The Pots I Recommend — My Favorite Crock Pots & Instant Pots
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Every week somebody asks me which crock pot or Instant Pot to buy, so I finally put my answers in one place. Each section starts with the pot that actually sits on my counter — because those are the two my recipes were cooked in — and then the picks I'd point you to if you're buying today. Ten pots, all matched to the recipes in my Cozy Crockpot Collection and my Set It & Forget It cookbook.
No pot here paid to be here. I picked them the way I'd pick one for my own sister: the right size, controls that don't need a manual and a grandchild to run, and parts you can still buy three years from now.
What size do you need? Almost every recipe I write is built for a 6-quart pot. Cooking for 1–2? Six quarts is still your friend — leftovers are the whole point of a crock pot. Family of 3–5? Six quarts, exactly what my recipes assume. Crowds, holidays, freezer prep? Go 8 quart (or 8.5) — every recipe doubles cleanly. First pressure cooker ever? A 6-quart Duo or Duo Plus, and do not overthink it.
The Crock Pots — low & slow
The one on my counter: GreenLife 6-Quart Ceramic Nonstick Slow Cooker, Pink
6 quart · PFAS-free ceramic nonstick pot · programmable + delay start · keep warm
Yes, she's pink — you knew she would be. But I didn't keep her for the color. The ceramic nonstick pot lifts right out, sears on the stovetop, and goes in the oven and the dishwasher, and nothing sticks the way it does in stoneware. She's programmable with a delay start and keep warm, and every crock pot recipe in my books was cooked in this pot. If you want exactly what I use, this is her.
Best overall: Hamilton Beach Set & Forget 6-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker
6 quart · temperature probe · switches to warm on its own · clip-tight lid
The name alone tells you it belongs next to my cookbook. Set the timer — or use the probe for roasts — and it flips itself to warm when time's up, so dinner waits on you instead of the other way around. The lid clips tight for potlucks, and six quarts is the size nearly every slow cooker recipe is written for, mine included.
Best classic value: Crock-Pot 7-Quart Oval Manual Slow Cooker
7 quart · simple low / high / warm dial · dishwasher-safe stoneware
No screen, no fuss, no learning curve — the pot most of us grew up with, just bigger. It swallows a whole chicken or a double batch of chili, cleanup is one stoneware insert in the dishwasher, and the price is the friendliest on this page. If you want a cooker nobody has to be taught to use, this is it.
Best for big batches: Crock-Pot 8-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker
8 quart · digital countdown timer · auto warm · serves 10+
Holidays, church suppers, freezer-prep Sundays — this is the big girl. Eight quarts feeds a crowd or a week of lunches, and the programmable timer means a long, low cook never needs babysitting. Every recipe in my books doubles beautifully in this one.
Best splurge: Ninja PossibleCooker PRO 8.5-Quart 8-in-1 Multi-Cooker
8.5 quart · sears & sautés right in the pot · 8 functions
For the recipes where browning the meat first makes all the difference, this one sears right in the pot and then slow cooks — no extra skillet to wash. It steams and bakes too. It's the priciest pot in this guide, and it's the one that earns it.
Glow-Up Tip: Searing meat before it slow cooks is the cheapest flavor upgrade there is — five minutes of browning buys you hours of depth. Pots with a stovetop-safe insert (my GreenLife, the Ninja) let you do it right in the pot. With a stoneware crock, use a skillet and deglaze it into the pot — every brown bit is flavor you already paid for.
The Instant Pots — fast & fabulous
The one on my counter: Instant Pot Lux 6-in-1, 6 Quart
6 quart · pressure cook, slow cook, rice, steam, sauté, warm · 12 one-touch programs
My workhorse since 2019, and every Instant Pot recipe in Set It & Forget It was cooked in her. Two honest notes: the Lux line has been retired, so she's getting harder to find new — and she has no yogurt button, which has never once mattered to me. If you find one, she's a gem. If you're buying today, her twin is right below.
Best overall: Instant Pot Duo 6-Quart 7-in-1
6 quart · pressure cook, slow cook, rice, steam, sauté, yogurt, warm
The modern match to my Lux — same 6-quart size, same cook times every one of my recipes uses, plus the yogurt button mine never had. It's also the pot the whole internet writes its recipes for, and usually the friendliest price in the Instant Pot family. If my Lux ever gives up, this is what replaces her.
Best upgrade: Instant Pot Pro 6-Quart 10-in-1
6 quart · quiet steam release · stovetop-safe pot with handles · sous vide
Same size, fancier manners. The steam release whispers instead of shouting at your cabinets, the inner pot has real grip handles and can finish a sear right on your stovetop, and it preheats faster than the Duo. If yours will run three times a week, the upgrade pays for itself in peace and quiet.
Best for first-timers: Instant Pot Duo Plus 6-Quart 9-in-1
6 quart · progress display · gentle WhisperQuiet release · sterilize + cake
New to pressure cooking? This one's screen shows you exactly what it's doing — preheating, cooking, releasing — so you're never standing in front of a silent pot wondering if it's broken. (It's not broken. It's preheating.) The soft steam release keeps the whole thing calm, and calm is what gets a first-timer to their second recipe.
Best big batch: Instant Pot Pro 8-Quart 10-in-1
8 quart · all the Pro features · fits a 6-lb chicken or a full rack of ribs
The Pro's brains in a bigger body. For doubling my recipes, feeding a crowd, or knocking out a week of shredded chicken in one run, this is your girl. One honest note: she's tall, so measure under your cabinets before she comes home.
Glow-Up Tip: When a recipe says "natural release," just walk away — let the pot sit until the pin drops on its own. Meats stay juicier, soups don't sputter, and you did zero work. The keep-warm light coming on is your sign it's counting for you.
The two on my counter
If you want to cook exactly the way I do, it's these two: my pink GreenLife 6-Quart, and my Lux 6-Quart, going strong since 2019. She's retired now, so if you're buying today, get her twin — the Duo 6-Quart. Same size, same cook times, one extra button.
Already own a pot you love? Then you don't need a new one, friend. These recipes were built for real home kitchens, not showroom ones. This guide is here for the day your old faithful gives up — or the day your daughter asks what to put on her wedding registry.
Now let's put that pot to work. My free Cozy Crockpot Collection — 10 high-protein dinners that practically cook themselves — is the download everyone's grabbing this season: grab it here. And when you're ready for the full 50-recipe book these pots were made for, Set It & Forget It lives in The Sass Library.