When afternoons get hectic, fall crockpot dinners for busy weeknights keep supper simple with hearty ingredients that cook while you get on with the day!
Once September rolls around, dinner starts asking for a little more personality. Tomatoes and light summer meals can scoot over because apples, cider, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, squash, sage, mushrooms, cranberries, maple, and slow-cooked beef are ready for their turn!
These fall crockpot dinners for busy weeknights bring those familiar October and November flavors into meals that can quietly cook while work, school pickup, errands, laundry, and everything else on your list continues happening.
Fall Crockpot Dinners for Busy Weeknights
1. Apple Cider Maple Pulled Pork with Sweet Potatoes
If October could cook dinner, I have a strong suspicion it would make this pork!
Apple cider gives pork shoulder a gently fruity acidity, maple syrup adds just enough sweetness, Dijon keeps everything from becoming sugary, and sweet potatoes soak up savory juices while remaining buttery around their edges.
This is especially good for a long workday because pork shoulder actually prefers patience. Instead of drying out like a lean pork chop might, its connective tissue slowly softens until meat practically collapses when you press it with a fork.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 to 4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, excess surface fat trimmed
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
- 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup apple cider
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon cold water
How to Make It
Pat pork dry before seasoning it because wet meat tends to steam rather than develop much flavor on its surface. Rub salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and garlic powder all over pork.
If you have an extra seven or eight minutes in morning, sear pork in a hot skillet with a teaspoon of oil for about 2 minutes per side until browned.
You can skip this on a truly hectic Tuesday, but I do it whenever possible because those browned edges eventually melt into sauce and make everything taste richer!
Place sweet potatoes and onion across bottom of slow cooker, scatter garlic over them, then position pork on top. Keeping vegetables underneath meat lets them cook in all those dripping juices without requiring constant stirring.
Whisk apple cider, maple syrup, Dijon, vinegar, thyme, and sage together. Taste before pouring it in. You should notice sweetness first, quickly followed by mustard and vinegar. If your cider is particularly sweet, an extra teaspoon of vinegar keeps sauce lively.
Pour mixture around pork rather than washing seasoning directly from its surface. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours or HIGH for 5 to 6 hours.
For genuinely pull-apart pork, look beyond basic food safety temperature and wait until thickest part reaches roughly 195°F to 205°F and a fork twists easily through meat.
Lift pork onto a platter and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Shred into chunky pieces with two forks rather than turning it into tiny strings. I like leaving a few larger pieces because they stay especially juicy.
If cooking liquid looks thin, transfer about 1 1/2 cups to a small saucepan. Mix cornstarch with cold water until completely smooth, whisk into liquid, and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
Fold sauce back through pork and sweet potatoes just before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Pile pork and sweet potatoes into shallow bowls and spoon plenty of cider sauce over everything.
A crisp cabbage and apple slaw is excellent beside it because crunch cuts through richness nicely. For a bigger dinner, add warm cornbread, roasted Brussels sprouts, or simple green beans.
2. Butternut Squash White Chicken Chili
This is where white chicken chili puts on its fall sweater without becoming heavy or overly creamy.
Cubes of butternut squash soften into broth, green chiles add gentle heat, cannellini beans make every spoonful substantial, and lime added at end wakes up all those mellow slow-cooked flavors.
I prefer chicken thighs here because they stay tender during longer cooking. Chicken breasts work too, but start checking them sooner!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 4 cups peeled butternut squash cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cans, 15 ounces each, cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can, 4 ounces, diced green chiles
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened and cubed
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, optional
How to Make It
Place squash, onion, garlic, beans, and green chiles into slow cooker first. Set chicken over vegetables, then sprinkle cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, coriander, salt, and pepper across everything. Pour broth around chicken.
Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours or HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, checking chicken toward earlier end of range. Chicken must reach at least 165°F in thickest portion. Thighs are forgiving and can comfortably go somewhat higher while staying juicy.
