25 Easy Crockpot Pantry Meals

What is a pantry meal? A pantry meal is the easiest solution to cooking dinner on busy weeknights. These crockpot pantry meals don’t only use pantry ingredients, either. However, they are so easy that they have earned a place in our home’s meal rotations.

Use these easy crockpot pantry meals to put together a dinner the whole family can enjoy without breaking a sweat. Every night we have to ask ourselves what we want for dinner. This question is difficult for home cooks for multiple reasons.

We’re looking for an easy recipe that serves up a hearty meal with good ingredients. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time to figure it out every night of the week. Instead, we need to get a little help from a crockpot or a trusty slow cooker.

Slow cooker recipes could lead us to the ultimate comfort food. Of course, we need a slow cooker dinner that proves to be the easiest way to make a dream dinner or even just a simple dinner the whole family can enjoy. This is when we start discussing pantry meals.

A pantry meal is a recipe that uses mostly pantry staples or things you would find in a pantry. The idea is to put ourselves through as little work as possible. True dump-and-go recipes or pantry meals are exactly that.

Now, we just need to figure out which of these easy crockpot pantry meals we will be slow cooking tonight.

Easy Crockpot Pantry Meals

We are now all on the same page regarding what a pantry meal is; however, we did mention that pantry meal recipes are those that utilize mostly pantry ingredients and require minimal prep.

However, it is important to note that not all ingredients will come from a pantry. For example, this crockpot pork chops with cream of mushroom recipe uses multiple canned ingredients and is almost a perfect pantry meal. We can’t always get away with making a crock pot recipe that is completely made up of canned food.

However, we can get close. The real goal is to use a simple recipe with simple ingredients, whether we make crockpot sloppy joes or even slow cooker chicken and rice. You may even discover some of your new favorite recipes here, simply because they’re easy to make.

Easy Crockpot Recipes for a Busy Week

One of the best uses of these crockpot pantry meals is for a busy schedule. We don’t have to eat unhealthily just because we don’t have time. Instead, we can make healthy dinners using simple ingredients.

This slow cooker beef stroganoff recipe is not only delicious but also healthy, thanks to its creamy sauce. Another major benefit of using pantry recipes is the use of ingredients we have had for maybe a bit too long.

Pantry meals are mostly designed to help us skip the grocery store and use what we already have in the pantry. This chicken and rice crockpot recipe will take care of some of that rice you have in the pantry, as well as that jar of salsa you have leftover from that party the other day.

We are talking to you (if any of that hit the nail on the head.) These meals are delicious, but they are far from the only recipes we can make from the pantry.

Best Slow Cooker Meal

​Pantry meals don’t just use ingredients from the pantry, after all; no one is storing meat in there. Some of these easy crockpot pantry meals use meat like ground beef in this slow cooker lasagna soup recipe. You could also use ground turkey, but you get the idea.

That’s right, we can make a soup recipe using our best friend, the crockpot. These are things crockpots excel at making. Recipes that already take a while to make are just made easier in a crockpot.

Soups make a great example, like in this French dip soup recipe that is perfect for a cold night. There is even a pantry meal recipe called pantry soup, and it is delicious. There is another dish that is commonly made in a crockpot; some might say it was invented for this reason.

Crockpot Pantry Casseroles

You can’t discuss pantry meals, especially those made in a crockpot, without mentioning a casserole or two. One of the tastiest pantry casserole recipes is this chili dog casserole recipe. It is simple, easy to make, affordable, and tasty.

Bonus points that kids will eat it right up. Other casseroles are more common in a crockpot, but not many that we can easily call a pantry meal. There is always room for debate, but this taco pasta recipe feels like a casserole once you’ve made it.

It even fills us up just like a casserole would. These are just a few of the pantry meals that you can make for an easy dinner. Of course, these are the best crockpot pantry meals around.

However, you can always just invent something from whatever you have. Think about it this way: if you can think of a main dish and two sides that go well together, you can invent a casserole. 

More Crockpot Recipes

Crockpot Cheese Dip with Beans (No Velveeta) | Crockpots aren’t simply good at bringing pantry meals together. You can also use them to make some amazing dips for parties.

Easy Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice | Make a classic meal for dinner that is filled with flavor and super simple to make any night of the week.

Slow Cooker Beef Roast with Potatoes and Carrots | Beef roast is another classic recipe, but the slow cooker takes the dish to a whole new level thanks to its low and slow nature.

Crockpot Sloppy Joes Recipe | Sloppy Joe’s is not the prettiest dish, but it is a summer favorite that can be used anytime.

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup | Soup is amazing, but taco soup is even better, and you can make your own at home without breaking a sweat.