The best slow cooker can be one of the most versatile appliances in your kitchen. Nothing makes life easier than knowing you’ve chucked your ingredients in the morning and that dinner will be ready and waiting for you later that evening. Whether you want a rich and warming stew, pulled meat, risotto or soup, the slow cooker can almost do it all.
What’s more, the best slow cooker can also help to save you money. Cooking food over several hours means you can buy cheaper cuts of meat and still enjoy tender, flavoursome dishes. Slow cookers are also great for batch cooking, as they easily allow you to make several portions all at once to store in the freezer. When it comes to energy bills, typically, a slow cooker uses less electricity than heating a full-sized oven, so is a great economical appliance.
Slow cookers come in a variety of different sizes and can suit everything from cooking for one to making big dishes for the whole family. They can vary a lot when it comes to functions too, some basic models offer just two cooking modes and a keep warm function, whilst more advanced appliances have digital timers, pre-programs for popular dishes and hob-safe cooking pots.
I’ve hunted down some of the best slow cookers to help you decide which one belongs in your kitchen. I looked at some popular brands from Ninja to Instant Pot, taking into account how easy each model was to use, capacity, controls and value for money. So whether you’re looking for a budget model or something a little more fancy, there’s a slow cooker in this list that will suit you.
Read more: Best microwaves, tested
The best slow cookers for 2026 are:
- Best overall – Ninja foodi 8-mode 6l possiblecooker rice and slow cooker: £99, Amazon.co.uk
- Best budget buy – Cooks Professional 2.5l slow cooker: £28.99 Amazon.co.uk
- Best for delayed cooking – Cosori 5l rice cooker: £119.99, Amazon.co.uk
- Best for compact multifunctionality – InstantPot mini: £66.99, Amazon.co.uk
Read more: The best air fryers, tested by experts
Ninja foodi possiblecooker 6l rice and slow cooker
Rating: 5/5
Best: slow cooker overall
Why we love it
- Multiple functions
- Lightweight
- Control panel is easy to use
- Easy to clean
Take note
- Only two temperature options
Ninja foodi’s possiblecooker is the best slow cooker I tested and a great choice if you want to cut down on the number of kitchen appliances you have. Alongside slow cooking, it steams, sears, and cooks rice, porridge and pasta. At 6l, it has a pretty generous pot, which is ideal for making larger portions or even batch cooking for meal prep. And the digital interface is a joy to use, as there aren’t too many buttons, so it’s not overwhelmingly complex.
You can set the timer so that the slow cooker runs for up to 12 hours before it automatically switches to the keep warm setting (this function is also very good). A couple of hours after my food had finished cooking, it was the ideal temperature to eat, and the meat wasn’t dry.
I tested it with chicken thighs, which often need a bit of extra cooking time, and it did incredibly well. I set it on low for six hours in a curry sauce, but I used the sear/sauté function first to brown off the meat, which really helped the chicken maintain its texture and not get too soft. The steamer worked quickly, and it cooked rice perfectly. On top of this, cleaning was easy – the inner pot is removable (and very light), and the non-stick coating wipes clean.
What makes this slow cooker brilliant is the design. The handles are large and don’t get too hot, so you can lift the pot out and carry it to your table to serve.
Key specifications
Buy now £99, Amazon.co.uk
Cooks Professional 2.5l slow cooker
Rating: 4.5/5
Best: budget slow cooker
Why we love it
- Ideal for smaller portions
- Low energy use
- Compact design
Take note
- You have to manually select keep warm
Cooks Professional slow cooker is ideal for making just one or two portions, thanks to its 2.5l capacity. In fact, the machine is compact enough to make it a great choice if you don’t have much space or want to store it in a cupboard when not in use.
It’s a basic machine with three heat settings (warm, low and high) and no fancy features, such as timers or cooking delays. But for the price point, you can’t beat it. It also works really well on both low and high settings. I tested it out with a mince dish on low, and it cooked perfectly within six hours. I also cooked another beef dish on high, and it cooked quickly – the beef was perfectly tender within five hours. The downside is that it doesn’t automatically switch to the keep warm function – if your food is cooking while you’re not at home, it could be simmering away for longer than needed, but it’s not the end of the world.
