We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. What to Buy Appliances Small Appliances The 6 Best Slow Cookers of 2024, According to Our Tests Our list includes cookers that allow you to brown, sauté, and steam all in one pot. By Christa Glennie Christa Glennie Christa Glennie is a former restaurant professional who has logged nearly two decades as a writer and editor covering people and trends in food, drink, dining, and agriculture. She's the food editor of Buffalo Spree magazine and has published work in Food & Wine, USA Today, Feast and Field, and more. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on January 17, 2024 In This Article Expand In This Article Our Top Picks ReviewsOur Favorite Slow Cooker Factors to Consider How We Tested Slow Cookers FAQ Other Slow Cookers We Tested Our Expertise Photo: Food and Wine / Hamilton Beach Around 80% of American households own a slow cooker. In an ideal world, we’d proudly display it, gently warming a chicken stew on our kitchen counters. But that isn’t always realistic. Because of their size, most slow cookers make a clunky addition to our countertops, and many others simply don’t have the necessary capacity or features to get the job done. But there’s no denying that being able to put a hearty dish on hours ahead of time makes dinnertime much simpler. The best slow cookers almost act like an extra stove or oven. Maybe you’re a meal prepper or want a a hands-off hot breakfast casserole ready for the kids first thing in the morning. However, just the sheer amount of options available in the slow cooker aisle at the store can seem overwhelming: What kind of capacity do you need? What do all the extra features do (and do you even need them)? Will programming this thing for an overnight recipe leave you with cold, hard potatoes in the morning? We tested more than 15 different slow cookers and talked with chef Darian Bryan to help you find the perfect pot to make delicious slow cooker recipes. After testing the best slow cookers on the market, we’ve set out to illustrate which slow cooker is best for your kitchen and lifestyle. Our Top Picks Best Overall: Cuisinart Cook Central 6-Quart Multi-Cooker at Amazon ($158) Jump to Review Best Overall, Runner Up: Hamilton Beach Programmable Slow Cooker with Lid Lock at Amazon ($75) Jump to Review Best Value: GreenLife Cook Duo Slow Cooker at Amazon ($51) Jump to Review Best Splurge: Greenpan Elite Slow Cooker at Amazon ($250) Jump to Review Best Large Capacity: Crock-Pot Programmable Slow Cooker at Amazon ($75) Jump to Review Best Small Capacity: Calphalon Digital Sauté Slow Cooker at Amazon ($130) Jump to Review Best Overall Cuisinart Cook Central 6-Quart Multi-Cooker PHOTO: Wayfair $158 at Amazon $158 at Wayfair $186 at Walmart Pros Its cooking surface is roomy enough for all your meats and vegetables, and it lets you control the temperature throughout the cooking process. Cons All that cooking space comes with a larger footprint, and it’s a bit heavy. The Cuisinart Cook Central is designed for a perfect user experience every time. We mean it — this is the slow cooker. It has a roomy interior surface that eases browning proteins or stirring saucy, soupy dishes without mess. Its lid fits tightly and never shifts during cooking, though we should note that this lid doesn’t lock. The timer is made with cooks in mind, offering you the option to program it up to 24 hours in advance on high or low heat, and it automatically switches to the warm setting after cooking is complete. Its programmable functions are also simple enough to figure out that we didn’t even need the user manual. Overall, the Cuisinart earned perfect scores on every test we performed. We loved its oblong shape, which makes it super easy to fit in all your meats, veggies, and sauce without overfilling and allows for even cooking throughout. Not to mention that it sautées, browns, and steams, making this the ultimate one-pot cooker. During our tests, the outside of the cooker never got hot, even on the highest setting. Plus, we found it to be ultra-durable and incredibly easy to clean. The Cook Central’s only drawback is that it has a bit of size and heft to it, so it might be difficult to find a place to store it in your kitchen cabinets. Capacity: 6 quarts | Weight: 16 pounds | Dimensions: 11 x 18 x 10.5 inches | Settings: Slow cook (high, low, and simmer), steam, brown/sauté, and keep warm Food & Wine / Toni Sutton Best Overall, Runner Up Hamilton Beach Programmable Slow Cooker with Lid Lock PHOTO: Amazon $75 at Amazon $86 at Target $70 at Walmart Pros It comes with a temperature probe that allows you