If you need to cook it, we’ll give you the versatility to make it! The West Bend Versatility Cooker is your “go-to” tool for easy breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. With one appliance you get a slow cooker, oven-ready roaster, stovetop pot, and electric griddle. Plus, the lid and cooking pot are dishwasher-safe so cleanup is a breeze. With Tender Crisp Technology, you can achieve all the quick cooking and tenderizing wonders that you love about pressure cookers.
The capacity is large enough to serve dinner for the whole family. The Set & Forget has a ceramic crock, which we prefer for even heat distribution. That said, you will need to use a separate pan if you want to sear hamilton beach mixer meat or sauté aromatics before placing them in any slow cooker. The Set & Forget also made the most tender roast, heating it slowly over time (the final internal temperature measured at 212 °F after five hours).
We’ve read some complaints that slow cook settings on pressure cookers like Instant Pots can get dicey, but we didn’t notice any red flags in our tests. A slow cooker is still more affordable and easier to use, but if you have room for only one appliance, an electric pressure cooker is the way to go. We eliminated six models based on their poor cooking performance and lack of features. For the final three models, we cooked a classic pot roast with a 3-pound chuck roast and vegetables on the high setting for five hours. Again, we checked the meat’s internal temperature every hour. We sliced and tasted the roasts to see how tender they were (we had to, for science).
Its revolutionary Crisping Lid allows you to air fry, bake, roast, and broil. That means you can pressure cook to lock in juices, then finish with a crisp. Only the Ninja Foodi gives you the best of pressure cooking and air frying, all in one pot.
We think this size is the most versatile, but if you’re most often cooking for one or two, you could consider a smaller machine. But it doesn’t have a locking lid or a probe thermometer, and costs more than our pick. If you want a longer timer or a more precise probe thermometer, we recommend the Hamilton Beach Temp Tracker 6 Quart Slow Cooker. The Temp Tracker is similar to our top pick but has a 24-hour timer (instead of 14 hours), more built-in slots for a probe thermometer, and a medium setting as well as high, low, and warm. Unlike with the Set & Forget, the probe thermometer reads to the degree, and you can set it to a wider range of target cooking temperatures. But this model ran a little hotter in our tests, and we’re not convinced that everyone needs the extras, which go above and beyond the “set it and forget it” slow cooker mantra.
Create wholesome, multi-textured 360 meals by cooking proteins, veggies, and grains all together. Elevate your favorite stew and chili recipes by adding a crispy or bubbly top to make one-pot wonders. Throw in uncooked rice & water, hit a button & it’s perfection in no time, without any effort. Plus, rice cookers keep cooked rice warm & delicious for hours, so if your kids are running late, no problem. Did you know that some rice cookers can make more than just rice? Many s are round or oval in shape, and there are also rectangular Hamilton Beach slow cookers that fit nicely on your countertop or in the cabinet.