Slow Cooker Little Smokies cooks low and slow until tender: saucy, savory, and mostly hands-off for busy weeknights.
Saucy, Smoky Little Smokies for Slow Weeknights
A cozy, hands-off slow-cooker stew of cocktail sausages, potatoes and carrots that simmers into a saucy, savory dinner with minimal fuss.
This is Ember Pot comfort cooking at its simplest: Cam Torres takes cocktail sausages and tucks them into a slow-simmered bed of yellow potatoes, carrots, onion and celery so everything comes out tender and saucy. The finished pot is warm and comforting — a glossy tomato-thickened broth flecked with smoked paprika and thyme, dotted with bite-sized sausages that burst with savory flavor. It’s the kind of dish that smells like home the minute you lift the lid.
The ingredient team here is built to work together. Halved potatoes soften into creamy, yielding chunks while sliced carrots keep a little texture; the classic onion–celery–garlic base adds aromatic depth. Canned diced tomatoes and tomato paste give body and bright acidity, low-sodium chicken broth keeps the sauce silky, and a splash of Worcestershire brings savory, umami lift. Smoked paprika and dried thyme layer in warm, gentle smoke and herb notes that play off the sausages.
Browning the little smokies briefly in a hot skillet is optional but recommended if you want extra caramelized edges — a two- or three-minute sear adds a rich, meaty note before everything goes into the slow cooker. From there it’s mostly hands-off: pour the seasoned tomato-broth over the sausages and veg, tuck in a bay leaf, and let six hours of low heat do the work. The long, slow simmer is what softens the potatoes and lets the sauce concentrate without any babysitting.
This pot is great for busy evenings and for making ahead: it keeps and reheats beautifully, and flavors often deepen the next day. Serve with crusty bread or spoon over rice for soaking up the saucy juices, and enjoy an easy, full-flavored meal that proves low-effort cooking can still be deeply satisfying.
Ingredients
How to Make Slow Cooker Little Smokies
- Trim any packaging from the little smokies and pat them dry with paper towels; halve potatoes into 1-inch pieces, peel and slice carrots, dice the onion and celery, and mince the garlic.
- Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat; add the little smokies and brown briefly (2–3 minutes) until edges color—this step is optional but boosts flavor—then transfer sausages to the slow cooker.
- Add the potatoes, carrots, onion, celery and garlic to the slow cooker on top of the sausages.
- Stir together diced tomatoes (with juices), chicken broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, dried thyme, bay leaf, salt and black pepper; pour the mixture over the ingredients in the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours (or high for 3–3½ hours) until potatoes and carrots are tender and flavors are melded.
- About 15 minutes before serving, stir in the frozen peas and check seasoning; mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons cold water to make a slurry, then whisk into the stew if you want a thicker broth and cook uncovered for the remaining 10–15 minutes.
- Remove and discard the bay leaf, taste and adjust salt/pepper, and ladle into bowls. Serve hot with crusty bread or over rice if desired.
Recipe Card
Slow Cooker Little Smokies
Slow Cooker Little Smokies cooks low and slow until tender: saucy, savory, and mostly hands-off for busy weeknights.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 6 hr
- Servings
- 6
Ingredients
Instructions
- Trim any packaging from the little smokies and pat them dry with paper towels; halve potatoes into 1-inch pieces, peel and slice carrots, dice the onion and celery, and mince the garlic.
- Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat; add the little smokies and brown briefly (2–3 minutes) until edges color—this step is optional but boosts flavor—then transfer sausages to the slow cooker.
- Add the potatoes, carrots, onion, celery and garlic to the slow cooker on top of the sausages.
- Stir together diced tomatoes (with juices), chicken broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, dried thyme, bay leaf, salt and black pepper; pour the mixture over the ingredients in the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours (or high for 3–3½ hours) until potatoes and carrots are tender and flavors are melded.
- About 15 minutes before serving, stir in the frozen peas and check seasoning; mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons cold water to make a slurry, then whisk into the stew if you want a thicker broth and cook uncovered for the remaining 10–15 minutes.
- Remove and discard the bay leaf, taste and adjust salt/pepper, and ladle into bowls. Serve hot with crusty bread or over rice if desired.
Nutrition
- Carbohydrates
- 29
- Saturated Fat
- 8
- Sodium
- 900
- Fiber
- 3.5
- Unsaturated Fat
- 17
- Protein
- 14
- Fat
- 25
- Cholesterol
- 70
- Trans Fat
- 0.2
- Calories
- 410
- Sugar
- 4