to set your meat’s desired temperature and track its progress as it cooks. Cons Its oval shape may not be the best for cooking larger cuts of meat. The Hamilton Beach Temp Tracker performed neck and neck with our top pick, so it was a no-brainer to make this option our runner-up. Its most remarkable feature is its temperature probe, which is integrated into the design of the lid. We love how it makes the internal temperature of the food easily accessible, which is particularly convenient when cooking larger proteins. It’s sturdy without being too heavy to move easily, the casing is never too hot to the touch, and food cooks perfectly due to the even heating of the cooker’s surface. It even has a “hold temperature” function, which allows you to sous vide, make yogurt, poach, simmer, braise, and more. With such a stellar performance, you may be wondering why this slow cooker didn’t take the top spot on our list. We preferred the slightly rounded rectangular shape of the Cuisinart Cook Central to the oval shape of this cooker, but that hardly makes the Hamilton Beach Temp Tracker a step down. Plus, this one is far more affordable by comparison. If you’re still on the fence, we promise this runner-up doesn’t require you to settle for less — we’re huge fans. Capacity: 6 quarts | Weight: 13.1 pounds | Dimensions: 12 x 17 x 11.9 inches | Settings: Slow cook (low, medium, and high), keep warm, and hold temperature Food & Wine / Ashley Jacobs Best Value GreenLife Cook Duo Slow Cooker PHOTO: Amazon $51 at Amazon $49 at Wayfair $76 at Walmart Pros It has a lightweight interior pot that can go directly from stove, to slow cooker, to oven, to dishwasher. Cons There are some inconveniences — like the lid not locking in place — and it has pretty basic functions. The GreenLife Healthy Cook Duo is a great, high-value pick for any kitchen, whether it’s your first slow cooker or one of many. We love how reliable and easy to operate it is, with a control panel that is manageable for enthusiasts and beginners alike. We found its overall design to be equally smart and clean, so you don’t have to surrender functionality or style to save, either — the GreenLife Duo comes in classic black and white, turquoise, and light pink. Surprisingly, for a relatively small and lightweight slow cooker, the interior pot is ceramic and can be used directly on the stovetop or in the oven. This is extremely convenient when cooking foods that benefit from a good sear, like pot roast, or foods you might want to crisp up after cooking, such as dumplings. Not transferring the food to a separate nonstick pan makes for fewer steps and less cleanup. And the pot’s dishwasher-safe quality will help with that last part, too. The only drawbacks that come with its lower price point are that this slow cooker has some pretty basic functions, and its lid doesn’t lock into place for spill-free portability. Capacity: 6 quarts | Weight: 6.83 pounds | Dimensions: 15.3 x 11.1 x 10 inches | Settings: Slow cook (low, medium, and high), delay timer, and keep warm Food & Wine / Sona Charaipotra Food & Wine / Sona Charaipotra Best Splurge Greenpan Elite Slow Cooker PHOTO: Amazon $250 at Amazon $200 at Williams-Sonoma $200 at Sur La Table Pros It’s compact and convenient, roomy enough for leftovers, and beautifully designed. Cons This pot is undoubtedly a splurge item, but the quality and design match the price. Let’s start with the obvious: something this splurge-worthy must be beautiful. And the GreenPan Elite Slow Cooker is gorgeous. We love its sleek and minimal design, which comes in a variety of beautiful colors that might make you rethink storing it out of sight. Its well-placed handles are covered in silicone and allow you to lift the pot with ease without worrying about it being too hot to carry. We also found that its rounded rectangular shape allows you to fit a variety of items (like a full rack of baby back ribs or a substantial pork roast with veggies) without running out of space, despite its relatively compact size. We thought its stylish digital control panel was intuitive and easy to use, and when using any of its many settings, we observed that the GreenPan Elite cooked food to perfection with no signs of hot spots or scorching. We also found that the pot’s ceramic nonstick interior contributed to its even cooking, working with the cooker’s thick casing to create a withstanding (if not somewhat hefty) Dutch oven-like product. So, this slow cooker could be worth the splurge because, although you might be able to find some that perform similarly for cheaper, it’s unlikely that they’ll be as aesthetically pleasing