43 Tasty Crockpot Recipes Ready in Four Hours or Less
Do you want a home-cooked meal, but you’re short on time? This collection of Crockpot recipes can be ready to eat in four hours or less.
A Crockpot can be your best friend in the kitchen, mine sure is. With these easy and quick recipes, you can have a hot and tasty meal on the table in about four hours or less. Chicken, beef, pork, and even fish can be slow-cooked to a tasty goodness with the right recipe.
Some of these are dump-and-go Crockpot recipes. All of these recipes can be tossed in the slow cooker, and you can go on about your day while your tasty home-cooked dinner simmers.
From soups and stews to meats and one-pot meals, even a vegetarian option, there’s something for everyone in this collection of Crockpot dinner recipes ready in four hours or less.
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What size Crockpot should you buy?
That depends on your needs, most of all. If possible, I recommend owning a big one and a small one. Let me explain.
You should be able to make a meal for six people in a 6-7 quart Crockpot. However, there are times when a smaller Crockpot is all you need for some meals or side dishes like green beans.
My personal favorite Crockpot is this 6-quart with programmable selections for 4, 6, 8, and 10 hour settings.
You can actually buy a Crockpot that is as small as 1 to 1.5 quarts. That’s nice for keeping a dip warm for parties, or heating a side of green beans and such.
My Favorite Crockpot Accessory
Do yourself a favor and keep these disposable Crockpot liners on hand at all times. They make clean-up super easy.
Clean-up Tip
If all you have left in the Crockpot is juice and you did use one of those handy-dandy Crockpot liners, clean up is easy. After the Crock has cooled completely, lift out the liner and place it into a small garbage bag. Tie up the ends very well and place it into the freezer until trash day. No stinky odor or messy leaks in the trash can.

Four-Hour Slow Cooker Recipes (or less than 4 hours)
Tasty Crockpot Recipes Ready In Four Hours or Less
This collection of Crockpot Recipes can all be ready to eat in four hours or less. Sometimes you need a good dinner recipe that can be slow cooked to perfection in a few hours and sometimes you can let it cook for longer. These recipes will meet that need.
Crockpot Chicken and Gravy Recipe
An easy dump and go Crockpot recipe for a kid friendly dinner. Serve your tender, tasty chicken and gravy over rice or mashed potatoes for a hearty meal.
Best Ever BBQ Chicken Wings Recipe
Make these easy BBQ Chicken wings for game day or anytime you are craving wings. They are slow cooked and ready to eat in about four hours. Finish in the oven to crisp the outside.
Easy Crockpot Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe
A simple four ingredient recipe for making Spaghetti and Meatballs in the Crockpot for an easy weeknight dinner.
Slow Cooker Salmon + Creamy Lemon Sauce | Easy Salmon Recipe
This Slow Cooker Salmon recipe yields tender, flaky fish, topped with a luscious creamy lemon sauce. Easy to put together, super flavorful, and cooked to a juicy perfection right in your slow cooker.
3 Ingredient Meatballs
Three simple ingredients a few short hours in the Slow Cooker are all you need to make these tasty meatballs. Serve on Hoagies for meatball sandwiches or as a party appetizer on toothpicks.
3 Ingredient Crockpot Maple Glazed Apple Pork Chops
This tasty Crockpot pork chop recipe is ready to eat in about 4 hours. There are only a few simple ingredients to this comfort food recipe.
Crack Chicken Recipe (Crock Pot)
This slow cooker Crock Pot crack chicken recipe is EASY, creamy, and so addicting for the whole family! Prep takes just 5 minutes.
Crockpot Three Cheese Stuffed Manicotti
Cheesy, meaty stuffed Manicotti is slow cooked in the Crockpot for several hours making the flavors marinate even more. This Italian weeknight dinner begins on the stove. Totally worth the effort.
Crockpot Deep Dish Pizza Recipe
Make Chicago Style pizza in your Crockpot. This easy homemade pizza recipe is great for weeknight dinner.
Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos
This is an easy recipe with few ingredients. Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos are a tasty dinner for Taco Tuesday or any day of the week.
Crockpot Teriyaki Pork Chops Recipe
Crockpot teriyaki pork chops recipe is simple and delicious! Teriyaki pork chops with pineapple make an amazing meal.
Easy Kielbasa and Sauerkraut Recipe
Kielbasa and Sauerkraut makes a hearty meal that's full of flavor. My easy kielbasa and sauerkraut recipe is delicious way to get dinner on the table with very little effort with the help of the Slow Cooker.
Easy Dr. Pepper Slow Cooker Pork Chops Recipe
Three simple ingredients slow cooked for about three hours makes a delicious lunch or dinner recipe.
Easy Slow Cooker Pumpkin Soup
Who says you can only eat Pumpkin Soup in the Fall? This Slow Cooker recipe for creamy homemade Pumpkin soup is good anytime of the year. Made with fresh pumpkin, slow cooked and loaded with flavor.
Easy Crockpot Beef Tips & Gravy With Two Ingredients
This simple recipe for beef tips and gravy is slow cooked for a tender, tasty weeknight dinner. Serve with rice or mashed potatoes.
Crockpot Lemon Pepper Wings
Make these Lemon Pepper Wings for game day or anytime you are craving wings. This recipe is slow cooked for about 3 or 4 hours for a tender and tasty wing recipe then finished in the oven.
Healthy Slow Cooker Tuna Casserole
Make this scrumptious Tuna Noodle Casserole in your Slow Cooker and enjoy dinner in under 2 hours.
Crockpot Leg Quarters Zesty Italian Recipe
Try this recipe for chicken leg quarters with only two simple ingredients if you are cooking for two. This leg quarters recipe slow cooks to a tender and tasty main dish in about three hours.
Crockpot Kielbasa and Green Beans
Easy to make crockpot green beans, potatoes and Kielbasa recipe, ready in 4 hours. Simply add everything to the slow cooker and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
Beef that slow cooks to tender melt in your mouth perfection. This takes minutes to throw into the crockpot and has such amazing flavor!
Crockpot Ranch Chicken Sliders
This two ingredient recipe makes the best shredded chicken for making sliders. Change out the Ranch seasoning for Taco seasoning and use the chicken for Taco Tuesday.
Crockpot Lasagna
Crockpot lasagna is cheesy, comforting, and filling. This classic Italian Lasagna recipe is turned into a slow cooker masterpiece.
Chicken Carnitas (Easy slow cooker recipe!)
Make this budget friendly Chicken Carnitas recipe in about four hours in the Slow Cooker. Flavored with seasonings and spices that are likely in your pantry now.
Crockpot Ranch Pork Chops
Slow cooker ranch pork chops are a creamy and flavorful dump and go or set it and forget it meal. Serve with noodles, rice, or potatoes!
The BEST Crock Pot Pork Chops
Make tender, tasty Islander Pork Chops in your Crockpot in about 2 to 3 hours on high. A homemade simple sauce packs a lot of flavor into the weeknight dinner entree.
3-Ingredient Crock-Pot Chicken Tacos
This tasty Chicken taco recipe is a quick to prep and slow cooks for only about 3 hours. The best part is there are only 3 ingredients.
Slow Cooker Chicken Tortellini Soup
This slow cooker chicken tortellini tomato soup is packed full of Italian flavors and is absolutely delicious. If your family loves pasta night, they’ll love this hearty soup. This cheery bowl of soup is full of juicy tomatoes, tender chicken, wholesome vegetables and plump cheese tortellini all in each bite.
Slow Cooker Chicken Salad
Use this easy Slow Cooker Chicken Salad recipe for wraps, sandwiches or salads. A great recipe for busy weeknights or Saturday lunch.
Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Thighs
Boneless chicken thighs are seasoned with dry rub and tossed with your favorite BBQ sauce. They're slow-cooked until juicy and fall apart tender! Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Thighs are smokey, sweet, and savory, and they only require a few ingredients!