The dish is ceramic, but it doesn’t feel too heavy (even when full), owing to its size. Although be warned, the handles get very hot, so you will need oven gloves to handle the pot. Food does get stuck to the bottom, but don’t fret, it’s dishwasher-safe.
Key specifications
Buy now £28.99, Amazon.co.uk
Tower cavaletto 6.5l slow cooker
Rating: 4/5
Best: budget family slow cooker
Why we love it
- Simple to operate
- Great for a larger family
- Easy to clean
Take note
- Gets very hot on the outside
The Tower cavaletto slow cooker is basic but does the job. It has a 6.5l capacity, which will suit family-sized cooking, and is simple to use with just three settings: high, low and keep warm.
The ceramic pot means that this slow cooker heats up quickly and retains heat. I found that food cooked evenly. It did a great job of beef – I bought a cheap cut but you'd never have known it, because it was just so tender. It also cooked root vegetables well. I found using the high setting gave better results than using low. When it came to low, it was almost the same as keep warm, so unless you’re planning to leave the cooker on for more than 12 hours, you probably won’t use the low setting at all.
Cleaning was easy, as the ceramic pot is dishwasher friendly and the non-stick properties worked well. Fortunately I didn’t need to put it in the dishwasher and instead just soaked it for a little while before wiping over, and it came out perfectly clean.
I found that the outside of the slow cooker was very hot, which is worth noting if you have young children who can reach the countertop. Other than that, it’s a really well built slow cooker that works exceptionally well.
Key specifications
Buy now £44.99, Amazon.co.uk
InstantPot mini
Rating: 5/5
Best: compact slow cooker
Why we love it
- Small and compact
- Multiple functions
- Easy to clean
Take note
- The lid can sometimes get stuck when removing
InstantPot’s mini slow cooker is the best compact multi-functional slow cooker – at 40 per cent smaller than the original, I was amazed by its size. I’d recommend it for couples or small families as it can cook up to four portions. It’s also ideal for smaller kitchens because it doesn’t take up much space.
Despite being small, it packs in seven functions: pressure cooker, steamer, yoghurt maker, slow cooker, sauté, and even one for eggs (it uses pressurised steam to cook eggs). Crucially, the slow cooker function works brilliantly.
There are three heat settings, and you can set the timer for up to six hours, so whatever you’re cooking can bubble away whilst you get on with your day. The keep warm section comes on automatically once cooking is done, so it’ll stay warm until you’re ready to eat, which is handy if you’re not home when the timer is up.
Of the variety of dishes I made with this cooker, my favourite was meatballs. They were perfectly cooked after four hours on high, and nice and firm after the keep warm function, despite my concerns they’d break down with the longer cooking time. I also tried out some of the other functions, including sauté for onions before adding the meatballs and sauce.
The pressure cooker function cooked potatoes very well, and the way it releases steam is much safer than other pressure cookers I've tested – there’s a small button to pull down so you don’t have to touch the valve.
The only issue I encountered was that the lid gets stuck to the pot when trying to remove it, so water splashes everywhere. That said, the inner bowl is stainless steel, so it’s easy to clean – and it’s dishwasher-safe.
Key specifications
Buy now £66.99, Instantpot.co.uk
Cosori 5l rice cooker
Rating: 5/5
Best: slow cooker for delayed cooking
Why we love it
- Multiple functions as well as rice cooking
- Compact size
- Easy to use
- Keep warm function works for up to 24 hours
Take note
- Very short power cable
Don’t let the fact that this is called a rice cooker fool you. It features a host of other functions, including slow cooking, making it an ideal appliance for streamlining your kitchen setup. The capacity (5l) is the perfect size for couples or small families, and it’s really compact, meaning it won’t take up too much counter space.
