The Best Slow Cooking Essentials for Your Home Kitchen

By Mark Stock January 21, 2022

There’s a reason you tend to hear “slow and low” from the brightest culinary minds. It’s a slow-cooking mantra that yields big, cohesive flavors and some of the most nourishing dishes you can imagine. And it’s more than a state of mind. Slow cooking requires the right tools for the job.

So while patience is a prized virtue in the slow cooking realm (and a tough one to teach, we might add), so too is a good saucepan or pasta roller. A slow cooker along with some good recipes is a great start, of course, but there’s more to it than that. Granted, we’d love for you to go the whole hog and build the backyard brick oven for pizza. But you’re probably looking for some more accessible ways to up your slow-cooking game.

A man cuts salmon while looking at his tablet in the kitchen.

Here are the best tools for that task. While you’re in slow cooking mode, settle into one of the best cookbooks. They’ll help you along your quest to flavor country.

Lodge Enameled Dutch Oven

There are quite a few reliable vessels for preparing a slow-cooked gem, from deep pots to Tandoori ovens. We like a good Dutch oven, ideal for unhurried recipes. This six-quart option is affordable, offers a slick non-stick coating, and is the ideal size — not too large you’re afraid to lift it, let alone leave the leftovers in it and pop it in the fridge.

Erlene Home Fashions Pot Holders

When it comes to oven mitts and potholders, it’s all about classic design. This option is timeless, with a look that deserves better than just being stuffed away in some crowded drawer. The rings are handy for hanging and you can throw ’em straight in the washing machine after you spill your favorite sauce on them.

Five Two Wooden Spoons

Food 52 Wooden Spoon on a white linen cloth.

The wooden spoon is the hero of the slow cooking movement, the go-to tool for all your stirring, sauteing, mixing, and serving needs. Go with a single standby or get an entire set. Either way, you’ll make a workhorse out of the age-old culinary tool, no matter what cuisine style you’re chipping away at. Soon, you’ll be gifting them to all of your friends who appreciate food, if they don’t already have one at the ready.

Canning Kit

Canning set displayed on a white background.

There are a host of standard kits for canning out there that set you up with your basic grabbers and Ball jars. This one, though, is a little more specialized, with a stainless steel theme for looks and durability. Seven pieces are included, like vinyl-coated tongs, a handy magnetic lid lifter, a measurer, a jar wrench, and more. It’s your basic tool belt for preserving foods and extending the most bountiful seasons of the year well into the offseason.

Five Two Essential Roasting Pan

prime rib in a roasting pan sitting on the oven rack. — Anthony Tieuli/Getty Images

Roasts are a slow cooking staple; essentially, a tray is set up a bit with a rack that allows for even heating. This roasting pan is beautifully simple, made of aluminum, and fits with a pair of handles. It can handle 20 pounds worth of meat, so start putting together some family-style meals of lamb, wild game, or a bevy of roasted vegetables.

OXO Good Grips Gravy Separator

OXO Gravy Separator shown on a white background.

An oft-overlooked tool, the gravy separator is more than just a one-and-done Thanksgiving accessory. It can be utilized for all kinds of sauces and fatty liquids wherein you want to remove some of the unwanted material. It’s a great design, with little to no mess involved, a built-in stopper, and the brand’s signature grippy hold.

Graf Lantz Trivet Set

Graf Lantz trivet on a white background.

Slow cooking tends to involve hot pans, bowls, and serving platters. Keep your table in good shape with these fashionable felt trivets. They’ve got a mid-century modern flair to them and are also great beneath warm drinks or as a temporary landing spot for frequently used tools that may still be dripping or hot to the touch.