Easy Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken Thighs
Get this tasty Sesame Chicken in the Crockpot after lunch and have a flavorful dinner ready in just about three hours on high. Can be cooked on low for 6 hours.
Crockpot Philly Cheesesteak
This Crockpot Philly Cheesesteak recipe is easy to make any night of the week. Tender, cheesy, steak-filled sandwiches, you’ll feel like you just stepped into a restaurant in Philly!
Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
The delicious flavors of Homemade Sloppy Joes will tickle your tastebuds with this easy recipe. Serve Sloppy Joes for an easy weeknight dinner or weekend lunch.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tenderloin
This Crockpot recipe is a freezer meal ready to eat in about 4 hours when slow cooked. Great for sandwiches.
BBQ Pork Steaks in the Slow Cooker - One of the BEST Recipes
BBQ Pork Steaks in the Slow Cooker: Cook in the crockpot with sauce, & after a few hours they’ll be so tender they’ll fall off the bone!
Slow Cooker Hungarian Goulash
This traditional Hungarian goulash is a hearty stew with a bright flavorful paprika broth. Classic goulash is packed with tender beef & vegetables, no pasta or macaroni in this one. Enjoy this comforting Eastern European recipe that is so easy to make thanks to your Crock-Pot
Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili
Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili is one of the easiest and most delicious meals you will ever make! It's a simple, flavorful, dump and go recipe, and is a family favorite. Serve over rice or on its own!
Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice (Crock Pot)
The slow cooker or crock pot chicken and rice offer a delightful combination of savory and aromatic flavors. It's a classic dish that is sure to please your appetite.
Crock Pot Mississippi Chicken
Mississippi Chicken is super quick, easy, and cooked low and slow to perfection – it’s an ideal weeknight meal or perfect for lazy days. The combination of flavors will quickly make this recipe a new family favorite.
Slow Cooker Honey Bourbon Meatballs
Slow cooker honey bourbon meatballs are a sweet and savory meatball delight. Filled with sweet honey, tangy bourbon, and tons of delicious flavor, this dish is the perfect entree or appetizer!
Slow Cooker Southwestern Breakfast Casserole Recipe
Breakfast for dinner and Tex-Mex in a Slow Cooker makes a tasty weeknight meal idea without a lot of work at the stove.
Crockpot Beef and Broccoli
Crockpot beef and broccoli that tastes better than Chinese takeout made in right in your slow cooker!
4 Ingredient Crock Pot Pork Chops
This 4 Ingredient Crock Pot Pork Chops recipe takes one of our favorite tried & true recipes & gives you a wonderful pork chop dish.
Crockpot Cube Steak & Mushroom Gravy
Serve this tender, tasty Cube Steak and Mushroom gravy over rice or mashed potatoes. Slow cooker until it is falling apart, this cube steak dinner will satisfy your hunger.
Slow Cooker recipes are always handy to keep on hand for busy days, but some Crockpot recipes are great to cook anyway. Those 3-Ingredient BBQ Chicken Wings are popular year-round and great for game day. If you’re hosting a get-together, you can slow-cook while you are doing other things.
Many great dinner recipes can be cooked in the Crockpot on low for eight hours while you are at work. Most slow-cooked meat comes out tender and juicy using the right recipe. I hope you find some new family favorites in this list of Crockpot recipes that cook in four hours or less.
More Weeknight Dinner Ideas
- Baked Smothered Cube Steak and Gravy recipe (made from scratch)
- Top Round Roast Beef and Gravy Recipe
- Baked Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas Recipe
- Bundt Pan Chicken Recipe
- Glazed Baked Spam Recipe
- Pork Chop Casserole recipe
- Thin and Crispy Skillet Fried Salmon Patties Easy Recipe
- Air Fryer Southern Fried Catfish Nuggets recipe
More Crockpot Recipes
- 35 Crockpot Recipes With 5 Ingredients or Less
- Crockpot Side Dish Recipes
- 3-Ingredient Crockpot Apple Dumplings
- Crockpot Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake
- Slow Cooker Apple Crisp

