As January beds in and our craving for cosiness increases, you may be minded to dig out the slow cooker. Coming home to a warm, bubbling meal – with very little effort – is a real treat in the cold and dark. Plus, slow cooking can be an economical method of cooking.
If you have yet to experience the comfort and joy of a slow cooker, or if your ancient model has finally died a death, it could be time to treat yourself to a season of stews, casseroles, curries and more. I’ve spent weeks testing slow cookers to compile a shortlist of the most functional, useful and well-designed recommendations to transform your dinner time.
I’ve aimed this guide at the everyday home cook – whether that’s catering for a large family, batch cooking up a storm, or just making dinner for two – so ease of use, convenience and affordability played the biggest part in informing my selections. If you’re keen for hearty and healthy mealtimes this winter and beyond, read on – you’re in for a timesaving treat.
At a glance
Why you should trust me
Having spent a decade testing various kitchen appliances, recipes and more for national newspapers, websites and consumer product testing specialists, I’m well-practised in cutting through the noise to find what really warrants your hard-earned cash.
As a keen home cook, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen on top of any work projects, preparing nutritious, filling and inexpensive meals for my family, so I am well-acquainted with the virtues of a slow-cooker stew. My trusty but now discontinued Cuisinart slow cooker sits almost permanently on my worktop during autumn and winter.
How I tested
I tested 11 new machines from popular brands on the appliance scene. Each was selected after researching online user reviews and expert recommendations.
To test, I cooked Felicity Cloake’s perfect kleftiko recipe each time, tweaking it for slow cooking rather than the oven. (I halved all the quantities – especially important for liquid – and didn’t separate the vegetables or remove the lamb.) I recorded the power draw on the highest and lowest settings, took the external temperature after an hour on high, and probed the liquid temperature every hour for the six-hour cook time. Every resultant kleftiko was utterly delicious, but after presenting slow-cooked Greek lamb shoulder in as many guises as possible – in gyros-style wraps, meze, as a Sunday roast, making soup from the leftovers, and even taking one along to a party – I shall be glad to serve an alternative soon.
After testing, all the slow cookers sourced for this list are either being returned to the sources or donated to worthy recipients with the help of food banks.
The best slow cookers in 2025
Best overall slow cooker:
GreenPan slow cooker
The GreenPan slow cooker is a clever, high-quality build with just enough extras to warrant the high price tag. It’s user-friendly, looks fantastic and is big enough to feed a crowd, all while using low amounts of energy and maintaining an even temperature throughout the cook.
Why we love it
The stainless-steel body and LCD screen make this a smart-looking machine and, despite reaching high temperatures very quickly, the exterior remained cool. The inner ceramic dish is light enough to manoeuvre easily, and its material means foods won’t stick to it – you won’t necessarily need oil, even while using the brown/saute function. It also means you don’t need to invest in special silicone utensils; metal is safe to use.
I was impressed that, after the initial heating process, the GreenPan pulled in only a teeny 0.3W of power for most of the cook and maintained a near-constant cooking liquid temperature of 96C. This is a very economical choice once you’ve got past the initial outlay.
In saute mode, the pan heats in seconds (using 1,408W) and allows you to brown meat or veg to lock in more flavour without having to use different pans. Function-wise, there’s everything you’d expect: a timer, a keep-warm mode and other handy extras. I particularly liked the steam function and rack included for cooking whole fish or chicken.
It’s a shame that … it’s so expensive. Other models at this price have even more functionality: multi-cooking is almost something you’ve come to expect. While it does claim to be an eight-in-one machine, I wouldn’t count “high heat”, “low heat”, “warm”, “slow cook” and “reheat” as discrete functions. Nevertheless, this is a gold-standard slow cooker with great extras in browning, steaming and simmering.
Dimensions: 46 x 31.3 x 28.1cm (LWH)
Capacity: 6L
Liquid temperature after one hour: 82C
External temperature after one hour: 37.2C
Peak power draw on high/low settings: 396W/393W
£200 at GreenPan
£198.95 at Harts Of Stur
Best basic slow cooker:
ProCook digital slow cooker
ProCook utensils often impress, so it’s little surprise that this slow cooker from the brand’s newly launched appliance range has ended up on the shortlist. No, it’s not an all-singing all-dancing model like some of the others featured, but if you’re looking for a good-quality, basic slow cooker, then this machine is worth considering.
