Dairy Free Crockpot Recipes & Meals for Any Occasion (2024)

FAQs

Can you put dairy in a slow cooker? ›

It's best to add dairy, like milk, cream, and yogurt, towards the end of cooking. Added too soon, and dairy products run the risk of curdling. So when cooking dairy in the slow cooker, think of it like the cheese course at a French restaurant — last, but never least!

Follow the slow cooker recipe, but use a baking dish with a lid instead of a crockpot or slow cooker. If the recipe calls for slow cooker setting, then divide the cooking time by 4. Eight hours on low then becomes 2 hours in the oven at 160 ºC. For high, divide the cooking time by 2.

A slow cooker can help create layers of flavor in any weeknight dinner, from hearty stews to satisfying chicken dishes. It can take your comfort food to the next level, like a fall-off-the-bone pulled pork sandwich, cozy chicken noodle soup, or sweet and sour brisket.

I'm not saying that you can't put dairy products in your slow cooker recipes at all, just wait until the last few minutes of cooking time. Otherwise, your cheese, milk or sour cream will separate and curdle.

If you don't have a slow cooker, you can slow cook right on stovetop using a cooking pot that has a heavy build (like a Dutch oven) so it can disperse heat evenly to the food cooking inside. You should cover it well with a lid, keep the heat low and keep checking food in between so it does not run out of liquid.

Oven-Baked Magic: Another option for slow cooking without a slow cooker is to utilise your oven. Choose an oven-safe dish with a lid or tightly cover a regular baking dish with foil. This method is excellent for roasts, casseroles, and baked dishes.

Water or liquid is necessary to create steam. When cooking meat or poultry, the water or liquid level should cover the ingredients to ensure effective heat transfer throughout the crock. Some manufacturers of slow cookers recommend adding liquid to fill the stoneware 1/2 to 3/4 full.

Choose the right cut: Chuck roasts, short ribs, pork shoulders and lamb shanks (think fatty and tougher meats) become meltingly tender with the moist, low heat of a slow cooker. Leaner cuts like pork tenderloin tend to dry out. Likewise, dark meat chicken — thighs, drumsticks, etc.

Information. It is best to thaw meat or poultry before putting it into a slow cooker. Frozen pieces will take longer to reach a safe internal temperature and could possibly result in foodborne illness. Frozen or partially frozen foods can also cool everything else in the slow cooker.

"Raw meat is a slow-cooker staple, but you may need to add it to the pot before adding other ingredients like green vegetables," she shared. "Browning meat in a skillet before adding it to the slow cooker has been a game-changer for my slow-cooker meals.

How do you keep milk from curdling in a slow cooker? ›

To avoid separation and curdling, add dairy at the end

According to Eat This, Not That, adding dairy at the start of cooking can cause curdling. Basically, as dairy is heated, levels of lactose and pH drop, causing proteins to denature and form lumps, explains National Geographic.

Using already-pasteurized dairy products when cooking or baking is like double-heating your dairy and causing even more damage to the nutrients. With raw dairy products, you might preserve some beneficial bacteria and helpful enzymes depending on the temperature and how long it is cooked.

Most dairy products such as cheese, milk and sour cream will curdle in a pressure cooker. We do not recommend cooking meals containing dairy in a pressure cooker. Meat should shred easily. For most meals, the goal is for the meat to be tender enough to easily shred.

Yes, but it is very important to understand that starting to cook with cold stoneware and cold food will affect the ramp up time of the slow cooker. Always add sufficient time into the cook time to ensure food is safe, as well as tender.