Slow cooker meals: how to make the best fall-apart meat dishes

For the most tender meat, the best way to go is using a slow cooker. Taste has hand-picked the most shreddable meat recipes of all time.

Low and slow is the only way to guarantee meat that falls off the bone or is so tender it can be shredded oh-so-gently with a fork.

The best way to guarantee soft and melty meat is by cooking it in your slow cooker, whether it’s a soup, stew, curry or just pulled pork.

Here are taste.com.au’s most shreddable slow cooker meat recipes of all time – so get ready to dump, set and forget — and then enjoy!

Beef and mushrooms with mash

Create a hearty family meal with this tender slow-cooked beef served with creamy potato mash and garlicky mushrooms. Save the leftovers for delicious sandwiches the next day.

Shredded chicken

This is the ultimate meal prep chicken recipe. It’s so easy to make (you literally place everything in a slow cooker and stir!) and can be used in many ways. Try it in tacos or burritos, on sandwiches or wraps, as a pizza topping, a jacket potato filling or served with rice or pasta. It’s even great with a side of veg or mixed through salad.

This shredded chicken will melt in your mouth.

French onion beef

Just as day follows night, so too does the appearance of the slow cooker follow the first sign of autumn. And every year I’m blown away.

Pulled lamb

If you want that tender, no knife required results, then you need to cook your lamb in a slow cooker. Serve in a pita bread (or any other kind of a flatbread) and you can toss leftovers in a salad the next day.

Melting pork ramen

Making ramen at home is easier than it seems, especially when you’ve got a slow cooker. Our recipe uses melting pork belly and creamy soft-boiled eggs.

Cook your pork in the slow cooker before making ramen.

Mexican pulled beef

Cooking beef chuck in your crockpot guarantees extra tender meat, while sugar and vinegar help break the fat down and result in juicy beef that’s full of flavour. This shredded meat is perfect in tacos – just make sure you keep the delicious juices for dunking or drizzling!

Matt Preston’s slow cooker beef a la mode

Indulge in the rich and savoury flavours of this slow cooker twist on a classic beef a la mode. The dish combines tender beef, aromatic herbs, and a medley of vegetables that bubble away in a delicious, red-wined based broth in the slow cooker.

Matt Preston shares his recipe for his beef a la mode.

Sicilian beef

This fragrant Sicilian-style stew reflects the influences of other cultures who over the centuries settled in (or invaded) Sicily and brought their own ingredients with them. In particular, the orange rind and cinnamon bring Spanish and Arab cuisine to mind.

Braised steak and onions

We’ve made this classic beef dinner even simpler by making it in a slow cooker. Don’t skip on slow cooking the onions at the beginning because this will add a beautiful, caramelised flavour to the dish.

Garlic butter pulled pork

This slow cooked pork shoulder is juicy and tender. After 7 hours of cooking it’s covered in garlic butter and served with creamy mash.

The garlic butter sauce sets off this pork dish.

Curried slow cooker fall-apart beef

Why settle for a boring dinner when you could have this delicious meal instead? Only takes 10 minutes to prep, then you can leave it to cook to perfection. Use KEEN’S traditional curry powder to keep this recipe simple and easy.

Smoky southern-style ribs

Super easy and with a delicious smoky flavour – you only need five minutes prep for these perfect slow-cooker ribs.

Smoky southern-style ribs in the slow cooker.

Slow cooker pulled beef

The secret to perfect pulled beef rolls is the low, slow cooking time so that the meat becomes meltingly tender.

Teriyaki beef

With an authentic teriyaki marinade made from soy sauce, mirin, beef stock and sake, this slow cooker Asian beef dish is super tender and melts in your mouth. With only 10 minutes of meal prep, it’s easy, too.

Gravy beef stew

Stout adds richness and depth of flavour to this beef stew so it’s well-worth making sure you have some on hand. Serve with a cheesy baguette to mop up that sauce.

For more recipe ideas, go to taste.com.au or check out the Taste Test Kitchen now.

Originally published as Slow cooker meals: how to make the best fall-apart meat dishes