20 Delicious Crockpot Meals for a Crowd
One of my secrets to low-stress hosting of a crowd is to utilize my slow cooker. Why? It allows me to work ahead and then relax as my guests arrive, knowing that a warm, comforting dish is ready to go when we are. You’re going to love these hand-picked crockpot meals for a crowd.
We love slow cooker recipes so much, we even wrote a cookbook full of delicious slow cooker (and Instant Pot) recipes: From Freezer to Cooker! If you don’t find a crock pot recipe in this list that hits the spot, be sure to check out our cookbook!
Don’t Overcook (or Undercook) Your Meal!
After testing hundreds of recipes for our website and cookbooks, we have narrowed down the perfect cooking times for slow cooker recipes. To make it easy for you, we’ve put them in one nice, easy chart. Download it, print it, snuggle it, and thank us later.
Here are 20 of the most delicious and EASY slow cooker recipes that work for a large group…
20 Crockpot Meals for a Crowd
Whether you’re searching for crockpot party food or just some really good family crockpot meals, you’ve come to the right place! These amazing recipes are all tried and true ones we’ve used in our homes for years.
1. Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Sliders
This might be the easiest recipe of all for a crowd. Simply dump raw chicken breasts (that’s right–no pre-cooking!), sauce, a little seasoning into the crock and you’ll have a delicious sandwich-filling in a few hours. Kids love this one, too.
2. Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork
I love how easy and budget-friendly this slow cooker meal is for a group. Serve with our Killer Homemade BBQ Sauce and Asian Slaw on the side.
3. Crockpot Breakfast Casserole with Bacon and Gruyere
Everyone loves breakfast for dinner! Guests will oooh and ahhhh over this gourmet casserole at your next brunch or holiday gathering. Its depth of flavor and beautiful color come from the bacon, onions, garlic, kale, roasted red peppers, and Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses. Bonus: It’s naturally gluten-free.
4. Slow Cooker Crispy Carnitas
It’s hard not to like Carnitas made in the slow cooker. In fact, pork shoulder is one of my favorite cuts of meat to cook this way! Carnitas can be prepped in minutes, they make a great freezer meal, and they feed a large number of people. Be sure to quarter the pork shoulder before freezing in the marinade!
5.Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
This dump-and-go Tortilla Soup is one of the easiest you’ll ever make. Almost every ingredient comes straight from your pantry!
6. Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce
With only 6 main ingredients, this Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce couldn’t be easier or tastier! Serve over pasta, zoodles, or spaghetti squash for a delicious and healthy dinner.
7. Slow Cooker Honey Bourbon Chicken
A little sweet and a little spicy, this EASY Slow Cooker Honey Bourbon Chicken recipe is BIG on flavor and takes just minutes. It’s a fan favorite and, of course, freezer friendly.
8. Instant Pot French Dip Sandwiches
Instant Pot French Dip Sandwiches will become your new best friend on a busy night. Pressure cook your roast to perfection in our flavorful sauce. You’ll end up with fall-apart, shredded beef and an au jus you may just want to drink in about an hour.
9. Slow Cooker Chicken and Cheese Taquitos
The great thing about this meal is you can make it in advance and toast them in the oven as people arrive. Kids love these plain. Or, jazz them up for adults by adding some salsa, guacamole, pico de gallo or other toppings. You can also serve with our colorful Fiesta Chopped Salad and some tortilla chips.
10. Slow Cooker Balsamic Shredded Beef
This is a reader favorite! Serve this dump-and-go meal over mashed potatoes or polenta for the perfect Sunday dinner.
11. Slow Cooker Cheddar and Bacon Potato Soup
This scrumptious soup is a total crowd pleaser. Serve it with our Autumn Chopped Salad for an amazing dinner.
12. Chicken and Dumpling Stew
You may never return to making chicken and dumplings on the stove! It’s soooo good made in the crockpot.
13. Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Sandwiches
This well-seasoned, fall-apart shredded BBQ Beef will make your home smell amazing! Serve with our Homemade BBQ Sauce for extra deliciousness!
14. Homemade Tomato Soup
This Tomato Soup is budget-friendly, delicious, and makes a very large portion. Serve with some grilled cheese sandwiches or crusty bakery bread. Use our freezing instructions to make it ahead of time and freeze, too. This recipe is linked to an Instant Pot version but we’ve shared how to make it in the slow cooker in the blog post.
15. Slow Cooker Pot Roast
I have been making my pot roast exclusively like this for years now. Hands down our favorite, especially when guests come over.
16. Crowd Pleaser Mexican Soup
This is the only Mexican Soup recipe you’ll ever need. I’ve been making a variation of this soup for my family and guests for years. I love to fully cook this soup and freeze it in small portions to have for lunches down the road.
17. No Peek Stew
This dump-and-go meal takes minutes to put together in the slow cooker and cooks on LOW for about 8 hours. Serve up with some crusty bread and a side salad for a homestyle dinner.
18. Slow Cooker Turkey Chili with Sweet Potato and Black Beans
Look no further for a comforting slow cooker freezer meal. This lean turkey chili is not only hearty and absolutely delicious, but it’s also chock full of fiber, protein, and nutrients. This crock pot chili is delicious fresh but is also a great make ahead meal.
19. Italian Baked Meatballs in Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce
Make our easy, delicious Italian Baked Meatballs ahead of time and then place them in the slow cooker with either your favorite store-bought marinara sauce (we love Newman’s Own) or make our homemade crockpot marinara sauce. Serve over pasta or as Meatball Subs on hoagie rolls with provolone cheese.
20. Crockpot Pumpkin Spice Latte
This is a fun drink to serve to large groups. Make it ahead and let it sit in the slow cooker. Your guests can ladle it into mugs themselves. They will LOVE it!
Looking for More Crockpot Recipes?
You’ll LOVE our most recent cookbook, From Freezer to Cooker!
Every recipe has both slow cooker AND Instant Pot instructions PLUS instructions on how to make it a freezer meal. We spent two years developing and testing these recipes, so you can be sure they work!
Looking for More Recipes for Large Groups?
Find our round-up of 20+ Meals That Feed a Crowd here.
As a family of eight — we thank you for continually blessing us with healthy simplicities of making our Dinner choices & tasks so easy!!
This truly makes us so happy, Patti!
hi my name is Lynn and I live with my daughter and 5 grandchildren, we are a very busy family with children going to school and working so I am looking for some recipes to cook good meals for a family of 7 that would be great.
I hope these recipes helpful, Lynn. Our Kid-Friendly Freezer Meals might also be helpful to you, as you can make them ahead of time for fast and easy dinners later. Find those here: https://thrivinghomeblog.com/kid-freezer-meal-post/
I can’t wait to try these new recipes out for my meal prep next week.