Forget Slow Cookers: Consumer Reports' Highest-Rated Multi-Cooker Does Way More

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If I had a nickel for every time I wished my kitchen had more counter space, I'd be well on my way to living the easy life. Only the most frequently used appliances have a permanent space on my kitchen counter, with gadgets like the rice cooker relegated to the pantry until it's time to shine. My slow cooker gets weekly use, so it never moves from its space, but after seeing what Consumer Reports thinks about an appliance that can do everything a slow cooker does and more, its life on the kitchen counter might be coming to an end.

Multi-cookers are the hot new thing in home cooking. According to Reddit, the most famous model, the Instant Pot, gets you the most bang for your buck compared to a slow cooker, but Consumer Reports indicates it's not the best brand money can buy. That honor has been awarded to the Zavor Lux LCD 6-Quart Multi-Cooker (CR lists by with its model number, ZSELLO2). It can pressure cook, slow cook, and steam food to perfection, earning a five out of five score in each of those categories CR tested. It also does a decent job acting as a rice cooker, scoring four points in that category. 

It only scored a three for sauteing, but to be fair, so did several other brands, including the overall second-place finisher, the Breville Fast Slow Pro. But that's better than a zero, which is what would be awarded to a slow cooker. A slow cooker does one job, and even if it does it well, it can't compare to an appliance like the Zavor Lux LCD 6-Quart Multi-Cooker, which performs multiple culinary tasks with impressive results.

Now, you might be thinking that while a multi-cooker may be superior to a slow cooker, the price likely reflects that status. And that's true: You can pick up a trusty Crock Pot for less than $50, whereas the Zavor Lux LCD 6-Quart Multi-Cooker commands nearly $200. However, compared to other multi-cooker brands, that's actually a steal.

Consumer Reports' second-best-rated unit, the Breville Fast Slow Pro, goes for upwards of $329. The unit that came in last, the Wolf Gourmet Multi Cooker, scored a meager three out of five in the categories of rice cooking and convenience, received an adequate four out of five for slow cooking and sauteing, and wasn't ranked in pressure cooking and steaming, presumably because those functions aren't available. Yet the price starts at $600 to get your hands on one.

If the idea of using the 5-5-5 method to boil eggs with an Instant Pot tickles your fancy, two of its models secured the top third and fourth spots on Consumer Reports' list. But the model with a similar price to the Zavor multi-cooker did a worse job steaming food, according to Consumer Reports, and couldn't handle cooking rice. However, it does feature a larger 8-quart capacity compared to the Zavor's 6 quarts, for what it's worth. (However, the Zavor Lux LCD multi-cooker also has an 8-quart model, which was not reviewed in this report.)

A slightly cheaper Instant Pot model ranked fourth, and although it saves you $50, its slow cooker setting didn't get the job done as well as the Zavor. It's also not the best option for steaming. As a trusted name in consumer advocacy for decades, it's safe to assume Consumer Reports' top-ranked Zavor Lux LCD 6-Quart Multi-Cooker probably deserves a spot on your limited counter space.