30 Mistakes We Are All Making With Our Slow Cooker

1. Adding excess liquid

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One of the biggest mistakes people make with their slow cookers is adding too much liquid. If your soup or stew is coming out too watery, remove 50% of the liquid and boil it in a pan to reduce it. You can then mix this back into your slow cooker so you don’t lose out on flavor.

2. Cooking meat too high

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Slow cooking is all about keeping things nice and simple. Let your slow cooker do its thing, so don’t put the temperature on too high! It will ruin your meat and make it dry and tough – especially beef. If you want your meat tender and juicy, a lower setting is best.

3. Not defrosting first

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While it can be tempting to shove everything into your slow cooker when you’re in a hurry, you’ll definitely need to do some prep first. Food safety-wise, it’s a big no-no to put frozen meat in your slow cooker, as it might not destroy the potentially harmful bacteria in your meat. Oh, and it might stay frozen in the middle.

4. Not prepping big flavor ingredients properly

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Speaking of prep, it’s a really good idea to make sure you’re getting as much flavor into your big ingredients by prepping them beforehand. For example, you should avoid throwing raw onions and peppers into your slow cooker – try browning them a bit first so they get sweet and tender. This gives them a whole lot more flavor.

5. Overfilling your slow cooker

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This is an all-too-common mistake that people make with their slow cooking. Lots of slow cooking recipes end up producing way more liquid than what they originally started with, so be sure to leave enough space in your cooker to avoid the dreaded overspill.

6. Putting the veg in too early

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A handy tip: don’t throw all your vegetables in at the same time. They will have different cooking requirements, and you don’t want to end up with undercooked ingredients (or cremated ones either). Make a clear plan of when you need to add different vegetables to your dish to maximize taste and texture.

7. Taking the lid off while things are still cooking

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This is super important. While it’s okay to take the lid off if you’re adding more ingredients, you shouldn’t be doing so for any other reason. Removing the lid means that heat is lost, which slows down the cooking time even further. So no peeking! Be patient and let your slow cooker do its thing.

8. Using a tender cut of beef

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You might be tempted to get a delicate, tender cut of beef from the supermarket, but you’re actually better off with a cheaper, thicker cut of meat for slow cooking. Tender cuts will end up falling apart, so go for tougher pieces that will get nice and soft. Save those expensive cuts of meat for the grill or stove.

9. Reheating food in your slow cooker

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This is a big no-no. For a start, heating food in a slow cooker takes way too long, but it also means that the slow cooking can actually create an environment where pathogenic microorganisms can thrive – and these can make you sick. Use a microwave instead, which is much safer.

10. Not sauteing meat first

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If you have an older slow cooker that doesn’t have a browning or sautéing option, then you’ll need to make sure you do this first before adding your meat to your slow cooker. Not doing so means you might have underdone meat that lacks flavor and texture.

11. No greasing your pot

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Cleaning your slow cooker or crock pot becomes a whole lot easier when you grease it before adding any ingredients. While you can put oil in the bottom, it’s better to use an oil spray on the inside of the pot, as it will prevent your food from sticking.

12. Not putting enough liquid in

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Okay, so we know that we’ve told you not to put too much liquid in. But it’s equally important to not scrimp on it either! If you don’t have enough liquid in your pot for that amazing stew you’re making, there’s a chance that the whole thing could burn. And that’s going to mean an awful lot of scrubbing…

13. Chopping your veg too small

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You don’t need to finely chop your vegetables when using a slow cooker. Bigger pieces are best, as they soak up sauce and flavor. Plus, they don’t get overcooked as easily. The best chunky vegetables for retaining liquid include potatoes, broccoli and onions.

14. Adding dairy too early

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It might be tempting to add your dairy straight away so you don’t need to keep adding more ingredients, but this isn’t the best of ideas. Overcooking dairy can not only result in an overcooked flavor, but can also split or curdle the cream, which will ruin your recipe.

15. Adding herbs too early

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Herbs are another ingredient you shouldn’t be adding to your slow cooker too early. They can quickly overcook and lose flavor, so be sure to save them for the final 30 minutes of cooking time. This gives them a chance to settle into the dish while retaining freshness.