Once squash is tender enough to mash easily with a fork, remove chicken and shred it.
Before returning chicken, take a potato masher and press down on roughly one quarter of beans and squash directly inside slow cooker. You are not trying to puree your chili!
Smashing just a small portion naturally thickens broth while leaving plenty of chunky vegetables behind.
Add shredded chicken, cream cheese, and frozen corn. Stir, cover again, and cook on HIGH for another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until cream cheese completely melts. If you still see tiny white specks, keep stirring rather than adding more dairy.
Finish with lime juice and cilantro. Taste now rather than earlier because lime changes whole personality of chili. Add another pinch of salt if flavors still seem muted.
Serving Suggestions
Spoon into bowls and finish with shredded Monterey Jack, sliced avocado, crushed tortilla chips, cilantro, or pickled jalapeños.
Cornbread with honey butter makes an excellent fall side, especially when weather has finally stopped pretending it is still August.
3. Maple Dijon Chicken with Apples and Carrots
Maple and Dijon are one of those combinations that make a sauce taste far more complicated than actual effort involved.
Add crisp apples, thyme, garlic, and tender carrots, and suddenly a basic package of chicken thighs feels perfectly suited to an October dinner.
Use a firm apple such as Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Braeburn, or Granny Smith. Softer apples can disappear after several hours and leave you wondering where they went!
Servings: 5
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
- 2 firm apples, cored and cut into thick wedges
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon cold water
How to Make It
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Arrange carrots and onion across bottom of slow cooker, then place chicken thighs over them. Save apples for a little later if you prefer distinct wedges rather than very soft fruit.
Whisk Dijon, maple syrup, broth, vinegar, garlic, thyme, and rosemary until mustard has completely dispersed. Taste a tiny spoonful. Sauce should be tangy, lightly sweet, and noticeably mustard-forward because chicken and vegetables will mellow it as they cook.
Pour sauce over chicken. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours or HIGH for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours.
Add apple wedges during final 60 to 90 minutes on LOW, or final 35 to 45 minutes on HIGH. This timing keeps them tender while still recognizable on your plate. Chicken should reach 165°F in thickest section before serving.
Transfer chicken, carrots, and apples to a serving dish. If sauce needs thickening, whisk cornstarch and cold water together, stir slurry into crockpot liquid, cover, and cook on HIGH for 10 to 15 minutes.
Sauce is ready when it lightly coats back of a spoon instead of running off like broth. Return everything to sauce gently so apple wedges do not break apart.
Serving Suggestions
Serve over mashed potatoes, wild rice, or buttered egg noodles.
Roasted Brussels sprouts are especially good here, and a simple spinach salad with dried cranberries can turn it into a dinner worthy of company without requiring company-level effort.
4. Beef, Mushroom and Parsnip Pot Roast
Pot roast already belongs to cold-weather cooking, but parsnips, mushrooms, rosemary, and a splash of balsamic push this version straight into fall territory.
Parsnips bring an earthy sweetness that carrots alone cannot quite manage, while mushrooms practically melt into beef juices.
Do not choose a lean roast for this. Chuck roast has marbling and connective tissue that slowly transforms during cooking, which is exactly what gives you that fork-tender Sunday-dinner texture on a Wednesday!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound baby potatoes
- 3 carrots, cut into large chunks
- 3 parsnips, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 large yellow onion, cut into wedges
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, halved
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons cold water
How to Make It
Pat roast dry and season generously with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering, then sear beef for about 3 minutes per broad side.
Please do not keep flipping it every thirty seconds! Leave beef alone long enough for a proper brown crust to form.
Scatter potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onion, mushrooms, and garlic across slow cooker. Place seared beef over vegetables.
Whisk broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic, rosemary, and thyme, making sure tomato paste is completely incorporated. Pour around roast.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours or HIGH for 5 to 6 hours. Chuck roast is technically safe before it becomes tender, so texture is your better finishing signal here.
