The best Crock-Pots you tin purchase

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The Insider Selection:

  • Busy cooks have been turning out delicious, easy, convenient meals in their Crock-Pots since the early on 1970s. Nosotros researched the dozens of available Crock-Pot slow cookers on today's market to find the all-time ones you can buy, and the 6-Quart Programmable Cook-and-Carry is our top pick.

I'k a huge Crock-Pot fan. After all, what other kitchen appliance allows yous to toss in your dinner in the morning time, and and then drive off to work while information technology cooks to perfection? What other kitchen tool turns out tasty meals without heating upwards your kitchen? Or miraculously converts cheap, can-be-tough cuts of meat into tender, falling-off-the-bone deliciousness? I've had several of these handy appliances over the past 3 decades, and use my current wearisome cooker at least once a week. Every kitchen – whether it'southward in a dorm room, studio flat, or mansion – deserves a Crock-Pot.

Using your Crock-Pot

Introduced by the Rival Visitor in 1971, and owned today past Sunbeam, the original Crock-Pot was intended for cooking beans. Today, you tin cook just almost anything in this handy kitchen appliance, including obvious dishes like soups, stews, and casseroles, just also desserts including cheesecake, breakfasts, side dishes, corn on the cob, risotto, French toast, and and so much more than — the list is near endless.

Regardless of which Crock-Pot you lot choose, yous'll achieve the all-time results by post-obit these tips:

  • Don't preheat your ho-hum cooker before adding ingredients.
  • Place chopped vegetables at the bottom of your Crock-Pot, and then add meat, then terminate with liquid or soft ingredients. Concord off on anything dairy until the last half-hr or and then of cooking.
  • Don't take off the lid in the middle of the cooking procedure; it can take 30 minutes for the ho-hum cooker to regain its full temperature.
  • Your Crock-Pot should be half-to-three-quarters full when you starting time cooking. Less, and your food is likely to overcook or dry out; more than, and the Crock-Pot might overflow as the food expands with oestrus.
  • Utilise skinless chicken in your slow cooker; the melted fat volition add an unpleasant taste and texture to your finished dish.
  • Add together fresh herbs and seasonings at the terminate of the cooking cycle. Otherwise, you'll lose delicate flavors.
  • Unless the recipe calls for it, don't put frozen nutrient in your Crock-Pot.
  • Every bit a rule of pollex, i hour on the high setting of a Crock-Pot is equal to two hours on the low setting, so figure your cooking fourth dimension accordingly.

If you lot're getting fix to buy your get-go Crock-Pot – or you lot desire to add one with unique features to your collection – and so read on. We've whittled down the many models of Crock-Pot on the marketplace to the five that are most highly rated, and that we feel are the well-nigh useful.

For the best of everything in your kitchen, you lot tin can also cheque out our other buying guides for the all-time wine openers and corkscrews, thebest juicers, thebest toasters, the best strainers and colanders , the best spice racks , the best measuring cups , the all-time immersion blenders , thebest knife sharpeners, and more than on Insider Picks .

Although the Crock-Pot half-dozen-Quart Programmable Melt-and-Carry is our top pick, for various reasons laid out in the slides below, yous should also consider the iii-Quart Round Transmission Crock-Pot, the Crock-Pot Hook Upwards Connectable Entertaining System, the 3.v-Quart Goulash Crock-Pot, and the Crock-Pot Lunch Crock.

The best Crock-Pot overall

Crock-Pot

Why you'll love information technology: The half dozen-Quart Programmable Cook-and-Acquit Crock-Pot is big enough for a crowd with a lockable lid for easy transport and it has programmable cooking times.

The Crock-Pot Programmable Cook-and-Carry solves one tedious cooker business: What do you do if you'll be gone for 10 hours, just the meal you're preparing only needs to cook for eight? No need to worry if you have this user-friendly slow cooker. Just set the timer for your desired cooking time earlier you head out.

You can set cooking times from thirty minutes to 20 hours and leave your worries backside. The Crock-Pot volition melt your dinner to perfection, and and so automatically switch itself over to the "Warm" setting in one case the time is upwardly.

With a six-quart chapters, this is the perfect Crock-Pot for larger families. You tin can fit a six-pound roast inside, several pieces of meat along with vegetables, or go ahead and roast a whole chicken in information technology — you'll yet have room for carrots and potatoes.

The Sweethome likes this Crock-Pot, praising its long timer, modern advent, handles, and locking chapeau. That locking chapeau with its sealing gasket is another fine characteristic of this Crock-Pot — no more spills when traveling with the cooker to a picnic, potluck, or tailgate party.

