We Tested 20 Slow Cookers to Find the 7 Best for Set-It-and-Forget-It Meals

Slow cookers: the countertop appliance you know and (maybe?) already love. As the name implies, they cook food at a low temperature (typically 180°F to 210°F) over a long period, usually between six to eight hours.

Slow cookers have been around for about 70 years, hitting the scene in the 1950s as a device to cook beans. Then, in 1971, the device was rebranded as the Crock-Pot, exploding in popularity with its signature Avocado Green and Harvest Yellow colors. It was marketed as a convenient cooking appliance: Throw in all your ingredients in the morning, go to work, and come back to a home-cooked meal. 

They are indeed great for making dried beans—except kidney beans—and keeping food and drinks warm for parties. (Hot mulled cider anyone?) We also certainly wouldn’t turn down a bun stuffed with slow-cooker pulled pork. Small slow cookers are also ideal for keeping dips hot. Plus, there's a new generation of slow cookers sporting multiple functions, making them more versatile than the models of yesteryear. So, we set out to test 20 slow cookers to see which ones performed the best and were easy to clean up and operate.

The Winners, at a Glance

The Best Slow Cooker

GreenPan Elite 6-Quart Slow Cooker

$250 $230 at Amazon $250 at Williams Sonoma $250 at Target

The GreenPan Elite has a metal, ceramic-coated cooking pot. In our tests, it heated up quickly and sautéed and browned well. Dried beans cooked up just right (not hard nor mushy) and pulled pork was fall-apart tender. The exterior stayed cool the entire time the cooker was on, making it one of the safest ones we tested. It’s quite a looker, too.

The Best Multifunctional Slow Cooker

Instant Pot Pro 10-in-1 6-Quart Pressure Cooker

$170 $150 at Amazon $150 at Home Depot $150 at Wayfair

The slow cooker function on the Instant Pot tends to be overlooked, but it functions fine. Its slow-cooked beans were tender, and the pulled pork fell apart without being stringy. Even better, because the cooker is designed for pressure cooking, the exterior of the machine stayed cool the entire time it was on.

Another Great Multifunctional Slow Cooker

Ninja MC1101 6.5-Quart Foodi Everyday Possible Cooker Pro

$120 $90 at Amazon $90 at Target $92 at Wayfair

The Ninja gave the Instant Pot some fierce competition in the multi-use slow cooker category. It features eight functions and made some of the creamiest, best beans in our tests. We liked how easy it was to remove the pot from the base, but it came at a cost: The cookpot got very hot to the touch after hours of use. 

The Best Budget Slow Cooker

Hamilton Beach Defrost & Go Programmable Slow Cooker

$87 at Amazon

The Defrost & Go was the cheapest full-size slow cooker we tested, and it has minimal features (there’s no sear function). But it made fantastic pulled pork and the locking feature on the lid would be great for tailgating. 

The Best Sous Vide Slow Cooker

Crock-Pot Programmable 6-Quart Slow Cooker with Sous Vide

$146 $138 at Amazon

This model has a traditional slow cooker design, with two spots for a temperature probe that can be used with sous vide cooking. We wished it had a sear function, but otherwise, we thought it was a good space-saving option for cooks who want to slow cook and occasionally sous vide.

The Best Small Slow Cooker

IMUSA USA GAU-80113T 1.5 Quart Slow Cooker

$23 at Amazon View on Brandsmartusa.com

If you’re looking for a slow cooker but have a tiny kitchen or limited storage space, this model from IMUSA is a great choice. It measures about nine inches in diameter, making it smaller than an average dinner plate, so it can easily fit into any corner. It maintained consistent temperatures within our recommended range of 195°F to 205°F, producing creamy stewed beans and perfectly melted spinach artichoke dip.

Another Great Small Slow Cooker

Brentwood 1.5-Quart Slow Cooker

$43 $21 at Amazon $29 at Walmart $45 at Target

This Brentwood slow cooker is a great buy. It aced our tests, delivering tender beans and molten dip. It has an indicator light that shows when it’s turned on and a temperature dial with four settings: off, low, high, and warm. Like the IMUSA, it consistently maintained an ideal temperature during our tests. 

The Tests

• Beans Test: For the standard-size slow cookers we cooked one pound of dried white beans with eight cups of room-temperature water. For the mini slow cookers, we made half a pound of dried white beans with four cups of water. We cooked the beans on the high setting for eight hours to see how well they turned out, taking temperatures each hour with an instant-read thermometer to gauge consistency.
• Pulled Pork Test: We cooked an easy pulled pork recipe, using three pounds of pork butt per cooker. If possible, we seared the pork in the slow cooker beforehand to see how the searing/sautéing function worked. 
• Spinach Artichoke Dip Test (Mini Slow Cookers Only): For the mini slow cooker test, we prepared a simple spinach artichoke dip recipe. After cooking, we reduced the temperature to “keep warm” if that option was available. We then monitored the temperature every 30 minutes for two hours using an instant-read thermometer to assess the models’ temperature consistency.
• Cleaning Test: After the tests, we emptied the slow cookers and let the inner pot sit for an hour to let residual food dry and get crusty. Then we hand-washed each pot and lid to see how easy they were to handle and clean.

What We Learned

How Slow Cookers Work

As we mentioned, slow cookers heat food at low temperatures (between 180°F to 210°F), cooking it slowly over a long period. But how do slow cookers work? It’s pretty simple: Small heaters in the bottom of the slow cooker radiate heat upward through the cooking vessel inside the cooker (which can be ceramic or metal). As this article on slow cookers explains, “Because you are heating through a thick ceramic insert, that energy comes very gently from the bottom, and, to a very slight degree, from the sides of the pot. There are no hot spots.” Slow cookers also use lids to trap the heat (and ensure your roast or slow cooker soup doesn't dry out).

We Liked Slow Cookers That Seared

Extra functions can be superfluous—after all, an Instant Pot’s yogurt-making program is only useful if you make yogurt. But a sauté or browning function can improve the flavor of the food (i.e., get a nice brown crust via the Maillard reaction). The ability to do that directly in the slow cooker means you don’t need to dirty a skillet. Our favorite slow cookers from GreenPan and Instant Pot both offered a sauté function, as did a few others like the Cuisinart and Instant Dutch Oven. Typically, the traditional ceramic insert-style slow cookers do not, since ceramic (and other nonstick materials) can’t handle heat high enough to properly brown food.

Many Slow Cookers Were Either Too Hot or Cold on the Inside

Slow cookers are designed to cook food at a low temperature. This allows you to add ingredients to a slow cooker at the beginning of the day, press a button, and have dinner waiting for you six to eight hours later. It also means that you can use the slow cooker to keep food warm during a party (like cocktail meatballs or dip). But a number of the slow cookers we tested actually cooked at too high of a temperature. This resulted in dry pork and beans that were mushy and overcooked. On the other hand, some of the slow cookers we tested struggled to achieve a shreddable pork shoulder, even after six hours. The Our Place Dreamcooker's pork finished our test at 167˚F, nowhere near high enough to break down the collagen necessary for tender meat.

Others Were Too Hot on the Outside

One of the appealing aspects of a slow cooker is that you can add all the ingredients in the morning, head to work, and then come home to dinner. And even though the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends against leaving appliances running when not at home, folks do it all the time. (Manufacturers claim it’s safe, too.) To minimize risk, this means finding a slow cooker that’s well insulated and doesn’t heat up on the outside. 

But some of the slow cookers that we tested, including the Crock-Pot, got alarmingly hot, reaching a high of 193°F on the outside of the pot. The best slow cookers stayed cool on the outside, with the GreenPan slow cooker’s exterior reaching 98°F at its peak. The Instant Pot only got to about 85°F (the lid was slightly hotter). Even if you won’t leave your slow cooker unattended, a cool-to-the-touch exterior will keep everyone in your home safe. We also noted the importance of safe exteriors when testing the small slow cookers. Because they’re so often used for serving dips and sauces at parties, we can easily imagine a scenario when someone’s fingertips get too close to the pot. During our tests, the IMUSA and Brentwood’s exteriors stayed cool.

