How to use a slow cooker: smart tips to enhance your family meals and save time in the kitchen

Let’s be frank, no one likes spending more time cooking than they need to, especially during the week. As a result, it’s no surprise that the best slow cooker models have become increasingly popular in recent years.

Thanks to their ‘throw it all in and leave it’ abilities, slow cookers allow meals to be prepared well in advance, gently cooking at a low temperature whilst you work or run errands and filling your home with delicious aromas in the process.

At the end of a busy day, there is nothing better than tucking into a warm meal that’s ready and waiting on your return, so it’s no wonder Mumsnet users swear by slow cookers for fuss-free family meals and convenient midweek dinners.

If you haven’t used a slow cooker before, you may be struggling for inspiration or wondering where to start. Fear not. We’ve tapped into the knowledge of Mumsnet users to seek out tried-and-tested meal suggestions, as well as hints and tips on how to reap the benefits of your slow cooker.

Plus, for more convenient cooking tips, don’t miss our guide to the best air fryer, another handy gadget that can save you time and money in the kitchen.

What is a slow cooker?

Unlike a traditional oven, a slow cooker cooks food slowly over a prolonged period of time. This slow-pace, low-temperature cooking is ideal for producing tender cuts of meat and gently releasing the flavours in your ingredients over time.

Due to their convenience and ease of use, slow cookers are praised for midweek meals and family dinners, freeing up time for parents to run errands or do other things whilst the meal is cooking.

Most of the best Instant Pot multi-cookers include a slow cooking function too, so you can use one of these devices to prepare tasty slow-cooked meals if you’re short on space and want a gadget with multiple modes such as 'pressure cooker', 'rice cooker', and many more.

How do you use a slow cooker?

Slow cookers are incredibly easy to use. Simply prepare your ingredients, add them into the pot, plug in your slow cooker and turn the temperature to low or high depending on your recipe.

You can then simply replace the lid and get on with your day. Once the desired cooking time has passed, you can either enjoy it straight away or switch to a keep warm mode, allowing the dish to remain at a suitable temperature until you are ready to serve.

Slow cookers are also one of the most energy efficient kitchen appliances so they are much cheaper to run than a traditional oven, ideal if you're trying to watch the pennies with rising energy bills.

In some cases, you may want to brown your meat before adding it to the slow cooker, but this is often down to personal preference. It is also recommended that you layer your ingredients, with the slowest cooking ingredients at the bottom.

If you’re a total beginner, we’d recommend investing in one of the best cookbooks dedicated to slow cooker recipes - Amazon has a good selection available.

Slow cookers: what's the best setting for my recipe?

Most slow cookers will come with a choice of high and low settings as a minimum, with the low setting taking approximately twice the amount of time to cook than on high.

Some slow cookers also have a ‘keep warm’ setting which can be selected manually, or switched to automatically once the desired cooking time has passed. This setting prevents overcooking and allows you to keep a dish warm until the time you are ready to serve.

Some more feature-rich slow cookers have an auto cook mode, which starts at a higher temperature before lowering the temperature for the remainder of the cooking time.

Read next: Make meal prep a breeze with our pick of the best food processors, as recommended by Mumsnet users.

The best slow cooker tips for delicious meals every time

1. Prepare your ingredients the night before

Even with the best of intentions, it can be hard to find time during busy mornings to prepare food, especially before sleep-deprived school runs and work commutes. Save yourself precious time by preparing your ingredients the night before, chopping and preparing everything as necessary and then storing in the best Tupperware, bento box or lunch box in the fridge overnight. Then, all you need to do in the morning is bring it back to room temperature, throw it all into the slow cooker and turn it on!

What Mumsnet users say

“Put everything into the pot the night before. Put the pot in the fridge. Just before you leave, put the pot into the cooker and turn on the low [setting].” Bombayflambe

“Just make the meals up the night before or even at the weekend and put them either in the pot or a big plastic bag. Then just stick the pot in the cooker or empty the bag into the pot in the morning. It's especially good for things like chilli and bolognese.”  FellOutOfBed2wice

2. Reduce the liquid

Thanks to the sealed lid and the lack of moisture evaporation, slow cooker recipes don’t need as much liquid as they do when cooking via traditional methods. As a general rule, if you're converting a recipe to slow cook, you should reduce the liquid by around a third. It’s also important to ensure that you don’t overfill your slow cooker, as this could lead to overflowing.

What Mumsnet users say

“Always use less liquid and more seasoning than normal or it all tastes the same.” idontlikealdi

“Don’t add too much liquid at the start as there is only limited evaporation in a slow cooker (not like in the oven or on the stovetop)." eenymeenymineymo

“Slow cookers are great, just remember very little liquid steams away, so don't add as much water or stock as you would normally, and bear in mind a lot of vegetables will add more liquid. If the recipe included a tin of tomatoes, I might not add all the tomato juice. You can save it and add it later if you need to.” GrannyHaddock

3. Buy cheaper cuts of meat

There’s no need to waste money on expensive cuts of meat for your slow cooker. In fact, cheaper cuts such as beef brisket, pork shoulder and chicken thighs tend to work best, becoming incredibly tender during cooking. You may want to cut away any visible fat before adding it to the pot.

What Mumsnet users say

“Any meat works, and you can use cheap stuff: shin beef, stewing steak, pork shoulder, ham shank and such like.” PomBearWithAnOFRS

4. Add cornflour to thicken

Again, due to the lack of evaporation, you may find that sauce and gravy don’t thicken as much as they would via traditional cooking methods. If your sauce is particularly watery, add a small amount of cornflour towards the end of the cooking time to thicken.

