Slow cookers are becoming increasingly popular and for a good reason. They are versatile and can be used for making a whole variety of hearty dishes and are also simple to use and require minimum fuss.
For large families wanting filling dinners that won’t require hours of active preparations in the kitchen, large 8 quart slow cookers are the perfect answer. 8 quarts are large enough to feed an entire family, but such large slow cookers are also great for buffets, potlucks, and parties.
If you’re looking for an easy way to cook large quantities of food, this is the way to go. We’ve picked our favorite 8 quart slow cookers to help you find the best one for you.
Designed with busy families in mind, this slow cooker is the perfect size for a family dinner (it can easily hold an 8 lb chicken or a 6 lb roast). But Hamilton Beach has taken things a step further and designed a slow cooker perfect for bringing along to events away from home.
This 8-quart slow cooker comes with a unique lid rest to prevent drips and spills. It also has full grip handles – handy if you need to carry it to a party or a picnic. In fact, the lid latch secures so well, you can take the 33182A with you anywhere, making potlucks, parties and dinner parties so much easier to handle.
Pros:
- Simple to use
- Unique lid rest to prevent drips and spills
- Dishwasher safe
Cons:
- No programmable settings
- Gets hot while cooking
Keeping Things Simple
In terms of cooking, Hamilton Beach has kept things simple on this slow cooker and there are two heat settings to choose from – low and high – as well as a “warm” setting, that’s perfect for buffets or to keep food warm throughout dinner. While there are no fancy bells and whistles, everything is clearly marked and very easy to use, making the 8 quarts a good choice even if you are completely new to the world of slow cookers. Leftovers are easy to store and heat up in the slow cooker itself, so no food will go to waste.
Another good thing about this slow cooker is that cleaning it is very easy. Both the lid and the stoneware are dishwasher safe, so you can just pop it in the dishwasher when you’re done – saving you even more time. The 33182A also has a handy cord wrap, so it stores just like a large pot, rather than taking up unnecessary space.
Why Hamilton Beach is the best
This is a solid, affordable 8-quart slow cooker that would suit anyone who wants to cook large meals with minimum fuss. It’s a perfect entry level slow cooker but is also a good option for anyone looking for a straightforward, large capacity cooker. We factored in aspects such as cost Vs durability, ease of use and capacity and found the Hamilton Beach 33182A to be the best option.
First Runner-Up – Kalorik 8 Quart
Amazon.com – unavailable currently
This programmable 8-quart slow cooker from Kalorik has a delay function so you can choose when you start the cooking process.
It also automatically sets itself to the “warm” setting when done. The slow cooker also comes with a tight locking lid to prevent spills, plus three heat settings – low, high and warm. It’s made of stainless steel, which gives it an attractive, modern look and is easy to clean.
Both the lid and the handle are designed to be cool to the touch while cooking and carrying, so the Kalorik is perfect for taking with you to dinner parties and potlucks. However, it’s important to note that the outside of the pot itself does tend to get hot while cooking.
Alternative: Crock Pot SCCPVFC800-DS
The Kalorik 8 Quart is temporarily unavailable, but this one is a great alternative. The Crock Pot SCCPVFC800-DS is an 8-quart slow cooker with digital countdown timer, an auto-warming mode, and a dishwasher-safe stoneware pot.
Second Runner-Up – Crock-pot SCV800-S
This large capacity 8-quart cooker will actually take a whole 8 quart of food (most slow cookers take slightly less than the stated capacity, as you can’t usually fill them up to the top).
It offers three manual heat settings (low, high and warm) and is dishwasher safe, for easy cleaning.It’s made of attractive stainless steel with a clean, modern look and has a good quality ceramic liner and an easy carry lid.
However, it does cook food rather fast and heats up quite a lot while cooking. This means it can take a bit of planning and some trial and error to prevent food from overcooking in the SCV800-S while you’re away from the kitchen.
Third Runner-Up – Gourmia DCP-860
Amazon.com – unavailable currently
This massive slow cooler can actually hold 8.5 quarts, rather than 8 quarts, so is suitable for very large families, parties and groups. The stainless steel design includes an LCD panel where you can easily see temperature and time.
It’s programmable, with low, high and warm settings, including an automatic change to “warm” at the end of the cooking cycle.
The Gourmia DCP-860 has cool touch lid and handles for easy transport, making it a good choice for bringing to events.
Keep in mind, though, that like many slow cookers, the main stainless steel part does tend to get very warm while cooking.
Alternative: Hamilton Beach 33480
The Gourmia DCP-860 is temporarily unavailable, but this one is a great alternative. Easily schedule your meal with the Hamilton Beach 33480 with its countdown timer and programmable time settings.
And The Winner Is – Hamilton Beach 33182A
We chose the Hamilton Beach 33182A as the best 8-quart slow cooker because we believe it provides the best combination of features, quality, and ease of use for its price.
Although not programmable, it offers a good, solid introduction to slow cooking, as well as most features you’d want to use in a simple, straightforward device.
If you’re looking for a large, 8-quart capacity slow cooker to make life easier in the kitchen, the Hamilton Beach cooker is a good choice. Easy to use, clean and store, it’s perfect for families and those cooking for large crowds.
