Have you ever thought of a kitchen appliance that gets your hand-off while cooking and also saves cooking time? If yes, then a crockpot should come to mind. A crockpot is a slow cooker brand that has been around since the 1970s. It works by slow cooking food on low heat for a long period.
Made with heat-insulating stainless steel which keeps the cooking temperature consistent, a crockpot is great for busy people because it saves time. Food items can be thrown into the stainless steel pot while it slow cooks and then one comes back to finished hot meals hours later. Individuals have their preferences, so this article will give answers to all FAQs on crockpot sizes.
Does a Slow Cooker Size Matter?
Yes! A slow cooker size matters. Crockpots come in a lot of varying sizes and picking a size can be overwhelming without a proper guide. There are slow cookers with sizes as small as 1.5-quart and there are some as large as 12-quart. Some of the reasons why a slow cooker size matters are as highlighted below.
Kitchen Space
The space available in your kitchen is a major factor. If you have a small kitchen space, accommodating large counter-top kitchen appliances will be difficult. On the other hand, if your kitchen space is large enough to accommodate the biggest crockpot size, you can go for it.
Family Size
Slow cookers are best when they are not filled more than two-third or three-quarters of their capacity. Cooking a small food item with a large slow cooker will result in poorly cooked food except if it is monitored and vice versa. For example, if you will need to cook family meals for like 7-8 people, a large crockpot will be needed, say like an 8-quart slow cooker. On the other hand, if it’s just a single person’s meal, you don’t need a large slow cooker size.
Slow Cooker Recipe
Yes, you heard that right. Some slow cooker recipe recommends a particular size of crockpot to be used while cooking their recipe. If you are sure that you will only be cooking a particular slow cooker recipe in your crockpot, it is best to get the recommended crockpot size.
Crock Pot Size
Less than 3 quart size Crockpots
The crockpots in this size range are only perfect for doing small cooking, say for a single person or two persons at most. Crockpots of less than 2-quart are considered very small and might not be so perfect for cooking a whole meal but they will help heat desserts or dipping sauce perfectly.
3-4 quart size Crockpots
This slow-cooker size is a great and perfect one for a family of 2-3 people. If you are trying to fix medium-sized dishes for 4-5 people in one meal, you can go ahead with this crockpot size. The good news is that most of the small to medium-size slow cooker recipes will fit in a 4-quart crockpot size.
5 quart size Crockpots
A 5-quart slow cooker is a perfect size for a family of 4-5 people. It can feed an average family size. Another great thing about this crockpot size is that it can break down a large chunk of meat e.g, ground meat into small cuts of meat.
6 quart size Crockpots
The next few lines answer the question, “What is the most common size crockpot?”.The 6-quart slow cooker is the standard and most common size crockpot. It can fix dishes for an average family size of 5-6 people, it is the size found in most average size family homes. A lot of slow cooker recipes specifically recommend this size for cooking.
7-12 Quart Size Crockpots
These sizes of crock pots are classified as the large sizes of crockpots. They are used to cater larger family meals. Dishes of more than 7-8 people are considered large and only crock pots of these sizes can cook these huge batches of food at a go. The biggest crockpot size is 12-quart.
For example, fixing meals for 14 people with a standard size crockpot will require it to be done in a double batch I.e. two times but a large quart crockpot, say 7-quart will do it in just one batch. Crockpot of sizes greater than 7-quart is built for large cooking purposes. So if you will need to most time cook to feed a party of people, you sure need a large size crockpot.
It is okay if your next question comes as “Can I cook small amounts of food in a large crockpot size?”.
Yes, you can but with accessories. Your family size points at you getting the standard crockpot size. You’ve gotten but then you need to cook a person’s meal in it and you are not sure if it will turn out fine. Not to worry, you will only need to put your accessories into good use and then you have it all sorted out.
The cooking method for cooking small amounts of food in Large Crockpot Size
- Place an oven-safe bowl or baking pan inside the slow cooker bowl. This is to raise and make your food appear to be about two-third or three-quarters full.
- Ensure your slow cooker lid is well closed, you should also avoid opening it while it is cooking.