as this one. Capacity: 6 quarts | Weight: 13.7 pounds | Dimensions: 19 x 13.4 x 10.9 inches | Settings: Slow cook (high, low, and warm), roast, brown/sauté, steam, simmer/buffet, and reheat Food & Wine / Henry Yung Food & Wine / Henry Yung Best Large Capacity Crock-Pot Programmable Slow Cooker PHOTO: Amazon $75 at Amazon $85 at Walmart $75 at Wayfair Pros It’s classic, sturdy, and easy to use, with lots of room for big batches — we love this reliable slow cooker. Cons Its size makes it tough to tuck away, and its lid didn’t fit as well as we’d have liked. This Crock-Pot may be the large-capacity slow cooker of our dreams, and it makes an excellent gift for people who entertain or have big families (or both). We’ll just say it — this 8-quart slow cooker is, well, large. We found that it would be suitable for feeding 6–10 people, batch cooking for a family, or cooking up a chili recipe for Sunday’s game. This means it’ll require a lot of storage space — and maybe a second set of hands to clean and dry — so it isn’t a slow cooker for anyone living in a smaller space. The good news is that its handles make it easy to carry, and its short cord eases storage and transportation. Plus, with its classic Crock-Pot design and durability, this slow cooker will likely last you a long time. We found that every dish we prepared in it came up to temp easily, with no hot spots or burning, and it maintained that heat when the food was finished cooking, thanks to the warming function. We loved that the control panel is user-friendly and simplistic, with a few basic functions that make even the most daunting batch cooking experience no sweat. We did notice that the lid didn’t have a very precise fit and tended to rattle and move around when food reached high temperatures; however, it didn’t seem to affect the cooking process very much. We were able to set and forget each recipe, and they came out perfect every time. Capacity: 8 quarts | Weight: 15 pounds | Dimensions: 17.2 x 11.9 x 10.5 inches | Settings: Slow cook (low, medium, and high), programmable digital timer, and auto-warming Food & Wine / Meredith Butcher Food & Wine / Meredith Butcher Best Small Capacity Calphalon Digital Sauté Slow Cooker PHOTO: Amazon $130 at Amazon Pros Lightweight and durable, this pot is the right size for your cupboard and your counter. Cons It’s a little more expensive than some of the other small-capacity pots we tested, but it’s worth the price. Not everyone needs a large-capacity slow cooker. Sometimes, something as compact as the Calphalon Digital Sauté Slow Cooker fits the bill. We noticed that it’s around the size of a medium-sized stockpot, which makes it easy to store in confined kitchen spaces. By far the smallest and lightest of our favorites, this slow cooker is perfect for small apartments and crowded countertops. But no aspect of this cooker, in design or ability, has been overlooked due to its small footprint. You can use its nonstick interior pot directly on the stovetop for browning meats and veggies. Plus, it offers enough space for a modest pot roast (with leftovers) and heats evenly and efficiently. We also felt it was easy to clean — much more so than other slow cookers we tested. And with its elevated feel and design, it would fit in on any kitchen countertop without being an eye sore. Overall, this is our ultimate pick for convenience and ease of use in one small package. Capacity: 5.3 quarts | Weight: 9.8 pounds | Dimensions: 14.6 x 9.8 x 14.3 inches | Settings: Slow cook (high, low, and warm) and programmable digital timer Food & Wine / Megan Wood Food & Wine / Megan Wood Our Favorite Slow Cooker We love the Cuisinart Cook Central 3-in-1 6-Quart Multi-Cooker for its roomy cooking surface and multifunctionality. Its settings let you brown, sauté, and even steam, all in one convenient appliance — making it the ultimate tool for one-pot cooking. The Hamilton Beach Temp Tracker 6-Quart Slow Cooker came in a close second, with its built-in temperature probe that lets you set and track the ideal temperature of your meat while you slow cook it. Factors to Consider Size and Capacity We consulted chef/owner Darian Bryan of The Plating Society and Bratts Hill. The Jamaican chef uses a slow cooker with some frequency and shared insight on selecting the right size. “It depends on the person’s lifestyle,” he advises. “How large is their family? Do they entertain often?” He suggests that smaller slow cookers, like 5- to 6-quart capacity pots, are more than enough for single or two-person households. At that size, a slow cooker will be big enough for occasional batch cooking, meal prepping, or dinner for a family of four. The large-capacity slow cookers, like 8-quart appliances, are best for those who entertain or batch cook with frequency. Programmability Sometimes, slow cookers operate with nothing more than a range of settings as rudimentary as low, high, and warm. This is enough to cover most foods a slow cooker can tackle: everything from chilis, soups, and stews to roasts, sauces, and braises. In those cases, any color you might want to develop by browning or searing may have to be done on a stovetop before transferring your meal to the slow cooker. Otherwise, all the magic can happen inside the pot with just those three temperatures. You can do plenty with such simple settings, but some slow cookers now come with a full panel of options. If you want to do something more specific — like sear proteins, steam vegetables, or even make yogurt — there are slow cookers with built-in programming for uses such as these. Some models even allow you to custom program specific temperatures and cook times so that you can literally just set it and forget it. But extra features also come with extra cost, so determine how you are most likely to use the cooker and buy the one that best suits your lifestyle. Ease of Use Above all, your slow cooker needs to be functional. What’s the point if you’re repeatedly consulting a convoluted user manual and jabbing at poorly labeled buttons? Make sure that the cooker’s control panel makes all programs, settings, and functions clear and easy to access — or you may end up never using those fancy features at all. Also, keep an eye out for functional design features, like whether or not the model you’re eyeing has a locking lid (which can come in handy if you frequently transport dishes) or if you can use the slow cooker’s insert directly on the stovetop or in the oven for easy searing and browning. How We Tested Slow Cookers To find the best slow cookers on the market, we tested 16 models, assessing them on factors such as their ease of use, design, performance, and value. We put each cooker through three rounds of rigorous kitchen tests to determine their overall functionality and how well they stacked up against each other in terms of features and performance. Performance: First, each slow cooker was used to prepare a large cut of meat, such as roast beef or pork, on low heat. We used a trustworthy and reliable recipe as a method of control for any variables and recorded how long the meat took to cook and become tender. We then compared that time to the estimated cook time listed in our recipe to determine if the slow cookers were coming up to temp in the expected time, maintaining that temperature, and whether or not the surface was heating evenly.Ease of Use: For our second test, we incorporated each slow cooker into our daily cooking routines, testing the low, high, and keep warm settings while cooking some of the recipes we prepare routinely. Throughout our daily use, we observed how much food each model could accommodate, how securely their lids fit, and how much space they took up on our kitchen counters. We also assessed the user-friendliness of each cooker’s control panel, buttons, and features, taking into account how much control we had over settings like temperature and timing.Design: Some other factors we considered included how heavy each model was, how sturdily they were built, and how easy they were to transport or maneuver.Cleanup: Last, if the manufacturer’s care instructions noted the slow cooker as dishwasher safe, we followed the instructions for cleaning the pot in the dishwasher. If not, we washed the pot by hand and observed, recorded, and rated its ease of cleaning. Frequently Asked Questions What are slow cookers best for? “I mainly use slow cookers for long roasts such as legs of lamb, pork shoulders, and octopus,“ says Bryan, noting that heavier, denser foods that take time to break down are perfect for the long-term, hands-off style of slow cooking. “Cooking octopus long and slow makes it extremely tender,” he says. Bryan utilizes slow cookers at home and in his restaurants to make tender short ribs and savory curry lentil stew. “The number one dish people request is my short ribs,” he says. “They tell me the tender meat married with the red wine sauce is unforgettable.” Overall, though, slow cookers tend to be a great kitchen tool for winter recipes, but you can certainly use them all year round. What temperature are slow cookers? Typically, a slow cooker will have at least a low and a high setting. The low option is around 190 to 200°F, often at an 8-hour interval, while the high setting is