What’s the Difference Between a Slow Cooker, Pressure Cooker, and a Crock-Pot?

You’d be forgiven for getting the three appliances confused because newer models combine multiple genres. Here’s a quick primer on the differences between these countertop appliances. A slow cooker has a cookpot that sits inside a larger, insulated pot. It cooks food at a low temperature over a long period. Typically a slow cooker cooks between 190°F to 210°F over six to eight hours, which is long enough for the food to be completely cooked through. 

A pressure cooker, on the other hand, cooks food quickly. Its cooking chamber seals tightly. Once sealed and heated, the liquid in the pressure cooker can get to much higher temperatures—as high as 250°F. That’s what helps food cook rapidly. Steam builds up inside a pressure cooker and must be released through a valve, or a “natural” release by allowing the cooker to cool once the cooking process has been completed. Bringing the conversation back around to multi-function appliances, we have Instant Pot to thank for the recent resurgence in pressure cookers. All of its multicookers have a pressure cooker function as well as a slow cooker function, allowing you to cook food fast or slow depending on the mode you choose. For more information about pressure cookers, check out our article on how a pressure cooker works.

Finally, people often use the term Crock-Pot to mean a slow cooker. But Crock-Pot is the actual name brand of a popular slow cooker and has become synonymous with the countertop appliance, in the same way Tupperware is often used in place of “food storage containers.” 

Round and Deep Cookpots Work Best for Mini Slow Cookers 

Our small slow cooker tests found that models with deep, circular cooking pots performed better in the spinach artichoke dip test than those with wide oval pots. The wide oval designs, such as the Crock-Pot 2.5 Quart Casserole Slow Cooker and Cuisinart 3-in-1 4-Quart Slow Cooker, have more surface area, which increases the chance of ingredients like cheese caramelizing or overcooking around the edges. This can make the pot harder to clean and raises the risk of unevenly cooked dishes. If you're purchasing a full-sized slow cooker, our tests reveal that choosing one with an oval shape is recommended, as this pot shape cooks large cuts of meat more evenly.

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Slow Cooker

Select a slow cooker that will hold a consistent temperature for hours and that doesn’t run too hot or cold throughout the cooking cycle. Our favorite slow cookers kept a consistent temperature of around 195°F to 205°F once they reached peak temperature, never boiling the liquid in the pot. It’s also ideal to have a sear/sauté function on your slow cooker. This means you won’t have to dirty and clean a skillet to brown your protein or aromatics before adding them to the slow cooker.

Pick a slow cooker that is large enough for the amount of food you need to make, too. Most slow cookers nowadays are oval-shaped (unless you’re investing in a mini one) and have both a minimum and maximum food line that you need to reach to properly cook your meal. You should also keep in mind how you plan on using your slow cooker. If you plan on entertaining and want your slow cooker to keep foods warm, make sure it has this mode. Finally, the outside of the slow cooker shouldn’t get too hot.

Our Favorite Slow Cookers

The Best Slow Cooker

GreenPan Elite 6-Quart Slow Cooker

$250 $230 at Amazon $250 at Williams Sonoma $250 at Target

What we liked: Arguably a multi-cooker, the GreenPan Elite had various functions, including slow cooking, steaming, and browning/sautéing. The digital screen showed the time remaining and the cooking function that had been selected. The slow cook option offers low, high, reheating, simmer/buffet, and warm. 

Once the cooking temperature came to its peak, in about two hours, it stayed a consistent 195°F to 205°F through the remaining six hours of cooking, never dropping too low or starting to boil at the edges like many other cookers did. Dried beans cooked up well. It was easy to brown the pork because of the spacious interior, and the meat was fall-apart tender.

The metal insert was lightweight and easy to lift out, and the silicone-covered handles meant that we could lift it without oven mitts. The outside of the unit stayed pretty cool, too.

