14 best slow cookers to buy in 2026 for easy meals full of flavour

Score: 91/100

If you want to splash out, this multi-cooker would make a smart buy – it does a lot more than most, from dehydrating to air frying. It shone in our slow cooker tests, retaining an outstanding 99.27% of moisture during cooking.

The intuitive design comes with clear instructions too, and it cooked our meals consistently. We also found it impressively energy efficient.

It is a bulky bit of tech that will take up a lot of room in your kitchen and the cooking pot isn’t easy to lift out, but its 7.5-litre capacity will easily feed a crowd. During cooking, we found bits of beef that weren’t entirely submerged in our sauce ended up drying out, so be sure to make sure your meat is covered.

Otherwise, the outside stayed cool throughout and the accompanying recipe book is filled with handy cooking tips.

Score: 91/100

With a generous 4.7-litre capacity, this slow cooker can cook enough food for six people, while the removable main pot can also double up as a serving dish.

It scored full marks on our curry, soup and stew tests, and cooked meat and vegetables to perfection. We also liked the hinged lid, as it allowed us to stir or add to our dish with ease. The bowl and lid are both dishwasher-safe too, for extra convenience.

Score: 91/100

Like its fellow Crock-Pot above, this easy-to-use slow cooker is large enough to feed a family of six. It comes with a 4.7-litre removable ceramic inner pot, which is also dishwasher-safe. It has the added bonus of an integrated programmable timer too, which will automatically switch the setting to ‘keep warm’ when cooking finishes.

The results didn’t disappoint either – it scored highly when making curry, soup and stew, with meat and veg cooked through. Our only qualm is that it doesn’t have an auto-cook function. If that’s not a priority for you, though, it’s a top buy.

Score: 90/100

With a 6-litre capacity, this is a great slow cooker for feeding a family or bulk cooking. Our experts said it retained moisture excellently and produced a particularly delicious beef stew, which was full of tender, flavourful meat.

It’s a doddle to use, with a choice of four cooking modes – sauté, slow cook, steam and roast – and an easily adjustable timer. Plus, its non-toxic, non-stick coating was easy to clean, and the cord wraps up for neat storage.

Handles would have been appreciated, as removing the pot was fiddly and fingerprints were quite visible on the exterior, but for mouth-watering dinners, this machine delivers.

Score: 89/100

This multi-functional machine – another one from market-leaders Crock-Pot – allows you to schedule your cooking up to 12 hours in advance, with plenty of customisable manual and auto-function options. It won top marks for design and scored highly in our cooking tests, too.

The beef in our stew came out tender and succulent, while the chicken in our curry fell off the bone and absorbed plenty of flavour from the other ingredients. Testers were also pleased with the energy efficiency, and the clear digital display panel meant it was easy to know when our dish was ready.

Score: 88/100

This premium machine produced good results and was economical during testing. There’s a range of useful pre-set options, including ‘pressure cook’ and ‘slow cook’, which allow you to rustle up a variety of foods at set cooking times and at the right temperature or pressure level to get the best results.

There’s a ‘keep warm’ function too, and you can save your favourite settings to its memory. On the downside, the hinged lid is a little fiddly to operate and it’s a bit bulky to store, but now we’re being picky.

Score 87/100

While it didn’t score quite as highly as our runner-up Ninja model, this 8-in-1 slow cooker can still hold its own and impressed our testers with a particularly moist and tender chicken curry that only lost 0.92% of its moisture. It also scored strongly for its ability to slow cook meat and vegetables on high; however, it seemed to struggle a little when we tested for low and slow cooking, leaving a few lentils in our soup a little harder than we’d have liked.

Our testers found the timer, which beeps to tell you when cooking has finished, a little tricky to hear too. However, thanks to the handy, automatic ‘keep warm’ function, it will still keep your food toasty until you’re ready to serve.

It’s also dishwasher-safe and easy to clean thanks to its non-stick coating, so overall it’s a reliable option if you don’t want to splash the cash on the more premium Ninja slow cooker.

Score: 85/100

This slow cooker is the perfect size for a one- or two-person household and created a pleasingly thick soup and a rich beef gravy on test.

There’s no indicator light and it occasionally spat when we opened the lid, with water collecting in the rim, but if you’re after a compact budget model, this is a reliable performer.

Score: 85/100

This sleek 4.8-litre slow cooker has a clutter-free display, which our testers found extremely easy to use. There are only two cooking settings (high or low) and a 'keep warm' function, but it delivered fantastic results. Its chicken curry was a real standout – cooked on high, the meat fell off the bone and the spices infused into the sauce after four hours, creating a delicious aroma.

It lost more moisture than some other models we’ve tried, but this didn’t impact the overall flavour – our beef was still soft and delicious. When time came to serve up, the handles on the outside of the pot meant moving it was simple, and the interior bowl lifted out smoothly, too.

Score: 84/100

The chalkboard design of this slow cooker is certainly a fun-filled way of letting the family know what's cooking. The chalkboard doubles up as a stylish matte black finish too, if you’re not so interested in doodling on it.

Most importantly though, it performed well on test, especially with our chicken curry. Water did collect in the rim and the lid shook at times when our sauces bubbled, but these are minor niggles for an otherwise great value slow cooker.

Score: 83/100

This affordable slow cooker scored well across our tests. It cooked mouthwatering beef and chicken, as well as scrumptious veg. It was also easy to operate via three simple settings – low for simmering and slow cooking, high for faster cooking, and an auto setting to keep food at serving temperature.

It has cool-touch handles too, and the 3.5-litre dishwasher-safe ceramic pot is topped with a glass lid, so you can peek in to see just how your food is coming along (great for nosy diners).

Score: 75/100

This multi-cooker can brown meat in the pot, helping you save an extra step and another pan to wash. On top of the sear and slow cook functions, it has several other useful settings, including one for rice.

We measured relatively high levels of moisture loss and energy consumption (about 1.27 kWh, or 31p, per dish) in our cooking tests, suggesting that this slow cooker runs on the hot side. Our resulting beef stew and chicken curry were tender and flavourful though, with just our pumpkin and lentil soup becoming somewhat overcooked and thick.

The inner pot doesn’t come out – instead, the whole unit lifts away from the control panel. This is a little unwieldy, but it can go in the dishwasher for easy cleaning, and the large handles make it simple to carry. All in all, a versatile pick at a good value price point.

Score: 71/100

With its fun retro design and wide range of colours, this slow cooker will look great bubbling away on your countertop. It’s a simple model with just three settings (high, low and auto), but that makes it very easy to use – just ensure you set your own timer. The cream-coloured ceramic pot is a little cumbersome, but it makes an attractive serving dish that you can carry straight to the table.

This slow cooker lost marks on energy consumption, costing around 42p to cook a meal (the average cost for others on our list was 28p). Moisture loss was also on the higher side at 4.3% on average – though our recipes didn’t dry out and still turned out tasty. Overall, it’s a good value buy with a colourway to suit every kitchen.