Slow cookers are time saving, low cost to run and great for hands-off cooking. But they require a very different approach to regular cooking and your usual recipes will need adapting to use in a slow cooker. It can seem like slow cookers are just for winter – ideal for making tough cuts of meat tender and cosy stews, but what else? In fact, slow cookers can be much more versatile than this, and this is where dedicated slow cooker cookbooks come in.

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As slow cookers have increased in popularity, there's plenty of new slow cooker cookbooks to choose from with modern recipe ideas. They can help your broaden your slow cooking horizons and open up a new world of recipes you can use your machine for – from breakfast ideas to curries, pies, pasta bakes and even puddings.

Our slow cooker cookbook round up has something for everyone – whether you're a newbie to the game, are looking for healthy recipes, meal plans to use your machine every day or specific vegetarian or vegan recipes. Some of the books we read included methods for both slow cooking and conventional ovens, which is useful if you don’t always want to specifically rely on the slow cooker.

If you're still debating buying a slow cooker, check out our best slow cookers review where we've tried and tested the best models on the market to find the perfect for you, whether you want a budget model or a high-tech option to cook for the whole family.

For more inspiration, check out our cookbooks hub with all our reviews, including the best air fryer cookbooks, best baking books, the best keto cookbooks or best vegetarian cookbooks. We've also got plenty of slow cooker recipes on BBC Good Food – from slow cooker chicken recipes to healthy slow cooker recipes.

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Best slow cooker cookbooks at a glance

  • Best for meal plans: What’s For Dinner? In One Pot by Sarah Rossi, £10
  • Best for slow cooker beginners: The Ultimate Slow Cooker Cookbook by Clare Andrews, £10
  • Best for healthy slow cooker recipes: Bored of Lunch: The Healthy Slow Cooker Book by Nathan Anthony, £9
  • Best slow cooker bible: Good Food Ultimate Slow Cooker Recipes, £13.19
  • Best for easy healthy slow cooker recipes: Bored of Lunch: Healthy Slow Cooker Even Easier by Nathan Anthony, £10
  • Best for vegan slow cooker recipes: Vegan Slow Cooker by Saskia Sidey, £11.11
  • Best for vegetarian slow cooker recipes: Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Libby Silbermann, £8.38
  • Best for all-year-round slow cooking: Cook Slow: Light & Healthy by Dean Edwards, £9.99

Best slow cooker cookbooks to buy 2023

‘What’s For Dinner? In One Pot’ by Sarah Rossi

‘What’s For Dinner? In One Pot’ by Sarah Rossi

Best for meal plans

We know people love a meal plan and this clever book has 100 recipes, plus 10 meal plans with shopping lists. Each meal plan includes six dinners (leaving one night for some flexibility or leftovers), a breakfast for the weekend and a treat to bake. Every recipe in the book uses one of three pans: slow cooker, a sauté pan/casserole dish or a baking tray – so you don’t need tons of equipment. Rossi focuses on short ingredients lists and accessible family meals – think turkey taco rice, creamy gnocchi traybake or nacho loaded fries. We particularly like that even the slow cooker recipes have instructions for if you don't have one, and there’s plenty of additional tips on every page.

Must try recipe: Sticky ginger ham

Available from:
HarperCollins (£20)
Waterstones (£20)
Amazon (£10)

The Ultimate Slow Cooker Cookbook by Clare Andrews

The Ultimate Slow Cooker Cookbook

Best for slow cooker beginners

If you've just bought a slow cooker and aren't sure where to start, this slow cooker bible is a good place to start. As well as 80 recipes, there's a useful general guide on how to approach slow cooking different ingredients such as jacket potatoes, a whole chicken or lamb chops. Recipes include familiar slow cooker staples as well as new ideas such as a veggie Lancashire hotpot, whole roast chicken cooked in cider and red Thai prawn noodles.

