The Best Slow Cookers, According to Eight Top Chefs and Cooking Pros

The slow cooker has come a long way since its mid-century debut. For decades, home cooks wrung their hands (read: oven mitts) over watery braises, mushy veggies and dried-out meat. A lack of temperature control and vague “high” and “low” settings didn’t help. “There’s the restriction of not being able to adjust the heat to change cooking modes,” says chef and The Cook’s Companion author Stephanie Alexander AO. 

John Rivera, owner of Askal and Kariton Sorbetes in Melbourne, agrees with the machine’s limitations. “I think the biggest con with slow cookers is that they can often create dishes [that are] monotonous in flavour and texture,” he says. “Things can get mushy really quickly if you cook things for too long.” Plus, you had to brown your meat, onion, and other aromats in a separate skillet first, creating extra clean-up along the way. Not anymore.

The latest generation of slow and multi cookers is turning up the heat with a range of new features. In addition to slow cooking, many now offer searing, sauteeing, pressure cooking, air-frying and steam-crisping, all in the same pot. So you get a richer, more complex final dish and have much less washing up to do.

If you’re juggling a household or multiple jobs, a contemporary slow cooker or multi cooker is invaluable. “A good one can maintain a consistent temperature that’s high enough to keep food out of the danger zone, but low enough to run safely when left at home during work,” says Quan Nguyen, head chef at Sydney diner Chiswick.

We asked Nguyen and six other chefs and cooks which machines deserve a spot on the bench. Their recommendations range from classic six-litre slow cookers to all-in-one multi cookers, and even a roadside sous-vide find. A reliable model will last for years – Andreas Papadakis, co-owner and chef of Conferre Group (Tipo 00, Osteria Ilaria, Harriot), has had his for a decade and still uses it multiple times a week. (Though not everyone is convinced – Alexander still prefers her classic cast-iron pot.)

Plus, they share the dishes they cook most – from speedy pho and Greek slow-braises stew through to plain rice. Here’s what they recommend, and how to keep yours running well for years to come.

Nick Deligiannis, creative culinary director, Marameo

It lets you sear and slow-cook in the same pot, so you can caramelise meats and aromats before adding liquids. This adds depth of flavour and creates more savoury braises. It has a six-litre capacity, which ensures no burning or too much loss of liquid. It also has a wraparound heating element, digital controls and timer for accuracy, as well as high, low and keep-warm cooking modes for holding foods. 

It runs quite hot on low settings, so it’s best to find the ideal temperature by heating some water and using a thermometer to check the temperature versus the display screen. 

I use mine for classic Greek slow braises, such as kokkinisto (beef chuck braised in tomato and red wine), lamb or goat tsigaristo (shoulder chops with onions, olive oil, oregano and retsina wine), or even a classic avgolemono (chicken, lemon, egg and rice soup). If you’re cooking with meat, seasoning it for 10 minutes before searing helps draw some moisture out and create a better crust.

Victoria Theng, cook, content creator, Style My Plate

Being able to brown the meat straight in the pot before slow-cooking saves washing another pan and adds another layer of flavour. It can also sautee, steam and roast, so it does a lot more than a traditional slow cooker. I like that the pot has a PFAS-free ceramic non-stick coating. The six-litre size is perfect for batch cooking or making enough to enjoy for dinner and freeze the leftovers.

It’s more expensive than a basic slow cooker, so I’d only recommend it if you’ll use the extra functions. It’s also large, so you’ll want somewhere to store it if you don’t keep it on the bench.

Beef rendang, osso buco, lamb shanks and pulled pork become fork tender without much effort. It’s also great for homemade stock because you can leave it to do its thing without having to keep an eye on it.

Lorcán Kan, head chef, Etta

It’s actually the Ambiano H-106 sous-vide, which I found in hard rubbish. It’s been handy because my kitchen at home is pretty small. My wife has me on a strict “one in, one out” equipment rule, so because it’s so small, I was able to sneak it in.

It’s technically a sous-vide machine rather than a traditional slow cooker, but it works on the same idea: low temperature, long cooking and really consistent results. It’s also great for meal prep. I can cook a few individual meals at once, then keep them in the fridge or freezer until I need them.

It’s compact enough to keep in a small kitchen but still gives you the precision and control you’d expect from a sous-vide machine. I just clip mine onto my biggest cooking pot, cover it with foil, and it’s ready to go.

The touch-control buttons can be fiddly at times, particularly when you’re trying to set the temperature and time. Sous-vide also requires more preparation than throwing everything into a traditional slow cooker. You’ll also need a vacuum-sealing machine, and there is the added consideration of using plastic bags, although there are now some home-compostable options available. That said, I think the energy efficiency of the device helps to offset some of the sustainability concerns, particularly compared with running a larger appliance for long periods.

