Slow Cooker, Pressure Cooker or Air Fryer: Which Suits Your Week?

Sunday’s shopping is in the fridge, Thursday will be chaos as usual, and you’re wondering which gadget would actually make the week easier. The honest answer depends less on the gadget and more on how you cook.

Three questions first

1. When do you have time? In the morning, or only at 6pm when everyone’s hungry?
2. What do you cook most? Stews, curries and pulled meat, or chips, chicken and crispy things?
3. How many are you feeding? Two, four, or a freezer full of portions?

What each one is actually for

	Slow cooker	Pressure cooker	Air fryer
Best at	Stews, curries, tough cuts	Stews and beans in a fraction of the time	Crispy food, reheating, small portions
Time	6 to 8 hours, unattended	Under an hour for most stews	15 to 30 minutes
Suits	People who prep in the morning	The 6pm scramble	Small households, quick meals
Texture	Soft and tender	Soft and tender	Crisp and browned

What each one does badly

• Slow cooker: anything you want crisp. Dairy, fresh herbs and pasta also suffer if they go in at the start, so add them in the last half hour.
• Pressure cooker: delicate fish and green vegetables overcook in seconds, and you can’t taste and adjust halfway through without releasing the pressure.
• Air fryer: wet batters drip through the basket, and big batches have to be cooked in rounds.

Sizing it to your household

Household	Slow cooker	Pressure or multi-cooker
One or two	About 3.5L	3L to 5.7L
Three or four	3.5L to 5L	5.7L
Batch cooking for the freezer	6L or more	6L or more

Remember that a slow cooker works best between half and two-thirds full, and a pressure cooker must never be filled past its maximum line. Buying slightly bigger than you think gives you room for a batch.

A note on batch cooking

If you cook once and eat three times, the big pot matters more than the method. Cool food quickly, portion it into freezer bags and label them. Reheat thoroughly until piping hot all the way through.

Running costs

All three use far less energy than heating a full oven for a small meal. A slow cooker runs at low power for a long time, a pressure cooker at higher power for much less time. The Energy Saving Trust compares cooking appliances and finds the small ones generally cheaper than the oven for the same meal. For the air fryer maths, see when an air fryer actually beats the oven.

Matching the cooker to the household

The morning prepper

If you can spend ten minutes before work, a slow cooker is the calmest option. It’s cheap, simple, and dinner is ready when you walk in.

The 6pm scramble

If you only start thinking about dinner when you get home, a pressure cooker turns a three-hour stew into a weeknight meal. A multi-cooker like our pick does slow cooking too, so you don’t need both.

Want crispy as well as stews?

If you mostly want crispy food for one or two, a dedicated air fryer is simpler and cheaper than an all-in-one. Our air fryer guide covers sizing.

Leaning towards an air fryer? Compare layouts in single basket or dual drawer. Batch cooking for the freezer? Read freezing food properly.