Are slow cookers a waste of money

[Moominfan]

Do you use one. How often? If you don't use it why not? On a super tight budget at the minute but also trying to make my life easier

[OhioOhioOhio]

Yes they make life easier. They redistribute your time. Try gumtree?

[DonnaDarko]

I got one from Amazon for only £30. I love it.

I work from home so I put it on at lunch time and everything is ready for dinner. It's really reduced the amount of time I spend faffing about in the kitchen but I really need to experiment with it more!

[Littlepond]

Use mine at least twice a week. Bung stuff in, turn on, dinner ready when I get in from work. I don’t follow recipes which require browning stuff etc before it goes in, I literally chuck stuff in and turn on. My fave - 500g lean mince, tin tomatoes, tin baked beans, load of veg (sometimes I use frozen or tinned, sometimes just leftovers from night before). Turn on low, go to work, come home, eat. Yum!

[LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD]

I have an electric pressure that is also a slow cooker and I use it loads (I use it on Sunday, yesterday and today - curry, steaming veggies, making a quick pasta sauce). I will probably use it to make soup tomorrow as have the snotters 🤧 and it steams rice reasonably well.

I love mine - www.ebay.co.uk/p/Pressure-King-Pro-8-in-1-Electric-Digital-Pressure-Cooker-Black-3L/1990282571?iid=163856384890&chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-134428-41853-0&mkcid=2&itemid=163856384890&targetid=595627740153&device=m&mktype=pla&googleloc=9045903&poi=&campaignid=1701291960&mkgroupid=66589449352&rlsatarget=pla-595627740153&abcId=1140496&merchantid=6995734&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjsXrzcHY5AIVV-DtCh2N5gQNEAQYASABEgKymvD_BwE

[Puppymania]

Definately not a waste of money! Use mine more in the colder months, at least once a week. A simple sausage casserole is wonderful and look at Campfire stew on the Pinch of Nom website, the whole family love it and there is always left overs for lunch or dinner the next day. Super thrifty.

[LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD]

I looooove mine 💓 💓 💓

[zonkin]

Going against the grain here, but I went through a phase of loving my slow cooker then ended up giving it away along with the cookbooks I bought for it.

You can cook a nicer bolognaise/chili/curry/whatever in a pan, or on a low heat in the oven and the dishes benefit from a bit more cooking on the hob rather than just being chucked in the slow cooker without any prep.

[LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD]

I usually use it alongside my hob - I end up cooking a few things at once so it’s useful if I need something to cook fast or stew away, or keep warm whilst I cook other things.

Did I mention that I love mine?

[LifeOfBox]

I have got one that I use about six times a year. I am not a fan of the texture of things that come out of the slow cooker. Much prefer food cooked slowly in the oven or on the hob.

[LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD]

It makes brilliant dhal.

[Redshoeblueshoe]

In Aldi this week they are about £14.
I use mine a lot

[OohMrDarcy]

Love mine!

Used at least once a week in summer and 2/3 times a week the rest of the year.
I eat healthier as there is less of the 'end of the day, knackered and cant be arsed' stuff happening.
It frees up time in the evening
The food is delicious
And I generally make extras to reheat for lunches too

What's not to love?!

[ClashCityRocker]

We use ours a couple of times a week in autumn/winter.

Mostly stews, casseroles and curries.

I'm not keen on mince in it personally.

[rodentforce]

They are great. We are vegetarians and I constantly use it to make curry. I do find, though, that it's best to fry (or roast in oil) the onions and some other veg first, otherwise it tastes quite bland. You can often pick them up half price if you shop around - mine is a crock pot and my sister bought it for me for £17.50 (half price) from Tesco.

[beatriceprior]

I use mine more once it gets to autumn and winter.

Nothing better after being cold outside to walking in to a hot meal that smells gorgeous.

We do chilli, stews, scouse, hot pot and curry. All with crusty bread or garlic bread.

It was a game changer for me. You literally can't fuck it up lol.

[oldenoughtobehavebetter]

If you have space on the kitchen counter it will get used.

As soon as it goes in a cupboard it will be forgotten and then you will read a thread like this and think oh yes that's a good idea but forget to take it out of the cupboard for another six months

[youkiddingme]

One of my favourite kitchen gadgets. Wish I'd bought one years ago. Much cheaper to run than an over. Easier to clean. Really pretty hard to burn food in it. So easy to use.

[happyasasandboy]

I use mine a couple of times a month to cook large portions for dinner and the freezer. I think stews and bolognaise taste much better cooked on low for 8 hours in the slow cooker than on the hob.

[beatriceprior]

They are great for batch cooking and freezing op

[ToBeShared]

I hate mine - it destroys flavour the curries and bolognaise were awful. Would much rather stove or oven cook.

[LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD]

I keep mine in on a stone chopping coward on top of the back ring of the hob.

[SpoonBlender]

Use ours once a week or so. Makes amazing curries, stews, pulled pork, coq au vin, chilli, pork'n'beans - basically anything wet.

Ours has a removable inner pot, I usually fry up onions etc and spices in before tossing in the wet stuff and popping it back in the cooker part. Proper one-pot cooking!

No idea how @ToBeShared (and others) get a lousy result - do you not leave it on low for 6+ hours, after getting it up to simmering temperature? That's the trick. TBF I've never tried spag bol in it, but I've made excellent tomato sauce.

[Coconutbug]

I am using mine every day at the moment (39 weeks) and can see that continuing once baby is here. Before than I was using it at least 3 times a week on days that I worked.

I got a slow cooker by the make 'crock pot' think it was £40, but it's got a hinged lid which is super helpful. You can select the cooking time e.g 6 hours then after this time it will automatically switch to 'keep warm' setting for 4 hours which is handy if you are at work.

I think some recipes do work better than others, I prefer ones where you can just bung everything in and not pre cook it. I've done alot of testing in prep for babies arrival to make sure we have some easy recipes on the menu.
I've always loved my slow cooker

[Sooverthemill]

Used mine a lot when we had kids at home. Now less often but still regularly. It's a while ago now but mine cost £10 from Asda and I imagine you could still snap up a bargain. They just need on off low medium and high. Nothing fancy necessary

[Sooverthemill]

George direct has a breville one for £15. Looks good