The 5 Best Slow Cookers

Best Overall Slow Cooker

Instant Pot Duo

Capacity: 6 quarts | Programmable: Yes

The Instant Pot Duo is a 6-quart 7-in-1 cooker that takes the top spot with good reason. This stainless steel beauty is completely programable and has a laundry list of great features. Those features include an insulated lid shape that is easier to remove than previous versions, as well as improved steam vents. From pressure cooking to a yogurt setting, this is a truly impressive kitchen appliance. Though it's expensive compared to units that only slow cook, we find high value in the Duo because it's so versatile.

Because of the shape, the 6-quart pot can feel a bit small compared to rectangular models. You have to pay a little bit more attention when stirring if you've put a lot inside. And while the Duo has many super great features, it could overwhelm someone new to cooking. Thankfully, the manual is well-laid out, and there are tons of recipe books and websites dedicated solely to the art of Instant Pot cooking. Truly, this is the greatest bang for the buck if you want to expand your cooking beyond just pot roasts and chili. If you prefer a rectangular model, the Cuisinart 6-Quart 3-in-1 Cook Central has a lot of great features to offer, like a steaming rack and the pot's ability to be used in the oven.

Read more: Instant Pot Duo review

High Value Cooking Performance

Hamilton Beach Temp Tracker 6-Quart

Capacity: 6 quarts l Programmable: Yes

Carrying the well-known Hamilton Beach name, the Hamilton Beach Temp Tracker 6-Quart takes a top honor because it consistently cooks flavorful meals, is simple to operate, and is very reasonably priced. With a digital screen that has clear indicator lights to choose your temperature and an easy-to-use dial for adjusting cooking time, we found the Temp Tracker to be almost too irresistible to pass up. Do you go to a lot of family gatherings or potlucks? This slow-cooker is a cook 'n' carry beauty with a handle on top of the lid and latches on the sides to keep all the yummy ingredients inside where they belong.

While the Temp Tracker is a breeze to work with, it's also rather hefty. Then when you put in, say, a 4-pound roast and all kinds of vegetables, it becomes downright heavy. But even that didn't dampen our enthusiasm for this slow cooker. The cooking features are so easy to use, and the food always comes out tasty. Even the user manual is a gem as it is in-depth and useful and has charts for the best probe placement and an ideal temperature chart for meats. But if you plan on bringing your slow cooker to gatherings like potlucks and chili cook-offs, a lightweight model like the Calphalon Digital Sauté may suit you better.

Read more: Hamilton Beach Temp Tracker 6-Quart review

Best on a Tight Budget

Crock-Pot 6-Quart Cook & Carry

Capacity: 6 quarts | Programmable: Yes

The Crock-Pot 6-Quart Cook & Carry is designed with that quintessential purpose in mind: cook up a large batch of your favorite meal at home, and bring it with you to heat up and serve at a community-style meal. This model has an impressively long cook time of up to 20 hours, making it an excellent option for slow-cooking stews overnight. It did a great job cooking down vegetables in a braising liquid during testing: onions and tomatoes perfectly stewed, carrots and celery still with a bit of crunch, and no mushy mess when it came to potatoes.

The Cook & Carry sports a super intuitive timer with an auto-warming function. However, it doesn't feature an auto-shutoff, making us less comfortable using this product while we're not at home. Also, although this is offered up as a "cook & carry" model, it's pretty heavy when filled, and the stainless steel sidewalls can get very hot. But should you decide to take it out to your next tailgate, it has oversized handles and a well-designed locking lid to keep your favorite dish safely secured in the pot. However, if no auto-shutoff is a dealbreaker for you, check out the Instant Pot Duo, which allows you to set it and forget it.

Read more: Crock-Pot 6-Quart Cook & Carry review

Best for One-Pot Meals

Cuisinart 6-Quart 3-in-1 Cook Central

Capacity: 6 quarts | Programmable: Yes

For a multi-function cooker, we love the Cuisinart 6-Quart 3-in-1 Cook Central. The interface is intuitive and user-friendly, thanks to dual screens that allow you to set time and temperature simultaneously without having to cycle options. The other functions of this model, like brown/sauté and steam, directly support the process required by many slow-cooked recipes — without any extra fluff. We could sear meat directly in this pot and then easily transition to adding the rest of our ingredients for slow cooking instead of browning a roast in a cast iron skillet first. The pot can also be used in the oven or on the stovetop, and the cooker comes with a rack for steaming vegetables.