Amazon customers are pleased with this slow cooker likewise. It has well-nigh 3,600 reviews and an average of 4.2 stars. Buyers similar the large capacity, the programmable timer, and the sleek appearance. Several owners complained that the Crock-Pot seemed to run too hot on the "Depression" setting, however. Note that both the "Low" and "High" settings of a Crock-Pot achieve the same maximum temperature of roughly 210 degrees. It just takes longer to reach the maximum temperature on low.

The locking lid is a hit. Says one pleased possessor, "The ho-hum cooker tipped over once in the car while full of sloppy joe meat, and to my surprise when I arrived at my destination, not a driblet of the sloppy joe meat (or sauce) leaked out."

Pros : Locking lid with gasket, programmable timer, big capacity, stainless steel stop, and modernistic advent

Cons : Might cook too hot on low setting

Buy the 6-Quart Programmable Cook and Carry Crock-Pot on Amazon for $57.99

The best Crock-Pot for small families

Crock-Pot/Business organization Insider

Why you'll dear it: If you lot're only cooking for two or iii people, the 3-Quart Round Manual Crock-Pot is the perfect size.

This is the Crock-Pot I've been using for the past half dozen years or so. In fact, even as I write this, it's working its magic in my kitchen cooking a craven enchilada casserole that is oh-and then-tasty. That means my kitchen isn't hot, I'll simply take one crock to launder afterwards dinner instead of multiple pans, and I'chiliad not having to waste any time in the kitchen stirring, adjusting temperatures, or paying any attention at all. Perfect.

Equally the "Manual" part of the product's name suggests, this Crock-Pot is very bones: no digital controls, no timer, and no programming capabilities. Only a simple knob with settings for "Off," "Warm," "Depression," and "Hot." That's fine with me, however. I don't require whatever bells and whistles, and the super-depression toll of less than $xx made information technology fifty-fifty more appealing. Amazon buyers seem to concur with me: The three-Quart Round Manual Crock-Pot has more 1,100 reviews and an average of four.four stars.

The three-quart size is perfect for my family of three. I've used it to cook small roasts with vegetables, stews and soups with extensive ingredient lists, and 2-to-three pounds of craven without any overflow or extended cook time.

Amazon buyers agree, praising the Crock-Pot'due south user-friendly size for a small family unit. 1 satisfied buyer said, "It's small plenty and so that it doesn't dry out out smaller quantities of soup or meat cooked over a long menstruation of time, and it takes up less space on the counter than my large Crock-Pot."

Ane result with this Crock-Pot that is frequently mentioned, however, is that at that place is no gasket between the drinking glass chapeau and the crock, so moisture "spits" out forth the edges, causing the lid to rattle a bit during the late stages of the cooking time. It's not a big deal, though, and does not affect the cooking process.

Pros : Great price, perfect size for two or three people, easy-to-clean ceramic crock, stainless-steel attractive finish.

Cons : Some spitting of moisture during cooking, no ability to program in advance

Buy the 3-Quart Round Manual Crock-Pot on Amazon for $xvi.79

The best Crock-Pot for entertaining

Crock-Pot

Why yous'll love it: The ingenious design of the Crock-Pot Hook Up Connectable Entertaining System makes cafe-style entertaining a cakewalk.

One of the toughest aspects of hosting a buffet – or even a sit-down dinner, for that thing – is keeping everything warm while your guests savor their meal. Crock-Pot has solved the problem with the interlocking Hook Up system.

The crocks are mix-and-match and there are several metal colors to choose from, as well as multiple sizes. Each has the basic manual settings: "Off," "Warm," "Low," and "High." Just what sets the Hook Up apart from other Crock-Pot deadening cookers is that you tin can connect upward to six units together with only i plug going into an electrical outlet.

The different sizes brand information technology so like shooting fish in a barrel to melt and serve various dishes: Use the ane-quart double crock for dips and savories; a two-quart crock for meatballs, hot wings, and similar finger foods; and a iii.5-quart crock for meats, stews, soups, or chili dishes. Or, of course, you can use just i crock to prepare a modest meal or side dish for your family.

Amazon buyers like this nifty Crock-Pot system. It has more than 400 reviews and an average of 4.v stars. Owners mentioned the wide range of foods they've prepared and served in the crocks, along with the convenience of keeping everything at serving temperature through the entire event. A typical annotate: "They are easy to store, piece of work similar they should, are easy to set and take downwardly, and made my life a whole lot easier. I actually got to become out of the kitchen and savour the party!"

When not in utilize, the Hook Upwards crocks stack for storage.

Pros : Multiple sizes and colors, makes information technology easy to host a buffet

Cons : Accept upward quite a bit of storage and counter space, expensive, pieces sold separately

Buy the Crock-Pot Hook Upwardly Connectable System at Amazon for $41.99 and up (double ane-quart), $39.49 and upwards (2-quart), and $46.26 and upwardly (3.5-quart)

The best Crock-Pot for casseroles

Crock-Pot

Why you'll love information technology: The Crock-Pot three.5-Quart Casserole Crock is especially versatile for making casseroles then much more than.

