When it's busy summer evenings at our house, we pretty much run on Crock Pot. Who wants to cook with four kids racing around, hectic schedules, and sweltering summer heat? Not this guy. These easy summer slow cooker recipes won't heat up your kitchen and are full of flavor. Get ready for BBQ pulled pork, Dr Pepper ribs, pulled chicken, and more easy crock pot dinners you'll make all summer long.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love These Summer Crock Pot Recipes
- Keeps Kitchen Cool: Avoid using your oven or hovering over a hot stove. Set it and forget it: Just toss all the ingredients into your slow cooker and relax.
- Family Friendly Meals: All of our recipes are filling, full of flavor, and great for weeknights or weekend BBQs.
- Best Recipes for Summer Cooking: Pulled pork, ribs, BBQ chicken, and more Crock Pot recipes perfect for summer.
- They are great for busy days. Prep dinner in the morning, then let the slow cooker do the work while you go out and play.
What Makes a Good Summer Slow Cooker Recipe?
Easy. Delicious. Not too heavy. Those are the qualities to look for in a summer Crock Pot recipe. My favorite warm weather recipes always have BBQ sauce, citrus, pineapple, salsa, taco seasoning, fresh toppings, or simple sides of rice, buns, tortillas, pasta salad, coleslaw, or corn on the cob.
Summer slow cooker meals are also perfect when you need your food to stay warm for a party. Let meatballs, queso dip, shredded beef tacos, Mississippi chicken, or country style pork ribs hang out on warm while everyone goes back for seconds.
Best Summer Slow Cooker Recipes
Once you try this Crock Pot Pulled BBQ Chicken you will never want to make another bbq chicken recipe again. It's sweet, it's salty, and FALL APART tender. Covered in BBQ sauce this is one tasty chicken that is so easy to make in the crockpot. Not to mention that you can use it for sandwiches, tacos or over a rice bowl. Seriously so good your family will gobble it up in seconds. Double the recipe. Trust me.
Get The Recipe
Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Tacos are easy! Five ingredients, a crock-pot and dinner is practically ready for you! Just throw some chicken breasts into the crockpot with salsa, green chilies and seasonings in the morning and have juicy, flavorful shredded chicken ready to load into tortillas come dinner time. Trust me when I say this meal makes killer leftovers too. Burritos, nachos, wraps, anything you can think of! You will find yourself making this recipe again and again!
Get The Recipe
You will NOT regret making Crock Pot Crack Chicken. Once you try this there will be no turning back. You will know EXACTLY why it's called crack chicken. It's amazing shredded chicken tossed with cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and bacon. It's the creamiest, smoky, flavor bomb to come from your crockpot. Serve it on a bun, in a wrap, or over rice! No matter how you serve it, it will not last long.
Get The Recipe
This Crock Pot Pepper Steak is going to blow your mind. For basically no effort you end up with restaurant style flavor that will have your whole house smelling incredible. Thinly sliced sirloin beef, bell peppers and onions cook low and slow in a savory garlic, ginger and soy sauce filled with incredible umami flavor. Serve over rice noodles or veggies and everyone will devour it.
Get The Recipe
Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos will CHANGE your Taco Tuesday routine! Chuck roast slow cooks in beef broth, orange juice, spicy tomatoes, and Southwestern seasonings until fall-apart tender and FULL of flavor. Have your crew build their own tacos at a toppings bar-NO stress, ALL flavor!
Get The Recipe
This Crock Pot Philly Cheesesteak recipe is pure comfort food. The chuck roast cooks low and slow until it's fork tender, and then is layered on hoagie rolls with onions, peppers, mushrooms and melty Provolone cheese. And, since it's made entirely in the slow cooker, cleanup is minimal! It's an easy way to enjoy the delicious flavors of Philly without going to Philly. Your whole family will love it!
Get The Recipe
Sweet. Savory. Flavor-packed. Need we say more? This Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken recipe will win rave reviews with little to no effort. Apricots combine with spices to create a delicious melt-in-your-mouth sauce that helps create fall-off-the-bone chicken when served. All you need to do is add a side and dinner is served! Everyone will be craving this... often.
Get The Recipe
Sweet, tangy, and bursting with island flavor, this Hawaiian pulled pork is always a hit at our house during the summer months. Pineapple, soy sauce, garlic and ginger combine to make a beautifully balanced sauce that keeps this pork shoulder super moist and tender. Serve heaped over rice or stuffed into sandwiches for delicious island flavor any night of the week!
Get The Recipe
These ribs will wow your crowd, and no one needs to know how little work they require! The Dr. Pepper caramelizes in the slow cook, tenderizing the pork and giving it just a hint of sweetness that compliments the savory dry rub. Finish them off with a spread of barbecue sauce for sticky finger loving goodness.
Get The Recipe
This Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork is a recipe I make repeatedly. It's always reliable! The pork is so tender and absorbs all of that delicious sweet BBQ flavor. Spooned onto a soft hamburger bun with a heap of coleslaw, it makes for a great summer meal!
Get The Recipe
Southwest chicken is one of those dishes we always have in our rotation because it's delicious served so many ways and requires minimal effort to throw together in the slow cooker. Pile it over rice, scoop into a burrito or taco, or heap onto a bun. It's perfect every way! Also a crowd-pleasing option for taco bar night with the family.
Get The Recipe
You think the smell of Mongolian chicken cooking away in the food court is good? Wait until your house smells like this Slow Cooker Mongolian Chicken! Juicy chicken breast cooked low and slow in a homemade sauce made with hoisin, garlic, ginger, sesame, and just a hint of brown sugar. It's got carrots, peppers, and broccoli all cooked in one pot. Serve over rice or noodles and you have yourself a meal that tastes like you ordered takeout, minus the delivery charge.
Get The Recipe
It's essentially a set- and-forget recipe, so it's my weeknight lifesaver all summer. Black beans, corn, diced tomatoes and green chilies give it lots of texture and bold Mexican flavor along with the chicken. Serve it over rice, in tacos or scoop it up with tortilla chips-it's delicious every which way!
Get The Recipe
Picture your favorite rib sandwich from a fast food joint. Now picture that sandwich made from scratch with quality ingredients - this is it times ten. Slow cooked, fall-off-the-bone rib meat is slathered in homemade sweet & tangy BBQ sauce and stacked high on a soft bun full of crisp pickles and onions. Serve alongside watermelon and fries for the ultimate summer lunch.
Get The Recipe
Creamy, cheesy, and downright delicious with just enough spice-this green chile chicken is comfort food for those who like some kick! Tender chicken slow cooks with green chiles and aromatic spices and is topped with sour cream and cheddar cheese. Spoon it into enchiladas or serve over rice for an easy burrito bowl that your whole family will love.
Get The Recipe
This Slow Cooker Mississippi Chicken is one of those easy weeknight dinners that you'll want to make again and again. Peperoncini peppers give this sauce a tangy zip that's delicious without being too spicy, and since we're using chicken instead of beef, it just feels light enough for summer. Throw it together before heading outdoors and come back hours later to some of the best chicken to ever come out of your crock pot!
Get The Recipe
These country ribs are so freakin good and ridiculously easy too. Southern comfort food doesn't get much better than this! Simply layer them over onions, pour on some barbecue sauce and let your slow cooker do all the work. About 20 minutes under the broiler at the end gives you that amazing caramelized top
Get The Recipe
Slow Cooker Steak Fajitas show you don't need an insanely hot skillet to achieve flavorful restaurant style fajita goodness! Flank steak slow cooks with fajita seasoning, peppers, onions, spicy tomatoes, and zesty lime juice until super tender and full of flavor. This recipe is a weeknight winner, just load up your tortillas and enjoy!
