These Slow Cookers Will Have You Feeling Like A Chef, Even If You Only Have Front-of-House Skills (2024)

This gleaming stainless steel slow cooker is a total workhorse that you can rely on for years. It’s quiet but powerful—not only does it slow cook but it also has steam and sauté modes to make rice or veggies.

Three temperature settings—high, low, and simmer—offer more precise cooking, and the 24-hour digital timer is easy to read. The lid, interior pot, and steaming rack are all dishwasher safe for easy cleaning. It automatically switches to Keep Warm when your cook time ends so food is hot and ready when you are.

Key Specs

This 8-quart slow cooker has the capacity to serve a crowd of 10 or more. It’s spacious enough to fit a large 8-pound chicken or turkey and the perfect size to make a huge batch of chili on game days.

While slow cooking is an age-old method, the design of this Crock Pot is anything but—the dark stainless steel and simple interface give it a modern look. It’s programmable with a maximum time of 20 hours, and will automatically switch to Keep Warm when the cook time is up. Plus, it comes with a recipe booklet for meal inspiration.

Key Specs

This cooker doubles as a pressure cooker so you can cook as fast or as slow as needed. Best Products Senior Editor Cat Bowen highly recommends the Breville. “It’s the most efficient slow and instant pot I’ve owned, and I’ve owned at least 10.”

Bowen says she can “make an entire 4-pound prime rib in it, and it tastes like heaven” and often uses it for making slow cooked mashed potatoes that she can serve directly from the pot. She says it sears, roasts, and slow cooks to medium rare easily and, as her house is usually the convening point for family gatherings, its ideal when cooking for large groups.

Settings—like soup, beans, meat, chile, rice, or risotto—are a welcome feature for ease of use but can be tweaked for more experienced home chefs who want to get a precise cooking method down.

Key Specs

This slow cooker from Hamilton Beach takes hands-off cooking to a new level. It’s fitted with a temperature probe that you insert through a small hole in the glass lid directly into your food to monitor your meal without removing the lid and losing all of the heat.

While most slow cookers allow you to set the time you want your food cooked, this one lets you program a specific temperature, too. The slow cooker will automatically switch to Keep Warm when it’s done and your food is perfectly cooked.

The interface is easy to use and the displays are simple to read and understand. The lid stays tight thanks to locking mechanisms that are attached at the handles. Its inner pot is ceramic and dishwasher safe along with the lid. I’m really impressed with the nonstick coating on the inner pot as I have yet to see anything stick to it that a run under the sink won’t loosen.

Key Specs

The ceramic internal pot of this slow cooker give you an extra hand when it comes to cooking. It can be placed directly on your stove to sear meat or sauté veggies over high heat and is also oven safe so you can slow cook a roast then put it straight into the oven to get that “bark” on top.

When you return the pot to the sleek matte stainless electrical housing, you can program specific heating times and temperatures and walk away while dinner cooks itself (and automatically switches to Keep Warm when your timer ends). The digital display is easy to read and use, with three heat settings (low, high, and warm).

Key Specs

A 4-quart slow cooker is a great size for 1- to 3-person households. It’s compact enough to store in the pantry or on the countertop in a small kitchen but performs just as well as larger models.

This slow cooker has a heavy and sturdy ceramic pot that’s dishwasher-safe and maintains heat well. The appliance has three heat settings and a well-fitting tempered glass lid that won’t rattle as it cooks. You can also use the inner pot in the oven and microwave but not on the stove.

Key Specs

This electric Dutch oven does more than just slow cook. It offers multiple cooking functions, including braising, searing, and warming. The ceramic cooking pot works outside of the electrical housing for use on the stove or in the oven. It has a tight-fitting, heavy lid that efficiently traps in heat and steam.

Its braising setting is its stand-out feature as users insist it gives amazing results equal to that of the oven. It’s great for those who like to cook ribs and large cuts of meat and the 6-quart capacity can easily fit a 5-pound brisket or a couple of pork tenderloins.

The removable parts are also dishwasher-safe and have a smooth nonstick coating. Programmable timers and temperatures help assist with hands-off, stress-free cooking.

Key Specs

Be the hero off the field with West Bend’s slow cooker that doubles as a griddle. You can also use it for camping, or just Sunday breakfast at home. An insulated tote and cover are included for convenient transportation of delicious meals.

The 5-quart slow cooker has a sleek nonstick coating that’s easy to clean and dishwasher-safe. It’s also oven-, stovetop-, fridge- and freezer-safe. When you’re not slow cooking, the heating base doubles as an electric griddle large enough to accommodate five burgers.

Key Specs

Q: What, if anything, can’t you cook in a slow cooker?

A: The best foods to cook in a slow cooker are those that hold up well to long, slow periods of cooking. In particular, tough cuts of meat such as from the shoulders and legs of animals (think brisket, flank, rounds, and butts) become tender and soft in the slow cooker. However, there are a few items that are best cooked elsewhere.

Lean meats and seafood, such as chicken breast, pork chops, and shrimp, will become tough and chewy in a slow cooker. Likewise, while hardier veggies like carrots, sweet potatoes and squash cook up nicely over a long period of time, more delicate vegetables like green beans, summer squash, and broccoli should be cooked hot and fast. And while you can add dairy to your slow cooker dishes, it’s best to add things like yogurt and cream at the end, just before serving.

Otherwise, you risk the dairy separating into something less than appetizing over several hours of cooking. When it comes to grains, it’s best to add pasta, rice, and other starches toward the end of your slow-cooking process, or to cook them separately. If you add them too soon, you may end up with gloppy and thick rice pudding.

Q: Is the Instant Pot a slow cooker?

A: The Instant Pot does have a slow cooker function. So you can make many recipes designed for a slow cooker right in your Instant Pot and spare yourself a second appliance. It’s worth noting, however, that there are a few slight differences between a typical slow cooker and an Instant Pot.

Most slow cookers conduct heat on all sides of the ceramic insert for even cooking. Instant Pots, on the other hand, have a heating element only on the bottom. Instant Pots also have a thinner stainless steel cooking pot, which is less nonstick and gets hotter faster than ceramic.

Q: Can I really leave it on all day?

A: Yes, the beauty of slow cookers is that they’re designed for set-it-and-forget-it meals. It’s always best to consult the appliance’s user manual, but most slow cookers are totally safe to leave on for up to eight hours on low. Most recipes will be fully cooked in that time.