Once meat approaches roughly 195°F to 205°F, collagen has had enough time to soften and a fork should slide into center with very little resistance.
If fork goes in but meat still fights back when you twist, give it another 30 to 45 minutes. Pot roast has a very clear stage between cooked and truly tender, and stopping early is usually why people end up with chewy roast.
Transfer roast and vegetables to a platter. Mix cornstarch and cold water, stir into cooking liquid, and cook on HIGH for 10 to 15 minutes until gravy thickens. Slice or pull beef into large pieces and spoon gravy generously over top.
Serving Suggestions
This already includes plenty of vegetables, so keep sides simple. Warm dinner rolls, crusty bread, or a green salad with sharp vinaigrette are plenty.
If your family believes pot roast legally requires mashed potatoes, I am not here to start an argument.
5. Sausage, Sweet Potato and Kale Crockpot Soup
This soup is what I want when leaves are coming down, evening gets dark at an unreasonable hour, and dinner needs plenty of flavor without twenty ingredients.
Savory sausage seasons broth as it cooks, sweet potatoes provide soft buttery bites, kale holds onto a little texture, and Parmesan at end makes broth taste rich without turning soup into cream sauce.
Use mild Italian sausage for family-friendly flavor or hot sausage when dinner could use a little attitude.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 can, 15 ounces, cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 4 packed cups chopped kale
- 1/2 cup half-and-half
- 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
How to Make It
Brown sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, breaking it into bite-size crumbles rather than tiny grains.
Ground pork sausage should reach 160°F, although it will continue cooking in soup. Spoon off excess grease while leaving about a teaspoon behind for flavor.
Transfer sausage to slow cooker and add sweet potatoes, onion, carrots, garlic, beans, broth, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, pepper, and salt.
Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours or HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until sweet potatoes are tender when pierced but have not completely broken apart.
Stir in kale during final 20 to 30 minutes. Adding it at beginning might be convenient, but you will lose its bright color and pleasant texture after hours of cooking. Once kale has softened, reduce slow cooker to LOW if needed and stir in half-and-half and Parmesan.
Do not let soup boil aggressively after dairy goes in because high heat can make it look slightly separated. Finish with lemon juice, taste, and adjust salt.
That final hit of acidity matters more than you might expect because sausage, cheese, and sweet potatoes all bring rich flavors that benefit from a fresh edge.
Serving Suggestions
Serve with garlic bread, toasted sourdough, or a thick slice of buttered multigrain bread. A shaved apple and fennel salad is excellent beside it when you want something crisp.
6. Cranberry Orange Turkey Meatballs
Cranberries do not have to wait until Thanksgiving dinner! Their tartness is excellent with turkey, orange, rosemary, and a little maple, creating glossy sweet-savory meatballs that work just as well over mashed potatoes as they do tucked beside wild rice.
I keep sweetness restrained here. This is dinner, not meatballs wearing dessert sauce.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
For Meatballs
- 2 pounds ground turkey
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup finely diced onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
For Cranberry Orange Sauce
- 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- Pinch of salt
How to Make It
Mix turkey, egg, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, sage, and thyme with your fingers until everything is just combined. Stop mixing as soon as ingredients look evenly distributed because aggressively working ground turkey makes meatballs firmer than they need to be.
Shape into about 24 meatballs, each roughly 1 1/2 inches wide. For best texture and easiest handling, arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 425°F for 10 minutes.
They do not need to be completely cooked yet. This quick oven step firms their exterior so you can transfer them to slow cooker without ending up with accidental turkey crumble sauce.
Add cranberries, orange juice, broth, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, orange zest, rosemary, and salt to slow cooker. Stir, then nestle meatballs into liquid.
Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours or HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, until meatballs reach 165°F internally.
During final 20 minutes, gently stir sauce. Cranberries should have burst and softened into a bright ruby mixture.
If you want a smoother sauce, press several berries against side of crock with your spoon. If sauce tastes too sharp, add another teaspoon of maple syrup rather than pouring in a large amount at once.
