A few months ago, we decided to save money by cooking our own food. (We had been eating Trader Joe’s frozen meals and going out and that gets expensive very quickly.) Thing is, neither my husband nor I love cooking all that much. So I guess it comes as no surprise that I am terrible at it. However, I did come across an awesome blog called a year of slow cooking that presented me with a bunch of easy-to-make recipes in very little time. (Since then I have found other blogs with other recipes: Get Crocked and 365 days of slow cooking for example but a year of slow cooking is still my favorite.) The recipe problem solved, I started cooking using my small, old, and very basic crockpot. And that crockpot was doable but some recipes call for cooking on low for 9 hours; others for 6 and really all I want is to throw the ingredients into the crockpot and forget about it.
My old basic crockpot didn’t let me do that. The Hamilton Beach, on the other hand does. And it is so easy to use! I hate electronics (ask my husband) but I can operate this crockpot with ease. You just press the on button (the red circle on the left) then select the time by pushing the up/down arrows on the right, press enter, select the heat setting press enter and you’re done. Once it’s finished, it goes to Warm setting so your food doesn’t spoil. This means that if you set it on a Friday night and want to sleep in Saturday morning, you can. You really don’t have to worry about getting up just to turn off the crockpot. If you are cooking a full chicken or something as big as that you can use the thermometer probe and set your own temperature you want maintained to make sure that meat is cooked properly. It also has one of those lids that locks down with simple lever clamps at each end so now I can be one of “those” people who takes up the office kitchen because we are having a potluck. The lid does have a rubber seal but do be sure to keep it upright because there are small vent holes and a hole for the probe to be inserted through the glass lid.
All in all, this really is a set it and forget it crockpot (as advertised). It is also worth noting (because this has been in the news) that Healing Gourmet (a food safety site) lists Hamilton as one of the ten brands to look for when choosing a crockpot and that wirecutter (a site that reviews the gadgets in our lives) tells us that this crockpot “outperformed much more expensive models.” In a couple of negative reviews I have seen, there were complaints about the glass breaking. The instructions say to only clamp down the lid when transporting food. My husband says that there is a good chance that tightening the lid while cooking would put extra stress on the glass making it more likely to break/shatter. So bear this in mind.
I admit I haven’t tried those more expensive models (the whole point of using a crockpot to begin with was to save money) but I have to admit I am a little in love with this crockpot and highly recommend it.
Customer Questions & Answers
Customer reviews
This was my second time using this crockpot. The first use was great, as was the second use... until I went to put the lid in my dishwasher. The lid had been sitting OFF of the crockpot for roughly 2 hours by the time I went to put it into the dishwasher, so it’s not like the glass was still hot. Well, as I set the lid into the dishwasher, it quite literally exploded (which you can see from the pictures). I am at a loss for words due to the fact that I have never seen this happen before especially after just two uses! I am going to contact the company and see if they will replace it for me because I don’t have any complaints about the crockpot in and of itself, just the fact that I now have a dishwasher full of glass.
Images in this review
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2017
Size: Temperature ProbeColor: Stainless SteelPattern Name: Programmable Slow CookerVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2019
Size: Temperature ProbeColor: Stainless SteelPattern Name: Programmable Slow CookerVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2018
Size: Temperature ProbeColor: Stainless SteelPattern Name: Programmable Slow CookerVerified Purchase
This was my second time using this crockpot. The first use was great, as was the second use... until I went to put the lid in my dishwasher. The lid had been sitting OFF of the crockpot for roughly 2 hours by the time I went to put it into the dishwasher, so it’s not like the glass was still hot. Well, as I set the lid into the dishwasher, it quite literally exploded (which you can see from the pictures). I am at a loss for words due to the fact that I have never seen this happen before especially after just two uses! I am going to contact the company and see if they will replace it for me because I don’t have any complaints about the crockpot in and of itself, just the fact that I now have a dishwasher full of glass.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2018
Size: Temperature ProbeColor: Stainless SteelPattern Name: Programmable Slow CookerVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2018
Size: Temperature ProbeColor: Stainless SteelPattern Name: Programmable Slow CookerVerified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
KMc
Glad I read the reviews.
Reviewed in Canada on January 8, 2022Size: Temp Tracking Temperature ProbeColor: Black StainlessPattern Name: Programmable Slow CookerVerified Purchase
KMc
Reviewed in Canada on January 8, 2022
This one lights when setting the controls for a few seconds and re-lights by pushing the dial.
The probe fits through the lid at 3 points with well sealed grometts.
The lid sits nicely on the rubber rim and seals well. (Don't use the clamps for cooking).
Easy to use, un-complicated for basic functions.
No delay timer but it will hold and keep warm when done.
Complains were mostly about the thin flexible body.
It will sit on my counter so damage is un-likely.
The heavy clamps and handle on the lid should make transporting safe.
For $90 a good buy.
Images in this review
johnnyc
The king of Slow Cookers... just ask my cardiologist...
Reviewed in Canada on April 25, 2022Size: Temp Tracking Temperature ProbeColor: Black StainlessPattern Name: Programmable Slow CookerVerified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Good for the price but still too expensive
Reviewed in Canada on February 28, 2022Size: Temp Tracking Temperature ProbeColor: Black StainlessPattern Name: Programmable Slow CookerVerified Purchase
AAW
Great Temperature control
Reviewed in Canada on January 23, 2021Size: Temp Tracking Temperature ProbeColor: Black StainlessPattern Name: Programmable Slow CookerVerified Purchase
Amanda
I love this Slow cooker!
Reviewed in Canada on May 9, 2018Size: Temperature ProbeColor: Stainless SteelPattern Name: Programmable Slow CookerVerified Purchase