What we didn’t like: The GreenPan Elite was one of the larger slow cookers we tested, and it was also one of the most expensive. And though it offers multiple options, including reheating and simmer/buffet, those options are hidden under the slow cook button, making the control panel slightly less easy to navigate.

Key Specs

• Weight: 14.2 pounds
• Production dimensions: 19 x 13.75 x 11 inches
• Cooking capacity: 6 quarts
• Materials: Ceramic nonstick coated anodized aluminum metal pot, silicone side handles, tempered glass lid, metal base with glass display panel
• Settings: Slow cook high, slow cook low, reheat, simmer/buffet, warm, brown/sauté, steam
• Cleaning/care instructions: Metal interior pot is dishwasher-safe; base unit should be wiped with a damp cloth or sponge

The Best Multifunctional Slow Cooker

Instant Pot Pro 10-in-1 6-Quart Pressure Cooker

$170 $150 at Amazon $150 at Home Depot $150 at Wayfair

What we liked: We’ve long recommended the Instant Pot Pro as one of the best countertop multi-cookers and the slow cooker function works fairly well. Temperatures peaked at 205°F and stayed there after three hours, cooking the dried beans to a perfectly creamy and buttery consistency. And the exterior was well insulated from the internal pot, keeping the outside cool.

The Instant Pot has a searing option, and browning the meat for the pulled pork was easy, though it did require searing in batches. But because the inner pot is stovetop-friendly, you can sear the meat and ingredients on the stove, which is faster and more efficient than using the Instant Pot’s sear feature. The resulting pulled pork came out very tender without overcooking or becoming dry, making the Instant Pot Pro a solid slow cooker option for those folks who already own it.

What we didn’t like: Because of the smaller diameter, we had to sear and brown meat in batches. And due to the nature of the lid on an Instant Pot, which has a tight seal that allows for pressure cooking, little to no evaporation occurs, unlike in a more typical slow cooker. However, you can always set the Instant Pot to sauté to reduce liquids as needed.

Key Specs

• Weight: 13.4 pounds
• Production dimensions: 13.5 x 12.5 x 12.5 inches
• Cooking capacity: 6 quarts
• Materials: Stainless steel tri-ply bonded bottom inner pot, silicone handle and rings, metal and plastic outer unit with glass display
• Settings: Pressure cooking, rice/grain, steam, sauté, slow cook, sous vide, yogurt, bake, keep warm
• Cleaning/care instructions: Metal insert pot and lid are dishwasher-safe; base unit should be wiped with a damp cloth or sponge

Another Great Multifunctional Slow Cooker

Ninja MC1101 6.5-Quart Foodi Everyday Possible Cooker Pro

$120 $90 at Amazon $90 at Target $92 at Wayfair

What we liked: The control panel of the Foodi is well detailed, with tons of information and choices for choosing a cooking function. We found it easy to adjust time and temperature, even mid-program. It did a fantastic job with beans (they were the tastiest of the entire test). The handles are large, with wide loops, and we found the pot very easy to pick up and maneuver around the kitchen. The cookpot is dishwasher-safe, although the nonstick coating will hold up better over time if hand-washed. The Foodi is arguably one of the better-looking slow cookers we tested, and it’s a hair cheaper than the Instant Pot Pro.

What we didn’t like: The outside of the Foodi got very hot to the touch during cooking (140˚F!), no doubt because the cookpot sits on a stand instead of inside a chamber. After the allotted cooking time, the pork was not shreddable—it would have benefitted from at least another hour.

