Space

Consider how much food you anticipate cooking for you and your family, the cupboard space required for storage, and bench space for usage. Round slow cookers tend to waste space. Rectangular cookers generally use space more efficiently when in storage.

Indicator lights

Look for bright indicator lights and a control switch that’s easy to access and is clearly labelled.

Pot

Most slow cookers we’ve tested have a ceramic pot that’s oval, a shape that accommodates roasts or other large cuts of meat better than a round slow cooker can. 

Timer

A timer is handy as it counts down the time on your slow cooker and then alerts you when cooking is finished. Don’t confuse this with a delayed-start timer. A few members have been keen to get hold of a slow cooker with a delayed timer, which you can set to turn on or off while you’re away. We don’t reckon you should, as leaving food in the cooker at a warm-ish temperature will breed bacteria. If you find your slow cooker turns off prematurely, throw the food out straight away – it’s probably not worth risking food poisoning.

Automatic setting

This setting is handy as it starts the process on high to bring the food up to temperature and then switches to low temperature for the remaining cooking time.

Lid

A glass or clear plastic lid lets you watch your progress without removing the lid and releasing heat. Some slow cookers have a hinged lid—handy when serving up food—though none in our current ratings do. A lid that locks helps keep food from spilling while in transport to potlucks and parties, and some cookers have a handle on the lid that makes the slow cooker easier to carry.

Capacity

Capacities can range from 1.5 to 8.5 quarts. But some owner’s manuals say to fill the pot 1/2 to 3/4 full to avoid under- and over-cooking and to prevent spillovers. Most of the slow cookers in our ratings are 6-to-7 quart models, a popular size. Even slow cookers with similar capacities can vary in size. The bulky ones are more difficult to store and transport, and of course they eat up more counter space. Note that the tested models weigh between 7 and 17 pounds.

Temperature Probes

Slow cookers aren’t loaded with new features, but temperature probes pop up on some. Insert the probe into a large cut of meat, choose the temperature you want the meat to reach, and when it does, the slow cooker will switch to the keep-warm setting.

Keep warm

This function can be found on the majority of slow cookers, as it retains the temperature of your food without cooking it further – handy when you’re struggling to round up the family! Some slow cookers will automatically shift to this mode after the programme has ended, while others require switching manually.

Auto cook

Slow cookers with this function will begin by cooking on a high setting and then automatically reduce to the low setting for the remainder of the cooking time. This is useful when you want the overall cooking time to be quicker, as it still enables food to be slow cooked.

Ease of Cleaning

An easy-to-clean pot and lid that can go into the dishwasher is handy. And keep in mind that touchpad controls are easier to clean than knobs and buttons.