The touchscreen digital display features functions such as steam, soup, jam/sauce, sauté, slow cook, and cake, and it’s easy to use. I loved that I could delay the start time for up to 24 hours, which is great when you want food cooking while you’re out, but don’t want to leave it on the entire time you’re away from home. It also features a warm function that works for up to 24 hours.
I tested a couple of dishes and found the meat, especially a beef dish, was really tender within a couple of hours. Sauces developed depth of flavour, and carrots were cooked perfectly without turning mushy. The rice preset was easy to use and came out perfectly fluffy. I also cooked porridge in the slow cooker, setting it to finish cooking when I got up in the morning, which was a huge time-saver.
It doesn’t just cook well because cleaning it was a breeze. The main bowl is removable and dishwasher-safe, but the non-stick coating means it’s easy to wipe clean. The inner lid at the top of the appliance can be removed to clean or wiped down after cooking, so the machine stays fresh and clean.
Key specifications
Buy now £119.99, Amazon.co.uk
Morphy Richards accents sear and stew
Rating: 4.5/5
Best: slow cooker for small families
Why we love it
- Inner bowl can be used on a hob
- Very light
- Easy to clean
Take note
- The outside gets very hot
With its 3.5l capacity, this Morphy Richards slow cooker is a really good size for a small family. It’s simple to use – no fancy functions, just set it to low, medium or high. While there isn’t a keep-warm function, I found leaving food on the low setting kept it nice and warm until my family and I were ready to eat.
The inner bowl is removable and easy to handle (even when full), and it can be used on a hob (except for an induction hob) to sauté vegetables and sear meat. While I tested a variety of foods in this cooker, one of my favourites was the filling for a cottage pie – the mince fully cooked in two hours on high. I then left it to bubble away on medium for the sauce to develop, then on low until I was ready to add the topping.
The slow cooker is lightweight and easy to move around. It’s dishwasher-safe, and the non-stick coating is easy to clean by hand. One thing to note, especially if there are small children nearby, is that the outside gets very, very hot.
Key specifications
Buy now £39.99, Amazon.co.uk
Cooks Professional 8l digital slow cooker
Rating: 4/5
Best: slow cooker for batch cooking
Why we love it
- Large capacity
- Easy to use controls
- Helpful delay cooking function
Take note
- The ceramic dish is heavy, especially when full
- Handles aren't heatproof
Cooks Professional 8l digital slow cooker is best for large families (or those who enjoy batch cooking). The digital control panel on the front sets the temperature, which is simple and very easy to use. It also has a delay cooking function, which is super handy if you don’t want your slow cooker to run all day long.
The handles on the side of the cooker make moving it around effortless. However, because it has a ceramic bowl, it is quite weighty, especially when it’s full. And there's no heat-proofing on the handles of the dish, so you’ll need to invest in a good pair of oven gloves if you’re planning on carrying it to the kitchen table.
Because it’s so big, this slow cooker is better suited to bulky meals. I used it to cook a curry and a stew, and there was plenty of room for the vegetables and sauce without them overflowing. The high mode worked really well and heated up quickly, but the low didn’t really have a great deal of power to it, so if you’re cooking a tougher cut of meat or root vegetables, I’d recommend high.
There’s no sauté or sear function, so you will need to brown your meat separately, but the keep warm function holds the dishes at a good temperature without drying the food out. The bowl is dishwasher-friendly, which is good news considering it definitely takes a bit more elbow grease to clean than some non-stick coatings I’ve seen, owing to food sticking to the ceramic.
Key specifications
Buy now £79.99, Amazon.co.uk
Russell Hobbs 7l slow cooker
Rating: 5/5
Best: value slow cooker for batch cooking
Why we love it
- Lightweight
- Easy to use
- Powerful
Take note
- The high and low settings seemed to cook at same temperature
The Russell Hobbs 7l slow cooker is easy to use, lightweight and cooks food to perfection. With a 7l capacity, it’s a larger slow cooker but due to its oval shape, it doesn’t take up too much room on the countertop.
