Is there a difference between a slow cooker and a crock pot?

A Crock-Pot is a brand of slow cooker, not a different appliance. Every Crock-Pot is a slow cooker, but not every slow cooker is a Crock-Pot, in the same way that every facial tissue is not a Kleenex.

The confusion comes from the brand name becoming the generic term in everyday speech. When someone says crock pot, they usually mean any countertop electric cooker with a lidded pot that simmers food at low heat for hours. The appliance category is the slow cooker. Crock-Pot is one maker inside that category.

Where the name comes from

Crock-Pot is a trademark, and it belongs to one company. The brand appears on the fact sheet for our guide to Best Slow Cookers for Batch Cooking and Entertaining, where the Crock-Pot 7-Quart Manual Slow Cooker is listed by name. That entry is a slow cooker in the plain sense: a lidded pot with high and low settings and a warm function.

Other picks in the same guide are slow cookers made by companies that do not use the Crock-Pot name at all. Ninja, Instant Pot, HOUSNAT and All-Clad all appear with appliances that include a slow cook function. None of them is a Crock-Pot. That is the whole distinction: the category is broad, the brand is one member of it.

So a recipe that says to use a crock pot is asking for a slow cooker. A shopper looking at a Ninja or an All-Clad is still shopping for a slow cooker even though the box does not say Crock-Pot. The words are not interchangeable in a strict sense, but in a kitchen conversation they almost always are.

What counts as a slow cooker

The working definition is an electric countertop appliance that cooks food slowly in a covered pot, usually with a stoneware or metal insert that lifts out for cleaning. The Crock-Pot 7-Quart Manual Slow Cooker follows that pattern. Its maker states a 7-quart capacity, high and low slow cooking settings, a warm function, and a removable stoneware insert that is dishwasher safe and can go in the microwave or an oven up to 400°F.

The All-Clad Stainless Steel Electric Slow Cooker 7-Quart also fits the definition, with a removable cast aluminum insert that the maker states can be used on the cooktop, in the oven or for serving. It holds 7 quarts and has three slow cooking modes plus an automatic keep warm function that the maker states keeps food hot for six hours.

Both are slow cookers. Only one carries the Crock-Pot name. The category does not require a particular insert material, a particular shape, or a particular set of controls. It requires slow, covered, electric cooking in a pot you can lift out.

Multicookers that include a slow cook mode

Some appliances on the fact sheet are not sold primarily as slow cookers, but they include a slow cook function. The Ninja PossibleCooker PLUS 6-in-1 is listed with six cooking functions, and the maker states that it replaces the need for a slow cooker among the twelve tools it stands in for. It has an 8.5-quart cooking capacity, a removable pot that the maker states is oven safe up to 500°F, and dimensions of 12.64 inches wide, 18.0 inches deep and 10.59 inches tall.

The Instant Pot Duo 6 Qt 7-in-1 lists slow cook among its seven cooking functions, alongside pressure cook, sauté, steam, rice, yogurt and keep warm. Its maker states a 6-quart capacity, 1000 watts, and a stainless steel inner pot. The HOUSNAT Slow Cooker 6 Quart 10-in-1 likewise lists slow cook among ten functions, with a 6-quart capacity and a stated inner pot size of 12.99 by 9.44 by 4.72 inches.

These are slow cookers in the functional sense when the slow cook mode is running, but none of them is a Crock-Pot. A shopper who wants the brand name should look for it on the box. A shopper who wants the cooking method has more options than the brand alone.

Capacity across the picks

Capacity is where the picks differ most, and the figures are published. The Ninja lists 8.5 quarts. The Crock-Pot and the All-Clad each list 7 quarts. The Instant Pot Duo and the HOUSNAT each list 6 quarts. Those are the stated sizes, and they are not the same as usable food volume in every case, since a pressure cooker leaves headroom for steam.

The makers also describe servings in their own words. The Crock-Pot maker states the 7-quart cooker comfortably serves 9+ people or fits a 7-pound roast. The Ninja maker states the 8.5-quart capacity allows chili for up to 20 people, 9 lbs of spaghetti and meatballs, or enough pulled pork for 30 sliders. The Instant Pot maker states the 6-quart capacity is perfect for up to 6 servings.

Those serving claims come from the makers and are not measurements by this site. They are useful as a rough guide to which appliance suits a household, and they show that the slow cooker category covers a wide range of sizes, from 6 quarts up to 8.5 quarts among these five picks.

Settings and controls

The simplest control layout on the fact sheet belongs to the Crock-Pot 7-Quart Manual Slow Cooker: high and low slow cooking settings plus a warm function. That is the classic slow cooker arrangement, and it is what most people picture when they say crock pot. There is no digital display and no preset program listed in the maker’s features.

The All-Clad adds a programmable LCD timer and four preset modes: Low, High, High/Low and automatic keep warm. The HOUSNAT lists adjustable time and temperature, a 24-hour delay start and an automatic keep warm function. The Ninja lists slow cook, sear/sauté, keep warm, sous vide, braise and proof among its six functions.

None of these differences change what the appliance is. They change how much control the cook has. A manual slow cooker and a programmable one both simmer covered food at low heat. The brand name on the front does not decide which one a kitchen needs.

How to read a label

If a product is called a Crock-Pot, it is a slow cooker from that brand. If a product is called a slow cooker, it may come from any brand, including Crock-Pot. If a product is called a multicooker or a 6-in-1 or 10-in-1, check the function list for slow cook before assuming it can do the job, because not every multicooker includes that mode.

Among the five picks in our guide, all include a slow cook function in the maker’s published features. The differences are capacity, control type, insert material and the extra functions each maker chose to add. The Crock-Pot name tells you the brand. The function list tells you what the appliance does.