Easy Slow Cooker Fakeaway Recipe Ideas to Make on Busy Days
We’ve all been tempted by a takeaway at the end of a long day. When you’re tired and hungry, the thought of cooking dinner from scratch can seem overwhelming. A slow cooker fakeaway is a dream come true on days like these – it’s minimal effort, maximum flavour and waiting for you when you walk through the door.
Healthier and cheaper than ordering a delivery, we have plenty of fakeaway recipes that can be made in your slow cooker. There’s something for everyone on this list of easy slow cooker fakeaway ideas, so you can enjoy all the food you love, without spending ages in the kitchen when you get home.
What slow cooker should I buy?
It goes without saying that you’ll need a slow cooker to make the recipes on this list! If you’re in the market for a new model, or not sure where to start with shopping for one, we’ve rounded up The Best Slow Cookers to Buy in one handy article.
Don’t forget to check out these other slow cooker blogs for more inspiration:
Slow Cooker Beef Madras
If you’re looking for a homemade curry recipe that delivers all the same flavours as your favourite Indian restaurant, you just found it! Our Slow Cooker Beef Madras fills your plate with fall-off-the-fork tender beef, in a medium-hot sauce.
Far more slimming friendly than ordering from the takeaway, you can have this rich-yet-healthy slow cooker fakeaway ready to serve the minute you get home. Set aside 15 minutes in the morning to start off the recipe – it’s well worth the time to warm up the spices and sear the beef before slow cooking.
Leave it to bubble away while you go about your day, and you won’t believe how good this will smell by the time you return. At 288 calories per serving, there’s plenty of room to add some basmati rice or your favourite Indian-inspired accompaniments on the side. We’ll have a crispy Onion Bhaji with ours, please!
Slow Cooker Lamb Pasanda
For anyone who likes a curry but prefers it to be mild and creamy, rather than rich and spicy, a nutty pasanda is the order of the day! The takeaway version is typically heavy with cream, but we’ve skipped it and achieved just the same results for our low-calorie Slow Cooker Lamb Pasanda.
A combination of dairy-free coconut milk alternative and reduced-fat cream cheese makes our pasanda sauce thick and silky smooth. Paired with lamb chunks that have been slow cooked until they’re velvety soft, you’ll be rushing home to dish this one up!
Don’t skip the toasted almond topping! That irresistible crunch makes this easy slow cooker recipe feel extra-special and luxurious.
Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon
Beef and slow cooking go hand in hand, since cooking the meat low and slow can help even the cheapest cuts to become melt-in-the-mouth soft and juicy. Inspired by the classic French dish, we’ve come up with a Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon that won’t break the bank.
There’s no need for a fancy bit of beef – some standard lean diced beef from the supermarket will do the trick here. Take a few minutes in the morning to brown the meat, bacon and onions, before throwing everything into the slow cooker. The rest is all down to the low and slow magic.
By the time you’re ready to sit down for dinner, you’ll have a piping hot bowlful of hearty goodness to tuck into. Our top tip is to serve it spooned over Creamy Mashed Potatoes for a double whammy of comfort food.
Slow Cooker Lamb Moussaka
With our Slow Cooker Lamb Moussaka recipe, you’ll need to make sure you have a bit of spare time in the evening to assemble and bake the final dish. You can leave the meaty filling to simmer low and slow all day long in the slow cooker, saving loads of effort at dinnertime.
Instead of lamb mince (which you might expect to find in a traditional moussaka) we’ve used lamb chunks. These are much leaner, so you can have all the flavour for fewer calories. Once the filling is ready, it’s only a matter of layering up slices of aubergine with our quick white sauce, covering it in grated cheese and leaving it in the oven for 30-40 minutes to get gorgeous and golden.
Slow Cooker Chilli Bowls
If you’re in the mood for a Mexican-inspired fakeaway feast, look no further than our Slow Cooker Chilli Bowls. A fiesta of flavours, they’re fun to make, and even more delicious to eat.
A fiery chilli con carne is at the heart of this recipe, and it couldn’t be easier to make, thanks to your slow cooker. We like to get our mince, onions and peppers browned off in a frying pan, before adding them to all the other ingredients in the pot. Once the meat has been bubbling away for a few hours, it’s time to make your edible bowls out of low-calorie tortilla wraps!
They’ll crisp up with just a few minutes in the oven, ready to fill with rice, slow-cooked chilli and a sprinkling of cheese. Best of all, the whole thing is just 345 calories per serving!
Slow Cooker Thai-Style Pork Curry
When you’re tempted by a takeaway but can’t decide what you fancy, a fusion dish is the answer! Inspired by our love for Massaman flavours, our Slow Cooker Thai-Style Pork Curry uses a tasty blend of ingredients from India (such as cumin and cardamom) and Thailand (lemongrass and tamarind) for the best of both worlds.
The result is a hearty combination of tender pork and potatoes, in an aromatic, creamy sauce with just the right kick of heat. You’ll make your own curry paste for this recipe, and there’s no reason you can’t get this ready in advance. It’ll keep in the fridge overnight if you’d rather get everything straight into the slow cooker before you head out in the morning.
Slow Cooker Stroganoff
Beef Stroganoff isn’t the kind of dish that’s typically made in a slow cooker, but so many of you asked for it, we created this easy Slow Cooker Stroganoff fakeaway recipe.
Instead of quickly frying the beef, it’s cooked low and slow until you’re ready to serve dinner. This means you don’t need to buy a prime cut of steak – a budget-friendly pack of beef will melt in your mouth after a few hours in a slow cooker.
Our sauce is so creamy and rich, you’d never guess that this recipe works out at only 261 calories per portion! It goes with practically everything too: rice, potatoes, pasta – try a different side dish every time you make it (and you’ll be making it all the time once you’ve tasted it!).
You’ll need a copy of Pinch of Nom: Comfort Food to find the full recipe for this one. You can pick up a copy here if you don’t already have one.
Which Slow Cooker Recipe Will You Make First?
We’d love to know if you make any of these recipes in your slow cooker! Remember you can always share your photos with us by tagging us in your story on Instagram (@pinchofnom) or posting in our friendly Facebook group.
Taking a look through our Gallery is also a great way to find inspiration for easy dinners that the Pinch of Nom community love to make time and time again. You’ll want to sign up to a free website account to upload and share your photos (it’s really easy, and we’ve got a step-by-step guide you can follow here!).
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