Is there anything better than coming home to the smell of your dinner already cooking? Even better if you’ve only had to spend ten minutes in the morning throwing some ingredients into your slow cooker. Slow cookers are designed to cook for a long time so you can keep it on low overnight or all day while you’re out as long as you follow the directions and the manufacturer's instructions. However, consider what it is you’re cooking. Most recipes suggest six to eight hours on low, so if you want it on for longer, it is best to keep an eye on it to ensure you get the best out of your recipe. Do you need to brown meat before slow cooking? The dumpling are just three ingredients and can be added to the stew during the last hour of cooking. Or we suggest serving this with mashed potatoes - the ultimate in midweek comfort food. A dollop of onion marmalade, stirred in towards the end, will add the sweetness of caramelised onions with non of the hassle.

Put your slow cooker to good use with a rich slow cooker lamb curry. This ‘low and slow’ method of cooking the lamb gives meltingly tender results and enriches the spiced coconut sauce with plenty of flavour. With this number one bestselling book, Nathan Anthony has proven that you can eat healthily and still enjoy gorgeous home cooked meals at the end of a busy day. The book came from Nathan’s popular blog, Bored of Lunch and he now has over 1.2m followers, plus a companion book focusing on air fryers. Slow cookers are one of the most energy efficient kitchen appliances as they are designed to cook slowly and over a long period of time. In fact, they use only a bit more energy than a traditional light bulb. What is the best slow cooker recipe book in the UK? This hearty and satisfying stew is deliciously easy – just let the slow cooker do the work! We used carrots, parsnips and potatoes, but you can use any leftover roast veg here. The recipes can be easily prepared in 15 minutes or less and include the likes of Sweet and Sour Tempeh and Lazy Lentils, with nutritional information, cooking tips and even suggestions for leftovers. The only thing to note is that some of the 100+ recipes are salads and side dishes, so they are not all meals that can be cooked in a slow cooker or multi-cooker.

If your family likes to try new things, this could be the book for you. With a mixture of family favourites and dishes that are a bit more adventurous, Whole Food Slow Cooked helps you put delicious meals on the table with different options for cooking, depending on how much time you have. Perfect for busy families, the best slow cooker can provide a tasty home cooked meal with minimal mess and fuss. What’s not to love? While stews and soups are the most common recipes for slow cookers, there’s loads you can do with them – from slow cooked meat and tasty sauces to desserts and even bread. A plant-based vegan version of pulled pork, this easy slow cooker recipe is full of flavour and bound to please vegetarian and vegan guests at parties and barbecues. Double the recipe if making for a crowd.

Place all the ingredients for this slow cooker beef casserole straight into the bowl. No need to brown the beef in advance - just lightly dust the pieces of braising steak with flour before hand. You don’t have to brown your meat first, so if you're in a hurry, you can throw your ingredients in and you’ll still get a tasty meal out of it. However, if you have time, browning is better for adding more depth to your dish. You will get more rich, complex flavours from frying off your meat before cooking it in the slow cooker. Are slow cookers energy efficient? More people in the UK choose to attend a Slimming World group each week than any other weight loss group. This easy mulled wine recipe is a festive staple. We recommend buying a fruity red like a merlot or grenache. You can even keep the wine warm in the slow cooker - perfect for Christmas parties. This recipe can be doubled or scaled up if serving a large crowd. Whilst this book isn’t specifically a slow cooker recipe book, it comes recommended on our Mumsnet forums due to the variety of ways the meals can be cooked. Written by Kate Allinson and Kay Featherstone, Pinch of Nom Comfort Food is part of their bestselling series of books.I have the BBC [Good] Food Slow Cooker Recipe Book, which has some nice and simple recipes in it.” (Recommended by Mumsnet user Pilot12) Our verdict Smoked paprika and chorizo are the lead actors in this all star cast recipe. Butterbeans add an extra dose of plant protein to make this a satisfying and robust Spanish casserole. There’s a lot of reasons to love your slow cooker at this time of year. They’re brilliant for busy days, as you can throw the ingredients in and let the slow-cooker do the work! And they can also save you money because they use less energy than an oven, are perfect for batch cooking and work well with store cupboard staples.