Best Slow Cookers 2021 for Nutritious Home Cooked Food

We’ve reviewed dozens of slow cookers and listed our 10 best options

Jen Hammond

Last updated on May 9, 2022

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    Slow cookers have gone from being a rather dated, old style of cooking to a kitchen essential in many UK households. The best slow cookers are:

    • Affordable
    • Allow you to cook nutritious home-cooked, economical family meals such as chilli con carnes, stews, casseroles, lasagna, risottos, currys and even puddings way ahead of time.

    When you use a digital slow cooker for your everyday meals – dinners, puddings and more – you will find it one of the best ways to make sure your evening meal is taken care of ahead of time.

     

    10 Top In The Industry to Feed Your Family 2022

    1.
    Crock-Pot Multi-Cooker CSC024

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    Crock-Pot is one of our favourite slow cooker brands, and definitely, the most loved by users, and they seem to have hit the nail on the head with this multi-cooker. It boasts great versatility, durability and is the perfect cook for you and your family. Not only can it be used to slow cook a soup but is also able to effortlessly roast, sauté, bake, steam and slow cook.

    Enjoy the best of all worlds with this multi cooker that has been made simple to use. It has a user-friendly control panel consisting of dial  controls that allow you to seamlessly toggle through cooking modes. It has an LCD screen display, delay timer and a keep-warm function, automated to maintain the target temperature of the food until you’re ready to serve it.

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    Features

    • Dimensions: 46 x 34 x 28.2cm
    • Weight: 5.24kg
    • Capacity: 5.6L

    Reasons to Buy

    • It is able to roast, sauté, steam, bake and slow cook
    • It is easy to use
    • Lots of room

    Reasons to Avoid

    • May be over-complicated for those who just want a slow cooker

    2.
    Russell Hobbs 3.5L

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    If you are new to slow cooking and looking for an affordable entry-level slow cooker you won’t go wrong with the Russell Hobbs 3.5 litre sous vide and temperature probe cooker.

    It’s ideal for families and will cook up to 4 portions at any time and easy to use with 3 simple settings, keep warm, low and high. It comes with an easy to use instruction book with a few recipes to get you going, but, If you are new to slow cooking you will find a myriad of recipes on the internet.

    Each recipe will tell you which setting to cook the meal on & the time required. This model comes with an easy to remove pot making it easy to wash up or put in the dishwasher.

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    Features

    • Dimensions: H22cm x W30.8cm x D36cm
    • Weight: 2.5kg
    • Capacity: 3.5L

    Reasons to Buy

    • Removable, dishwasher safe pot & lid
    • Cool touch handles
    • Power indicator light
    • Non slip feet

    Reasons to Avoid

    • Non that we can find

    3.
    Morphy Richards Accents 461003

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    This Morphy Richards Slow Cooker 461003 is the perfect slow cooking assistant for your home. It has been created to be easy to use, as well as versatile to suit your cooking needs and meals.

    It perfectly sears and cooks meaty stews, and the fact that it sears and slow cooks means that you can do both simultaneously in the same pan. Everybody loves one less pan to wash up. Curries, stews and other dishes have never been so easy to prepare, and you can also fry off vegetables.

    In addition, low, medium and high cooking settings mean that you don’t just get two extremes, and the lid is toughened glass so is sturdy with the heat yet you can see through it to check on the food.

    If you are unfamiliar with slow cookers and what can be done in them, then the handy recipe booklet and guide included will be a great help.

    Features

    • Dimensions: 37 x 28 x 26cm
    • Weight: 3.18kg
    • Capacity: 6.5L

    Reasons to Buy

    • Huge capacity of 6.5 litres
    • Digital control that is easy to use
    • Sears and slow cooks
    • Easy to clean

    Reasons to Avoid

    • High has a minimum of 2 hours and low a minimum of 4

    4.
    Crock-Pot CSC031

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    Sometimes the beauty is in the simplicity and that is the case with this CrockPot slow cooker with a number of settings and a sleek black design. It has a transparent lid, two handles and plenty of room for your meals.

