Best Slow Cookers of 2025: Programmable, Multi-Cooker & Budget Picks

The slow cooker is the ultimate “set it and forget it” kitchen appliance. Dump in your ingredients in the morning, go about your day, and come home to a house that smells like dinner cooked itself. For busy families, meal preppers, and anyone who loves a good stew or pot roast, a slow cooker earns its counter space many times over. In 2025, the slow cooker market has evolved well beyond the simple “Low / High / Warm” dial of decades past. Programmable timers that switch to keep-warm automatically, built-in temperature probes, stovetop-safe inserts that let you sear before you simmer, and multi-cookers that pressure-cook, steam, and slow-cook in one appliance — there’s a model for every cooking style and budget. We tested and compared six of the most popular slow cookers across all categories to help you find the right one. ...

May 23, 2025 · 16 min · Kitchen Gear Review Team