The best slow cookers are easy to use, offering you reliable, set-and-forget home cooking at the touch of a few buttons. We chose three slow cookers, all highly recommended, as co-winners. Each produced delicious meals, with different features that made these models stand out. The Hamilton Beach 33866 Portable 6-Quart Set & Forget Digital Programmable Slow Cooker is our favorite traditional slow cooker. It has simple controls and cooked all foods exceptionally well; it also has some useful extra features, including a temperature probe and lockable lid for transport. If you’d like a lighter-weight slow cooker that lets you sear directly in the crock, we like the Cuisinart 6-Quart 3-in-1 Cook Central. It cooks faster and hotter than traditional ceramic slow cookers such as the other two co-winners, so you must check your food’s doneness on the early side of recipe ranges.
If you cook only for one or two people at a time, see our reviews of small slow cookers and mini slow cookers.