8 Meals You'd Find In Every Slow Cooker In The '70s

It's 1936, and Jewish American inventor Irving Naxon doesn't know it yet, but he's about to become a culinary icon. He has patented a portable cooking device that can cook food slowly and evenly, with minimal intervention. He calls it the Naxon Beanery. Unfortunately for Naxon, his slow-cooking device doesn't catch on immediately. But in 1970, everything changed. The Rival Company acquired Naxon's creation, rebranded it as the Crock-Pot (yep, Crock-Pot is a brand, slow cooker is the appliance), and suddenly, it was the must-have cooking gadget of the decade.

For Rival, it was a case of the right appliance, at the right time. Women were entering the workforce in their droves, but they were still expected to put dinner on the table at home. Slow-cookers allowed them to do both; they could prepare the ingredients in the morning, throw them in the Crock-Pot, and let the appliance do the work, while they were, well, at work. Revolutionary.

So, it's no surprise that many people have fond memories of slow cooker meals in the 1970s. Here, we're taking a trip down memory lane and revisiting some of the dishes you'd find simmering away in every slow cooker during the decade. If you think hard enough, you might even be able to smell them.

Coming home to find pot roast simmering away in the slow cooker was a pretty common experience for kids in the 1970s. It makes sense; the simple dish of meat and vegetables was perfectly suited to the new appliance. After all, it's supposed to be left to stew for hours, to tenderize the meat and allow the flavors to mingle and intensify. Before the invention of the slow cooker, pot roast was often made in a Dutch oven, roasting pan, or even an electric skillet.

The key elements of pot roast were meat and vegetables, but every household had their own recipe. Some would opt for classic carrots and mashed potatoes, while others preferred peas, corn, and onions. "We didn't have mashed potatoes, just potatoes, along with the carrots, and usually parsnip 'for flavor,' which I didn't like so my mom said just eat around it," reads one Facebook comment in a group for 1970s memories. "One of my favorite meals growing up."

Those who had a copy of "Crockery Cookery" in the kitchen might have experimented a little more. Released in 1975, the bestselling cookbook by food stylist and home economist Mable Hoffman aimed to help cooks across America get to grips with their new appliance. Of course, it contained several pot roast recipes, including Alphabet Pot Roast (made with alphabet vegetable soup), Spicy Wine Pot Roast with Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, and dry red wine, and Dilled Pot Roast, made with sour cream and a tablespoon of dill weed.

The ultimate comfort meal (sometimes nicknamed franks and beans or beanie weenie), hot dogs and baked beans is exactly what it sounds like — chopped frankfurters mixed with a can of baked beans, and maybe a few condiments or spices thrown in (if you're feeling fancy). It's a quick and easy meal, but for many kids in the 1970s, it was a treat to come home to hot dogs and baked beans in the slow cooker.

"It's 1974, [mom] and [dad] are going to play bridge with friends, but [mom] made hot dogs and baked beans in her new "crock pot" for us to have for dinner!!," reads one Facebook post with more than 8,000 likes in a group where members pretend it's still the 1970s. "The original beanies and weenies," added another user. Some loved slow-cooked hot dogs and baked beans so much, they still make them today. "Swap the franks for better sausages (and the bean spice levels) as your palate changes," says one Redditor in the subreddit r/70s. "Hell of a great meal to put in the slow cooker on a cold winter day."

Ah, spaghetti. This simple noodle pasta first arrived in the U.S. at some point in the late 19th century and early 20th century with Italian immigrants, and by the 1970s, it was a household staple. Not much has changed since then; it is still one of the most beloved comfort foods in America, often eaten with meatballs or meat sauce. In fact, by 2034, the spaghetti market is expected to reach nearly $16 billion, up from more than $7.9 billion in 2025, per The Insight Partners.

Today, most people cook spaghetti in a pan of boiling water with the sauce cooked separately, before mixing the two together. Most people prefer it this way, as it gives you more control over the texture of the pasta and avoids overcooking. In the 1970s, though, many people reached for their slow cookers to make spaghetti and sauce in one. And why wouldn't they? That's what the booklet told them to do.

In the 1970s, Rival sold Marilyn Neill's "Crock-Pot Slow Electric Stoneware Cooker Cookbook" alongside its appliances. One of its recipes, called "Easy-Does-It Spaghetti," instructed people to cook a sauce with ingredients like ground beef, spices, and tomatoes in the slow cooker, before stirring in dry spaghetti. "I have made this recipe since the '70s," said one Facebook user in a slow cooker recipe group. "Making it today. It's my kids' all time favorite. I omit the mace and allspice."

Beef stroganoff gained popularity with the aristocracy in Russia (its name comes from the noble Stroganov family) in the 19th century. But after hundreds of thousands of people left the country amid the Russian revolution in the early 20th century, the simple dish of beef cubes, mushrooms, onions, and sour cream made its way around the world, gaining popularity in China, Europe, and, of course, the U.S. By the 1970s, beef stroganoff was a favorite hearty, comforting dish for many American families. "I crave this type of food all the time, but my husband hates it," said one Redditor in r/Old_Recipes. "I grew up in a rural, poorish, white family so this is my soul food."

It was easy to make beef stroganoff in a slow cooker, especially if you had that 1970s cookbook we mentioned earlier, "Crockery Cookery." Hoffman's recipe for Budget Beef Stroganoff was pretty close to the original, with sour cream, onions, and mushrooms, but she added her own flair with the addition of round steak instead of beef cubes, ketchup, and dry white wine. And according to some, it still holds up. "After 8 hours in the slow cooker, the meat was so tender it just fell apart," said one Redditor in r/Old_Recipes. "Despite having only a few ingredients, the flavor was amazing."

Most people were introduced to chicken Parisienne through Rival's "Crock-Pot Slow Electric Stoneware Cooker Cookbook." In fact, it seems that chicken Parisienne might have been a Rival special, likely created by Marilyn Neill herself, as there isn't much information available about it beyond its mention in the book. The dish is pretty basic, made with just chicken, mushroom soup, mushrooms, sour cream, and dry white wine. It might have been inspired by chicken divan, a similar dish with chicken and mushrooms that was popular in the 1970s.

Still, Neill and Rival clearly did a good job, as decades later, chicken Parisienne is still a firm favorite for many who grew up eating it. "Some of my favorite recipes are from the original book that came with my first crock pot," said one Facebook user underneath a copy of the chicken Parisienne recipe. Another added: "I made this a couple of weeks ago," noting that it's "a really nice meal to have for guests."

Throwing some chicken in the slow cooker was a go-to for many moms in the 1970s. That's why "Crockery Cookery" has a recipe literally called "Busy Woman's Roast Chicken," which, in case you were wondering, calls for chicken, wine, water, and 12 carrots. But for a little more substance, many people would combine their slow-cooked chicken with biscuits or dumplings ("Crockery Cookery" also has a recipe for chicken and herb dumplings).

Good Housekeeping also got in on the slow cooker craze, and one of its beloved recipes was for simple chicken and dumplings. It's still loved today; in fact, a 2021 Reddit post on the recipe — made with Pillsbury refrigerated biscuits and two types of Campbell's soup (cream of chicken and cream of celery) — racked up nearly 900 upvotes. "My [mother in law] used to make this! I wonder if she found it in the same magazine," reads one comment on the thread.

Whether it's made with beans or meat, chili lends itself well to a slow cooker. When the ingredients are simmered together for hours over a low heat, the flavors get deeper, richer, and tastier. So it's no surprise that slow-cooked chili, a win for convenience and flavor, was popular back in the 1970s. One person reminiscing in the Facebook group for people who pretend it's still the 1970s wrote on a slow-cooker post: "Mom might not be home yet, but the whiff of pot roast, or chili, while I'm doing my homework at the kitchen table, makes me feel less alone."

Some of those chili recipes likely came from "Crockery Cookery," which had several versions of the dish. There was Chili Con Queso with cheese spread, green onions, a can of chiles, and chopped chile peppers, for example; Short-Cut Chili Con Carne with ingredients like kidney beans, canned tomatoes, and ground beef; and even Chili Dogs, which is basically slow-cooked chili spooned over frankfurters in a bun.

During the winters of the 1970s, many kids remember coming home to the smell of beef stew simmering away in the slow cooker. Because, arguably, when it's freezing outside, it doesn't get more hearty and comforting than stew. "It's a very cold winter this year with non-stop freezing rain and snow, we haven't seen the sun in a few days," reads one post with more than 150 likes in the Facebook group for people who pretend it's the 1970s. "This morning I saw my mom cutting up onions, beef, carrots for beef stew we are going to have tonight for dinner. She just puts it all in a Crock-Pot and it slow cooks throughout the day!"

They're not alone; several other posts in the group also reminisce on the delights of warm, cozy beef stew from the Crock-Pot in the '70s. "Mom is making this great beef stew for dinner this afternoon in our Crock-Pot, along with cornbread," reads another. "It's going to smell up the whole house really good and make me real hungry."

You won't be surprised to learn that the trusted "Crockery Cookery" book has more than one recipe for meat stew. Home cooks could choose from Old Fashioned Beef Stew, Farm Style Stew (with beef, zucchini, and bottled steak sauce), and oxtail stew.