Why we love it
A matt-black finish, digital display and ceramic-coated inner pot make for a stylish look that will coordinate with many modern kitchens. As it only has a few settings – high, low and keep warm – it’s extremely easy to use. The handy delay-start function is particularly useful for family cooking around busy schedules. Why don’t more machines have this?
The glass lid makes it easy to monitor the cook. While the cool handles are useful, they’re also necessary: I recorded an external temperature of 65C on this machine – never mind the heat of the pot itself. The power draw stayed at a steady 262W throughout our six-hour cook on high, with the internal liquid rising to 92C after two hours, then settling at 98C for the remainder of the time. The power draw sat at 0.9W once it moved on to the auto keep-warm function.
It’s a shame that … it doesn’t sear – but then traditional slow cookers don’t, and everything still tastes so delicious you can barely tell the difference.
Dimensions: 43 x 29.5 x 25cm (LWH)
Capacity: 4.8L
Liquid temperature after one hour: 56C
External temperature after one hour: 65C
Peak power draw on high/low settings: 262W/260W
Best multi-cooker:
Ninja Foodi 8-in-1 PossibleCooker
Ninja may be best known for its excellent air frying game, but this multi-skilled slow cooker is also a triumph of function, style and value – particularly if you can pick one up at a discounted price.
Why we love it
For versatility and ease of use, it’s hard to fault this good-looking machine. It allows you to cook anything from pie and pancakes to slow-cooked roasts and healthy steamed vegetables. The Ninja PossibleCooker deserves its place on many a countertop.
This machine pulled in a lot of power – 1,330W on high – but it did heat up faster than any of the other machines, and would occasionally drop down to 0.8W during the cook. With a constant temperature of 98C throughout, we found that the machine’s sear function wasn’t needed: our recipe emitted the least liquid and the veg became nicely brown without having to pre-sear. Ninja says that’s because heat is distributed around the sides and bottom of the machine – something the brand calls “triple fusion heat”.
It’s a shame that … it gets so hot! The machine’s exterior stayed at about 43C, but the lid handle and the sides of the pot became hot enough to surprise my asbestos hands. I’d recommend using a silicone glove to open the pot (and keeping it safely away from kids).
Dimensions: 28 x 42 x 29cm (LWH)
Capacity: 8L
Liquid temperature after one hour: 93C
External temperature after one hour: 43C
Peak power draw on high/low settings: 1,330W/1,320W
Best pressure-cooking slow cooker:
Sage Fast Slow Pro
This Sage machine looked daunting. There are so many settings and functions that it was initially overwhelming. Ultimately, however, this is still a slow cooker with some add-ons: in time it will help you produce incredible results with little time or effort.
Why we love it
This machine promises a lot. Like most Sage appliances, it’s stainless steel, looks professional and has a large footprint – so you’ll need space for it.
From stocks and sauces to risotto, baked goods and more, the Sage Fast Slow Pro could revolutionise your cooking beyond casseroles and hotpots. It’s a powerful machine and pulled in 1,080W to heat up, but this swiftly dropped to 0.9W for most of the kleftiko cook, with the pressure and steam doing most of the work – even in the slow cook function.
It’s best to leave the Fast Slow Pro alone to do its thing and resist depressurising the pot to have a peek at how your dinner is doing; frustrating given the stainless-steel lid. But as you get to know the machine and work your way through the recipe book supplied (in collaboration with Heston Blumenthal), you can enjoy meltingly soft short ribs or lamb shanks in just an hour: impressive stuff, especially when you can put the pot and lid straight in the dishwasher afterwards.
It’s a shame that … it takes time to get your head around. To make the most of this machine, you really need to embrace the pressure cooking function, which is uncharted territory for many home cooks.
Dimensions: 35 x 35 x 32cm (WDH)
Capacity: 6L
Liquid temperature after one hour: 94C
External temperature after one hour: 28C (although we recorded 60C after a longer cook)
Peak power draw on high/low settings: 1,080W/1,080W
£179.95 at Sage Appliances
£179.95 at Amazon
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The best of the rest
Tower Good Food 6.5L digital slow cooker
Best for: busy families
This slow cooker from Tower and Good Food is a good bet for families, thanks to its large capacity and helpful start-delay function. Billed as “sear and stew”, what this means is that the removable aluminium pot can be placed on the hob (not induction) to sear, then set to slow cook on the machine. This is handy, and saves on the washing up – and I actually found that the kleftiko veg browned a little without this extra step anyway. It’s a smart machine that’s easy to use with a glass lid handy for peeking in.