It’s really lightweight slow cooker, even when the ceramic bowl is inside, so is easy to store away when not in use. It did a good job at cooking chicken, which turned out tender and juicy even though it had been on for a couple of hours.
I also stewed apples in it and on a high heat, it worked pretty fast. The high heat function works so well that even if you don’t turn it on super early, you’ll still get your food ready in time for dinner. There wasn’t much difference between the low and high temperature settings – sauces bubbled very quickly and food cooked fast on both. Fortunately, it doesn’t get so hot that you’ll bake food on to the bowl.
The keep warm function worked well, although food came out as lukewarm. If you like your food piping hot, it’s worth keeping it on high/low until you’re ready to serve.
The slow cooker is easy to clean thanks the non-stick ceramic pot, plus it’s dishwasher friendly.
Key specifications
Buy now £44.99, Argos.co.uk
Lakeland 6l slow cooker
Rating: 4/5
Best: slow cooker for large families
Why we love it
- Encircling element for even cooking
- Glass lid so you can check the progress of the food
- Good for larger portions
Take note
- The ceramic dish is heavy, especially when full
Lakeland’s 6l slow cooker is a reliable, no-frills workhorse that is perfect for feeding a family. The generous capacity makes it great for cooking hearty meals. It’s simple to use, with just three settings: low, high and auto, which can be selected by turning the dial. The auto setting is basically a keep-warm function. There are no advanced features, such as searing, digital timers, or start delay, but for simple, fuss-free cooking, this slow cooker is perfect.
The appliance has an encircling heating element, so food is cooked evenly. I tested it with chicken and found that, after being cooked on low for several hours, it was super juicy and full of flavour, while beef cooked a little quicker.
The inner bowl is ceramic, so it is quite heavy to lift and can get very hot. It’s also not the easiest to clean, and I found that food burnt onto it easily, but it is dishwasher-friendly, so no elbow grease is required.
Key specifications
Buy now £59.99, Amazon.co.uk
Sage the fast slow go
Rating: 4/5
Best: multi-cooker with slow-cook function
Why we love it
- Automatic steam release
- Easy-to-use digital display
- Dual sensors for more accurate cooking
Take note
- The lid is a faff to get aligned
- Food can stick to stainless steel inner bowl
There’s very little Sage’s the fast slow go appliance can’t do. It’s a hybrid between a pressure cooker and a slow cooker, and has 14 presets, from soup, sauté, and risotto to yoghurt and sous vide. It’s also great for cooking up big dishes.
Using it isn’t difficult, but it does take some getting used to. The instructions aren’t very in-depth, but the digital display is well labelled and features small icons so you can figure out what you’re doing.
I used this slow cooker to make a few different dishes, the first being a sausage casserole. I used the sauté function to brown off the sausages and fry the onions, then slow-cooked everything on low for six hours, and the results were brilliant. The sausages were perfectly done and not too soft, and the sauce was full of flavour. I also slow-cooked porridge overnight so it was ready for a fuss-free breakfast the next morning, and the oats were well-cooked.
The pressure cooking function is outstanding. I cooked a chicken curry in just 40 minutes, and the meat was so tender you’d think that it was slow-cooked – the only difference was that the sauce didn’t quite thicken up in the same way.
The downside is that food got stuck to the stainless steel inner bowl, and it required a bit of elbow grease to get clean, but it is dishwasher-friendly. The other issue I found was that the hinged lid was tricky to open and close, and the chunky handle on top was difficult to manoeuvre, especially when covered in steam. Other than that, though, the Sage the fast slow go is a great all-rounder.
Key specifications
Buy now £149.95, Amazon.co.uk
InstantPot superior slow cooker
Rating: 4/5
Best: value slow cooker
Why we love it
- Large capacity
- Easy to use
- Lightweight pot even when full
- Useful sauté function
Take note
- Food sticks to the coating, so needs soaking before cleaning
The InstantPot superior slow cooker doesn’t have a pressure cooker element unlike others in the brand’s range. However it does do slow cooking really well. It has a generous 7.1 capacity, so it’s ideal for those with large families or batch cooking.
