods of cooking, so should be added near the end of cooking, or use processed cheeses and spreads.

Soups:

Add water only to cover ingredients in soup, and add more after cooking if necessary for a thinner soup.

For milk based soups, add 1 or 2 cups of water and during the last hour, stir in milk, evaporated milk, or cream as called for.

Herbs and Spices:

Ground herbs and spices tend to lose their taste over long cooking times, so it's best to add them near the end of cooking. Whole herbs release flavors over time, so are a good choice for slow cooking. You should taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary, before serving.

Beans:

It is best to soak beans overnight before cooking them in a crock pot. Before adding sugar or acidic ingredients, the beans should be softened first, either in the crock pot or on the stove top. If your recipe includes tomatoes, salt, or other acidic ingredients, the beans should be tender before beginning.

Instead of pre-soaking, you can cook the beans on low for about 8 hours through the night in water with a little baking soda. In the morning, drain the beans, add the ingredients with fresh liquid, then cook per recipe directions. Cooking times might be shorter using this method.