Key Specs

• Weight: 7.87 pounds
• Production dimensions: 12.8 x 8.19 x 14.06 inches
• Cooking capacity: 6.5 quarts
• Materials: Stainless steel, nonstick coating, glass lid
• Settings: Sear/sauté, braise, keep warm, white rice, brown rice, oats, pasta
• Cleaning/care instructions: Pot, lid, and rice spoon are dishwasher-safe; base unit should be wiped clean with a damp cloth or sponge

The Best Budget Slow Cooker

Hamilton Beach Defrost & Go Programmable Slow Cooker

$87 at Amazon

What we liked: Although we didn’t test the defrost function, we thought it was a clever feature. (Who among us hasn’t forgotten to thaw a package of chicken thighs?) It functions similarly to the frozen button on a toaster: Press it to add more time to the current cooking cycle. There’s a temperature probe that helps you keep track of the internal temperature of meat, a feature we found useful when we noted the pork was just shy of 200˚F and shredded nicely. There’s a locking feature on the lid, which would help with transport. Overall, this is about as “classic slow cooker” as it gets, and we were perfectly satisfied with the results.

What we didn’t like: The exterior of this slow cooker is pretty thin, which meant it got uncomfortably hot to the touch during cooking. If you want to take the Defrost & Go on the go, you’ll need to wait for it to cool down first. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 12.32 pounds
• Production dimensions: 13.75 x 11.13 x 14 inches
• Cooking capacity: 6 quarts
• Materials: Plastic, ceramic, glass
• Settings: Defrost, low, high, warm
• Cleaning/care instructions: Pot and lid are dishwasher-safe; base unit should be wiped clean with a damp cloth or sponge

The Best Sous Vide Slow Cooker

Crock-Pot Programmable 6-Quart Slow Cooker with Sous Vide

$146 $138 at Amazon

What we liked: For a slow cooker, this Crock-Pot is certainly ambitious. It comes with proprietary sealable bags and a probe that can be used for sous vide cooking. (We haven’t tested this feature, but the temperature did stay consistent and accurate during the beans and pork tests—a key feature of cooking with an immersion circulator.) The base of this multicooker is wide. That was helpful when cooking the pork, which turned out to be delicious and meltingly tender. The ceramic insert is naturally nonstick, and it looked and felt very durable. Adjusting the time and temperature couldn’t have been simpler, as they have their own spots on the control panel. This updated, modern take on a classic slow cooker is very well done. 

What we didn’t like: This slow cooker is missing a sear function. It got very hot after just 15 minutes. 

Key Specs

• Weight: 12 pounds
• Production dimensions: 17.5 x 11.37 x 9.13 inches
• Cooking capacity: 6 quarts
• Materials: Ceramic, glass
• Settings: Sous vide, slow cook (low/high), keep warm
• Cleaning/care instructions: Ceramic insert pot and glass lid are dishwasher- and hand-wash-safe; base unit should be wiped with a damp cloth or sponge

The Best Small Slow Cooker

IMUSA USA GAU-80113T 1.5 Quart Slow Cooker

$23 at Amazon View on Brandsmartusa.com

What we liked: The IMUSA has a ceramic control knob that lets you set the temperature to low, heat, warm, or off. While it lacks a digital interface with pre-programmed settings, we found that these controls were unnecessary for its performance. Its deep, circular cooking pot has less surface area, which was helpful when cooking beans and spinach artichoke dip, as it helps prevent uneven cooking (like cheese caramelizing or beans crisping up on the model’s edges.)

Out of all the slow cookers we tested, this one reached its peak temperature the fastest—in about two hours—and maintained a steady 203°F for the next six hours. In contrast, other models fluctuated between inconsistent temperatures. As a result of even cooking temperatures, the IMUSA produced creamy beans and perfectly melted spinach artichoke dip.

The ceramic insert has sturdy handles, making it easy to use. The cooking pot design is lightweight, so it’s easy to carry to the sink and clean after use. The outer metal pot stayed cool during cooking, even when stewing beans and spinach artichoke dip for long periods of time.

What we didn’t like: During the spinach artichoke dip test, we noticed some small areas with leftover residue that required extra effort to clean. Because its relatively small cooking pot is made of ceramic, we wouldn’t recommend using this model to sear large pieces of meat.

Key Specs

• Weight: 4.5 pounds
• Production dimensions: 7.9 x 9.1 x 7.9 inches
• Cooking capacity: 1.5 quarts
• Materials: Ceramic pot, ceramic side handles, glass lid, metal base with a ceramic control knob
• Settings: Off, low, high, warm
• Cleaning/care instructions: The ceramic insert pot is dishwasher-safe; the lid should be hand-washed; the base unit should be wiped with a damp cloth.