Must try recipe: Whole chicken cooked in cider

Available from:
Amazon (£10)
WHSmith (£14)
Waterstones (£10)
Foyles (£20)

Bored of Lunch: The Healthy Slow Cooker Book by Nathan Anthony

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Bored of Lunch Healthy Slow Cooker

Best for healthy slow cooker recipes

While slow cookers may often be associated with cosy comfort food, Nathan Anthony’s approach focuses on ‘calorie-conscious’ meals. Letting the slow cooker do the work means recipe methods are short (usually just 1-2 steps) and easily approachable even for novice cooks. If you’re trying to be healthy, there’s clear calorie information for every recipe, including any additional side dish recommendations. Chapters include 'Fakeaways', 'Weekday Dinners' and 'Feeding a Crowd'.

Must try recipe: Mango chicken curry

Good Food: Ultimate Slow Cooker Recipes

BBC Good Food ultimate slow cooker recipes

Best slow cooker bible

We had to give a shoutout to our own collection of slow cooker recipes. We've produced hundreds of meal ideas over the years and this collection rounds up 150 of our favourites. Classics such as curries, chillis and hearty stews are covered along with new ideas and clever slow cooked puddings.

Available from:
Amazon (£13.19)
Waterstones (£14.99)
WHSmith (£13.79)

Bored of Lunch: Healthy Slow Cooker Even Easier by Nathan Anthony

Bored of Lunch Healthy Slow Cooker Even Easier

Best for easy healthy slow cooker recipes

Following on from his original Healthy Slow Cooker book above, Nathan Anthony returns in January 2024 with more easy, healthy slow cooker ideas. Every recipe in the book is under 500 calories, giving lighter twists on many simple classic recipes. The highlight of this book is the ‘Meal prep, batch and freeze’ chapter giving ideas such as teriyaki beef bowls, saag aloo and creamy veggie bakes – batch cook at the weekend and then eat healthily all week. The easiest recipes are also marked with a handy logo when they take just five minutes or less prep time.

Must try recipe: Sticky whisky BBQ ribs

Available from:
Amazon (£10)
Waterstones (£10)
WHSmith (£10)

Vegan Slow Cooker by Saskia Sidey

Vegan Slow Cooker Saskia Sidey

Best for vegan slow cooker recipes

While slow cookers are commonly associated with casseroles and large cuts of meat, this short book of 70 recipes shows there’s plenty of vegan ways to use one, too. Aside from chapters on breakfasts and sweet treats, the two main course chapters are cleverly divided into ‘3 hours or less’ and ‘More than 3 hours’, so you can decide just how slow you want to cook. Ingredients are familiar and make the most of vegetables and spices rather than complex vegan alternatives.

Must try recipe: Whole spiced cauliflower

Available from:
Amazon (£11.11)
Waterstones (£12.99)
WHSmith (£11.95)
Foyles (£12.95)

Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Libby Silbermann

Vegetarian Slow Cooker Libby Silbermann

Best for vegetarian slow cooker recipes

This follows the same format as Vegan Slow Cooker above, with 70 recipes and the main course chapters divided by timings. Lots of the recipes are actually very similar to that book, too, but with more flexibility due to the ability to use dairy. Mains under 3½ hours include a selection of risottos, soups, veggie curries and pasta bakes, whilst recipes requiring a longer slow cook include a pumpkin, brie and sage lasagne or lentil and celeriac shepherds pie.

Must try recipe: Blackberry and almond steamed pudding

Available from:
Amazon (£8.38)
Waterstones (£10)
WHSmith (£9.20)
Foyles (£10)

Cook Slow: Light & Healthy by Dean Edwards

Cook Slow: Light & Healthy by Dean Edwards

Best for all-year-round slow cooking

On a mission to show that slow cooking doesn’t just have to be winter comfort food, this collection from Dean Edwards of healthier, nourishing recipes aims to help you use your slow cooker all year round. There’s over 90 recipes and all also have conventional oven methods for helpful comparison. Our highlights were the recipes where the slow cooker provides real benefits, such as the vegan black bean ‘meatball’ marinara and ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ teriyaki beef. Recipes are also clearly labelled when gluten free, if this is useful to you.

Must try recipe: Chipotle jackfruit tacos

Available from:
Amazon (£9.99)
Waterstones (£16.99)
WHSmith (£15.63)
Foyles (£16.99)

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