We very much appreciated the consistency of this slow cooker with every meal we prepared. Each one was perfectly cooked, with every individual ingredient evenly textured and fully flavored. This cooker does have a nonstick coating, so that's something to be aware of and delicate with during the cleaning process. And though we appreciate many of the options this slow cooker gives, especially the simplicity of cooking start-to-finish in one pot, that convenience still makes the cost of the Cook Central higher than most, especially if you are on a budget. But if you like the idea of one cooker that can do it all, this is a great consideration. Still, we know some folks have reservations about nonstick cookware. If you fall into this category, consider one of the stainless steel or stoneware models like the budget-friendly Crock-Pot 6-Quart Cook & Carry.

Read more: Cuisinart 6-Quart 3-in-1 Cook Central review

Best for Pint-Sized Portions

Crock-Pot 2.5-Quart Mini Casserole

Capacity: 2.5 quarts | Programmable: No

Since its invention, the classic cooker has been a staple at potlucks and picnics, and the Crock-Pot 2.5-Quart Mini Casserole proudly carries that flag into the future. This simple, 3-setting version sports the retro aesthetic you might see on your grandmother's countertop, but with a few modern upgrades. The rim of the locking lid has a gasket to ensure that all of the food stays where it is supposed to, even in transit. We particularly like the design of the locking mechanism, which thoughtfully includes garages to keep the hooks out of the way when cooking or serving.

As its name suggests, the Mini Casserole is much more compact than most other models we tested. The footprint may be comparable in size, but the dish is significantly shallower than the other contenders. It is not big enough to cook a roast, but we could easily nest four sizable spare ribs comfortably in a braising stock. Also, the benefit of a smaller cooking capacity is that this model is much more portable — this cute, lightweight crock is perfect for cooking and carrying along for your next Friendsgiving. If you want the option to cook a holiday roast, consider a model with a larger capacity like the Cuisinart 6-Quart 3-in-1 Cook Central.

Read more: Crock-Pot 2.5-Quart Mini Casserole review

Compare Products

Compare select up to 5 products to compare

	Score	Product	Price
	91	Instant Pot Duo Best Overall Slow Cooker	$100
	83	Cuisinart 6-Quart 3-in-1 Cook Central Best for One-Pot Meals	$160
	82	Hamilton Beach Temp Tracker 6-Quart High Value Cooking Performance	$75
	79	Hamilton Beach 6-Quart Set & Forget	$106
	75	Calphalon Digital Sauté	$170
	71	Crock-Pot 6-Quart Cook & Carry Best on a Tight Budget	$70
	71	All-Clad Programmable 6.5-Quart	$280
	68	Black+Decker 7-Quart Digital	$90
	66	KitchenAid 6-Quart	$130
	60	Crock-Pot 2.5-Quart Mini Casserole Best for Pint-Sized Portions	$50
	57	Elite Gourmet 1.5-Quart	$20
	57	WestBend 5-Quart Oblong	$60
	51	Crock-Pot 7-Quart Oval Manual	$50

Why You Should Trust Us

Before starting each review at GearLab, we perform our due diligence, spending hours researching the market before purchasing the best products available. For this review, our culinary experts have tested 13 slow cookers, devoting more than a week to side-by-side cooking sessions of various meals. To evaluate all aspects of a slow cooker's performance, we developed a set of testing metrics, ultimately subjecting each slow cooker to over 18 tests. A cooker's score in each testing metric makes up a portion of their overall performance score.

Our testing of slow cookers is divided across four different metrics:

• User-Friendliness (35% of overall score weighting)

• Cooking Performance (30% weighting)

• Cooking Features (25% weighting)

• Ease of Cleaning (10% weighting)

Among the testing metrics, user-friendliness holds the most weight of a product's overall score. We believe a slow cooker is the epitome of easy, low-maintenance cooking, and a model's design and interface should support this. To flush out the details of this test metric, we took note of multiple factors, such as the various temperature settings, timer (i.e., will the model automatically turn to warm after cook time?), ease of programming, and cook and carry capability. Following close behind user-friendliness is cooking performance. For this test metric, we cooked meat, grains, beans, and veggies, plus took notes regarding the slow cooker's size and cooking temperature.

