Converting oven recipe to slow cooker

Converting oven recipe to slow cooker - Side view of housewife wearing apron standing at table in cozy kitchen and preparing dough for baking while using rolling pin

I have a casserole recipe that I generally cook in the oven. I'd like to try it in my slow cooker for several reasons: convenience, timing, opening up the oven for another dish. Is there a general rule of thumb to convert the directions for the oven to an equivalent for a slow cooker?



Best Answer

Roughly speaking, the low setting on a crock pot is 200 degrees Farenheit, and the high setting is 300 degrees.

Crock pot time vs oven time:

  • 4-6 hrs on low = 15-30 min oven
  • 6-8 hrs on low = 35-45 min oven
  • 8-18 hrs on low = 1-3 hrs in oven

In addition to the liquid notes above, you may want to make these changes as well:

  • reduce the amount of whole/leaf herbs by half
  • add ground spices during the last 30 min of cook time
  • you may prefer to brown meat before cooking in the crock pot; it's a flavor & fat issue
  • add rice or noodles in the last two hours of low cook time



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Can I use a slow cooker instead of oven?

Slow cookers are the set-it-and-forget-it heroes of the kitchen. If your favorite casseroles, soups and braised meat recipes are designed for the oven or stovetop, you can easily cook them in the slow cooker instead. A simple conversion chart and these tips will get you started.

How do I convert recipes to slow cooker?

How to convert an oven or stovetop recipe to a slow cooker recipe
  • Defrost your ingredients first. ...
  • Place your ingredients differently. ...
  • Alter the amount of liquid. ...
  • Adjust herbs and spices. ...
  • Don't add dairy at the beginning. ...
  • Adjust the time. ...
  • How to make the sauce thicker. ...
  • Take notes.


  • What is equivalent oven temperature of a slow cooker?

    For dishes other than meat that usually call for a slow cooker, use these general guidelines to cook your food at a standard oven temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit. One to 1.5 hours on high or four to six hours on low in a slow cooker equals 15 to 30 minutes in the oven.

    How do you replicate a slow cooker in the oven?

    Divide the slow cooker cooking time on "High" by 2 to get the oven cooking time at 325 degrees F. For instance, a recipe to cook on "High" for 3 hours will cook in the oven, covered for 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees F.




    More answers regarding converting oven recipe to slow cooker

    Answer 2

    I'm not sure there are any hard and fast rules, however, slow cookers tend to retain liquid better that casseroles, so reducing the amount of liquid by perhaps a third or even a half, is probably a step in the right direction.

    What I've done in the past, is find a recipe for the slow cooker, that's similar to one I would cook in a casserole and work around that. It's worked out pretty well, so far. :)

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