Must Have Slow Cooker Cookbooks

Slow cookers are one of the most popular kitchen gadgets out there, and there's a lot of amazing crock pot recipes floating around on the net that prove why they're popular. The low, steady heat of a crock pot is known for helping tenderize meat, infuse flavor into soups, and just make food that melts in your mouth.

As good as Pinterest can be for finding a great recipe, having a cookbook is often the better option — simply because the recipes in a cookbook have to be vetted for quality. As a cookbook collector, I love reading up about new cookbooks to hit the publishing scene.

If you want to prep meals like a chef, then these must have slow cooker cookbooks are the ones you should buy.

To begin our list of must have slow cooker cookbooks, we're going to talk about The CROCK POT Recipe Collection. This cookbook is a publication that's developed by the people who made the first Crock Pot slow cooker. So, it's safe to say that they know what they're doing.

A true must-have for crock pot chefs, this massive cookbook has 350 different recipes spanning every meal type, every flavor palate, and every budget. Along with incredibly satisfying recipes for every occasion, this book also has beautiful illustrations of their best hits.

The COCK POT Recipe Collection is one of the OG's of slow cooker cookbooks. So, you should definitely buy it if you haven't already.

The other big name in slow cooker recipe books is Fix-It and Forget-It, by cooking maverick Phyllis Good. With this book, you get over 1,000 different ways to enjoy your crock pot — and that means that there's literally something for everyone.

The recipes, as the book title suggests, are perfect for long distance commuters who want easy recipes they can toss in the pot before they go to work. There's literally a recipe for every occasion in this crock pot recipe book, and most of the recipes inside are easy enough for preteens to do successfully.

All the recipes have been tested in kitchens, referred by top chefs, and are thoroughly illustrated, too. Phyllis Good is good like that.

Though I have a lot of love for vintage cookbooks and classic "down home" cookery, I'll be the first to say that the recipes aren't always healthy. In fact, many crock pot recipes are downright terrible for your waistline.

Additionally, many slow cooker recipes also are made with the assumption that you're willing to eat the same dish every day for a week — or the assumption that you're feeding a small football team. That's a major issue among slow cooker cookbooks that often makes meal planning difficult.

That's why we love Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook for Two by Pamela Ellgen. This book doesn't only offer healthy but delicious recipes; it offers recipes that focus on meals for two. It's dietician-approved, and actually makes for great date night recipes.

This is one of the best must have slow cooker cookbooks on store shelves right now for singles and families of two that want to keep their waists intact.

Another excellent diet-friendly slow cooker cookbook we've found is Skinnytaste Fast and Slow. This entire cookbook isn't just slow cooker recipes; it's about maximizing convenience and nutrition at all times. So, some recipes are fast, others involve a crock pot.

Either way, it's a book made to cut time in the kitchen down to zero — all while keeping your tastebuds happy and your waistline skinny. It also has gorgeous photos, mouthwatering food combinations, and full calorie counts of everything.

This is a great cookbook for people who have vegetarian or gluten-freefriends. Best of all, there's 140 recipes to try out. The diversity and healthiness factors are why it's one of the must have slow cooker cookbooks on our list.

Most of the must have slow cooker cookbooks reviewed so far involve the idea of a slow cooker as a way to enhance your lifestyle and diet. The Crockin' Girls, though, they see slow cookers as the lifestyle itself.

On Facebook, Nicole Sparks and Jenna Marwitz are known as the Crocker Girls, and they have over 750,000 fans who love the recipes they make. If you love the Facebook group or just love the idea of unleashing your inner Pinterest diva with their help, you will love It's Our Crockin' Life.

Vegan 101 is considered by many to be a vegan cooking bible, primarily because the recipes featured by the series teaches people to make animal-free versions of the foods most vegetarians and vegans tend to miss the most when they make the switch.

What really stands out about Vegan 101 isn't just the delicious home cooking comfort food recipes; it's the fact that the recipes cover almost every range of flavors out there. It's an all-purpose cookbook that will please carnivores and herbivores alike.

If you want to have a veggie-based diet, Vegan 101: Slow Cooker Edition is one of the must have slow cooker cookbooks you need to buy, ASAP.

Must have slow cooker cookbooks typically will do one of two things. They either will focus in on a certain dietary need, or they will focus on bringing as many useful recipes to the table as possible.

Both approaches are great, but the truth is that they can get pretty aggravating to navigate through when you're trying to find a recipe that will work with your trendy friends.

The DelishPlan Slow Cooker Cookbook is a great choice for people who insist on dining on trendy recipes, or people who have a very serious eye for aesthetics. DelishPlan brings a lot of hipster-style foods to the slow cooker, and presents all the recipes in mouthwateringly beautiful photos.

With recipes involving carnitas, pizza ingredients, and more, it's hard not to like DelishPlan's take on cookbooks.

We couldn't talk about must have slow cooker cookbooks without having at least one soup-centric crock pot recipe book. Soup and crock pots just go together, you know?

Well, Kyndra Holley proved how well they go together by creating an impressive cookbook filled with meaty, satisfying, and warming soups and stews for families who need a bowl of the good stuff to warm their bones.

If you have a soft spot for warm, rich soups, then you will love what Peace, Love and Low-Carb has to offer.