9 best slow cookers, tried and tested for effortless and energy-efficient dinners

Whether you’re a keen cook or you lack space and want an appliance that does as much as possible in one machine, the Ninja foodi possiblecooker 8-in-1 slow cooker is an absolute must-have item for your kitchen.

Ninja promises that it will work five times faster than a conventional slow cooker, and we couldn’t agree more – it’s so quick, you can whip up a good, healthy meal, even on a weeknight after work. The possiblecooker is also very easy to use. The control panel is clear and intuitive, which is good news because it has plenty of settings that you can play with.

Another huge plus point is that it has a removable pot, which is also oven-safe, so you really can make a good combination of meals. It’s also surprisingly light, and if you’re like us and suffer from a lack of counter space, you won’t find this a chore to lift and move around. Clean-up is also a breeze because the pot is removable and has a non-stick coating, which makes it much easier – not only that, but the parts are all dishwasher safe.

Of course, as you may notice from the name, it doesn’t just slow cook, but offers eight different cooking functions, including slow cooking, pressure cooking, searing, roasting, baking and more.

This Cookworks slow cooker is perfect for couples or small families, as it has a 3.5l capacity, which makes around four generous portions. The oval shape also means it is ideal for meat lovers, as a whole chicken or a joint of meat will easily fit in.

The inner bowl is removable, so you can carry it to the dining table to serve up, and we found that despite the outside of the slow cooker getting hot, the handles remained cool enough to carry. But it is worth noting that you can’t use this inner bowl in the oven or on the hob, so you’ll need to sear your meats in a separate pan before placing them in the slow cooker.

There are three cooking temperatures: high, medium, and low. There’s also a keep-warm function, which is useful for families who don’t always have the luxury of eating together. It is a bit of a shame that the pot and lid are not dishwasher-friendly, but the ceramic is easy to clean. Plus, it’s a great price, so ideal for anyone on a budget.

Another Cookworks model, this slow cooker is the perfect size when making dinner for just one or two people. It’s compact and will fit into any kitchen, so don’t worry if you’re tight on counter space, as you’ll hardly notice it’s there. Plus, we found this small size made it easy to store away when not in use. Despite it being lightweight, the appliance feels solid and durable. We absolutely loved that it has a glass lid, so we could peer inside and see whether our food was ready without letting all the heat escape.

It’s very basic in its design, easy to use, and has three heat settings: low, high, and warm. The keep-warm function works really well, and you’d never know that the food hadn’t just been cooked. It has an LED light, so you’ll know when it’s switched on, which is handy, especially if you’re prone to forgetting to switch off appliances.

The bowl is removable, but it’s not safe for oven use, so if you’re doing a recipe that requires you to brown off your meat before adding it, then you’ll need to do this in a separate pan. Unfortunately, it’s not dishwasher friendly, but the ceramic bowl is non-stick, so cleaning is no problem, especially if you leave it to soak for a little while before washing.

There’s no timer on this machine, but you can comfortably throw your ingredients into it in the morning and not worry about it overheating or burning your food while you get on with your day.

While we appreciate slow-cooked food, there are times when we need to shake things up, which is why our tester loves this Russell Hobbs multi-cooker. There’s very little the cooker can’t do – from soup mode to making yoghurt. But when it comes to slow cooking, the appliance really performs.

We found that it heated up quickly and maintained the perfect temperature. It has a timer, too, so once your food is cooked, it will automatically switch to keep-warm mode. But you can also use the timer to delay its start, so if you want to prep your food and set it to slow cook later in the day, that’s possible too.

We found this one of the easiest machines to use – the control panel sits at the front and the buttons are clear and intuitive, which is just as well as the instruction booklet left a lot to be desired.

It is quite a large and heavy machine, but that’s mostly down to the generous 6.5l pot, which is made from durable cast aluminium. It’s probably one of the most solid slow cookers we tested – it doesn’t feel at all flimsy or as if it’s going to dent if you accidentally knock it.

To make things even easier in the kitchen, the pot comes away from the control panel, so you can transport it to the table for everyone to get stuck in. The second bonus of the pot being removable is that it’s dishwasher safe, so you don’t have to think about scrubbing pans after you’ve enjoyed a hearty meal.

Cosori’s slow cooker is one of the most stylish appliances that will ever grace your kitchen. This compact machine doesn’t just slow cook, it also pressure cooks, sautés, acts as a sous vide and has a ton of pre-programmed food settings. It is a little slow to heat up, so that needs to be considered when planning your dishing-up time.