Serving Suggestions
Serve over creamy mashed potatoes, wild rice, or buttered egg noodles with roasted green beans or Brussels sprouts.
They also make a fun football-night dinner with toothpicks, baked potato wedges, and a bowl of extra cranberry sauce for spooning over top.
7. Smoky Pumpkin Black Bean Chili
Pumpkin deserves better than being limited to coffee and pie! In this chili, pumpkin puree melts almost completely into tomato broth, giving it body and gentle sweetness without making dinner taste like pumpkin dessert.
Black beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, corn, peppers, cumin, and smoked paprika keep flavor firmly in savory territory.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 3 cans, 15 ounces each, black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can, 15 ounces, pumpkin puree
- 1 can, 28 ounces, fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 poblano pepper, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup, optional
How to Make It
Add black beans, pumpkin, tomatoes, broth, onion, bell pepper, poblano, garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, cinnamon, and salt to slow cooker.
That tiny amount of cinnamon is intentional. You should not be able to identify cinnamon in finished chili. It simply rounds out pumpkin and smoky spices, so resist urge to turn teaspoon into a tablespoon!
Stir thoroughly because pumpkin tends to sit in one large orange mound if you simply pour liquids around it.
Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours or HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until onion and peppers are very tender.
Stir in corn during final 20 minutes. Taste before adding maple syrup because some canned tomatoes and pumpkin naturally taste sweeter than others. If chili has an earthy or slightly bitter edge, one tablespoon maple syrup smooths it out without making it sweet.
Finish with lime juice. For thicker chili, remove lid and cook on HIGH for another 15 to 20 minutes. You can also mash about half a cup of black beans against side of crock and stir them back into sauce.
Serving Suggestions
Top with shredded cheddar, avocado, sour cream, scallions, cilantro, pumpkin seeds, or crushed tortilla chips.
Cornbread is almost mandatory in my kitchen, particularly when chili has been bubbling away all afternoon and everyone has been smelling it for hours.
8. Sage Chicken Pot Pie Crockpot Dinner
Chicken pot pie filling is ideal slow cooker territory. Chicken becomes tender, potatoes and carrots cook directly in seasoned broth, sage brings that unmistakable fall flavor, and frozen peas stay bright because they go in at end rather than spending six hours turning army green.
Instead of trying to cook pastry inside a humid slow cooker, I serve filling with hot biscuits. You get flaky topping without wrestling with soggy dough!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 3 carrots, sliced
- 2 celery stalks, sliced
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 3/4 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- 6 warm biscuits for serving
How to Make It
Arrange potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic in slow cooker. Place chicken over vegetables and season with thyme, sage, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Pour broth around chicken.
Cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours or HIGH for 3 to 4 hours. If using chicken breasts, begin checking around 4 hours on LOW because lean breast meat does not need extra cooking once it has reached 165°F. Thighs can happily remain in longer.
Remove chicken and shred or cut it into chunky pieces. I prefer pieces around an inch wide because this is pot pie filling, not chicken dip!
Whisk cornstarch with cold water until completely lump-free. Stir slurry into hot broth along with cream. Return chicken, add frozen peas, cover, and cook on HIGH for 15 to 25 minutes.
Stir after about 10 minutes. Sauce should become creamy enough to cling to potatoes without looking like paste. Remember it will continue thickening slightly while it sits.
Taste for salt only after thickening because broth concentrates a little as sauce develops. Add another pinch of sage if you want a stronger holiday-style herb flavor.
Serving Suggestions
Split hot biscuits and spoon pot pie filling over them, or place biscuits directly on top of individual bowls.
A cranberry walnut salad makes an excellent crisp side. You can also serve this over mashed potatoes, which is definitely putting potatoes on potatoes and I fully support it.
9. Creamy Chicken, Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup
Wild rice, mushrooms, thyme, carrots, and chicken feel made for cool fall evenings.