Have you ever been asked the question, "If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?" For our home-cooking expert, Aaron Rice, his answer is BBQ — and that answer alone should qualify him as an authority on slow cookers. Aaron has devoted much of his life to sharing delicious food with anyone and everyone. After working in and around professional kitchens for the better part of a decade, he currently co-manages an on-site culinary garden with his wife for a fine-dining restaurant in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Genaveve Bradshaw has spent hundreds of hours testing food categories at GearLab. She's a foodie at heart and has been called a "spice girl" after her fondness for carrying around various spices and hot sauces in her purse, car, and camping kit became public knowledge. Exploring new recipes, improving beloved favorites, and expanding her understanding of flavor pushes Genaveve both in her personal and professional life, and she continues to expand her knowledge with each food category she dives into.

Ruth Bruckbauer is not really a foodie and has never even set foot in a professional kitchen, but that doesn't mean that she hasn't made a lot of great food. Ruth figures she has cooked well over 46,500 — and counting — made-from-scratch meals. Although her youngest son told her, "I wouldn't classify you as an adventurous cook, mom," her five children are now five strong, smart, and healthy adults who also enjoy cooking. In fact, some of them would even classify themselves as adventurous cooks and foodies.

Analysis and Test Results

Preparing ingredients in the morning and then returning home to the fragrance of a warm, home-cooked meal wafting through the house is convenient and a thing of beauty. To help make this dream a reality for you, we identified four testing metrics that define a great slow cooker. It is important to note that all of the slow cookers in this review are ranked relative to one another — we believe that even the lowest-scoring units are still a worthy investment for any kitchen.

Value

Value can be entirely subjective. But here at GearLab, we pit price versus performance in our stringent testing to give you unbiased opinions of the products. We take value very seriously because it translates to how you spend your hard-earned money and, more importantly, if you will be happy with your purchase. That's why we bought every single slow cooker we tested at full price, just as you would. We then made meal after meal and fed them to our co-workers and families, gathering opinions and data points along the way.

The Crock-Pot 6-Quart Cook & Carry and Black+Decker 7-Quart Digital are both solid options. They retain what's best about a classic slow cooker with some helpful modern upgrades. However, if you want more and can afford to spend a bit more, the Instant Pot Duo provides the most impressive bang for the buck. It slow cooks, sure, but it also does a lot more, from pressure cooking to yogurt making. If these options are still outside your budget, go with something smaller and simpler, like the Crock-Pot 2.5-Quart Mini Casserole. At the end of the day, the important thing is to choose something you'll use — a slow cooker will easily pay for itself time and again (in regards to both money and time invested) as long as you like it enough to put it to good use.

User-Friendliness

What is a slow cooker if not convenient? If it is not easy to get one of these appliances up and running, you may as well spend that time cooking that same meal over the stovetop. Many of these models offer similar cooking performances, so user-friendliness looks at the first impression and the qualities that ultimately set each cooker apart.

The aspects contributing to how user-friendly a slow cooker is will vary depending on the type of product it is. For example, with programmable models, how intuitive is the interface? Can you pull the appliance from the shelf and effortlessly set the temperature and time, or do you have to go back and refer to the owner's manual to get going? Whether digital or analog, another consideration is the footprint. How much storage space does it require? Can it live on the countertop for easy access? Does it offer a locking lid, so you can bring your favorite dish to a potluck without making a mess of your car? These are important factors to consider when deciding which product to purchase.

Regardless of its computing power, the Instant Pot Duo offers an easy answer to all of these questions. This multi-functional model is intuitive to operate after a quick scan of the owner's manual, and its locking lid makes it easy to transport your famous pulled pork to the next backyard barbecue.

The Cuisinart 3-in-1 Cook Central is our other top performer in this metric and is fantastic for transporting to another location. The handles on both the slow cooker and the pot never get too hot, the lid locks securely, and the overall weight is moderate. Additionally, the internal pot can be used on the stovetop or in the oven, adding versatility and overall convenience.

The Hamilton Beach Temp Tracker and Black+Decker 7-Quart Digital also score well here. The Temp Tracker automatically turns to warm when cooking is complete, and times can be set for up to 24 hours. It has a probe, and the manual is in-depth, with tons of helpful information. The Black+Decker also has a probe, an automatic 4-hour keep-warm function, and a useful manual. It is heavier, though.

We also sincerely appreciated the simple button layout and locking top of the Crock-Pot 6-Quart Cook & Carry for many similar reasons. And while their size and footprint don't make them very practical for daily use in most kitchens, the Crock-Pot 7-Quart Oval Manual and KitchenAid 6-Quart have their time and place — particularly when it comes to serving party-sized portions. The All-Clad Programmable 6.5-Quart is another high-scorer here, with easy-to-navigate controls and helpful timer/keep warm settings.

