(Updated with new recipes on September 20, 2023)
There’s nothing easier than fixing Thanksgiving recipes in the crock pot. You can gather the ingredients together, put the lid on, and wait for it to get done.
Thanksgiving is a time when everyone wants to have the food turn out just right and for everyone to love it. And hope that Uncle Fred doesn’t drink too much and start snoring!
You might not want to be responsible for all these dishes in the crock pot. But you could ask family and friends to help out with their own crock pots to make things easier.
Either way, the whatever is cooked in the crock pot tends to turn out moist and delicious.
Slow Cooker Turkey & Stuffing:
When you think of the Thanksgiving meal, most everyone thinks of turkey and dressing.
The prep for this recipe is 10 minutes. Then it will take 6 hours to cook in the crock pot.
It’s the easiest way to ensure that the turkey and dressing will be moist and tender and not have to check on it all day.
The dressing goes inside the turkey cavity and then you add chicken broth.
Slow Cooker Glazed Ham:
This slow cooker glazed ham is cooked in a sweet and spicy brown sugar glaze.
Put the ham in the slow cooker with a bit of water to keep it from scorching. Then cover and cook on low for about 6 hours.
About an hour before serving, make the sauce and pour it over the ham. Cook another 30 minutes.
Crock Pot Stuffing:
To me the dressing/stuffing is the best part of the holiday meal. I could eat nothing but stuffing on Thanksgiving and I’d be happy. Dressing is what I consider comfort food.
This recipe is made with fresh bread, vegetables and herbs.
Crock Pot Sweet Potato Casserole:
I’ve always wanted to cook sweet potato casserole, and for some reason never have. Maybe I’ll try this delectable dish soon.
Peeling the potatoes actually looks like the toughest part of this recipe!
Rudy’s Slow-Cooker Creamed Corn:
The creator of this recipe says it takes about two minutes to get the ingredients together for this dish. Then about four hours later, just stir and serve.
She says she always tastes the creamed corn around the three-hour mark, and then she has trouble staying out of it!
Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes:
This blogger says an easy way to make a large batch of mashed potatoes is to cook them in the slow cooker.
Even better, since you cook Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes in milk, you don’t have to drain the liquid.
She said she likes to make a big batch and then have leftovers throughout the week.
You mash the potatoes right in the crock pot, and you can even serve it from there. Then there’s no serving bowl to wash.
Crock Pot Parmesan Potato Wedges:
Who doesn’t love potatoes? If you aren’t a fan of mashed potatoes, then maybe this recipe for Parmesan potato wedges is for you.
All you have to do is cut the potatoes up and toss them in the crock pot with onions, butter, and seasonings. Then the pot does the rest.
At dinnertime, you just dish them out, sprinkle on some Parmesan, and serve.
Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole:
I think it goes without saying that just about everyone thinks green bean casserole should be on the menu at holiday time. I know I do.
In this recipe, three cans of drained green beans are used. Or about five cups of fresh or frozen green beans.
Crock Pot Honey Glazed Carrots:
These honey glazed carrots take very little time to put together.
You can use the full sized carrots that you cut up yourself (the recipe creator prefers it done this way.) Or you can go the pre-cut and pre-bagged carrots route.
Just peel and slice the carrots. Melt the butter and honey together. Add the carrots to the slow cooker and toss with the honey butter.
Cook on high for three hours or until tender.
Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce:
One thing this crock pot dish does is make the house smell wonderful!
Once everything is in the crock pot, stir the cranberry sauce every hour or so. This helps the mixture cook evenly and not get scorched.
All these recipes make me think: Is there anything you can’t make in the crock pot?
The very best thing is that these dishes are all Thanksgiving recipes you can cook in the crock pot.
Now all you have to worry about are the desserts. And guess what? You can make many desserts in the crock pot as well!
I would be happy just with cranberry sauce and cornbread dressing! My favorite part of the Thanksgiving dinner, well maybe pecan pie too. This will be my first year to cook it in 3 years, hope I remember how.
And I hope you have a beautiful Thanksgiving, Brenda!
I had it in mind to cook a breast in the crockpot and this recipe sounds delicious!!!! Thank you for the link.
I'm making a green bean casserole too, making my own sauce instead of soup and frying up the onions myself too instead of canned. I don't know where I got the recipe but it is delicious and I've had comments on it about how good it was.
Happy November and fixing Thanksgiving dinner ~ FlowerLady
I tried crock pot mashed potatoes last Thanksgivnig and they were terrific!
I make chicken and dressing in my crock pot all the time. I put a package of Stove Top in the bottom, add a few chopped onions and chopped celery, add chicken broth, then I lay 2 chicken breasts on top and dot with a couple pats of butter. Cover and turn on high and cook for approx 4 hours. This really is super delicious. Just a thought for something similar to the regular Turkey & Dressing.
It is just Mom and I this year so the turkey breast in the crock pot sounds interesting to me! I love the stuffing and canned cranberry sauce so much! Good recipes.
hugs,
Linda
I cooked a turkey breast in my crock pot and posted about it on my blog. It turned out great!
Those recipes look wonderful, Brenda!! It will be nice to have all those leftovers for future meals as well – that's always a huge plus! I look forward to seeing what you end up making! Convection ovens are wonderful and I love my crockpot so between the two I'm sure you'll come up with a wonderful meal. xo
Thanksgiving is at my sister's house this year. We all bring a dish to share. I'll definitely try one of these yummy recipes! Thanks for posting them! Your meal plan looks so tasty…
Brenda this all sounds so good. I was thinking of doing a turkey breast this year instead of a whole turkey. Cooking it in the crock pot would be wonderful. All the trimmings I'll have are the same like you share and I too like the canned cranberry sauce. We like the berry version best but have had the jellied style too. Thanks for sharing. Have a nice weekend.
This looks very much like what our meal will be on Thanksgiving. It's just the two of us since all family live a million miles away, and my husband always insists on cooking a turkey which he take the honors for. We will be doing a 12 lb turkey in the oven and freezing most of it at the end of the day on Thanksgiving. I think your idea of doing just turkey breasts in the crockpot is a great idea, and if you really love turkey, then do as many as you can fit in the crock pot and freeze the meat. It goes a long way. I do a green bean casserole also, except I don't add any sautéed mushrooms. My mouth waters just thinking about our dinner that day… YUMMO!
or, Brenda, you can come on over to my house and eat with us! Happy Thanksgiving!
The local grocery store often has split turkey breasts and they are more economical than a roasting chicken, and oh Brenda, cooking them in a crockpot is amazing. Super tender, then there's the broth towards a gravy or soup, etc. So I would highly recommend the crockpot for smaller cuts of turkey; absolutely! 🙂