Prep your meal in theCrock-Pot 3.v-Quart Ceramic Goulash Crockthe night before – French toast casserole, craven and biscuits, sausage and egg casserole, BBQ craven and veggies, merely nigh anything else you fancy – store the crock in the refrigerator overnight, skid information technology into the Crock-Pot base when it'south fourth dimension to get cooking, go nigh your business for the next several hours, and then come up dwelling to a delicious, hot meal. Of course, yous don't have to prepare your dish the night before, but it sure is convenient to accept that option.

The 3.5-Quart Casserole Crock is, as the name suggests, shaped similar a casserole dish instead of the traditional upright slow cooker design. That means it'due south platonic for casseroles and lasagnas, only don't limit yourself. Yous can melt chicken, meat, and veggies in this slow cooker also, and in fact, larger pieces of meat or chicken tend to melt more evenly and quickly. The removable stoneware crock is likewise oven-prophylactic, so you can warm or terminate dishes in the oven if desired.

And of class, equally casseroles are classic potluck fare, this model comes with a Cook & Carry locking hat organization, and then no worries about your repast spilling out on route to the effect. As a bonus, the bonny lattice design looks great on the cafe table, so no need to transfer your food into another serving dish. It's also available in solid charcoal, plum, and navy.

The 3.5-Quart Casserole Crock has nearly 800 reviews and a four.5 star average on Amazon. Buyers really like this tiresome cooker; many say they likewise ain a traditionally shaped Crock-Pot but achieve for this one when preparing a meal that isn't large plenty to fill up their other crock to the recommended half-to-three-quarters-full mark. They utilize it for all sorts of things beyond casseroles, too, including ribs, chicken and rice, mac and cheese, corned beef, pork chops, and cake.

On the downside, some customers said the handles didn't feel stiff enough to carry the full crock. Others commented about the oestrus of the apparatus'southward exterior while it'due south cooking, merely this is an issue with every slow cooker, not just this one. Touch a Crock-Pot after it's been on awhile, and yous're probable to burn your finger.

This is a manual Crock-Pot, with a knob for setting information technology to "Off," "Warm," "Depression," or "High."

Pros : Versatile size and shape, locking lid, attractive appearance, reasonable price

Cons : Handles might experience unstable when carrying the full crock

Buy the 3.5-Quart Casserole Crock-Pot on Amazon for $35.99

The best Crock-Pot for lunches on the go

Crock-Pot

Why you'll love it: Forget about the office microwave or common cold sandwiches; with the Crock-Pot Tiffin Crock, you can heat upwardly a succulent meal right at your desk-bound.

Sure, at lunchtime you can brown-handbag it, nuke a frozen dinner in the dirty office microwave, or choice up a greasy burger from the food truck. Or, y'all can enjoy a healthy meal that you prepared at home in the 20-ounce Crock-Pot Tiffin Crock, brought into your function, dropped into the warming base, and and so plugged in for a few hours of warming.

Note that the Tiffin Crock is not for cooking food, it is for warming food that's already been cooked. So it's perfect for leftovers of all types, hot cereal, soup, chili, and stews.

This personal-size Crock-Pot has more than 1,700 reviews on Amazon and an boilerplate of 4.half-dozen stars. Customers honey not having to wait for the office microwave or stand in line in the deli. Many commented that they purchased additional nutrient containers so they can fix several meals in accelerate, then just grab-and-keep piece of work mornings.

Most buyers stated that the device took but a couple of hours to heat their meal. Exclaims one happy possessor, "Greatest find ever for those with a 30-minute tiffin! I'm able to prepare healthier lunch options and warm them in my office!"

Every bit with all things, there are complaints, likewise, most having to do with the hat. Several customers said their Luncheon Crock'due south hat warped, leaked, or did non fit properly. Still, overall, customers really similar this ingenious mini-appliance.

The handy device has a carrying handle for like shooting fish in a barrel transport, along with a dishwasher condom lid and food container. The electrical cord wraps around the warming base of operations when not in apply. Unlike other Crock-Pots, there are no controls on the Lunch Crock. Southward imply plug it in to turn it on and unplug it to plow it off. You tin even choose from blood-red, black, blue, or pink to lucifer your way.

Pros : A slap-up alternative to brown bags, plastic storage containers, or buying tiffin each twenty-four hours

Cons : Some complaints of bug with the lid

Buy the Crock-Pot Dejeuner Crock on Amazon for $17.76 and upward, depending on color

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