    The 5.7 litre pot has a hinged lid for easy access, so you don’t have to struggle finding somewhere to set it. Once finished, it is able to keep your meal warm until you are ready to serve up the delicious recipe.

    The 220 watts of power ensures this slow cooker can effortlessly heat up your stew, meat or casseroles. The inner pot is dishwasher safe, it has two temperature settings for a little flexibility and the pot is also oven-safe in case you want to finish the dish off and add a crisp top.

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    Features

    • Dimensions: 21.8 x 40.6 x 31.8cm
    • Capacity: 5.7L
    • Power: 220W

    Reasons to Buy

    • A spacious pot for all your family
    • One dial design makes it simple to use
    • Hinged lid makes opening and checking on contents easier

    Reasons to Avoid

    • Too powerful for small quantities - needs to be full to capacity for best results

    5.
    Salter EK2842 Chalkboard

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    Picture the scene – you’ve prepared a slow cooker meal for dinner that night. When the kids get home from school, they’re texting you to ask what you’re having for tea. Your partner gets home, and messages you again.

    Maybe you message, and ask them to add some mushrooms when they get in, or switch it to the lower setting. Or, you leave them a note on the fridge. But they don’t get the message so you have to do it when you get home anyway.

    This chalkboard slow cooker allows you to write messages, contents and ingredients onto the surface so you can either keep track of things or get a bit of assistance.

    There are three settings – low, high and keep warm – and it holds 3.5 litres which is around four servings. It is a really budget-friendly price too, so perfect if you just need that helping hand. You can easily keep this small unit in your kitchen storage or cabinet.

    Features

    • Dimensions: 27.6 x 24.7 x 27.3 cm
    • Capacity: 3.5L
    • Weight: 3kg

    Reasons to Buy

    • Chalk adds a touch of fun
    • Basic to use - good for all the family
    • Price

    Reasons to Avoid

    • Capacity may not be large enough

    6.
    Crock-Pot CSC026 DuraCeramic Sauté – Great if you have an Induction Hob

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    This slow cooker by Crock-Pot is a serious contender if you are weighing up different slow-cookers. For me, if I was buying another (I have two), I would be getting my card out to buy this one.

    Personally, when I am looking to buy a slow cooker I want a pot that can go on the hob first, this is so I can brown my meat off first – but this is a personal preference. Since buying my current slow cooker I have changed my hob, and now have an induction hob, this means I can’t use my current slow cooker directly on the hob, so if I am browning meat first, I have to use a separate pan.

    You don’t have to brown your meat, the whole point is to chuck it in and go. The CSC026 has a built in 20 hour digital timer with LED countdown, this is a super function, as many of us with older models use a household timer to plug in and leave when we go out for the day!

    Other features we really like are the keep warm feature and its ease of use. If you haven’t cooked with a slow cooker before this model comes with a useful recipe guide.

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    Features

    • 33.50 x 33.50 x 19.50 cm
    • 5 litres
    • 3.1Kg

    Reasons to Buy

    • Built-in 30 hour digital timer
    • LED countdown display
    • DuraCeramic bowl - suitable for use on ALL hobs INCLUDING induction
    • Feeds 5-6 people - great for families or entertaining
    • Includes recipe book

    Reasons to Avoid

    • May be a little pricey for some

    7.
    Swan Retro SF17031GRN

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    Not only does this slow cooker give its owners a really nice retro design touch, but it is also surprisingly deceptive when it comes to the amount of functions it has.

    It has a 6.5 litre capacity which is surprising at first glance, and three heat settings will allow you to choose just the right heat and times for your meal. The glass locking lid allows you to check on the process without letting any heat escape, and the handles are comfortable and strong to allow for moving it around and packing away.

    Available in blue, grey or cream, it has the option to blend in to your kitchen or really make a statement. As a bonus, the inner pot is oven safe so you can pop it in there to finish off or brown.

