Healthy Summer Slow Cooker Meals

Slow cookers are synonymous with hearty soups and comforting meat dishes. But you don't have to let your Crock-Pot collect dust just because the warmer months have rolled around. You can continue using your slow cooker for the same reasons you love it in the winter: for making meat super tender, your kitchen smell incredible, and meals come together easier than ever. Here are 10 slow-cooker recipes that combine those awesome reasons with summer's light flavors and bright produce.

Asian Lettuce Wraps: Nothing captures the combination of hot and cold quite like lettuce wraps with chicken, carrots, mushrooms, and a sweet and salty sauce. (via Well Plated)

Carne Asada Nachos: The chips are pretty hidden under this big pile o' toppings, and there's a very valid reason for that. These shareable nachos highlight the produce of the season with juicy tomatoes, sweet corn, and a healthy pile of guac. (via How Sweet Eats)

Peanut Butter Chicken Curry: If the image of creamy peanut butter curry over rice makes you want to hibernate, you'll be brought back to life with the knowledge that this dish is actually pretty light, thanks to broccoli and bell peppers. The fact that all you did was dump everything into the Crock-Pot will make it taste even better. (via Food Faith Fitness)

Chicken Cacciatore: Take all of the components of a summer antipasto platter (juicy tomatoes, briny olives, and salty capers), add that to tender chicken, and you have chicken cacciatore. The slow-cooker version is a bit easier than the stovetop method, since you're adding everything to the pot at once. (via Well Plated)

Veggie-Packed Lasagna: Can't let go of lasagna even when it's sweltering outside? Try this veggie-centric version, which is much more energizing than the meaty original. (via Kristine's Kitchen)

Healthy Beef and Broccoli: If you want to feel like you're eating Chinese takeout but are going for the low-carb thing, look to this lighter take on beef and broccoli. It calls for riced broccoli instead of whole florets. This way, you still get the texture of meat and "rice" in each bite. (via Well Plated)

Tex-Mex Pork Tostadas: Heartier refried beans and pork are the base of these crispy tostadas, brightened by creamy avocado and zingy red onion and cilantro. You can slow-cook the pork a couple of days ahead of time, so all that's left at mealtime is assembly. (via A Communal Table)

Carnitas Tacos: Your slow cooker will make pork shoulder insanely easy to shred — ideal for piling onto corn tortillas with taco fixings like red onion, cilantro, and lime. (via Boulder Locavore)

Mango Chicken Curry: This produce-packed curry stars succulent chicken, crunchy veggies, and sweet mango for a bowl that will fuel you for any adventure. (via Food Faith Fitness)

Turmeric Chicken and Potatoes: This chicken dinner comes out so fork-tender, you'll hardly need a knife. (via Sweet Phi)

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(Additional reporting by Maggie McCracken )

This article has been updated from a previous post.

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Sara Cagle

Sara is a food and lifestyle freelance writer in Los Angeles. She writes a weekly events column for the Los Angeles Times and loves writing food content for Brit + Co. After all, the English language's most fun adjectives are best applied to delicious foods. In her free time, she's a hip hop dancer, avid moviegoer, and thorough face-mask user.