9 easy school lunches you can make in a slow cooker

Place your seasoned, raw meatballs into the slow cooker, top with sauce, and let the slow cooker finish them off, says one recipe by Spend With Pennies.

Put the hot meatballs in a Thermos-style, insulated container that you've heated with boiling water so they can stay warm until lunch. Serve on their own or with a sub roll on the side for a filling sandwich.

Place the chicken breasts in a slow cooker and pour over chicken broth and seasonings, according to one recipe by The Salty Marshmallow. Cook for six to eight hours on low, or until you're easily able to shred the chicken with a fork. If you're serving it cold, make sure it's chilled properly and add some ice or gel packs when it's packed.

Toss your shredded or cubed chicken with mayonnaise, celery, and season it for a kid-friendly lunch that certainly beats what they're serving in the cafeteria. You can also add in red onion, grapes, or nuts, depending on your kid's preferences.

Keep it chilled in a lunch box with ice packs.

One of the best — and easiest — ways to use your Crock-Pot or slow cooker is by making shredded Buffalo chicken.

Add seasoned chicken breasts to the slow cooker and cover with your preferred Buffalo sauce. Then add a splash of ranch dressing and a cube of butter and toss your chicken in the mixture to coat fully, and cook until the chicken is shreddable. You can use it for Buffalo chicken sliders, salads, or even tacos.

If you're serving it warm, pack it in a Thermos. Otherwise, add it into the lunchbox with ice packs to keep it cool until lunchtime.

Martha Stewart's recipe for slow cooker mac and cheese calls for three kinds of cheese, milk, and two cans of evaporated milk. While the recipe does include onions, you could remove that ingredient for pickier eaters.

It's best served heated up in a microwave, but you could also chill it overnight and place it in an insulated lunch box, or keep it warm for the first part of the school day by using a Thermos-style container.

This kid-friendly dish only requires a few ingredients and can last all week. Add cubed sweet potato and cooked sausage to the slow cooker and add optional chopped peppers or onions, a couple of tablespoons of oil, and seasoning to taste.

You can also add apple or cheese, depending on your preference.

The best part about this easy slow-cooker recipe is you probably have most of the ingredients already — plus, while it's delicious served hot, it's just as good after it's been chilled.

You might not know that you can parboil potatoes in a slow cooker. To do so, chop and cover the potatoes with water, a little salt and pepper, and butter and cook them until they're fork-tender, usually about six hours on low.

Then, mix together the dressing for your potato salad as you normally would, such as mayonnaise, dill, whole grain mustard, and a splash of red wine vinegar. Pack it in a lunchbox with ice packs to keep it fresh.

Brownies are super easy to make in a Crock-Pot and can last all week long. Feel free to add fun additions like nuts, extra chocolate chips, or powdered sugar over the top to make them extra special.