Using the slow cooker is incredibly easy, as the controls on the front of the panel are intuitive. It doesn’t have too many functions, so there’s not much to get used to. One thing I really loved about the slow cooker was the sauté function, which worked really well to seal meat but can also be used as a frying pan if you don’t fancy switching the hob on.
The inner pan is really lightweight, even when full of food. The handles are well placed too, making it easy to take to the table to serve. The non-stick coating didn’t do the best job and food did stick to it, especially when using the sauté function first, but this was nothing a pre-soak before cleaning couldn’t get rid of. Overall, the InstantPot superior is an excellent, great value slow cooker that’s ideal for feeding a large family.
Key specifications
Buy now £79.99, Amazon.co.uk
GreenPan elite 8-in-1 6l electric slow cooker
Rating: 4.5/5
Best: non-stick slow cooker
Why we love it
- Doesn’t take up too much room
- Plenty of functions, including steaming
- Powerful sauté function
- Outside stays cool while cooking
Take note
- Sauté function is hot, so take cure not to burn your food
The GreenPan slow cooker is a great option for small to medium households, thanks to its 6l capacity. Its square design makes it feel as though it takes up less room on the countertop, while the long cord wraps around the base and is easy to store away.
Cooking performance was outstanding and meat cooked evenly with no hot spots. The sauté function is fantastic, although it does get very hot so you have to be careful not to burn your food. There’s also a really handy steam function, which worked very well when it came to steaming chicken and vegetables.
One thing I really loved about this slow cooker was how cool the outside remained, even when it had been working for hours. If you have children or a busy kitchen then it’s an ideal choice. Cleaning was super simple too and no matter how long food cooked in the ceramic pot, nothing stuck to it. It’s also dishwasher safe but it was so easy to clean, there was no need to use it.
Key specifications
Buy now £179, Amazon.co.uk
Swan 6.5l slow cooker retro
Rating: 4/5
Best: easy-to-use slow cooker
Why we love it
- Simple controls
- Easy to clean
Take note
- The handles and lid don't feel very durable
- Low setting works more like a keep warm function
If you’re looking for a slow cooker that is simple to use and doesn’t have a tonne of fancy controls, then the Swan retro is the perfect fit. It has just three settings: high, low and auto. There’s no keep warm function but the low or auto setting will do that job, so there's no real need for that function to be separate.
When it came to cooking, meat came out perfectly tender and root vegetables were soft but not soggy. I reduced the amount of liquid used to see how it would fare and it did well – it didn’t burn off completely and the food was still tender and juicy. The low function is more like a keep warm function, but on high, food cooked evenly and there was no cold spots in the pan, even with little stirring.
Cleaning the slow cooker was pretty easy, too. I did get some food burnt onto the cooker, but after a soak it came off with a quick wipe of a sponge. The ceramic dish is also dishwasher safe for an easy cleaning solution.
The only real thing that stopped this slow cooker getting top marks was that the handles and the lid top are made from a cheap, shiny plastic. Not only does this slightly ruin the retro design of the cooker, but it also makes it feel quite unstable. I’m not confident that they’ll last very long, especially if you’re moving the slow cooker a lot with the ceramic pot inside, because that adds some serious weight.
Key specifications
Buy now £53.99, Currys.co.uk
Thermomix TM7
Rating: 4.5/5
Best: investment slow cooker
Why we love it
- Huge range of functions as well as slow cooking
- Assists with food prep as well as cooking
- Can control via an app
- Has a self-clean mode
Take note
- You have to buy extras for the slow cook function
- Very expensive
There’s no doubt that the Thermomix M7 is expensive but with 20 functions, it does mean you can rid of almost all of your kitchen items and replace it with this just one machine. When it comes to slow cooking, it’s something the Thermomix does well very – and not just the cooking, but it does the whole prep too. Keep in mind that if you want to slow cook, you’ll need to purchase an additional blade cover. I’m not really sure why they wouldn’t have included this, given it’s a huge part of the machines functions.
