Slow cookers offer a convenient, hands-off approach to cooking hearty, home-cooked meals, without the need for continuous pot stirring. They’re particularly popular in the colder months, as you can use them to cook wintry dishes like stews, soups and curries.
Cooking meat in a slow cooker is also a simple way to achieve tender, flavoursome results, and even puddings, dhal and yoghurt can be made using these nifty appliances.
As the cost-of-living crisis continues to have a huge impact on budgets, slow cooking has also been touted as a way to cook meals more efficiently and at a lower cost versus using an oven. Slow cookers make batch cooking incredibly easy, which is another great way to save time and money.
These gadgets can greatly vary in capacity, budget, and technology, but most are very straightforward and can be used straight out of the box. Some high-tech models also come with additional features, like sous-vide settings, automatic timers, and presets for specific ingredients like meat, poultry, vegetables and soup.
We’ve been keeping an eye out for the biggest deals on our best slow cookers from a range of retailers. We’ll keep checking the appliances on our list for any changes in price, to help you get the best and biggest savings.
For recipes, resources and ideas for how to eat well on a budget, discover our Cook Smart campaign. Or visit our reviews section and discover more than 600 practical buyer’s guides offering unbiased advice on what equipment is worth investing in. Find everything from the best food processors to other energy efficient kit such as best air fryers and best slow cookers.
Which retailers have slow cooker deals?
- Amazon – Prime Early Access sale on 11th and 12th October for Prime members. Sign up here.
- Currys – save 40% across a variety of products
- AO.com – savings on air fryers, microwaves, coffee machines and more
- Appliances Direct – deals on kitchen appliances
- Lakeland – discounts on kitchenware, appliances, and more
- Very – The Very big sale ends 13th October
- Robert Dyas – deals across the entire Robert Dyas product range
- Wayfair – shop 5 days of deals now
- John Lewis and Partners – 30% off home and kitchenware
- JD Williams – save up to 40% on homeware in the mid-season sale
Don’t forget that all of these retailers will be competing for your attention, so will be keeping track of other brands’ prices as well as their own. Previously, we’ve seen Currys, AO, and John Lewis and Partners offer a price-match promise. When you find a price that you’re happy with, check for added extras like free delivery.
Best deals on our top slow cookers right now
Ninja Foodi 9-in-1 Multi-Cooker
Best blowout multi-tasking slow cooker
Star rating: 5/5
The slow-cooking function of this Ninja model excelled in our tests, and while it’s footprint is fairly large, its versatility means you shouldn’t have to fork out for any additional appliances. Other settings include air crisping, searing and sautéing, grilling, pressure cooking, dehydrating, roasting and baking, steaming, and making yoghurt.
We loved how user-friendly and intuitive it was to set up, and found lots of inspiration inside the recipe book and cooking cheat sheet.
The slow cooker pot has plenty of heft, too; with a six-litre capacity, it’s incredibly robust and never gets too hot, which is a good safety feature. Overall, it ticks plenty of boxes and scored highly across the board.
More like this
Read the full Ninja Foodi 9-in-1 Multi Cooker review.
Morphy Richards Easy Time slow cooker
Best simple slow cooker with timer
Star rating: 5/5
Some manual slow cookers perform as well as higher-tech models – the only compromise being a lack of timer. This isn’t the case with Morphy Richards’ Easy Time model, which has a clever automatic timer that runs for up to 12 hours.
Once the time is up, a keep-warm function kicks in to ensure food stays at the optimum temperature for up to two hours.
As for its cooking credentials, this appliance impressed once again; our slow cooker beef stew was a total hit, and the meat turned out perfectly succulent and tender.
While it’s on the pricier end of other manual slow cookers we’ve tested, now’s a great chance to snap it up with a discount. Read our full Morphy Richards Easy Time slow cooker review.
Crock Pot TimeSelect CSC066
Best slow cooker for automatic functions
Star rating: 4.5/5
We found this high-tech model to be great value for a number of reasons – the first being its generous 5.6L capacity, which is ideal for large families or entertaining.
It has a sleek, attractive appearance and a surprisingly modest footprint for its size, and its main ceramic bowl feels weighty and robust. It scored highly on versatility too, as the pot can go inside the oven up to 250C.
The four automatic settings, which include meat, poultry, soup and vegetables, are very easy to set up. The only thing lacking for us was the number of recipes inside the manual. Regardless, this is an excellent slow cooker that produces great results.
Read the full Crock Pot Time Select review.
How do we find slow cooker deals?
When we look for slow cooker deals, we check a huge variety of retailer sites to see which deals are available. Larger brands, like Amazon and John Lewis and Partners, have dedicated sale days where the best discounts are listed. As brands try to compete with each other, prices tend to change a few times a day, so we track all the prices to ensure you’re getting the best deal and update this list accordingly.
We also don’t just look at the larger retailers – we look at the smaller ones too, as they may be offering prices that bigger brands can’t. Our ultimate aim is to ensure you’re getting the best deals and biggest savings possible, whatever the retailer.
How do we select slow cooker deals?
While there are lots of slow cooker deals around, those included in our list are the best performers of those shortlisted, tested and reviewed by BBC Good Food experts. Each slow cooker was put to the test using BBC Good Food’s triple-tested recipes, which allow us to assess how they perform and challenge any extra functions. We take note of what the appliance does well, but we also check for any weaknesses. Read our guide to the best slow cookers to discover our top-rated picks and find out which models achieved the highest star-ratings.
Are slow cookers energy efficient?
Appliances like slow cookers tend to run for a few hours, so they typically have a lower wattage. A lower wattage results in lower energy consumption, which means slow cookers can be classed as energy efficient versus other higher-wattage appliances.
To calculate your slow cooker’s daily cost, take the wattage and multiply that number by the hours of use per day. Then, divide the total by 1000 to get the appliance’s estimated daily kilowatt-hour (kWh). Don’t forget that this number will vary depending on where you live and who your energy supplier is. If you have a smart meter, you’ll be able to see the cost while your slow cooker is in use.
Read our guide to energy-efficient cooking and check out our pick of the best energy-efficient appliances.
How to get a good slow cooker deal
- Stick to a budget: sales like these offer great opportunities to save money on a range of products, so to ensure you make the most of these savings, set a budget and stick to it.
- Read reviews: it’s easy to get pulled in by a good-looking deal, but there’s also a chance the model you have your eye on is a dud. Our expert reviewers have tested a wide variety of slow cookers, so you can rest assured their recommendations are solid. Each test and review is impartial, and we always include the most up-to-date advice on the products actually worth spending money on.
- Use tools that alert you to good deals: for instance, CamelCamelCamel will show you the price history of Amazon products.
- When you see a price you’re happy with, buy it: many deals are only available for a short period.
All savings percentages have been rounded up or down to the nearest whole number.
