Slow Cookers Buying Guide | Consumer Reports

Slow cookers can deliver melt-in-your mouth meats, and stunning soups and stews with minimal kitchen prep. Choose the right slow cooker, set it and forget it. Consumer Reports explains the features that matter most.

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SHOW NOTES
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00:00​ - Introduction
01:08​ - Manual
01:21​ - Programmable
02:40​ - Shape
02:53​ - Size

[AlCasa]

They said it best. Just like any product, there is never a “best one” or “worst one”. It has to do with what works for each consumer. Everyone has different needs and different priorities. Find what works for your system

[duanebrodnick]

I need a 3 QT slow cooker for various reasons. 1. I live alone, plus my sister comes to visit. 2. Though my apartment has central AC, the kitchen gets very hot in the summer and I'll need to open the windows. So, if I want to cook a chicken, Cornish hen or a roast and not turn on a hot oven, a slow cooker is perfect for me. I just wish these sites would mention the wattage for various sizes. I've seen the wattage for the Hamilton Beach 3QT MFR#33231 at 115, 120, 340 and 1450.Once I find out the exact wattage, then I'll buy the cooker.

[Thatgeekishfamily]

A helpful "these are crap" slow cookers or "these are the range of the best" might have been really helpful.

[cefarther]

What's best for dried beans, round or oval, no one will say. Would love to know.

[cefarther]

Buy an indoor timer and it will turn off your manual slow cooker. Most indoor timers exceed the wattage of the slow cooker so it's safe to use. You're look at $10.00 for a timer.

[PinkPoodle]

I use my slow cooker twice a week! During the summer my gas stove heats up the entire house.

[MarkRVillano]

I never understood the need for a slow cooker of any kind, but nevertheless bought one many years ago. I used it once, and it then sat at the bottom of a cupboard for about six years until I finally just gave it away. There is *NOTHING* you can cook in a slow cooker that you can't cook in a 175 to 225 degree oven in *any* covered piece of cookware, even if it's only covered with aluminum foil. Unless you live in a van, the only way that it makes any sense to buy a slow cooker is if you don't have an oven in your house. But in such a case I suspect that cooking might be the least of your problems.

[TheGodYouWishYouKnew]

Slow cookers are great when you are first learning to cook. After that, you realize that they’re dumb.