Cook Time & Quantity

How do I cook for larger quantity yields?

When preparing dishes with beef or pork in a larger unit, browning the meat in a skillet before adding to the slow cooker yields the best results; the meat will cook more evenly. Roasted meats, chicken, and turkey quantities may be doubled or tripled and seasonings adjusted by half. Caution: Flavorful spices such as garlic and chili powder will intensify during long slow cooking. Add just 25 to 65 percent more spices as needed to balance the flavors.

When preparing a soup or a stew, you may double all ingredients, except liquids, seasonings, and dried herbs. Increase liquid volume by half, or as needed. The slow cooker lid collects steam, which condenses to keep foods moist and maintain liquid volume. Do not double thickeners, such as cornstarch, at the beginning. You may always add more thickener later if needed.

When preparing baked goods or cheesecakes, it is best to simply prepare the original recipe as many times as needed to serve more people.

What are the typical slow cooker food loads and their respective cook times?

Meat Cut	Meat Weight	Low Cook Time	High Cook Time
Large Pork Roast*	6-7 lbs	9 ½ hours	7 ½ hours
Pork Loin	3-4 lbs	6 hours	5 hours
Poultry**	6 lbs	7 ½ hours	6 ¼ hours
Beef Roast	3-4 lbs	8 hours	5 ¾ hours
Stew Meat	3 lbs	6 hours	4 ¾ hours
Fish***	2 lbs	3 ½ hours	1 ½ hours

Note: All cook times are approximate. Appropriate cook time varies according to specific meat characteristics for fat content and connective tissue as well as other ingredients added to dish, including liquid, size of meat cubes, type of vegetable, size of vegetable dice, how high slow cooker is filled, etc.

* Pork butt, pork shoulder
** Whole chicken, Bone-in turkey breast
*** If fish is stirred in after Crockpot™ Slow Cooker has been fully heated to stabilization/simmer point, it will cook within 15-30 minutes.

What do I do if the recipe indicates a range of quart sizes or a range of ingredients?

The recipes featured on this site can be cooked in a range of slow cooker sizes and a range of ingredient amounts. If using a smaller quart size, please use the smaller ingredient amount. If using a larger quart size, please use the larger ingredient amount.

How do I convert cook times between "High" and "Low"?

Below is a conversion chart to illustrate the comparative cook times for "High" and "Low"*

High	Low
3 hours	7 hours
4	8
5	9
6	10
7	11
8	12

*It is not recommended to convert recipes with cook times less than 7-8 hours on "Low" or 3-4 hours on "High."

What are the typical cook times for Crockpot™ Slow Cookers?

Typical cook time for Crockpot™ SlowCookers to reach simmer point is 209°F:
Low: 7-8 hours to reach the simmer point
High: 3-4 hours to reach the simmer point