Another Great Small Slow Cooker

Brentwood 1.5-Quart Slow Cooker

$43 $21 at Amazon $29 at Walmart $45 at Target

What we liked: The Brentwood model impressed us with its performance and value. It has a ceramic knob on the control panel that lets you switch between low, high, warm, and off settings. Additionally, it has an indicator light that turns bright red when the cooker is on, alerting you that it’s preheating.

The Brentwood slow cooker maintained a consistent temperature of about 205°F for the last five hours of the cooking cycle. This steady temperature resulted in tender beans and perfectly molten spinach artichoke dip during our tests. Its circular, deep crock design also contributed to even cooking throughout the process.

The metal outside never became too hot to touch. Plus, the ceramic cooking pot is lightweight, making it easy to lift. Additionally, compared to other models, it was relatively easy to clean after soaking in hot soapy water following the bean tests.

What we didn’t like: Compared to our other winning slow cookers, this one has a much shorter cord, measuring just 23 inches compared to the IMUSA model, which reaches 28 inches long. Additionally, because the cooking pot is ceramic, it’s not ideal for searing. We also found that some regions of the pot required extra scrubbing after the spinach artichoke dip test. Since the pot is white, it may become stained over time, especially if you plan on making dishes like chili or curries.

Key Specs

• Weight: 5 pounds
• Production dimensions: 9 x 8 x 7.5 inches
• Cooking capacity: 1.5 quarts
• Materials: Ceramic pot, ceramic side handles, glass lid, metal base with a ceramic control knob
• Settings: Off, low, high, warm
• Cleaning/care instructions: Hand-wash ceramic cookpot and lid; the base unit should be wiped with a damp cloth

The Competition

• Hamilton Beach Portable 6 Quart Set & Forget Digital Programmable Slow Cooker: This slow cooker seemed like a great option with an internal probe that allowed you to check the temperature of the food without lifting the lid. But the unit ran hot, with the edges of the pot actually bubbling and simmering, leading to overcooked and mushy beans. 
• Hamilton Beach Temp Tracker 6 Quart Slow Cooker: This slow cooker was nearly identical to the other Hamilton Beach slow cooker other than a slight color difference, and performed the same way, overcooking the beans.
• Cuisinart Multicooker MSC-600, Stainless Steel: This slow cook performed well with the beans, yielding soft and creamy results. But the pulled pork took longer to sear than with the Instant Pot and Green Pan slow cooker, and the resulting pulled pork wasn’t as tender.
• Instant Dutch Oven Slow Cooker: This slow cooker was an actual cast iron Dutch oven with a heating unit. It’s a great idea but proved to be unwieldy to move around and store. It also took a very long time to heat up, nearly four hours, and the outside of the cooker got up to 160°F, which was quite hot.
• Crock-Pot 6 Quart Cook & Carry Programmable Slow Cooker: Crock-Pot is synonymous with slow cookers, so we had high hopes for this slow cooker. But it ran too hot, making overcooked, mushy beans. More alarming, the outside of the slow cooker was 190°F, which was dangerously warm for a countertop appliance.
• Our Place Dreamcooker 6 Quart Multicooker: The Dreamcooker is nice-looking. We were hopeful it’d be a good pick for cooks who want to keep their slow cookers on the counter, but it struggled to keep up in our tests, cooking barely edible pork. The exterior of the pot is plastic; the aluminum cookpot had loads of hot spots. The lid is opaque, and it’s almost $200.
• Crock-Pot MultiMeal MultiCooker and Programmable Slow Cooker: Dual-chamber air fryers are all the rage, but the concept doesn’t seem to translate to slow cookers. The side-by-side 3.7-quart cooking chambers are too small to be truly useful. Crock-Pot sells an updated version of the MultiMeal with an additional, eight-quart cooker that can replace the smaller ones, but we did not test that model.
• Crock-Pot Mini 1.5 Quart Slow Cooker: This model had the poorest performance in the mini slow cooker tests. It lacks temperature dials and an indicator light, making it hard to tell when it’s turned on. It produced undercooked beans even after stewing for eight hours, and it failed to melt the cheese in our spinach artichoke dip experiment thoroughly.
• Crock-Pot 2.5 Quart Casserole Slow Cooker: This slow cooker has an attractive navy blue pattern that can add a decorative touch to your counter. While it delivered creamy beans, the spinach artichoke dip came out overcooked. Ultimately, we chose not to recommend this model as a top small slow cooker because its nearly 10-inch diameter makes it bulkier than more mini options.
• Crock-Pot 3.5 Quart Casserole Slow Cooker: Like the 2.5 Quart Crock-Pot, this model excelled in the bean tests, producing creamy results. However, it struggled with the spinach artichoke dip, as too much cheese firmed up on the edges, making it hard to clean. It's currently unavailable.
• Instant Pot Mini 7-in-1 Multicooker: This Instant Pot has a digital interface with pre-programmed settings for functions like slow cooking, sautéing, and making yogurt, plus customizable temperature and time buttons. It performed well in our bean test but had difficulty cooking artichokes thoroughly in the dip experiment. Ultimately, its 11-inch diameter makes it too bulky to be considered in the small slow cooker category.
• Cuisinart 3-in-1 4-Quart Slow Cooker: We liked this Cuisinart model’s lightweight, nonstick insert, which made cleaning and lugging it around easy. It aced the bean test, but the cheese became overly caramelized during the dip test. And at 16.5 inches wide, it takes up too much space for a small slow cooker.
• KitchenAid 6-Quart Slow Cooker: This slow cooker was one of our winners in a previous test, but it is no longer available.

