Food and Recipes Slow Cooker Recipes 7 Sensational 3-Ingredient Slow-Cooker Recipes By Mary Shannon Wells Mary Shannon Wells Mary Shannon is a Digital Associate Editor and has been on the Southern Living team since 2017. She helps run the brand's social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok, where she's happily behind the scenes. When she's not ruffling feathers with an etiquette poll via Instagram Stories, she's writing content for the website and assisting in various print projects like gift guides and home stories.She grew up in Mobile, Alabama, which she insists is home to the country's first Mardi Gras (not New Orleans) and now lives in Birmingham with her husband and rescue pup Rocky, whose name is unrelated to The University of Tennessee (Roll Tide). Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on July 28, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall The slow cooker is a wonderfully helpful kitchen tool. Slow cookers comfort busy cooks with the fact that they, too, can get a delicious meal on the table on hectic days. In tribute to this handy appliance, we're having Grandma embroider our favorite new maxim—"set it and forget it"—on a couch pillow. As you might imagine, these 3-ingredient slow-cooker recipes are as easy as dumping the ingredients into the slow cooker and letting it take over. But the even more exciting news? These recipes are budget-friendly, too. Whether you need a breakfast main or side dish for supper with our slow-cooker grits or you need to feed a crowd with our slow-cooker barbecue pork, these three-ingredient recipes have you covered. With these easy and creative ideas, you might actually have time (and money) to spend on yourself this week. 01 of 07 Slow-Cooker Grits Southern Living Recipe: Slow-Cooker Grits Instead of sitting over the stovetop, let your slow cooker prep them for you. With a big batch of slow-cooker grits, you can have Smoky Sausage-and-Grits Casserole for breakfast and Gulf Coast Shrimp and Grits for dinner. 02 of 07 Slow-Cooker Pot Roast Melina Hammer Recipe: Slow-Cooker Pot Roast Assuming you already have canola oil on hand, all you'll need for this recipe is chuck roast, one can of beer, and an envelope of Italian seasoning. Once you prepare this roast, your family can enjoy it plenty of ways, whether between hoagie rolls or served over roasted veggies. 03 of 07 Georgia-Style Boiled Peanuts Alison Miksch Recipe: Georgia-Style Boiled Peanuts You actually need just two ingredients, not even three, to make this Southern favorite road trip snack from the comfort of your own kitchen. To give your boiled peanuts some Cajun spice, add a package of boil-in-bag shrimp-and-crab boil and about a half cup of hot sauce to the slow cooker before cooking. 04 of 07 Slow-Cooker Caramelized Onions Recipe: Slow-Cooker Caramelized Onions Who doesn't love the addition of caramelized onions to a dish? The only negative thing about them is that they take a lot of patience and time. Instead of spending time stirring and tending to them on the stovetop, let the slow cooker make your caramelized onions to perfection with a low and slow method. 05 of 07 Slow-Cooker Buttermilk Grits Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling; Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Slow-Cooker Buttermilk Grits Since we know you have water and salt on hand, this recipe only requires you to grab grits, buttermilk, and butter (though we know you probably have those around, too). From there, you can top these creamy grits with colorful and fun ingredients that you might have in the fridge like fried eggs, sautéed spinach, and shredded cheese. 06 of 07 Slow Cooker Barbecue Pork Jennifer Davick Recipe: Slow Cooker Barbecue Pork You don't need a smoker to serve up pitmaster-level flavor at the family reunion. Simply toss a Boston butt, your favorite bottle of barbecue sauce, and a can of cola in the slow cooker, and you've got a winning main dish. 07 of 07 Slow-Cooker Apple Butter Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Slow-Cooker Apple Butter Apple butter is the fall condiment we're spreading on our biscuits. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit