For a full week of fall dinners from the slow cooker or Instant Pot, pick one all-day crock-pot recipe to start on a morning you’re home, then lean on the faster pressure-cooker options for weeknights. Most of these reheat well, so cooking once and eating twice is a real possibility. A recipe like Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup serves 10 on its own, which means leftovers are built in.
September is the month I actually start wanting a slow dinner again. The first genuinely cool evening hits and I’m reaching for the crock-pot without thinking about it — that particular feeling of setting something up in the morning and walking back into a house that smells like dinner is ready is one of the best parts of fall cooking. These 11 recipes cover both slow cookers and pressure cookers, depending on how much time you have on a given night.
Slow cooker vs. Instant Pot: picking the right one for your day
The main difference between these two appliances for dinner is timing, not quality of the result. If you’re starting dinner before work in the morning, an all-day slow cooker on low is the right call — you come back to a finished meal hours later. If you’re starting at 4 or 5 p.m. and need dinner the same evening, a pressure cooker is the better move. Pick based on when you thought about dinner, not which appliance you prefer.
Getting more than one dinner out of a single batch
Soups and braise-style dinners hold well in the fridge and often taste better the next day once the flavors have had time to settle. If you’re planning for a full week, start with one large-batch slow cooker recipe and let it carry two or three meals, then fill in the other nights with faster pressure-cooker dinners. That ends up being two or three cooking sessions instead of five, which is the whole point of pulling out the slow cooker in the first place.
What to serve alongside
Most of these dinners are substantial enough on their own, especially the soups and stews. When I want something alongside, steamed rice works well under the chicken and beef mains, and a piece of crusty bread is all the soups really need. Keep the sides simple — these recipes are doing the heavy lifting already, and an elaborate side just adds work you don’t need.
The recipes
All-day slow cooker and crock-pot
Start these in the morning and come back to dinner — they need the hours and reward you for it.
- Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken (34g protein) — Tender, saucy BBQ chicken that cooks hands-off in about 4 hours and serves six — works for sandwiches, bowls, or meal prep.
- Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup (10g protein) — Thick, hearty soup with ham, carrots, and celery that cooks hands-off on low for about 8 hours or on high for 4 to 6 hours — and serves 10.
- Crock Pot Taco Soup (35g protein) — Made without beans, with pantry staples and about 20 minutes of prep — this gluten-free taco soup is low-carb and comes together entirely in the crock pot.
Soups and stews from the pressure cooker
Warming bowls that come together in the Instant Pot when you need dinner on the table without the long wait.
- Pressure Cooker Chicken Bacon Spinach Soup (47g protein) — A comforting soup made with chicken breasts, cream cheese, cheddar, bacon, and spinach — done in about 30 minutes in the pressure cooker.
- Instant Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup (12g protein) — A warm, comforting broccoli cheese soup that comes together in the Instant Pot in about an hour — gluten-free and grain-free.
- Instant Pot Beef Stew (24g protein) — A full-flavored beef stew that needs only one appliance — and can easily be made dairy-free — done in about 55 minutes.
Instant Pot chicken mains
Two very different chicken dinners from the pressure cooker, for when you want something other than the usual weeknight rotation.
- Instant Pot Butter Chicken (26g protein) — Chicken thighs marinated in Greek yogurt, garlic, fresh ginger, turmeric, garam masala, and cumin — the marinade is what makes every bite so tender.
- Instant Pot Chicken Adobo (38g protein) — A Filipino-inspired pressure-cooker chicken with a touch of sweetness — dairy-free, gluten-free, and ready to serve in about 40 minutes.
Beef and pork mains
Hearty beef and pork options built for the pressure cooker, with big flavor and minimal hands-on time.
- Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli (26g protein) — Packed with vegetables and a solid hit of protein, this beef and broccoli comes together in the Instant Pot in about 35 minutes.
- Low-FODMAP Pressure Cooker Italian Beef (78g protein) — Made with Mezzetta Peperoncini, this Italian beef is low-FODMAP, gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free — done in about 2 and a half hours.
- Pressure Cooker Low-FODMAP Citrus Carnitas (40g protein) — Flavor-filled citrus carnitas that are Whole30 compliant, paleo, gluten-free, and dairy-free — done in about 75 minutes in the pressure cooker.
Frequently asked questions
What are good slow cooker dinner recipes for fall?
For fall, the most rewarding slow cooker dinners are hearty soups, pulled meats, and braised dishes — things that benefit from hours of low heat and fill the kitchen with that unmistakable smell. Start with one all-day slow cooker recipe on a day you’re home, then use pressure-cooker options to fill out the rest of the week. Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup and Crock Pot Taco Soup are both strong starting points if you want something that genuinely feeds a crowd.
How long does it take to make dinner in a slow cooker?
All-day slow cooker recipes typically run 4 to 8 hours on low, so plan to start them in the morning — pressure-cooker recipes, by contrast, land between 30 minutes and about an hour and 15 minutes. The question of which to use really comes down to when you started thinking about dinner. If you need something on the table fast, Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli is done in about 35 minutes and Instant Pot Chicken Adobo comes in right at 40.
Which slow cooker or Instant Pot dinner has the most protein?
For the highest protein per serving, Low-FODMAP Pressure Cooker Italian Beef tops the list at 78 grams, followed by Pressure Cooker Chicken Bacon Spinach Soup at nearly 47 grams. The chicken, pork, and beef mains generally land between 24 and 40 grams per serving, while the vegetable-based soups come in lower. If you’re specifically building a high-protein dinner, either of those top two is a strong place to start.
Can I make slow cooker soup ahead of time?
Yes — soups and braises are among the best make-ahead dishes because they hold well and often taste better after a day in the fridge. Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup keeps for several days, and the pressure-cooker soups reheat cleanly on the stovetop or in the microwave. The one thing to watch: if a soup has a cream cheese or cheddar base, stir it well while reheating and don’t rush the heat.
Every recipe here lives on Real Balanced already, tested in my kitchen and ready to go. Tap any title for the full ingredients, steps, and photos.
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