Crockpots have become an essential asset for the kitchen and low carb recipes. They have made life so much easier for a lot of people. I mean, what’s not to love about a kitchen appliance that’ll have your food cooked to perfection, when all you do is toss in your food? We couldn’t have asked for more.
Crockpots, also known as slow cookers, are great for meal prepping and “hands-off” cooking. Almost any type of food is easy to make when you use a crockpot. They are great in value, affordable, and uses little electrical power.
When there are so many crockpot low carb recipes out there, it can be hard to choose. Not to mention, there are a plethora of crockpot makes to pick from.
Thankfully, you’re in the right place. Read further to find out some points to consider when shopping for crockpots.
How to Find the Right Crockpot for You and Your Low Carb Recipes
Pot size
It’s essential to choose the right size for your crockpot. It’s important to note how large of a meal you’ll be cooking. There’s a good range of sizes available, from 1 quart to 8 quarts. A 1-quart pot will fit 1 pound of meat. Below are a few size guidelines you’ll need even for a crockpot low carb recipe:
- 1-3 quarts: This is ideal for one or two people, for one meal.
- 4-5 quarts: Ideal for a family of four.
- 6-7 quarts: Ideal for a large family for a single meal, or give you lots of leftovers.
Features
The advanced crockpots have programmable settings, which allows the cooker to start at a specific time. Crockpots are great for hands-off cooking. You can toss in your dinner in the morning, forget about it, and come back to a perfectly cooked meal. Also, another essential feature is the “keep warm” setting, which comes in handy when the meal is delayed.
Most of the manual (non-programmable) crockpots also have warm, low, and high-temperature settings.
Another feature of the crockpots people love is the temperature probe. This helps you to monitor the internal temperature of the pot. This feature ensures that you don’t overcook or undercook your food, which is essential for meats(a staple low carb crockpot recipe).
Prices
Crockpots are reasonably priced. Depending on the various features and sizes of the crockpot, they range from $10 to $100.
Crockpots usually last for many years, but when they break down, it’s always best to replace the cooker rather than paying for the replacement parts.
Some good crock-pots brands are Crock-Pot, Hamilton Beach, Cuisinart, etc. Of course, you can always cook low carb recipes on the stove, but that is not as easy or fun as using a crockpot.
Crockpot Cook Times and Temperatures
The cook times and temperatures of a crockpot varies according to the manufacturer. But in general, low setting = 190 degrees F and High setting = 300 degrees F.
To have a clearer idea of Crockpot’s times, here’s a comparison with the oven. For example, the low carb recipe keto slow cooker Southern Roast can take up to 10 hours in the crockpot. Read our article for the best tips on low carb keto friendly for travel, sans crockpot.
| Oven Times | Crock-pot Times and Settings |
| 15-30 minutes | 1 ½ -2 ½ hours on high or 4-8 hours on low |
| 30-40 minutes | 2 1/2 -4 hours on high or 5-10 hours on low |
| 45 minutes – 3 hours | 4-5 hours on high or 8-17 hours on low |
A useful crockpot’s cooking times chart
| High | Low |
| 3 hours | 7 hours |
| 4 hours | 8 hours |
| 5 hours | 9 hours |
| 6 hours | 10 hours |
| 7 hours | 11 hours |
| 8 hours | 12 hours |
Below is a chart for crockpot food loads and their cooking times:
| Meat Cut | Weight | Cook time (low) | Cook time (high) |
| Fish | 2 lbs | 3 ½ hours | 1 ½ hour |
| Beef Roast | 3-4 lbs | 8 hours | 5 ½ hours |
| Stew Meat | 3 lbs | 6-8 hours | 5 hours |
| Whole Chicken | 4 lbs | 7 ½ hours | 4 hours |
| Pork Roast | 4-5 lbs | 6-8 hours | 3-4 hours |
| Turkey Breast | 6 lbs | 6-8 hours | 3-4 hours |
Where to Find the Best Low Carb Recipes
With the comfort of this game-changing kitchen staple, the crockpot, meets your desire for heart-warming meals that are both healthy and low-carb foods.
Low-carb crockpot recipes are everywhere.
Below is one of my favorite low carb crockpot recipes: instant pot pho.
The Authentic Instant Pot Pho is Naturally Low Carb
You’ll need about 3 pounds of beef bones and a combination of ginger, onions, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, shallots, and coriander seeds
- You’ll have to boil your beef in a pot over high heat for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, char onion and ginger until browned.
- Add the beef bones, ginger, cloves, star anise, coriander, cinnamon, shallots, onions, salt to your slow cooker.
- Add 3 quarts of water. Cover the pot and set your slow cooker to low for 8 hours.
And then go to bed. You’ll have your lunch ready in the morning.
For more delicious low carb crockpot recipes, you may visit these pages:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/low-carb-slow-cooker
https://momswithcrockpots.com/crockpot-crustless-pizza/
NOTE: If you have plans on preparing a meal with dairy products, add them in the last few minutes of the cooking, as overheating can break them down and solidify.
Also, for maintenance’s sake, coat the inside of the slow cooker with a non-stick spray to prevent scrubbing the pot.