FAQs

What is a slow cooker good for?

Slow cookers are convenient for cooking stews, soups, and beans over a long period. You can add the ingredients to the slow cooker at the beginning of the day and eight hours later, have a cooked meal. They also do a good job cooking bread pudding, strata, and stuffing. However, because slow cookers function at low temperatures, they do not heat the ingredients high enough to get much of a Maillard effect, meaning a lot of food cooked in a slow cooker will taste less complex and have less flavor than if it was cooked via a more traditional method. Searing meat before starting the slow-cooking process will help fix that.

What cannot be cooked in a slow cooker?

Though slow cookers are convenient for some dishes, it is recommended you do not cook frozen ingredients in one without thawing them first. Quick-cook ingredients like pasta, rice, grains, fish, seafood, and thin cuts of meat are also not recommended, as they will overcook in a slow cooker. Dairy is also not recommended (unless you’re making yogurt), as prolonged heating will curdle and separate it.

Can you keep food warm in a slow cooker?

Most slow cookers have a warm function, making them ideal for buffets or for keeping a meal warm until you’re ready to eat. All the slow cookers we tested had a warm function, which automatically turned on once the cooking cycle ended.

Which slow cooker browned meats the best?

We liked slow cookers that had the ability to sauté and sear, resulting in well-browned pieces of meat and more overall flavor. Two of our favorites, from GreenPan and Instant Pot, both had this ability (they had metal pan inserts) and resulted in nicely browned cuts of pork. In general, slow cookers with ceramic inserts don’t sear as well, since the ceramic doesn’t have a high thermal conductivity like metal inserts do.

Why We’re the Experts

• Irvin Lin has written many reviews for Serious Eats, including stand mixers, half-sheet pans, and bowl scrapers. 
• He is an IACP-award-winning photographer, an IACP-nominated blogger, and a blue-ribbon baker. 
• Ashia Aubourg tested small slow cookers for this article. She has been writing for the site for about a year.
• Her work with Serious Eats spans gift guides, educational pieces, and product reviews. She recently compared every blender we’ve ever tested to find the best ones for smoothies and churned out pounds of noodles to find the top pasta extruder.
• We first tested slow cookers in 2023. We recently re-tested our winners and new contenders and republished this review with our new findings.