Adding Liquid To Your Slow Cooker Isn't Always Necessary. Here's When You Can Skip It

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The convenience of a slow cooker is unmatched. When you're working all day, it's a relief to put something in a slow cooker in the morning and have dinner ready by the time you get home. Slow cookers offer bold, developed flavors, well-cooked proteins, and a nearly endless number of possible dishes. Figuring out how much liquid to add can take some trial and error, though. So, we went to an expert to get the inside scoop.

We spoke with Clare Andrews, known as "the Queen of Gadget Cookery" and author of "The Ultimate Slow Cooker Cookbook," who offers us her take on when to add liquid to a slow cooker. "It's not always necessary to add liquid when using a slow cooker," she reveals. "Ingredients like meat and vegetables naturally release their own liquid. Because the lid stays on and very little evaporates, that moisture builds up and creates a cooking environment like a gentle steaming or braising."

So, what slow cooker recipes require added liquid? Andrews says that depends it on what you're cooking. "Add liquid for dishes like soups, stews, or curries where you want a sauce or broth," she explains. "You can usually still add some liquid for tougher cuts of meat, to help with slow braising and prevent sticking early on." If something has a lot of moisture, you may not need to add any extra liquid at all. If you do add some to already moist ingredients, the results could be too watery.

As for which dishes benefit from slow cooking without added moisture... Andrews offers some great examples, such as slow cooker chicken thighs. "Chicken naturally releases a surprising amount of liquid as it cooks, especially over several hours," she tells us. "The fat renders down and the meat gives off juices, which collect in the base of the slow cooker and effectively self-baste the chicken." Since the lid will ultimately trap that moisture, she notes that "the chicken stays tender without needing added stock or water."

Additionally, tomato-based sauces, as well as anything with a lot of zucchini, eggplant, or onion, won't need added liquid either. "As they slowly cook down, they release enough liquid to create a sauce naturally," Andrews adds. "In fact, adding extra liquid here often makes the sauce too thin, because there's very little evaporation in a slow cooker." We explained this tip in further detail when discussing the reasons to use less liquid in your slow cooker recipes.

To help narrow down when to add liquid or not, Andrews offers a few more tips. "Don't do this with lean or dry foods," she notes. "Very lean meats (like chicken breast or pork loin) can dry out without some added liquid or fat." At the start of cooking, if it's very dry with just spices and lean meat, the meat may stick to the cooker surface. "Using a base layer like onions helps," Andrews says — it turns out that a little moisture can go a long way. Lastly, she warns, "Resist the urge to lift the lid. Every time you open it, you lose heat and moisture, which matters more when you're not adding liquid."