Italian Slow Cooker Recipes

Give lightened-up lasagna a hit of complex flavor with dried oregano and crushed red pepper. The Italian spices lend flavor to the layered pasta's lean ground turkey and rich cheesy filling.

This all-seasons Italian soup is hands-off and so soothing. Allow a rainbow of vegetables to cook in a flavorful tomato-basil broth before combining with shell macaroni and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Transform a humble loaf of ciabatta bread with memorable slow-cooked toppings. Chicken breasts simmered with tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, and sweet peppers make for a brilliant display of color, texture, and flavor.

Arborio rice is especially short and plump, and it develops a creamy texture as it cooks. Pair the grain with assorted fresh mushrooms, peas, and garlic in a white wine broth for an elegant rice dinner that is irresistibly smooth.

Go global to brighten your healthful diet with our modern take on classic Italian osso buco. We've swapped traditional veal shanks for chicken drumsticks, which are a natural in the slow cooker and showcase the dish's bold international flavors.

Salads might seem surprsing from the slow cooker, but the fresh eggplant and sweet peppers in this panzanella benefit from its hassle-free heat. Combined with crunchy kale and toasted bread crumbs, the Italian salad makes for a low-calorie entree.

Let your slow cooker take over dinner duty with this traditional Tuscan soup. The hearty ribollita, which translates to "reboiled," features stew vegetables and cannellini beans in a rich broth. A garlic-rubbed hunk of crusty Italian bread proves a worthy dipper to the classic soup recipe.

Put yourself in the dinnertime driver's seat and choose ingredients for this base marinara sauce that most intrigue you. The Southern Italian red sauce can be ladled over whole wheat pasta, grilled chicken, or even zucchini noodles.

Italian wedding soup derives its name from the marriage of meat and greens. In this case, miniature meatballs, vegetables, and chicken broth combine to make a soup hearty enough to be served as a main dish.

Chunks of eggplant cooked in a traditional spaghetti sauce make a tasty topper for whole grain penne pasta. Give the weeknight dinner extra Italian oomph with a sprinkle of Kalamata olives and shredded Parmesan cheese.

Wide-ridged noodles are the perfect accompaniment to this chunky slow cooker pasta sauce that features carrots and Roma tomatoes. The thick ragu will cling to the pasta and tender beef short ribs.

A fennel seed rub coats this pork with extraordinary licoricelike flavor, while the golden-orange potatoes add just the right amount of sweetness.

Let this rich red sauce simmer in your slow cooker all day. When you get home, just add cooked pasta for a hearty Italian meal. For maximum flavor, add hot Italian sausage and a half-cup of whipping cream to the pasta sauce.

Made with sausage, ground beef, mushrooms, and olives, this zesty filling makes for yummy slow-cooker sandwiches. Pile the spicy meat onto hoagie buns and finish with melty mozzarella cheese.

Three of the all-time-best Italian convenience products -- spaghetti sauce, frozen ravioli, and frozen Italian meatballs -- make this a super speedy dish to prepare. Two types of cheese top the quick Italian recipe.

This sweet-tart Sicilian dish features eggplant, zucchini, celery, and onion spiked with vinegar and tomatoes, capturing the best of Mediterranean flavors. Serve the side with baked fish of your choice or as a topper on crusty bread.

Fennel provides a subtle sweet flavor to the cozy slow-simmered sauce that blankets this braised chicken dish. Versatile cannellini beans and yellow sweet peppers keep the meal hearty yet healthy.