When you’re happy with your lovely, thickened sauce and it’s all ready to be tucked into, why not serve your meal alongside some delicious bread to mop up the sauce? Our guide to the best bread maker has plenty of options that will fill your home with that welcoming scent of freshly baked bread.

What Mumsnet users say

“I use cornflour to thicken slow cooker recipes, hadn't used it before but it really helps.” Luzina

5. Cook on low if you’re out all day

If you’re using a slow cooker whilst you’re at work or out of the house, it is recommended you do so on the low setting. Not only does this allow for longer cooking times without overcooking, but it also provides a slow, steady release of flavours - ideal for busy parents who want to come home to a tasty meal all prepped and ready to go.

What Mumsnet users say

“You literally just bung everything in in the morning, put it on (usually on low if out all day) and you've got dinner ready when you come home.” - ronconcoke

Read next: Make family meals more convenient by getting the ingredients delivered to your door. Our guide to the best recipe boxes has something for everyone

6. Avoid opening the lid during cooking

As tempting as it may be to sneak a peak or give your dish a little taste test, opening the lid of a slow cooker during cooking can actually extend your cooking time, releasing valuable heat that you need inside the pot. Leave it alone, and let it work its magic.

What Mumsnet users say

“Apparently every time you take the lid off it adds another 30 minutes to the cooking time, so I reckon just switch [it] on and leave [it] alone.”  fergoose

7. Make use of ‘keep warm’ functionality

Some of the more feature-rich slow cookers include an automatic switch to ‘keep warm’ mode, which will keep your food warm until you are ready to serve without overcooking. If you are going to be out for a whole working day, this may be beneficial so that it stops cooking after the desired time.

What Mumsnet users say

“I love the way mine switches to 'keep warm' when it's ready. Means we come into a hot meal but not overcooked mush.” - Piffyonarockbun

“A ‘keep warm’ function can be useful; a working day can easily be more than 10 hours and otherwise food could be disintegrating by then.” handbagsatdawn33

8. Brown or sear the meat

Whilst it’s not essential if you’re short on time, browning or searing the meat before adding it to the slow cooker can help boost the flavour and seal in those delicious juices. It can also be visually more appealing too.

What Mumsnet users say

“I always brown meat beforehand in a frying pan till it’s caramelised. It adds colour and flavour, but it's not absolutely essential.” Eleoura

“I find browning off meat depends on the fat content and type of meat. I hate doing it early morning as I don't need that smell first thing.” ReginaFilange001

9. Go big for batch cooking

It’s important not to overfill your slow cooker in order to prevent overflowing (with a recommended maximum of around three-quarters of capacity). If you’re wanting to serve up big portions or prepare food for the freezer, opt for a larger-sized or oval slow cooker.

What Mumsnet users say

“Get a six-litre one (I prefer the metal liner, rather than the ceramic one, as it’s not so heavy and you can brown stuff on the stove first if you want) and then you can do enough for all of you plus a batch for the freezer.”  SheShriekedShrilly

Read next: Save money with a fakeaway - our pick of the best deep fat fryer is ideal for creating indulgent treat meals

What can you cook in a slow cooker?

Perhaps a more suitable question is what can’t you cook in a slow cooker?

Slow cookers are extremely versatile and, thanks to their ‘throw it all in’ abilities, the choice of dishes is pretty endless. Here is just a small selection of the most popular slow cooker dishes in the Mumsnet community.

Casseroles

“I made sausage casserole yesterday and it was actually delicious. I bought two packs of the extra special sausages and I think that's what made it so nice. Added in a sliced onion, sliced carrots and a sachet of sausage casserole mix and it was delicious. Had it with mash and Yorkshire puds. I fried off the sausages first for colour and thickened it at the end with onion gravy granules.”  Choosingtochange

Chillis

“Chilli is always a winner, especially a rustic-style one with beef pieces instead of mince.” Plantsandpuddlesuits

Curries

"Chicken tikka masala - it's delicious. If I'm in a rush I don't bother browning stuff off beforehand and it's fine. Really easy, very good dish - crowd pleasing.” impatientwino

Brisket

“Brisket. Bung it in. Pour a bottle of beer over it. Leave it for 12-24 hours. Add juices to a gravy made on the hob and serve brisket as a roast or pulled in rolls.” MrsPsmalls

Roast chicken

“I've cooked a whole chicken a few times recently. No crispy skin but tasty, succulent chicken.” GoingBacktoSchool123

How to care for a slow cooker

If you’re going to be using your slow cooker regularly, it’s important to look after it. The good news is, just like their fuss-free cooking, they’re fairly low maintenance too.

After use, simply remove the pot from the slow cooker and hand wash in the sink with hot water and your usual washing-up liquid. Avoid using scaling pads or hard brushes as this could scratch the pot. If there is stubborn or caked-on food, you may want to leave it to soak or use some baking soda to soften it before rinsing it away.

Always dry the pot after washing and wipe down the main unit incase of any overflow or spills.

Which slow cooker to buy

You can pick up a decent quality slow cooker for as little as £20. However, the more expensive models tend to have additional features such as timers, display lights and additional heating options which can be useful for families who are out for longer periods during the day.

Tapping into the hive mind of real parents in the Mumsnet forums, we’ve rounded up the best slow cookers you can buy today.

After significant research, our verdict on the best slow cooker for busy families is the Crockpot Lift and Serve Digital Slow Cooker. We love that it automatically switches to 'keep warm' when cooking time is complete, both the lid and bowl are dishwasher safe, and it's super simple to use and master.

Read next: Best George Foreman grills for low fat family cooking

Main image credit: Crockpot