The 24 Best Slow Cooker and Crockpot Recipes (Plus, Everything There Is to Know About the Appliance)

The easiest way to make a meal for the whole family? Use a slow cooker (naturally). It may take a few hours or the whole night, but the set-it-and-forget-it appliance always gets the job done. That means dinner will basically cook itself while you clean, run errands or...just chill on the couch. And all the slow cooker typically asks of the chef is to dump in the ingredients, give them a quick stir or sauté and wait. Just like that, you've made a fuss-free dinner for a crowd.

Here, I've rounded up everything you need to know about the handy kitchen gadget, plus some of my favorite recipes to prepare in it. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert—the Crockpot can tackle just about anything. Whether you're on the Mediterranean diet, nixing meat from your grocery list or looking for something your notoriously picky kids will actually eat, you can find ideas below (for instance, stuffed shells, chicken teriyaki and carbonara risotto).

I'll also be clearing up any confusion you have over the difference between a slow cooker and an Instant Pot, otherwise known as a pressure cooker. (Spoiler: They're not the same.) Let's get cooking, shall we?

What Exactly Is a Slow Cooker (& Why Do We Love It)?

A slow cooker (often called a Crockpot, which is actually just a specific brand that makes popular slow cookers) maintains a consistent low temperature to simmer food over a long period of time (read: start cooking a meal in the morning so it's ready by dinnertime). They're ideal for recipes that call for a long, moist cooking method, like braises, soups and stews.

Slow cookers have been around since the early 1950s, but the name Crockpot was introduced to the market in 1971, around the same time that slow cookers became popular. Nowadays, they're beloved for their low-fuss cooking power that requires minimal effort and babysitting on behalf of the chef.

Here are some of the slow cooker's major benefits:

• It allows for hands-off meal preparation for busy home cooks
• It basically guarantees succulent, moist results, even if the person using it is a total newbie
• On that note, it's a crucial tool for preparing large cuts of meat, especially those that are notoriously tough
• The inner pot is removable and washable, making cleanup a breeze
• It can cook crowd-pleasing meals for large groups (and in one pot to boot)

How to Choose the Best Slow Cooker for You

It's a loaded question. When it comes to Instant Pot vs. Crockpot, what's the difference—and which is best for you? The biggest difference between the two is the speed at which they cook food. An Instant Pot can prepare a meal much faster than a Crockpot—and even quicker than conventional cooking methods, like the oven. According to the Instant Pot manufacturers, the standard appliance can cook a meal up to six times faster than if cooked on the stove.

They're beloved for their low-fuss cooking power that requires minimal effort and babysitting on behalf of the chef.

If you want dinner like, yesterday and don't want to wait six to eight hours, the Instant Pot is your friend. It's easy to use, convenient and can cut cooking time in half for many lengthy recipes. (Think short ribs, homemade beans and from-scratch stock, which usually require lots of time and a watchful eye.) Like the slow cooker, pressure cookers can also tackle large, tough cuts of meat, transforming them into melt-in-your-mouth magic.

If you want to toss everything into a pot in the morning, press a button and have a cozy meal waiting for you at the end of the day, go with a slow cooker. Crockpots are also good for cooking large cuts of meat, but they take as much time as the oven, if not more. However, they're basically foolproof and guarantee a moist, tender finished product. Crockpots also tend to be less expensive than Instant Pots.

If a slow cooker is for you, there are plenty of brands and varieties to consider. For starters, PureWow SEO editor Marissa Wu loved the GreenPan Elite Slow Cooker for its brown/sauté and steam functions. Alternatively, former PureWow senior food editor Katherine Gillen suggests the Crockpot 8-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker for its hefty capacity, simple settings and digital timer.

That said, remember that a standard pressure cooker can typically be used as a slow cooker (that's one of its many functions), but a traditional Crockpot can't be used as a pressure cooker. It can only cook things slowly, either at a low or high temp. There are plenty of hybrid machines and multicookers on the market now, some of them by Crockpot, that have both pressure and slow cooker settings. So, you may not have to pick one or the other after all.