Check out this recipe
Made with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and spicy salsa, this Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken is so good you'll want to add it to your weeknight dinner lineup forever. It's got serious flavor, and the chicken is incredibly moist and literally falls apart by itself. Use it on tacos, burritos, nachos, salads...the options are endless! And the best part? One slow cooker dish, never needing to turn on your oven again.
Get The Recipe
These Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Thighs are my idea of the perfect summer dinner. They require minimal prep time, but are full of flavor AND don't heat up your oven. Slow cooking these chicken thighs in BBQ sauce creates the most tender chicken that literally falls off the bone. Finishing the chicken under the broiler allows it to get that delicious caramelized char that looks like it came right off the grill. And with only a few ingredients and 10 minutes of prep, you can't go wrong with this easy weeknight dinner!
Get The Recipe
Did you know you can use root beer for more than drinking? Because this Slow Cooker Root Beer Chicken will make you think of root beer as one seriously amazing sauce. The bubbles help tenderize it while it slow cooks making the chicken nice and juicy with that sweet, creamy vanilla-y spiced flavor that we all love about root beer. Toss some on a bun after shredding and boom...instant family favorite!
Get The Recipe
These Crock Pot Meatball Subs are one of those dinners that everyone loves and will disappear quickly. With frozen Italian-style meatballs cooking low and slow in marinara sauce all day long, this meal is super easy for you. The meatballs absorb the flavor of that wonderful, garlicky marinara sauce and become oh-so-tender. They are piled high on toasted hoagie rolls and topped with melted provolone cheese for a sub that will remind you of those eaten at a boardwalk sandwich shop. Kids and adults will both love these!
Get The Recipe
This Hawaiian-inspired Crock Pot Huli Huli Chicken recipe is packed with flavor and SO easy! Chicken thighs slow cook in pineapple, ginger, and sesame infused sweet and tangy sauce until they are full of AMAZING Hawaiian flavor we all love and crave!
Get The Recipe
Crusty bread. Tender slow cooked beef. Melty cheese. Dipping it all in rich broth. This Crock Pot French Dip Recipe really shouldnt be this easy (or this delicious)! Prep is quick (less than 15 minutes!) and then you can walk away and let your crock pot work it's magic all day long. Everyone loves this meal and asks for seconds!
Get The Recipe
Your takeout loving family will love this Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli recipe! Fork tender beef chuck roast slow cooks in a savory soy and sesame sauce. The broccoli will cook perfectly while staying nice and crunchy like you get when you order takeout. This recipe is filling, tasty and my kids always ask for more!
Get The Recipe
This Crock Pot Salsa Verde Chicken is tangy, slightly spicy, and super versatile. It's one of those recipes you'll definitely want to keep in your weekly meal plans. Simply toss together a few easy ingredients, and let your slow cooker work its magic! Spoon it into tacos, roll it up in burritos, serve it over rice. You can't go wrong!
Get The Recipe
Slow Cooker Recipe For Summer FAQs
Does a slow cooker heat up the kitchen?
A slow cooker gives off much less heat than an oven, which makes it a smart choice for summer cooking. It still gets hot, so place it on a safe, heatproof surface with plenty of space around it.
Can you put frozen chicken in a slow cooker?
We do not recommend cooking frozen chicken breasts in the Crock-Pot Slow Cooker. Frozen meat takes too long to reach a safe temperature and may botulism
What's the best thing to make in a crockpot when hot outside?
BBQ Chicken, salsa chicken, pulled pork, taco meat, ribs, and dips are some of the best dump and go Crock Pot meals to make when it's HOT outside! They take little to no prep work and don't heat up your kitchen since you don't need to use the oven!
More Easy Crock Pot Recipes
If you are looking for more easy slow cooker recipes, try these next:
- Slow Cooker Dinner Recipes
- Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes
- Slow Cooker Pork Recipes
- Crock Pot Dinners
- Slow Cooker Appetizers
- Crock Pot Desserts
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below. Then follow me on Facebook and Pinterest! Share your favorite recipes or ask questions in my Facebook Group.
Leave a Reply