When slow cooking, it’s always handy to be able to take a sneak peek at how the food is doing, and with this model, you can’t do that. But it does have something better: at the top of the machine, there’s an LED progress bar, which allows you to visually monitor how your food is cooking without having to open the machine. There is, of course, a timer function where you can time how long you want food to cook, as well as delay the start of the cooking process.

This is a straightforward machine to use, with all the buttons perfectly displayed. The pre-programmed food options are fantastic, especially if you’re a bit wary of how long you should cook certain foods. We used the programmable options and found perfectly cooked porridge and stew every single time, because the machine chose the right time and temperature to get it right.

Although this machine does have a pressure cooker mode, just be careful if you’re using this, as it can be quite vicious when letting off steam. The other thing to note if you’re using the slow cooker is to make sure the vent at the top remains closed, as this will keep all the heat and the steam in the pot, making sure your food gets cooked properly.

Cleaning the pot is easy, as the main pot lifts out, so you can pop it in the dishwasher along with any accessories. Also, whether you’re going to store this away or have it resting on your countertop, the cord is detachable, and wraps around the base of the machine, so you won’t have any pesky wires dangling around.

If, like us, you’re fed up with announcing what’s for dinner every night, then this slow cooker from Salter will save you the job. The outer layer has a chalkboard finish, so you can write what’s on the menu, as well as a time it’ll be ready – perfect for trying to keep the family organised.

Despite its 3.5l capacity, this is a compact slow cooker. It’s round in shape and feels smaller than it is. Although, something to note is that the power cord is ridiculously short, so you’ll need to make sure you have space near an outlet to use it. We also found the outside of the cooker got very hot during use. This is fine for us, but those with younger people in the household may just need to be wary of that.

There are only three settings on this machine: low, high and warm. It heats up quickly and distributes the heat evenly, so food comes out perfectly cooked and piping hot. There’s no timer or option to delay the start of cooking, which would have made this slow cooker perfect – but of course, you can write reminders of times on the outside, so it’s not all bad.

This is a really good option if you’re cooking joints of meat, because its large, oval bowl will fit anything from a whole chicken to a beef joint inside. In fact, it’s ideal for families, thanks to the 5.5l capacity. It’s easy to operate with three heat settings: low, high and keep warm. It’s just a shame there’s no timer or delayed start function.

Unfortunately, this isn’t dishwasher safe, but clean-up is no problem – even when we made a casserole, the food didn’t get baked on in the same way it would if you’d popped a casserole dish in the oven. Just leave it to soak for a few hours, and then it’ll effortlessly wash off.

One thing we will say is it does feel very heavy; also, the shape makes it a little more awkward to move around, so you may want to carve out a space for this machine and just leave it in situ.

It benefits from a glass lid, which we loved because we could keep an eye on our food bubbling away without opening it up. Also, we were impressed by how quickly it heated it up, leaving us with evenly cooked food at the ideal temperature.

This slow cooker is ideal for families or anyone who loves to batch cook because of its massive 6.5l capacity. You can easily fit a joint inside, so for meat lovers, it’s ideal. Whilst this cooker is large, because it’s stainless steel, it does look pretty good on the countertop. We loved the glass lid so we could keep an eye on our dishes, which is especially handy if you’re cooking something where you may have to top up the liquid.

Food cooked perfectly too, and the slow cooker heated up fast. We also found the keep-warm function worked really well, and while the food wasn’t piping hot, it was warm enough to eat and enjoy straight from the pot.

It’s simple to operate with just three heat settings, and there’s an LED light to alert you when it’s in operation. The outside does get hot, so be mindful when you’re using the workspace around the cooker. The stoneware pot can be removed, and thankfully, it’s dishwasher-friendly, although we didn’t find any issues washing it by hand.

This neat and compact slow cooker is ideal for couples and small families. It has a 3.5l pot, which makes around four generous-sized portions. It’s surprisingly lightweight and easy to move around and store.

The really great thing about this slow cooker is that the inner pot can be used on the stove, so ideal if you want to make a really good base for your dishes, as you can sear the meat or fry off the veggies before putting your liquid in.

There are three heat settings: low, medium, and high. Although there’s no keep-warm function with this slow cooker, we found that putting it on low mode did a good job of keeping the food warm without overcooking it. It is a manual slow cooker so there’s no timer or option to delay start. The slow cooker doesn’t get too hot and neither do the handles, which is handy when you want to transport it to the dinner table. Plus, the inner pot and lid are dishwasher-friendly, so it’s nice and easy to clean.