Healthy Recipes Nutrient-Focused Diets High-Protein Recipes High-Protein Dinner 20 High-Protein Dinners You Can Make in a Slow Cooker By Camryn Alexa Wimberly Camryn Alexa Wimberly Camryn Wimberly is EatingWell's Editorial Fellow. As a food and mental health blogger, Camryn explores how food and cooking can help improve mental health and also be an avenue to connect with one's culture and heritage. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Updated on October 9, 2024 Reviewed by Dietitian Annie Nguyen, M.A., RD Reviewed by Dietitian Annie Nguyen, M.A., RD Annie Nguyen is a Registered Dietitian who manages EatingWell's Pinterest page. Before EatingWell, she worked with other dietitians to write nutrition blog posts, develop recipes and create social media content. Annie went to the University of Oklahoma to complete her B.S. in Health and Exercise Science. She went on to get her M.A. in Dietetics and finish her dietetic internship at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Close Photo: Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster Your slow cooker is on dinner duty tonight, thanks to these tasty dishes! These healthy dinner recipes are packed with at least 15 grams of protein per serving to help support muscle repair, keep your body energized and provide even more benefits. Recipes like Slow-Cooker Sun-Dried Tomato & Spinach Pasta Bake and Slow-Cooker Loaded Broccoli & Chicken Soup are filling, delicious and require minimal effort on your part. 01 of 20 Slow-Cooker Marry Me Chicken with Barley Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell Fall in love with this easy version of Marry Me Chicken—a dish with chicken and julienned sun-dried tomatoes swimming in a creamy sauce. Our version adds cherry tomatoes and zucchini for an added boost of veggies, plus barley which soaks up the sauce and makes this dish a complete meal all in one pot. Make sure the barley is completely submerged in the liquid so it cooks evenly. View Recipe 02 of 20 Slow-Cooker Sun-Dried Tomato & Spinach Pasta Bake Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell This simple vegetarian pasta bake is rich in protein and comes together effortlessly in the slow cooker, for a convenient one-pot meal. The combination of sun-dried tomatoes, sun-dried tomato pesto and plenty of veggies delivers a mix of sweet and savory flavors with every bite. Feel free to replace the sun-dried tomato pesto with basil pesto, offering a fresh twist on the dish. View Recipe 03 of 20 Slow-Cooker Loaded Broccoli & Chicken Soup Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster This comforting soup is loaded with broccoli and chicken in a creamy, cheesy base and finished off with the classic toppings of bacon and scallions. Frozen onions and rice keep their integrity and texture to the soup, but chopped fresh onions and cooked brown rice (not frozen) can be used in their place. View Recipe 04 of 20 Slow-Cooker Three-Bean Chili Mac Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Lydia Purcell Chili meets mac and cheese in this fix-it-and-forget-it slow-cooker dinner. Hot tomato sauce, a Mexican canned tomato sauce that also includes spices and chiles for heat, kicks up the flavor. View Recipe 05 of 20 Slow-Cooker Spinach & Artichoke Chicken Soup Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster If you love spinach and artichokes, this is the perfect soup for you. The creamy base is packed with veggies and shredded chicken, which soaks up the broth while adding a boost of protein. View Recipe 06 of 20 Slow Cooker Chicken, Bacon & Potato Soup Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas This chicken potato soup is perfect for ushering in fall: It's hearty enough for the beginning of soup season, yet brothy and veggie-packed so it doesn't feel too heavy. This recipe is ideal for a weekend, when you can check on the slow cooker after just a few hours. Pair this easy soup with a slaw or kale side salad and crusty whole-grain bread for a healthy, satisfying dinner. View Recipe 07 of 20 Slow-Cooker Beef Curry Victor Protasio Long, slow cooking periods mellow flavors while bold spices, in bold amounts, will hold their own over time. That’s just what happens here with big flavors from Thai curry paste and fish sauce finished with fresh touches of cilantro and lime juice that together, draw inspiration from Thai curry. Serve over a bed of brown rice or brown rice noodles to catch all the sauce. View Recipe 08 of 20 Slow-Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili Jason Donnelly If you like Buffalo wings, you'll love the flavors in this warm, hearty chili that comes together easily in the slow cooker. Sour cream helps cut the heat, but you could also use plain strained yogurt. View Recipe 09 of 20 Black-Vinegar-Braised Beef Leigh Beisch The fragrant aroma of star anise will welcome you home after this braise cooks throughout the day. Serve with rice or rice noodles. View Recipe 10 of 20 Crock Pot Chicken & Dumplings Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster This crock pot chicken and dumplings recipe uses store-bought biscuits for dumplings that are moist and tender once stirred into the savory mixture of creamy mushrooms, chicken and veggies. To give the chicken stew body, we use a flour-and-butter paste known as a beurre manié—a classic thickening agent for soups, stews and sauces. View Recipe 11 of 20 Kale, Wild Rice & Chicken Stew Chicken thighs get perfectly tender in just a few hours in the slow cooker. Plus, cooking everything together low and slow infuses all the flavors together for complexity in every bite. View Recipe 12 of 20 Slow-Cooker Arroz con Pollo (Chicken & Rice) This one-pot chicken dinner, inspired by the traditional dish of Spain and Latin America, comes together easily in the slow cooker. View Recipe 13 of 20 Creamy White Bean Soup with Smoked Ham Hocks Iain Bagwell; Styling: Cindy Barr Creamy, starchy and filling, this hearty, rustic soup is the epitome of comfort. And it's convenient: the beans go in dry—no need to soak. View Recipe 14 of 20 Chicken Pita Sandwiches with Harissa Sauce We serve these lemon-oregano chicken pitas with lots of fixings tucked in, but you could ditch the pita and serve it all over cooked bulgur, cauliflower rice or a bed of greens. View Recipe 15 of 20 Crock-Pot Pineapple Chicken This slow-cooker chicken with pineapple has a hint of ginger and sesame and is made with simple ingredients you may already have in your pantry! Look for fresh pineapple that's been peeled and cored already to make assembly even easier. Serve with brown rice to sop up the sweet and savory sauce. View Recipe 16 of 20 Slow-Cooker Chicken Marsala This slow-cooker chicken Marsala gets its full flavor from plenty of mushrooms and fragrant shallots. Whole-wheat pasta soaks up the rich sauce. Round it out with a simple green salad for a comforting healthy dinner. View Recipe 17 of 20 Slow-Cooker Chicken & White Bean Stew Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Prop Stylist: Phoebe Hausser, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall This load-and-go slow-cooker chicken recipe is perfect for a busy weeknight dinner. Serve this Tuscan-inspired dish with crusty bread, a glass of Chianti and a salad. View Recipe 18 of 20 Slow-Cooker White Bean & Sausage Cassoulet This slow-cooker cassoulet comes together quickly without fuss. Mashing some of the beans makes the broth creamier, while a topping of toasted panko adds contrasting crunchiness. Serve with a crusty baguette to sop up every last drop of the sauce. Garnish with fresh thyme sprigs, if desired. View Recipe 19 of 20 Slow-Cooker Spicy Plum-Glazed Meatballs Tender, tangy, spicy, sweet—these slow-cooker meatballs might become your new go-to dish. They cook in the crock pot for only about an hour and a half, so they're a great dinner solution on days when you don't have much time for dinner prep. View Recipe 20 of 20 Slow-Cooker Pork Sausage Bolognese Here's the meaty, saucy pasta that we all crave. If you have any slow-cooker Bolognese leftovers, freeze them and reheat on a cold night when you're in need of a hot, comforting dish. Serve with a simple, crisp salad and crusty bread. For the prettiest appearance, sprinkle with whole fresh basil leaves instead of chopped oregano. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit