Everyone knows a slow cooker is ideal for creating hearty casseroles and comforting curries, making meal prep easier and more economical. After all, what's not to love about having dinner all ready when you get home from work? But this handy gadget is so much more versatile than you might think. From indulgent cakes and desserts to jams and even crowd-pleasing pasta dishes, we’ve gathered the delicious recipes that most people don’t know can be cooked in a slow cooker.

Click or scroll through our gallery for 25 surprising slow-cooker recipes, counting down to the most unexpected of them all.

Slow cooking really brings out the sweetness of bell peppers. Slice the tops off four peppers and remove the seeds and membrane. For the stuffing, fry an onion in oil until soft, then add 14oz (400g) chopped mushrooms and cook for five minutes. Stir in 2.5oz (75g) baby spinach, 3oz (90g) crumbled feta cheese, 3 tbsp pine nuts and season well. Spoon into the peppers. Pop the tops back on and cook on low for five hours until the peppers are soft.

A slow cooker gives new meaning to overnight oats – just pop everything in before bed, and you'll have a hot, healthy breakfast waiting for you the next morning. Mix 9oz (250g) porridge oats with 33fl oz (1l) milk and a few handfuls of chopped dried fruit. Brush the slow cooker bowl with butter, add the oats and cook on the lowest setting for eight hours. You may need to add a little more milk to loosen it in the morning. Just add your favourite toppings to serve four.

Short ribs are packed with flavour, but they do need long, low cooking to ensure they're tender – making them a perfect choice for the slow cooker. To serve four, brown eight bone-in short ribs in a frying pan. Put into the slow cooker with 25fl oz (750ml) good beef stock, 4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp each of garlic and onion powder and plenty of salt and pepper. Cook on low for eight hours, remove the ribs and strain the liquid to serve with creamy mashed potatoes. 

Tender poached pears make an easy and tasty autumnal dessert that's so simple to make. Peel four pears. Put 25fl oz (750ml) red wine into a pan with 4fl oz (125ml) fresh orange juice, 5 tbsp sugar, some star anise and a cinnamon stick. Bring to the boil, then simmer for a few minutes. Pour into the slow cooker with the pears and cook on low for around two hours, or until tender. You could use white wine or apple juice instead of red wine, if you like.

Slow-cooked risotto requires no stirring, which makes it a winner in our book. Follow the basic method, then add ingredients of your choice, such as cooked chicken, ham or peas. To serve six, fry off 14oz (400g) sliced mushrooms until tender. Set aside, then fry a chopped onion. Add two chopped garlic cloves, fry for a minute, then add 50fl oz (1.5l) chicken stock and 4fl oz (125ml) white wine. Bring to the boil, put 1lb (450g) arborio rice in the slow cooker, then add the stock mixture. Cook on high for an hour, then stir in the mushrooms and cook for a further 15 minutes. Add a knob of butter and grated Parmesan to serve.

The process of slow baking may give cakes and breads a different texture to oven baking, but the result is wonderfully soft and moist. Plus you don't have to heat the oven for just one thing. Line the pot with foil to come around 5cm (2in) up the sides, then line that with baking parchment. With an electric whisk, beat 5oz (150g) soft butter with 7oz (200g) caster sugar until creamy. Beat in three eggs, 9oz (250g) self-raising flour and 1 tsp baking powder. Add three large mashed bananas. Cook on high for three and a half hours, then tip out onto a rack to cool.

A slow cooker makes meltingly tender pork ribs, which you can prepare the day before then simply crisp up on the barbecue or under the grill. To serve four, brush 3lb (1.5kg) ribs with a few spoonfuls of barbecue sauce, put into the slow cooker and add enough chicken stock to just cover them, around 32fl oz (1.25l). Cook on low for eight hours, then remove carefully. To grill them, brush again with more barbecue sauce.

This comforting pudding needs very gentle heat, so there's no chance of it catching and burning – perfect slow-cooker food. Butter the slow cooker generously, add 3.5oz (100g) pudding rice, 26fl oz (750ml) whole milk and 2 tbsp caster sugar. You could add a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg, too. Stir together, then cook on low for three and a half hours, until the rice is tender and creamy. This quantity will serve four.

Your slow cooker can be creating this warming dessert while the main oven is on for a hearty roast. Peel, core and slice five tart apples, such as Granny Smith. Put into the slow cooker, sprinkle over 1 tsp cinnamon, the zest of an orange and 2 tbsp orange juice. Mix well. Whizz up 4 tbsp oats with 3 tbsp almonds or walnuts in a food processor, then stir in 5 tbsp each of plain flour and soft brown sugar. Add 3.5oz (100g) melted butter and spoon over the apples. Lay two sheets of kitchen towel over the crumble, cook on low for three hours, remove the paper and cook for a further 10 minutes with the lid ajar. 

There's no chance your meat loaf will dry out when baked in a slow cooker, and it's so easy. Line the dish with foil and brush with oil. Mix 1.5lb (750g) minced beef, 8fl oz (250ml) milk, 2 tsp each of dried oregano and mustard powder, a chopped onion, beaten egg, 5oz (150g) breadcrumbs and 3 tbsp tomato ketchup. Season well. Shape into a loaf to fit your slow cooker, then brush the top with more ketchup. Cook on low for three to four hours, until cooked through.

This dish is so good, because you can make it the day before then pop it into the oven to heat up and crisp the topping. Fry off 14oz (400g) minced lamb, then set aside. Put the mince in the slow cooker with a chopped onion, three crushed garlic cloves, 1 tbsp dried oregano, 20fl oz (600ml) passata and season. Cook on low for three hours. 

Fry off a large, cubed aubergine over a high heat until browned. Add this to the meat with 12oz (350g) sliced potatoes. Stir well and cook for three hours, stirring after an hour. To finish, put the lamb mixture in a shallow baking dish, top with 16fl oz (500ml) cheese sauce and grill until browned.

No preserving pan? No problem, as it's easy to make one of the best jams around in a slow cooker. Halve, stone and chop 5lb (2.5kg) plums, and put them in the slow cooker. Add the juice and zest of a lemon, 4lb (2kg) sugar and 4fl oz (125ml) water. Stir well, then cook on high for three hours, stirring occasionally, then cook for a further hour on low with the lid off to thicken the jam – there's no need to add pectin. Store in sterilised jars.

Even absolute beginners can bake a loaf of bread in a slow cooker. Mix 1lb 1oz (500g) strong white flour with 1.5 tsp of fast action yeast and 2 tsp of fine sea salt. Add 12fl oz (350ml) of warm water and knead until you have a soft, springy dough. Shape into a ball and put on a piece of baking parchment. Lift it into the slow cooker and bake on high for two and a half hours. The base should sound hollow when you tap it – then you know it's cooked. If you like your bread more browned, pop it in a hot oven or your air fryer for five minutes or so at the end. 

There's no need to bother making a white sauce with this simple recipe for four. Mix 33fl oz (1l) of whole milk, 10oz (300g) grated mature Cheddar cheese, 3.5oz (100g) cream cheese and 1 tsp mustard powder in the slow cooker. Add 14oz (400g) macaroni, stir well, then cook on low for two hours until the pasta is cooked and the sauce is creamy. If the mixture is a little stiff, just stir in some extra milk.

With no yeast or kneading required, this delicious slow-cooker loaf saves you having to put the oven on. Rub 3 tsp of cold butter into 9oz (250g) each of wholemeal and plain flour. Stir in 1 tsp each of sea salt and sugar, and 1.5 tsp of bicarbonate of soda. Stir in 14fl oz (400ml) of buttermilk, then mix and shape into a round. Put into the slow cooker on a piece of baking parchment, slash a cross in the top then put a clean tea towel over the slow cooker and add the lid. Cook on high for two hours 10 minutes, then leave to cool on a wire rack. 

Save on energy costs by making your own hot sauce in the slow cooker rather than on the hob. This recipe is sweet but fiery – perfect for chilli lovers. Whizz eight large chillies, one onion and three garlic cloves together with 4fl oz (125ml) of water in a food processor until finely chopped. Pour into the slow cooker with 1lb (450g) caster sugar, 6 tbsp white wine vinegar and the juice and zest of a lime. Mix well, cook on low for an hour, then stir. Cook on high with a tea towel below the lid for two hours. Decant into sterilised jars.

This comforting, sweet pudding is usually baked in the oven, but in the slow cooker it goes wonderfully soft and moist. Butter a pudding bowl (make sure it fits inside your slow cooker) and line the base with baking parchment. Cover 9oz (250g) chopped dates with 4fl oz (125ml) boiling water and set aside. Put 5 tbsp brown sugar into a pan with 10fl oz (300ml) of double cream, 2 tbsp treacle and 2oz (60g) butter. Cook until the sugar dissolves. Put a third into your bowl and reserve the rest to serve.

In a mixing bowl, mix 7oz (200g) of brown sugar, 2oz (60g) soft butter, 2 tbsp treacle and two beaten eggs. Stir in the dates and their soaking water, add 7oz (200g) self-raising flour and 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda. Spoon into the pudding bowl, cover with baking parchment with a central pleat to allow it to rise, then cover with foil and tie with string. Cook on low for eight hours. Tip it onto a serving plate and serve with the hot sauce. This will give six servings.

If the weather's not suitable for barbecuing, you can fit up to eight corn cobs in a slow cooker, depending on its capacity. Rub them with olive oil and salt, pop them in the slow cooker with 4fl oz (125ml) water then cook on high for around three hours until tender. Serve with your favourite herb butter smothered on top. 

It's so simple to make your own bio yogurt in the slow cooker – you just need time, two ingredients and a thermometer to get the temperature right. Heat 67fl oz (2l) of whole milk in the slow cooker on high (you want to temperature to be around 82ºC/180ºF) for about two hours. Turn off the cooker and wait two hours until the milk is at 43ºC/110ºF. Stir a little of the milk into 3.5oz (100ml) live yogurt, return it to the slow cooker, mix well and cover it with a towel to block out light and leave to set for around eight hours. Seal in an airtight container and refrigerate.

By using a box of cake mix, this retro dessert couldn't be easier in a slow cooker. Brush the base of your cooker with oil. Mix 7oz (200g) brown sugar with 4 tbsp melted butter and spread evenly in the bottom of the slow cooker. Drain the fruit from a 20oz (575g) can of pineapples (reserve the juice) and arrange on top of the sugar and butter mixture, adding maraschino cherries to the centre of each slice. Make up a 13oz (375g) pack of vanilla cake mix, but use the pineapple juice instead of water, topping it up with water if needs be. Cook on high for three hours, then allow to cool.

This popular restaurant dessert is actually perfect for the slow cooker, as the gentle heat and moisture prevents the custard from curdling or drying out. You'll need a trivet (or four coils of foil) so the ramekin dishes don't touch the base. Heat 10fl oz (300ml) double cream with 1 tsp vanilla extract until almost boiling. Whisk three egg yolks with 2 tbsp caster sugar, then pour over the cream, whisking constantly. 

Divide between four ramekins, put into the slow cooker and add hot water to come halfway up the dishes. Cook (with a tea towel under the lid) on low for three and a half hours, until the custard has set. Leave in the fridge overnight. To serve, sprinkle with caster sugar and melt with a blow torch or under the grill. Allow the caramel topping to harden before serving.

The trick to slow-cooker brownies is to remove the lid for the last 30 minutes of cooking, so they don't become soggy. Line the slow cooker with foil and brush with oil. In a bowl, mix 5oz (150g) flour and 1 tsp baking powder with 4 tsp cocoa powder. Melt 4oz (125g) butter with 8oz (225g) dark chocolate, stir in 7oz (200g) sugar and three beaten eggs. Add the flour mixture and 6oz (175g) of chocolate chips. Pour into the foil and cook on low for four hours, removing the lid for the last 30 minutes. Cool in the foil.

You can assemble this crowd-pleasing dish in the morning, then dinner's ready to serve. Cooking lasagne in the slow cooker gives the meat sauce an intense flavour, with you spending less time at the stove. Fry a chopped onion until soft, then add two crushed garlic cloves and 1 tbsp of Italian seasoning. Add 14oz (400g) beef mince and stir until browned. Stir in 20fl oz (600ml) passata and a beef stock pot or cube.

To assemble, spread a third of the beef on the base of the slow cooker pot, add two fresh lasagne sheets and a third of a 16fl oz (500ml) jar of ready-made béchamel sauce. Layer up twice again, ending with the white sauce, then sprinkle over 5 tbsp mature Cheddar. Cook on low for six hours. Leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving with extra grated Parmesan.

There's much less chance of fudge sticking and burning when made in a slow cooker. Tip in 13oz (375g) condensed milk, 17oz (500g) chocolate chips, 3.5oz (100g) soft brown sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Cook on low for an hour, stirring quite frequently to ensure it doesn't stick. Tip into a square tin lined with baking parchment and leave to set in the fridge for around four hours before cutting into squares.

Homemade granola is a big money-saver and there's no chance of it over-browning in a slow cooker. This recipe will give around 12 servings, but it will keep for a few weeks in a sealed container. Mix 11oz (325g) rolled oats, 5 tbsp each of flaked almonds and coconut flakes, and 2 tsp cinnamon in an oiled slow cooker. Add 4fl oz (125ml) each of melted coconut oil and maple syrup or honey. Stir well and cook on low for four hours. You'll need to stir it every 30 minutes or so, then leave to cool on a baking sheet to crisp up.

Now discover the foods that are at their best cooked in an air fryer