I Tested 8 Slow Cookers to Find the Best for Searing, Stewing, and Braising (2024)

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 theNational Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends against leaving appliances running when not at home, folks do it all the time. 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 I tested, including the Crock-Pot, got alarmingly hot. The Crock-Pot reached a high of 193°F on the outside of the pot, while the Hamilton Beach slow cookers hit the mid-170°s. Both temperatures were high enough to potentially burn someone.

The best slow cookers stayed cool on the outside, with the GreenPan slow cooker’s exterior reaching 110°F at its peak. The Instant Pot also stayed cool at about 105°F. The traditional style KitchenAid, with the ceramic pot, did heat up more but was still a tolerable 130°F—higher than the other two but still low enough that it felt safe to leave on all day.

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Slow Cooker

Select a slow cooker that will hold a consistent temperature and that doesn’t run too hot or cold throughout the cooking cycle. My favorite slow cookers kept a consistent temperature of around 195 to 205°F once they reached peak temperature, never boiling the liquid in the pot. I also recommend looking for a slow cooker with the option to sear, brown, or sauté. 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 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

What we liked: The GreenPan Elite had various functions, including slow cooking, steaming, and browning/sautéing. In addition, the digital screen in the front shows you the time remaining and the cooking function you selected. Though there are limited buttons on the front, the slow cook option cycles through to offer low, high, reheating, simmer/buffet, and warm functions, making this slow cooker more versatile than other cookers I tested.

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 other cookers did. Dried beans cooked up creamy without being overdone or mushy. It was easy to brown the meat because of the spacious interior, and the pork was fall-apart tender.

The metal insert was lightweight and easy to lift out, and the silicone-covered handles let me easily handle the pot without oven mitts. The outside of the unit stayed cool, too.

What we didn’t like: The GreenPan Elite was one of the larger slow cookers I tested, and it was also one of the most expensive, too. 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 intuitive.

Key Specs

• Weight: 14.2 pounds
• Production dimensions: 19 x 13.75 x 11 inches
• Cord length: 32 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: The metal interior pot is dishwasher-safe, but the base unit should be wiped with a damp cloth or sponge
  

What we liked: Sometimes the best slow cooker is the one that you already own. 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 is well insulated from the internal pot, keeping the outside a cool 100°F.

The Instant Pot also has a searing option, and browning the meat for the pulled pork was easy, though it did require searing in batches since the internal pot was smaller than other slow cookers'. But because the inner pot is actually stovetop-friendly, you can theoretically sear the meat and ingredients on the stove, which is faster and more efficient, without dirtying a secondary skillet or pot. 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, I had to sear and brown meat in batches which can be a little time-consuming. And due to the nature of the lid on an Instant Pot, which has a tight seal that allows for pressure cooking, there is little to no evaporation that occurs, unlike in a more typical slow cooker. However, you can always set the Instant Pot to saute to reduce liquids, if needed.

Key Specs

• Weight: 13.4 pounds
• Production dimensions: 13.5 x 12.5 x 12.5 inches
• Cord Length: 32 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

What we liked: If you’re looking for a simple, more traditional slow cooker, the KitchenAid 6-Quart Slow Cooker is a great option, sporting a thick and heavy ceramic pot. Its streamlined design makes it super simple to use, with only four options: low, medium, and high-temperature levels, as well as a warm setting.

Dried beans cooked up nicely, neither too firm nor too mushy, and the pulled pork was tender and easy to pull apart. The exterior also stayed at a relatively cool 130°F, which is lower than other slow cookers with a ceramic insert pot.

What we didn’t like: Because the internal pot is ceramic, it doesn't sear well at all. This means you have to sear or brown your meat on a skillet ahead of adding it to the slow cooker.

Key Specs

• Weight: 15.4 pounds
• Production dimensions: 17.5 x 10.5 x 11 inches
• Cord length: 30 inches
• Cooking capacity: 6 quarts
• Materials: Stainless steel with plastic handles, ceramic inner pot, glass digital display
• Settings: Slow cook low, medium, high, and keep warm
• Cleaning/care instructions: Ceramic insert pot and lid are dishwasher and hand wash safe; base unit should be wiped with a damp cloth or sponge.

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 I had high hopes for this slow cooker. But it ran too hot, making overcooked, mushy beans. More alarming, the outside of the slow cooker was190°F, which was dangerously warm for a countertop appliance.

FAQs

What's the difference between a slow cooker and a pressure cooker?

A slow cooker is a countertop appliance that cooks food at a low temperature over a long period of time. Typically a slow cooker cooks between 190° to 210°F over six to eight hours, which is long enough for the food to be completely cooked through.

A pressure cooker is an appliance that seals tightly. Once sealed and heated, the liquid in the pressure cooker can get to higher temperatures, as high as 250°F, which means the food is cooked faster. Instant Pot, a popular multi-cooker, has 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.

What’s the difference between a slow cooker and a Crock-Pot?

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 Xerox has come to mean photocopier.

What is a slow cooker good for?

Slow cookers areconvenient for cooking stews, soups, and beans over a long period of time. You can add the ingredients to the slow cooker at the beginning of the day and eight hours later, have a cooked meal. It also does a good job cooking bread pudding, strata, and stuffing. However, becauseslow cookers function at lower temperatures, it does 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 they were cooked via a more traditional method.

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, 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 saute 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 is a food blogger and freelance writer who 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.
• For this review, we tested eight slow cookers by using all of them to cook dried white beans. We then used the winners to sear and stew pulled pork. Throughout testing, we noted how easy the slow cookers were to use and clean, and if they produced tender (but not mushy) results.