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    Features

    • Dimensions: (H)24.5 x (W)40.0 x (D)31.0cm
    • Weight: 5.6kg
    • Capacity: 6.5L

    Reasons to Buy

    • Glass lid
    • Nice compact design for capacity

    Reasons to Avoid

    • Dial is a little plasticky

    8.
    Morphy Richards Evoke Sear And Stew 460016

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    If you’re looking for a convenient slow cooker and are on a budget, then you’ll love this Morphy Richards Evoke. It comes in a stylish black and gold finish and has a straightforward design. Morphy Richards, for our money, helps to build some of the best slow cooker systems on the planet, and is of course well-known for a wide variety of fantastic kitchen goods and products elsewhere, too.

    It has a 3.5-litres capacity which makes it ideal for smaller households or those who like to batch cook to freeze leftovers, as well as three heat settings and a glass lid that allows you to monitor cooking.

    It comes with cool touch handles making it simple to move around or take to the table when serving, which is also why it is lightweight and also has a removable inner pot. This can be washed by hand fully before the next use.


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    Features

    • Dimensions: 21 x 37.5 x 35.5cm
    • Capacity: 3.5L
    • Power: 163W

    Reasons to Buy

    • A stylish exterior sure to fit in a contemporary kitchen
    • It is a lightweight, easy to move appliance
    • Removable pot
    • Auto shut off

    Reasons to Avoid

    • Only 3.5 litre capacity

    9.
    Drew & Cole Clever Chef Digital Multi Stove

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    This impressive digital multi-cooker is one that will certainly capture lots of attention; it is stylish and has a number of features, sure to make your meal times easier. Despite the fact it can do a lot, it is the slow cooking function which we think shines.

    It comes with a 5 litre capacity sure to accommodate your entire party. The 14 pre-set functions include stew, soup, steam, roast, poach, bread rise, bake, fish, sauté, brown, rice, pasta and slow cook. With the latter, you get a 24-hour Delay Timer, keep warm function and fully adjustable DIY function for full control

    The inner pot is removable and non-stick, ever so easy to clean anything that gets stuck. It comes equipped with a recipe book which includes some slow cooker ideas, as well as measuring cup, spoon and steamer tray.

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    Features

    • Dimensions: 24 x 23x 31cm
    • Capacity: 5L
    • Power: 860W

    Reasons to Buy

    • Touch control
    • Removable pot
    • A number of cooking functions
    • Great for its price

    Reasons to Avoid

    • Not enough guidance in the user manual if you want to go it alone

    10.
    Andrew James

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    The Andrew James slow cooker is the ideal countertop cook that offers the lot. We are talking a delay timer, digital display, 3.5 litres capacity and a two-year warranty.

    It is super useful and what’s more, it comes with a stunning elegance showcasing a stainless steel coating, digital display and a transparent lid. It has a tempered lid that is tough and conserves heat.

    The inner pot can be removed and put on the hob making it a perfect, versatile cooker. It features a high, low and automatic heat plus it has a powerful 200 watts under its exterior.

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    Features

    • Dimensions: 42 x 34.5 x 30 cm
    • Weight: 3.5kg
    • Capacity: 3.5L

    Reasons to Buy

    • It is a sizzle to simmer cooker
    • Digital display and easy controls
    • Easy to clean
    • Versatile use

    Reasons to Avoid

    • Only has 3.5 litres capacity

    What is it?

    A slow cooker is a safe and easy to use small kitchen appliance that is plugged into a socket and used on your countertop. In the UK we tend to refer to them as slow cookers, in other countries they are frequently referred to as crock-pots.

    The main purpose of a slow cooker is to enable you to cook your food slowly over several hours. For busy people and families, you can cook one-pot fuss-free meals while you go to work or maybe take the children to various clubs or activities knowing that when you return you can quickly serve nutritious home-cooked food in minutes. It’s thought that the slow cooker has been around since the 1940’s.

    What Can You Cook in it?

    Slow cookers are possibly most used in the Autumn and winter months in the UK where we are craving hearty foods such as stews and casseroles. Traditionally, slow cookers were used for cheaper, tougher types of meat that need tenderising, but these days, most meats are fine and don’t really need tenderising.

