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This meal plan for those midweek family dinners are all about making the most of our trusty slow cookers through this cold and busy time of year. Five easy but delicious recipes to ease the pressure of ‘what’s for dinner?’
Where would we be without our slow cookers at this time of year?!
You can’t beat a hearty home-cooked dinner during the cold and dark months, and our slow cookers are perfect for cooking this kind of dish up.
This meal plan features 5 slow cooker saviours, which are all fantastic for filling your freezer with for when life gets busy and chaotic over the Christmas season.
Prepare now, thank yourself later!
How to make the most out of this meal plan
➡️ Cook up a double batch (if your slow cooker is big enough) – one for this week, freeze the other half for another night.
➡️ Use these recipes to create ‘dump bags’ (freeze the raw ingredients together to throw in your slow cookers another day). Read more about Dump Bags here.
➡️ Make some of these alongside your regular dinners this week and then freeze them ready for busy nights ahead!
See more slow cooker recipes here.
I’ll be sharing this meal plan on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, so watch out for the videos so you can cook along.
For reference, I shopped for this Meal Plan in November 2023 at Aldi and it cost £42.56. (£1.57 per portion)
How to freeze these slow cooker meals?
I like to have some portions of these meals READY COOKED in the freezer.
Allow to cool completely and then put into bags. I like these ones which I reuse.
➡️ Premium Zip Lock Freezer Bags (30)
- They lay neatly in the freezer
- They freeze quickly
- Most importantly, they defrost quickly
Which slow cooker do you recommend?
➡️ Morphy Richards Sear and Stew 3.5l Slow Cooker
This is the slow cooker I always use and I cannot recommend enough.
It’s so light and easy to handle, the pot can also be used on the hob AND it’s great value.
Why use a family meal plan?
⭐️ Knowing exactly what food to buy for avoids food waste, saving you money.
⭐️ Having a plan for dinner avoids the mental load of “what’s for dinner?” question every night.
The printable shopping list can be found here.
You can find more Meal Plans here:
Meal Plan 25 – Easy midweek dinners
Meal Plan 24 – 5 brand new recipes to try
Meal Plan 23 – 5 dinners for under £30
Top tips
➡️ Check for any items on the shopping list that you already have in your cupboard.
➡️ Remove ingredients for any meals that you don’t want to cook.
➡️ We usually include the cheapest version of each ingredient on the shopping list. (Obviously if you want to buy lower fat mince or free range etc, that’s personal choice.) This is slightly different, as you need low fat mince when cooking in a slow cooker with no browning!
➡️ The number of servings per recipe varies on this list, so check beforehand.
Weekly meal ideas: Family slow cooker recipes
Dinner 1
⭐️ A hearty classic that’s packed with flavour, chunky vegetables and rich gravy.
⭐️ If you are using the shopping list, we have included a 700g pack of beef plus a 400g pack as these are the sizes Aldi sells. You will almost certainly end up with one extra portion here to freeze, making 7 portions.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew {with Rich Gravy}
Dinner 2
⭐️ A comforting, creamy vegan stew.
⭐️ Serve with added wraps, or flatbreads for a complete meal.
Sweet Potato & Peanut Butter Vegan Stew {Slow Cooker Recipe}
Dinner 3
⭐️ A tried-and-tested easy recipe – with no browning necessary!
⭐️ Serve with pasta or in baked potatoes for a complete meal.
Slow Cooker Bolognese {No Browning Recipe!}
Dinner 4
⭐️ Cosiness in a bowl, the classic but better!
⭐️ If you are using the shopping list, we have included 900g of chicken thighs rather than 1kg as stated in the recipe as this is the size Aldi sells.
Slow Cooker Chicken Casserole {with Crispy Bacon}
Dinner 5
⭐️ An easy crowd-pleaser that can be served in loads of different ways.
⭐️ Serve over nachos, over potato wedges or over a baked potato.
Slow Cooker Chilli Con Carne {Easiest EVER Recipe!}
If you’ve found this useful, let’s be friends on Instagram @tamingtwins