It didn’t make the final cut because … nothing sets it apart from other similar machines.
Dimensions: 24.2 x 36 x 36cm (WDH); capacity: 6.5L; liquid temperature after one hour: 96C; external temperature after one hour: 68C; peak power draw on high/low settings: 324W/322W
£69.99 at Tower Housewares
£69 at Amazon
Morphy Richards 3.5L slow cooker
Best for: anyone on a budget
A low-cost smaller slow cooker, this 3.5L model still managed to accommodate half of the kleftiko recipe – with 500g of potatoes as well as other veg and half a lamb shoulder. It was slow to heat and the exterior rose to a toasty 62C (there is a heat warning on the front of the machine), but it still provided equally delicious results as the pricier machines.
It didn’t make the final cut because … it doesn’t have a timer or a start-delay function.
Dimensions: 25 x 33 x 22cm (LWH); capacity: 3.5L; liquid temperature after one hour: 67C; external temperature after one hour: 42C; peak power draw on high/low settings: 172W/102W
£34.99 at Morphy Richards
£27.99 at Amazon
Swan Nordic slow cooker
Best for: vintage styling
We love the look of this slow cooker, which makes serving straight to the table a bit more pleasing. This is another 3.5L, budget-friendly machine that has the benefit of an auto programme that cooks on high before moving to the lower setting, so you can come home to a perfectly cooked meal without the faff.
It didn’t make the final cut because … the silver rim reached 90C and it doesn’t have a timer.
Dimensions: 26.5 x 33.2 x 22cm (LWH); capacity: 3.5L; liquid temperature after one hour: 36C; external temperature after one hour: 70C; peak power draw on high/low settings: 137W/227W
£34.99 at Swan
£29.09 at Amazon
Instant Pot Superior slow cooker
Best for: multi-cooking on a budget
This 7.1L-capacity machine slow cooks, sears, steams and keeps warm, making it easy to serve up to 10 portions of healthy home-cooked food. It’s a lower-cost alternative to the Ninja above, and we found it intuitive, well-built and compact considering its large capacity.
It didn’t make the final cut because … some food stuck to the pan during testing.
Dimensions: 39 x 35 x 25.5cm (LWH); capacity: 7.1L; liquid temperature after one hour: 80C; external temperature after one hour: 34C; peak power draw on high/low settings: 860W/868W
£79.99 at Instant Pot
£80 at Argos
Crock-Pot TimeSelect 5.6L digital slow cooker
Best for: slow cooker newbies
From the original slow cooker brand, the Crock-Pot TimeSelect is basic but has a few clever extras. It’s large enough to cook generous family meals and worth choosing for its clever optimising function, which allows you to select the type of food, quantity and time you’d like it to cook for before doing its thing – so your food is perfectly cooked, tender and waiting for you. There’s also a start-delay function.
It didn’t make the final cut because … it’s very heavy and produced too much liquid in the kleftiko cook on the manual setting.
Dimensions: 25.4 x 41.2 x 29.3cm (LWH); capacity: 5.6L; liquid temperature after one hour: 71C; external temperature after one hour: 49C; peak power draw on high/low settings: 246W/244W
For meal inspiration, read our guide on how to make the most of a slow cooker
What you need to know
A slow cooker costing less than £60 will be all many people need. And while the saute function is tempting, you’ll pay extra for the privilege – without much discernible difference in the final dish. If you’re likely to use the machine for chilli, ragu, soup and stew, then you can easily skip the saute step and save some cash. If a multi-cooker appeals, carefully consider how you expect to use it: there’s no point spending £200 to then cook only casseroles.
You should also consider the material of the dish and lid. Most are dishwasher friendly, although it’s worth checking, and some can also be used as a saute pan on the hob or transferred to the oven – useful for browning dumplings on top of stews, for example. Traditional stoneware pots can be very heavy, and many machines are very large, so think about manoeuvrability and how it will work in your kitchen. Happy cooking.
Joanne Gould is a freelance food, drink and lifestyle writer with a decade of experience. As well as enthusiastically eating her way through London’s best bars and restaurants, she’s also a keen home cook and can often be found trying a new recipe or kitchen gadget, while taste-testing anything from South African wines to speciality coffee or scotch. Luckily, she also enjoys walking, running and keeping fit and healthy in her spare time – for balance