typically between 280 and 300°F at a 4-hour interval. “I love using the higher temperature for sauces and stews,” Bryan says. However, he doesn’t advise using the high option for larger pieces of meat: “It just isn’t enough time to penetrate or break down the proteins.” Are slow cookers and Crockpots the same? The simple answer is yes. Crockpot is a brand of slow cooker — “the original slow cooker” — invented over four decades ago for the sole purpose of cooking beans. Now, there are a number of models and brands of slow cookers on the market to choose from, but Crockpots are known for that classic slow cooker design we all recognize. Can you put frozen meat in a slow cooker? “I would not suggest using a slow cooker for frozen meat ever,” Bryan warns. The United States Department of Agriculture explains that frozen pieces will take longer to reach a safe internal temperature, which can result in foodborne illness. To be safe, thoroughly thaw any meat before adding it to a slow cooker recipe. Can Instant Pots be used as slow cookers? “I use mine this way all the time,” Bryan says. “It’s convenient not to have a million gadgets in the kitchen.” You may have to adjust your recipe a little, but overall, the best Instant Pots can be used for many of the same functions that a slow cooker can, and more. Other Slow Cookers We Tested Strong Contenders Wolf Gourmet Multi-Function Cooker, 7 Quart (Amazon)We loved the Wolf Gormet’s overall performance, design, and functionality, but we’re not sold on the price. If you’re a big fan of Wolf appliances and aren’t opposed to the incredibly steep price tag, then this wouldn’t be a bad pick. Crock-Pot Programmable 6-Quart Slow Cooker with MyTime Technology (Amazon) This machine is perfect for the “set-and-forget” cooking style, featuring clear labels and several options for scheduling and cooking types. However, it’s not comfortable to cart around, and the affordable price translates to some of its elements feeling flimsy. KitchenAid 6-Quart Slow Cooker (Amazon)The KitchenAid 6-Quart Slow Cooker is comfortably lightweight without losing quality. What we didn’t love were some of its other design features: an outside that gets too hot, handles that are too small, and an inconveniently placed power cord. All-Clad Electric Dutch Oven, 5-Quart (Amazon)Advertised as an electric Dutch oven, this slow cooker features a beautiful cast iron insert that doubles as a standard Dutch oven. This makes it versatile and rugged but difficult to transport based on weight. We also had some issues with achieving a desired and consistent temperature while cooking, meaning we couldn’t just set it and forget it. Instant Pot Precision 6-Quart Dutch Oven (Amazon)We ran into similar problems with Instant Pot’s version of an electric Dutch oven. While the enameled cast iron insert is a great feature, and it has several useful functions (like searing and braising), it leaves much to be desired when it comes to slow cooking. Plus, we noticed that the non-enameled edges of the pot and lid tend to rust easily. What Didn’t Make the List We tested several other slow cookers, but they just didn’t measure up to our favorites in terms of performance. The DeLonghi Livenza Slow Cooker surprised us by cooking a little bit too low and slow. Even on its highest temperature setting, we struggled to get it up to a strong simmer, which resulted in a recipe (that should’ve taken only six hours to cook) clocking in at 16 hours total cook time. However, most of the other cookers we tried had the opposite problem: The Beautiful by Drew Barrymore 6-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker and Ninja’s Foodi PossibleCooker PRO both ran a bit on the hot side. We struggled with the PossibleCooker PRO only having two temperature options on its slow cooker setting (250 or 300°F), which left our brisket thoroughly burned in the end. Some of the other slow cookers we tried only missed the mark due to their small capacity — we thought they’d fit in better with the best mini slow cookers. Our Expertise Christa Glennie has been a freelance writer and food editor for nearly 20 years. She is also the author of two cookbooks and specializes in food and drink trends, agriculture, the regional foodways of Western New York, and the restaurant business. For this piece, she interviewed Jamaican chef and restaurant owner Darian Bryan of The Plating Society and Bratts Hill. He regularly uses slow cookers — both at home and in his restaurant — to make some of his most requested dishes, like his tender short ribs with red wine sauce. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit