7 Best Multi-Cookers of 2024, Tested by Experts

The pros in the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab have tested and evaluated more than 40 pressure cookers and multi-cookers with pressure-cooking functionality over the years. In a recent side-by-side test that included eight electric multi-cookers, we evaluated each using the following criteria:

✔️ Performance: Performance testing takes place in four parts. First using distilled water, we evaluate how long it takes for each pressure cooker to come to pressure, recording how long each takes to release using the quick release function. The next test evaluates how well each pressure cooker makes long-grain rice using the preset or manual instructions. We record if the rice is undercooked, overcooked or well-cooked.

Consider which functions you will use most often when shopping for a multi-cooker. If you make beans and stews regularly but won’t bother with slow cooking or sous vide, you should prioritize a multi-cooker that pressure cooks well, like the Zavor Lux, and don’t pay more for presets you won’t use.

If you want a cooker that performs well in most tasks, opt for our overall picks, whether you’re more comfortable with a top-loading Breville Fast Slow Pro that makes great stew fast and slow, or a front-loading Ninja Combi that steams and air fries.

You’ll also want to keep the following attributes in mind:

✔️ Size: Most multi-cookers have a 6-quart capacity — suitable for most families of four — but some are as large as 12 quarts. You can also find smaller models if cooking for an individual or a couple. Just remember: You can’t fill a pressure cooker to its full capacity (only ⅔ full), so a 6-quart model won’t actually yield 6 quarts of food when you’re pressure cooking.

✔️ Settings: Multi-cookers come with pre-programmed settings that take much of the guesswork out of the equation and help you learn the ropes when cooking rice, yogurt and stew. More advanced models can have additional cooking functionality — many can steam, sauté, air fry, dehydrate, sterilize or sous vide. If you’re looking for an upgrade, you might want something like the Breville Fast Slow Pro that gives you more freedom to adjust pressure levels and temperatures.

✔️ Capacity: Multi-cookers tend to be bulky and heavy, so you’ll want to consider the overall footprint to determine whether you can allocate countertop space or if cupboard storage is required. You’ll also want to consider the interior size and capacity of the inner cooking pot and fry basket or crisper plate.

✔️ Care and cleaning: Multi-cookers have various parts — silicone gaskets, pot insert, fry basket, lids — that often have different cleaning requirements, so assess whether the parts are dishwasher safe or hand-wash only. If materials are nonstick, avoid using metal utensils to protect the surface from scratches.

✔️ Price: Like most kitchen appliances, expect to pay more for multi-cookers with extra bells and whistles, such as Wi-Fi capability, pressure notifications, timers and additional pre-set program functions.

A multicooker has many functions, but the main functions are often pressure cooking, slow cooking and sautéing. Other common presets can make yogurt and hard-boiled eggs. Some models can also air fry, sous vide and sterilize jars for canning.

✔️ Pressure cooking: This setting works by building up steam pressure inside the pot. The high pressure raises the cooking temperature to above boiling, which cooks food faster. Every multi-cooker with this function will have a valve that releases this pressure once cooking is done.

Multicookers typically have two pressure settings: high and low. High settings are good for tenderizing tough cuts of meat and beans while low settings are ideal for rice, eggs and other delicate foods.

✔️ Slow cooking: On the other end of the spectrum, multi-cookers can slow cook — a process that cooks food over low heat over the course of six to eight hours. This setting was a struggle for many early multi-cooker models, even some today, because multicookers tend to trap steam and don’t vent the way a true slow cooker does, resulting in overcooked food.

But newer machines perform much better. The best ones, like the Cuisinart multi-cooker, slow-cooked great beef stew in our Lab test. However, many multi-cookers we tested still can't slow cook, rendering tough meat and watery liquid.

Some multi-cookers have the ability to maintain a low temperature for a long period of time, which allows them to ferment yogurt at the recommended temperature range of 108°F to 112°F for bacteria to grow properly.

✔️ Sautéing: This setting lets you use the multi-cooker the same way you would brown meats or soften onions in a pot on a stovetop. The same cooking mode can also be used to simmer liquids and steam.

Perry Santanachote is a contributing writer for Good Housekeeping. She has been testing and writing about the best kitchen appliances and cookware — from toaster ovens and air fryers to handheld mixers and nonstick pans — for over 10 years. She has even more experience in the food industry, working as a recipe developer, food stylist and cook. Feeding a family while cooking in tight quarters has led her to embrace her multi-cooker.

Nicole Papantoniou is the director of the Good Housekeeping Institute's Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab, where she has tested dozens of multi-cookers, slow cookers and air fryers. Previously she worked in product development for small kitchen appliances and tools since 2014 and in several test kitchens, where she tested and developed recipes and food content starting in 2012. Nicole lent her expertise to the reporting and editing of this story and oversaw the testing process.