    But the selection of recipes you can cook doesn’t stop there, curry’s, lasagna, risottos, chilli con carnes, macaroni cheese, soups, jacket potatoes and even slow-cooked bread are just some of the recipes you can enjoy in the slow cooker.

    Why Should I Buy?

    The best slow cookers are an excellent kitchen appliance for those that enjoy home-cooked foods but don’t want the fuss.

    Many recipes that you cook in your slow cooker are what we would call ‘one-pot dishes, you literally chop all your ingredients, add your liquid, turn on and leave. The most you will have to do at the end is cook some pasta, rice, potato or maybe warm a naan bread!

    Slow cookers are great for families but also singles and couples who like to batch cook and freeze meals for later usage.

    6 Benefits for Using it

    1. Easy cook one-pot meals packed with nutrition
    2. Many meals can be prepared and left to cook without the need to brown meats in advance
    3. Save money on expensive takeaway currys
    4. Really enjoy the flavours of your foods – a crockpot will lock the flavours in!
    5. Save money on electricity…your slow cooker will cook many of the dishes you would likely cook in your cooker and/or hob 
    6. Save time – go out for the day and come back to a meal ready to go OR enjoy the benefits of batch cooking.

    Hints and Tips for Buying

    When looking for your slow cooker we recommend you lookout for some of the following:

    • Capacity – This really refers to the size of your slow cooker and the volume it will hold. You can get small, large, and even triple slow cookers! If you are living on your own, pick something that fits a single person. You won’t want an extra-large slow cooker! Slow cooker capacity ranges from 1.5 litres (small) to 7 litres (extra-large).
    • Controls – Most slow cookers have three settings, low, medium or high. If you are leaving your meal to cook while you are, for example, out at work you are more likely to use the low setting which tends to be for around 8 hours and keep  your rice or food warm without burning it.
    • Timers – Many slow cookers come with timers so you can set the time you want your machine to start the cooking process, so it’s ready for you when you want it. Keep in mind that these slow cookers tend to cost a little more. However, if you want a more economical slow cooker you could always buy an external plug in timer.
    • Lids  – Aim to buy a slow cooker with a clear/ transparent glass lid. This will enable you to keep an eye on your food as it cooks and reduce temperature fluctuations when you take a peek.
    • Pots – This is an interesting consideration. The best slow cookers will have a pot that you can remove for both washing (think plug!) but also, not all but some recipes will call for you to start your meal on the hob i.e. to brown meat.

      One further consideration when looking at slow cooker pots is your hob. If you have a gas or ceramic hob then all’s good you can easily start your meal off in your slow cooker pot, but if you have an induction hob then you will need to start your meal off in a separate pan or ensure that you shop for a slow cooker that’s compatible with your induction hob, such as the Crock-Pot Dural Ceramic Digital Saute Slow Cooker.

    What’s the Difference Between a Slow Cooker Vs a Crock Pot?

    Generally, a slow cooker can be referred to as a crock pot. However, this can also refer to traditional pots that you can place in the oven for slow cooking. Unlike digital slow cookers, which might come with a hinged lid, are built in stainless steel, or are dishwasher safe, these cooker pots are much like basic ceramic dishes, with large lids that you can place on top to carefully cook your food without taking a lot of space in your kitchen.

    FAQs

    Is it right for me?

    A slow cooker or crock pot is likely to be good for you if you want to plan ahead. There are a variety of great meals that you can cook and create with the best slow cooker systems on the market, and many of them will come with recipe books provided.

    Which Product is Right for Me?

    The right slow cooker for you will be of a suitable capacity (do you need a small or even an extra-large slow cooker). Will suit your budget and your hob typed (don’t forget if you need to start a recipe on the hob first and have an induction hob you will need a compatible slow cooker.

    The best slow cooker brands include:

    • Morphy Richards
    • Andrew James
    • Drew & Cole
    • Russell Hobbs
    • Crockpot

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