Slow Cooker Conversion Calculator

Turn an oven or stovetop recipe time into slow-cooker hours.

Oven / stovetop time

Unit

Slow cooker — LOW

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Slow cooker — HIGH

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Instant Pot / pressure cooker: pressure cooking can't be linearly converted from oven time — it's highly dish-specific (a braise that's 8 h on LOW might be ~30–45 min at pressure). Use a tested pressure recipe rather than a formula.

Conversion guide

Oven / stovetop	Slow cooker LOW	Slow cooker HIGH
15–30 min	4–6 hours	1½–2½ hours
30–45 min	6–8 hours	3–4 hours
45–90 min	8–10 hours	4–6 hours
Over 90 min	10–12 hours	5–7 hours

Converting recipes to a slow cooker

Slow cookers work low and slow, so a dish that simmers for under an hour on the hob usually needs 6–8 hours on LOW or about half that on HIGH. As a rule of thumb, 1 hour on HIGH ≈ 2 hours on LOW.

A few tips: reduce added liquid (slow cookers lose almost none to evaporation), add dairy and delicate vegetables near the end, and brown meat first for better flavour. Times are guidance — your cooker, the cut, and how full the pot is all matter.