- Place either an aluminum foil or a wire rack at the bottom of the slow cooker.
- If you are cooking soup, add extra liquid to the soup.
It is better and advisable to use the exact crockpot size to cook not less or more than the quantity of food size. Wanting to adapt one that is too big or that is too small as the case may be is frowned at. Cook large meals in large crock pots size and small meals in small crockpot size.
If a slow cooker is too empty as in the case of cooking small meals with a large crockpot, it might cook faster and result in overcooked, dry, or burnt food. On the other hand, if the crockpot is overloaded as in the case of cooking large food with a small crockpot, spillage may occur and it might also increase the cooking time.
Here comes another question, How do I determine a crockpot size? To determine the size of your crockpot, you need to put in mind that 4 cups makes a quartz size. Crockpots can be measured by filling with water using the cup measurement.
Though this article is to answer questions that will help you make better decisions in choosing the size of crock pots, we will briefly list out the other features of crockpots we advise that you should look out for before you make your slow cooker purchase. You should not forget that the most important of all the features is your choice of crockpot size.
Crock Pots Features
- Crockpot Size – Small or Large
- Temperature settings control – Hot, cold or warm settings
- Manual or Automatic on-off function/digital timer
- Removable or Non-removable Crock
- The shape of Crock-Pot – Round, Oblong or rectangular
- Your preferred Crockpot inserts – Black inserts or Ceramic Inserts.
- The Preferred Crockpot Lid Type – Plastic or Glass Lid
- The Slow Cooker Preferred Handle type – Solid or Loop Handles
We thought of helping you take the guesswork out of what slow cooker recipes to try out and probably start with. Its proportion, how much time you need to cook it for and what temperature you need to cook on. Do well to try out some or all of these with your crock pots for a tasty feeling.
Crock-Pot Slow Cooker Recipe Chart
| Food Item | Proportion (lbs) | Cooking time in hours(Low temp) | Cooking time in hours (High temp) |
| Corned Beef | 3 – 4 | 9 – 10 | 5 – 6 |
| Whole Chicken | 4 – 6 | 5 – 6 | 2 – 3 |
| Boneless Chicken breast | 2 – 3 | 2 – 3 | 1 – 2 |
| Pork Sausages | 1 – 2 | 2 – 3 | 1 |
| Lamb Chops | 3 – 4 | 4 – 6 | 2 – 3 |
| Salmon | 1½ – 2 | 1 | ½ |
| Green Beans | Whole | 4 – 5 | 2 – 3 |
| Sweet Potatoes | Whole | 6 – 8 | 3 – 4 |
| Broccoli | Florets | 2 – 3 | 1- 1½ |
| Dried Beans | 10 – 12 | 5 – 6 | |
| Rice (wild) | 6 – 7 | 3 – 4 | |
| Bread Pudding | 3 – 4 | ____ | |
| Cheesecake | _____ | 1 – 2 | |
| Brown Meat | 3 – 4 | 4 – 5 | 2 – 3 |
We will for your better understanding give the step by step guide to cooking brown meat in a crockpot using the table above.
How to Cook Brown Meat in a Crock-Pot
- Break up 3/4 lbs of ground meat into your crockpot. You can use a potato masher for this;
- Add ¼ cup of water to 1 lb of meat. ¾ cup of water to 3lbs meat and 1 cup of water to 4 lbs meat;
- Turn your crockpot on. Cook on high temperature for 2-3 hours or cook on low temperature for 4-5 hours;
- Stir occasionally as you cook, say at 30 minutes interval;
- Once your meat has fully cooked, drain off the grease. You can use it immediately or store it in the refrigerator for later use.
Final Words
You should look no further than your programmable models of a crockpot if what you are looking for is a way to make healthy and tasty family meals. Slow cookers are inexpensive to purchase and operate. They don’t require supervision too.
We hope that this article has been able to clear your doubts on crockpot sizes, introduced you to some tasty slow cooker recipes, and further established the goodness of crockpot dishes. We like to hear from you and know how this article has helped you and see if you have any more questions.