I slow cooked a few different dishes in the Thermomix, and one of my favourites was a beef curry. I used the Thermomix to slice and chop my vegetables, before adding the blade cover and adding the beef. I didn’t think it was going to work, because until other slow cookers, sometimes the liquid doesn’t quite hit the meat. But after reading the instructions, I found out that this is totally normal and essentially the steam and condensation cook the meat and infuse the flavour. I was sceptical, but it worked really well and it was one of the nicest dishes I’d made.
The built-in display of the Thermomix also shows you a step-by-step of the cooking process. You simply search for what you want to cook and it’ll talk you through it, as well as weigh and measure everything on the inbuilt scales.
Cleaning is also easy, as it has a pre-clean function that’ll remove any food residue. Then you just need to swill it or pop it in the dishwasher. It’s a bulky machine, but given that it can also be used as a processor, sous vide, slow cooker, and more, this is forgivable.
If you have the money and you want to a machine that will help you out in the kitchen and also produce some amazing dishes, you have to invest in this one.
Key specifications
Buy now £1374, Vorwerk.com
Your questions about slow cookers answered
What is the best slow cooker?
After testing some of the best slow cookers on the market, one thing is clear and that is they are an invaluable piece of kitchen kit. My best buy is the Ninja foodi possiblecooker, as not only does this slow cooker perform well, but it’s also easy to use, has a huge range of functions, and is a great size whether you’re cooking for just one or the whole family.
If you’re on a budget or looking for something a little smaller, the Cooks Professional 2.5l slow cooker is also an excellent choice. It’s basic, but easy to use and does a brilliant job. I also highly recommend the InstantPot mini, which is ideal if you want lots of cooking functions but are short on space, as it’s small and compact. For a great budget buy that has more capacity, Tower’s cavaletto 6.5l slow cooker is easy to use and quick to clean.
If you have a huge budget and you want to indulge, the Thermomix TM7 is a brilliant buy. It is expensive, but it does so much and cuts down on the number of appliances you need.
How I tested slow cookers
Slow cooking has become one of my favourite ways to whip up warming dishes. Over the years, I’ve used countless slow cookers while trying a variety of recipes, from chicken curry to vegetarian chilli. When it came to selecting the best slow cookers, I tested them against the following criteria.
I also considered the following factors:
Are slow cookers cheap to run?
Slow cookers are energy-efficient appliances, making them cheap to run. Energy company Uswitch noted that slow cookers use a little more energy than a traditional light bulb to run. While they take a little while to cook food, they use just 1.3kWh per meal cooked.
According to research by energy company Utilita, an electric oven is one of the most energy-intensive cooking appliances, costing on average £1.05 per day to run, while a slow cooker is typically five times cheaper.
How long should you leave things in a slow cooker for?
The general rule of thumb is that if a dish usually takes 15 to 30 minutes in an oven, it will cook in one to two hours in a slow cooker on the high setting, or in four to six hours on the low setting. If it takes one to two hours to cook in an oven, it will take three to four hours on ‘high’ in a slow cooker, or six to eight hours on ‘low’. If it takes two to four hours in an oven, cook it for four to six hours on your slow cooker’s ‘high’ setting, or eight to 12 hours on ‘low’.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
As The Independent's review section, IndyBest has a team of testers who put products through their paces in real-world settings using objective and thorough testing criteria to bring you their honest and helpful verdict. You can trust that when we recommend something, you can feel confident that it’s actually worth buying.
Rachael Penn is one of our kitchen appliance writers. She has written reviews on everything from the best pizza ovens and the best air fryers to the best ice cream makers. She has put dozens of culinary gadgets through their paces and knows which brands are worth having on your radar. As for this guide to the best slow cookers, she’s been slow cooking for years and has come to learn the features to look for in your appliance.
For more ways to make weeknight meals a little easier, read our guide to the best dual air fryers