I like using it for tougher cuts of meat. One of my favourites is sous-vide beef cheeks. First, I blanch the beef cheeks in boiling water, which gets rid of some of the unwanted flavours. I then vacuum-seal them with butter and cook them at 65°C for 48 hours. You end up with really tender beef while still keeping a good texture and plenty of flavour.

I’d also recommend experimenting beyond meat. A friend put me onto the Joule: Sous Vide by Chef Steps app, which is a great starting point for ideas on what to cook and what temperatures to use.

Quan Nguyen, head chef, Chiswick

It’s transformed how I cook at home. There’s significantly less mess in the kitchen, which makes meal prep and clean-up much easier. It also has great heat retention and moisture control, so it traps delicate aromatics inside the pot, allowing the food to develop much better flavour. It also maintains an even heat without hot spots, allowing collagen and tough connective tissues to break down into rich gelatin smoothly over a few hours.

The machine is quite bulky and heavy, and it takes up a significant amount of kitchen space. The second thing is that the inner cooking pot scratches easily if you use metal utensils, so it requires careful cleaning and the use of only silicone or wooden tools.

With a Vietnamese background, I love to cook my pho in this slow cooker. I can make a delicious, deeply flavourful pho in under an hour by using the sautee/sear mode to char the aromatics – like ginger, star anise and cinnamon – before using the pressure cook function to speed up the broth-making process.

The machine also works well for slow-cooking poached pears in spiced wine. The fruit absorbs the rich, spiced wine deeply, and it is very convenient as one pot handles both the cooking and reducing of the liquid. Many people don’t realise a slow cooker can also be used for gentle baking and delicate desserts, without heating up the whole kitchen. 

John Rivera, chef, Askal, founder Kariton Sorbetes

Okay, whilst this might be “cheating” as it can also be a pressure cooker, it technically still slow-cooks. It has multi-function settings, I can do much more with it prior to the slow cooking – like sauteeing vegetables or searing meat – which means I don’t have to dirty another pan. It also allows me to boil my stew or broth first, allowing me to skim away any impurities before it enters its long slow-cooking cycle, or simmer it after for finishing touches, like thickening the gravy. Finally, it all pulls apart easily and is dishwasher-safe, making clean-up a breeze.

I love to cook an overnight congee using leftover cooked rice, a bit of water and chicken booster (because I rarely have any real stock laying around in the fridge) and chicken feet. This specific Filipino congee called arroz caldo starts with heaps of garlic, onion and ginger sauteed (in chicken fat for extra points) until they turn golden, laying the foundation for the whole dish. You can either cook it with a mixture of jasmine and glutinous rice. But growing up, we always just used leftover rice to give it new life. You could also just use chicken thighs and legs, but the chicken feet give it an incredible silky, gelatinous consistency that Asians just love!

Andreas Papadakis, chef, co-owner, Conferre Group (Tipo 00, Harriot, Osteria Ilaria)

I love its multi-functionality: you can easily adjust the temperature, time and pressure based on what you’re cooking. Its versatility is what really makes it stand out. It can be a simple rice cooker all the way to a precise pressure cooker where you can set the PSI. Finally, quality and durability are very important to me. We’ve had ours for nearly 10 years, with frequent usage and no problems at all. Great value for money!

While the bowl is a pretty good size for family meals (six litres), it is narrow. I always sautee and sear in a pan on the stove while the Breville is warming up.

We use it multiple times per week. Cooking legumes is a big one for us; we love the consistency, as it always yields the same results. We usually slow-cook lamb shoulders and beef cheeks, as well as using it for plain rice.

Stephanie Alexander AO, chef, cookbook author

I don’t own one. I prefer to use enamelled cast-iron, such as the Le Creuset pots.

[You need to think about] whether they’re very heavy or cumbersome to store.

Justine Schofield, Masterchef alum, cookbook author

I wrote a whole book on slow cooking, so there are a few brands that are great but for an allrounder that will last you a long time and is versatile, I like the Breville Fast Slow Go. It’s not cheap, but if you love slow cooking or pressure cooking, it’s worth it.

It’s six litres, which is very useful for family-size cooking. It has a stainless-steel cooking bowl rather than a ceramic or non-stick coating, which I love because it means there’s no toxic coating on the cooking surface. It pressure cooks [in addition to slow cooking], which means you get slow-cooked results in half the time.

I also really love the yoghurt function. I love to make homemade yoghurt when I have time, and this slow cooker allows you to set a specific ambient temperature and make it from scratch.

Big-batch stews, curries and bolognese are what I use it for most. I usually double my recipes, and they easily fit in the large-capacity bowl. That way, we’re not just eating the dish for one night – the freezer gets replenished too. It’s also great for steaming vegetables that usually take a while, like beetroot. It also makes exceptional stock!  For an unexpected dish, try making a steamed pudding in a slow cooker. Delicious!