Cooking Performance

When choosing one of these appliances, the qualities of cooking performance are undoubtedly relative to the style of cooking you prefer and the types of recipes that this style favors. The time frame required for this type of cooking calls for efficiency through consistency — namely, the ability to maintain a set temperature for an extended period — and low-and-slow is the name of the game. Although somewhat debatable, many professional sources agree that the ideal slow cooking temperature falls between 190 - 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Not surprisingly, the models closest to hitting this mark also score the highest in overall cooking performance. The low setting of the Instant Pot Duo came the nearest to this ideal temperature — indeed, this unit can cook meats that are fall-off-the-bone tender. The Hamilton Beach Set & Forget is another high-scorer, producing excellent textures and flavors no matter what we prepared. While these two cookers ended up scoring the same and differences were slight, in most cases we preferred the Duo and found the results to be of slightly higher quality.

The Hamilton Beach Temp Tracker received perfect scores for our pot roast test, producing a delicious and appealingly textured meal. Nothing was mushy, and all the flavors were spot on. Our veggie meal also came out excellently, with each vegetable retaining its flavor and most of its texture — not an easy feat with different kinds of veggies all requiring different cook times.

Other notable performances came from the Calphalon Digital Sauté and the Cuisinart Cook Central. Both cooked a stellar pot roast and above-average vegetables. For our rice and beans test, though, the Cook Central was noticeably better. The beans and rice each retained their unique textures, and both were properly cooked without getting too soft.

We noted that size often determines if a slow cooker is particularly suited to cooking certain types of meals. In a small quart-capacity, we could appropriately space out spare ribs in the wide body of the Crock-Pot Mini Casserole, whereas the same dish would be cramped in one of the other models.

Cooking Features

Not all slow cookers are created equal, and the cooking features may be the best defining differential quality outside of user-friendliness. Therefore, when judging this metric, we considered specific features like lid design, safety features, and cooking indicators. But the best way to differentiate between your options is to divide them into two distinct categories: programmable and non-programmable.

A non-programmable model is a basic version and what you likely remember from your grandmother's kitchen. It has three heat settings: Low, High, and Warm. Beyond that, most of these simple crocks offer no additional cooking features. The difference, then, is in design features that influence cooking.

Of course, the multi-function options blew the competition out of the water. For the price, it is nearly impossible to top the programmable functions, lid design, safety mechanisms, and display of the Instant Pot Duo — not to mention that this model also offers the ability to pressure cook, sauté, and steam. There are specific settings for cooking rice and making yogurt too.

Also notable for distinctive cooking features is the Cuisinart Cook Central, which features sauté and steaming capabilities. It is well-insulated, comes with a steaming rack, and the pot can be used on the stove or in the oven. Truly this cooker can allow for "one pot cooking" more readily than most other contenders. The Calphalon Digital also has a pot that is stove and oven-compatible if that's a feature you know you want.

The Hamilton Beach Set & Forget has a considerable advantage over many other models regarding slow-cooking red meat. The included meat thermometer and program allow you to set an internal temperature and walk away confident your dinner will come out perfectly. The Hamilton Beach Temp Tracker and Black+Decker Digital are the other two models we tested with probes.

Ease of Cleaning

Not only are these appliances easy to cook with, but they also tend to be incredibly easy to clean. Most of the models we tested are designed with the classic stoneware crock; exceptions are the Instant Pot Duo and Calphalon Digital, stainless steel options, and the Cuisinart Cook Central and WestBend 5-Quart Oblong, nonstick aluminum contenders. These inserts are much lighter, but we have reservations about the long-term durability of nonstick coatings. The enamel pots are very easy to scrub clean with your favorite dish sponge, and all models are dishwasher safe.

Outside of the crock material, ease of cleaning is determined by the size and shape of the pot itself. A smaller model, like the Elite Gourmet 1.5-Quart, easily fits into a standard dishwasher without taking up too much space. In contrast, the oversized pot on the Crock-Pot 7-Quart requires pretty much the entire lower rack.

Conclusion

It doesn't have to be a slow process to find the best slow cooker to add to your home kitchen. Fortunately, you can reap the benefits from our hard work. We devoted a ton of time to using these slow cookers so we could narrow down the selection and find the right one for your needs. There's no doubt that this countertop kitchen appliance is worth the investment and free smells — just prep your ingredients and let the slow cooker do the rest. As Julia Child often said, Bon appetit!