16. Expecting chicken skin to get cripsy

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A crispy chicken skin just isn’t achievable on a standard slow cooker setting. You can only get that crispy texture by baking or grilling, so don’t expect those kinds of results when slow cooking. It’s actually best to remove chicken skin completely when putting it in a slow cooker, as it can often become gooey or rubbery.

17. Allowing stews to cook for more than six hours

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You can slow cook your food for hours at a time, but there is definitely a limit! Avoid cooking small pieces of meat for longer than six hours, as they’ll start to toughen up and dry out. You can however cook some meat for longer than six hours if they contain bones, so be sure to double-check your recipe.

18. Serving your slow cooker meal right after it's done

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You don’t need to rush when serving your slow-cooked food. It’s a good idea to let your dish rest – especially if it has meat in it. It gives the flavors a chance to settle down. Try leaving your food in the refrigerator overnight and warm it up the next day.

19. Placing root vegetables on top of everything

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If your root vegetables are on top, they might come out raw, as they generally need a lot of cooking. They should be placed at the side or bottom of the crock so they’re in direct contact with the cooker. Otherwise, your root vegetables might be underdone when everything else is ready to go.

20. Using too much alcohol

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We know alcohol can really enhance the flavor of your dishes, but you should go easy on the volume of it when using a slow cooker or crock pot. While alcohol reduces in a hot pan on the stovetop, this reduction doesn’t happen in a slow cooker, so you’ll be left with tons of raw alcohol in your food.

21. Not being cautious with chicken bones

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We’ve touched on bones in slow cookers already, but it’s also worth noting that chicken bones can break down and become soft if they’ve been cooked for too long. This means they can be a bit of a choking hazard, so it’s a good idea to remove the bones from the chicken halfway through the cooking time.

22. Not layering properly

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Remember that the ingredients that take the longest time to cook should always go at the bottom of the pot so they have direct contact with the cooker (like root vegetables or pieces of meat). By doing this, you can make sure your food layers cook evenly.

23. Overcooking

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One rule to live by – just because you CAN cook something in a slow cooker for eleven hours doesn’t mean that you should! Whatever you’re cooking will be seriously overdone, so opt for a slow cooker or crock pot with a timer so your food is cooked properly.

24. Getting confused by cooking times and settings

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While we’re on the subject of cooking timings, be sure to get fully acquainted with your slow cooker setting and timers to avoid potential catastrophes. It’s also worth checking if your recipes will turn out well in a slow cooker before you start your prep.

25. Not covering the meat

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If you’re cooking a meat dish in your slow cooker, you should really try to make sure that all the meat is covered properly. The more submerged it is in the crock pot, the more juicy and tender it will be. Plus, it will soak up all that delicious sauce and flavor.

26. Believing you can cook ANYTHING in a slow cooker

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You can cook a whole of dishes in a slow cooker, but there are definitely some limits! You won’t be getting great results if you’re cooking ribs in there with no sauce or oil, and your pasta won’t exactly be al dente if you’ve cooked it for hours on end. Again, just because you CAN cook something in a crock pot, doesn’t mean you should.

27. Underfilling your crock pot

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A good rule of thumb is that your slow cooker should always be two-thirds full. Under filling your crock pot leads to the same results as not putting enough liquid in there – things can get burnt, and you can end up ruining both your food and your slow cooker.

28. Spending too much on a slow cooker

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Expensive slow cookers don’t equate to better food. There are tons of budget-friendly options out there for less than $50 that actually score higher with testers than those that cost well over $200! While there might be more features on more expensive models, you should only pay for the settings you’re actually going to use.

29. Using the wrong temperature setting

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Yep – choosing the right heat setting is important. Low heat is good for tougher cuts of meat for a longer period of time, while high heat should be used for less time for more expensive cuts. Some slow cookers have settings that will cook your food to the exact temperature required, and then automatically switch to warm.

30. Leaving your food in the slow cooker hours after you've finished cooking

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Once you’ve let your food rest, be sure to transfer your food to a sealed container in the refrigerator if you’re not planning on eating it straight away. Leaving your food out not only reduces the quality of the dish, but can also leave you open to food borne illnesses.