Wild rice keeps its pleasantly chewy texture much better than ordinary white rice during longer cooking, while mushrooms release savory juices into broth and cream added near end rounds everything out.
Make sure you buy true wild rice or a wild rice blend with a substantial amount of wild rice. Instant rice is not your friend in a six-hour slow cooker!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup uncooked wild rice blend, rinsed well
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
How to Make It
Rinse wild rice thoroughly under cold water and drain it. Add rice, mushrooms, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to slow cooker. Place chicken on top and sprinkle everything with thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
Pour broth around chicken, cover, and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours. I strongly prefer LOW for this soup because rice cooks more evenly and chicken stays tender.
Start checking wild rice around 4 1/2 hours. You want grains split slightly with a tender but pleasantly chewy center. Different blends cook at different rates, so this is one recipe where looking and tasting beats blindly trusting a timer.
Remove chicken once it reaches 165°F, shred it, and return it to pot.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in half-and-half until smooth, then cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until slightly thickened.
Stir creamy mixture into soup and let everything cook together for another 10 to 15 minutes.
If rice has absorbed more broth than expected, add another half cup of warm chicken broth.
Finish with lemon juice and parsley. Lemon should not make soup taste lemony. Its job is simply to keep cream, mushrooms, and chicken from tasting flat after several hours together.
Serving Suggestions
Serve with crusty sourdough, warm dinner rolls, or grilled cheese cut into dunking strips. A kale salad with apples, pecans, and dried cranberries works beautifully alongside it.
10. Cranberry Balsamic Rosemary Chicken with Sweet Potatoes
This final dinner leans into flavors that start showing up everywhere once November arrives: tart cranberries, rosemary, sweet potatoes, orange, and balsamic. Chicken thighs stay juicy while cranberries break into a glossy sauce that tastes savory first, fruity second.
It also looks far more impressive than effort involved, which is exactly what I want from a slow cooker dinner!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds bone-in or boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 medium red onion, sliced into thick wedges
- 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon cold water
How to Make It
Season chicken with salt and pepper. If you have bone-in thighs with skin, browning them in a skillet for 3 to 4 minutes skin-side down gives you much better flavor and prevents skin from looking pale after slow cooking.
Slow cookers create moist heat, so they cannot crisp chicken skin on their own.
Arrange sweet potatoes and onion in bottom of slow cooker. Scatter cranberries across vegetables, then place chicken on top.
Whisk broth, balsamic, maple syrup, orange juice, orange zest, garlic, rosemary, and thyme. Pour mixture around chicken.
Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours or HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, until chicken reaches at least 165°F and sweet potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.
Transfer chicken and sweet potatoes carefully because cooked sweet potato chunks can break if you enthusiastically attack them with tongs.
Stir cranberry mixture. Most berries should have burst by now, leaving some whole berries for texture. Mix cornstarch with cold water and stir it into sauce. Cover and cook on HIGH for 10 to 15 minutes until sauce becomes glossy and lightly coats a spoon.
Taste before adding anything else. Cranberries vary greatly in tartness, so if sauce puckers more than you would like, stir in another teaspoon or two of maple syrup. If sauce tastes too sweet, a small splash of balsamic brings it right back.
Spoon sauce generously over chicken before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Serve with wild rice, mashed potatoes, roasted Brussels sprouts, or green beans with toasted pecans.
For a Thanksgiving-adjacent weeknight dinner without actually preparing Thanksgiving dinner, add warm stuffing or cornbread on side.
Good fall crockpot dinners for busy weeknights should make coming home at 6 p.m. feel like you planned dinner far more carefully than you actually did! Add bread, rice, biscuits, or a crisp salad, grab a big spoon, and dinner is ready before anyone gets the chance to ask, “So… what are we eating tonight?”
Hungry for more feel-good meals? Explore these 21 Anti-Inflammatory Breakfast Recipes for a nourishing start and 10 Anti-Inflammatory Dinner Recipes for delicious evenings that make healthy eating easy!
