Slow Cooker Conversion Calculator

Tell it how the recipe is written and how you want to cook it instead. You get the time in every other method, plus the liquid adjustment — which is the part that decides whether the dish works.

Australian unitsFree, no sign-upReviewed 10 September 2026

The recipe is written for

Time in the oven

Common times

You want to cook it in

In a slow cooker, low, cook it for

8–10 h

2 h in the oven becomes 8–10 h in a slow cooker, low. Typical of: osso buco, chuck steak, corned beef, pulled pork on the small side.

Oven

1 h 31 min – 3 h

Slow cooker, High

4–5 h

Slow cooker, Low

8–10 h

Pressure cooker

20 min – 35 min

Cut the liquid by about a third

A covered slow cooker loses almost nothing to evaporation, so liquid that would have reduced in the oven simply stays. Hold back roughly a third of the stock or wine, keep the meat no more than two-thirds submerged, and if it is still loose at the end, take the lid off for the last half hour on High.

Low and High reach the same temperature. A slow cooker on Low and on High both settle at roughly the same simmering point — around 95°C. High just gets there faster. That is why Low is close to exactly double High, and why choosing Low is about when you want to eat, not how the dish turns out. Tough, collagen-heavy cuts do genuinely prefer the longer, gentler climb.

The full conversion chart

Oven or stovetop time converted to every other method
Oven / stovetop	Slow cooker, High	Slow cooker, Low	Pressure cooker	Typical dish
Up to 30 min	1 h 30 min – 2 h	4–6 h	5 min – 8 min	Chicken thighs, sausages in sauce, tinned-bean dishes
31–45 min	2–3 h	5–7 h	8 min – 12 min	Chicken curry, mince ragù, chunky soup
46–90 min	3–4 h	6–8 h	12 min – 20 min	Beef stew, lamb shanks started young, dried beans
91–180 min	4–5 h	8–10 h	20 min – 35 min	Osso buco, chuck steak, corned beef, pulled pork on the small side
181–600 min	5–6 h	9–12 h	35 min – 1 h	Whole pork shoulder, brisket, beef cheeks

Pressure cooker figures are minutes at pressure only — add 10 to 20 minutes to come up to pressure and the same again for a natural release. Slow cooker Low is consistently about double High.

The liquid rule, both ways

Oven → slow cooker

Cut the liquid by about a third. A sealed slow cooker loses almost nothing to evaporation, and the meat and vegetables release more as they go. Meat two-thirds submerged, not covered.

Slow cooker → oven

Add about half again. An oven braise reduces hard over two or three hours, so a slow-cooker recipe moved across will catch on the base unless it is covered and topped up.

What does not survive the trip

Dishes and ingredients that need a different method
Do not slow-cook	Why
Anything crumbed or battered	A slow cooker steams. Crumb goes to paste. Cook it in the oven or the air fryer.
Lean steak, pork fillet, chicken breast	No collagen to break down, so long cooking only dries them out. Slow cookers reward cheap, tough cuts.
Pasta and rice added at the start	Both turn to sludge over hours. Stir them in for the last 20 to 30 minutes, or cook them separately.
Milk, cream, yoghurt and most cheese	They split over a long cook. Add them in the final half hour off the boil.
Fresh herbs, peas and greens	Grey and flavourless after eight hours. Dried herbs at the start, fresh at the end.
Dishes that need a crust	Roast potatoes, crackling and anything you want crisp need dry heat. Finish them under the grill or in the air fryer.

A slow cooker is a moist-heat appliance. It rewards cheap, tough, collagen-heavy cuts and punishes lean meat, crumb and anything that needs to crisp.

Things worth knowing about each method

Slow cooker, Low

Low and High reach the same temperature

A slow cooker on Low and on High both settle at roughly the same simmering point — around 95°C. High just gets there faster. That is why Low is close to exactly double High, and why choosing Low is about when you want to eat, not how the dish turns out. Tough, collagen-heavy cuts do genuinely prefer the longer, gentler climb.

Slow cooker, High

Lifting the lid costs you 20 minutes

A slow cooker recovers its temperature slowly, so every peek adds about 20 minutes to the cook. Resist it until the last hour, and add dairy, peas, fresh herbs and any thickener in that final window rather than at the start.

Pressure cooker

The clock is not the whole time

A multicooker needs 10 to 20 minutes to come up to pressure before the timer even starts, and a natural release adds another 10 to 20 at the end. The pressure minutes below are cook time only — budget roughly half an hour on top for a full pot.

Oven

Cover it, or it is not the same dish

These conversions assume a covered braise at 150–160°C. An uncovered oven dish reduces and browns far faster and will not survive being stretched to slow-cooker timings.

Stovetop

Lowest burner, heaviest pot

A stovetop simmer is the least forgiving of the four because the heat comes from one side. Use the heaviest-based pot you own on the smallest burner, and stir often enough that nothing sits on the bottom.

Why the conversion is not a multiplier

Most charts online imply a fixed ratio — multiply the oven time by four, or by six — and it falls apart at both ends. A twenty-minute simmer does not need twenty hours, and a four-hour braise does not need sixteen. The reason is that a slow cooker does not get progressively hotter; it reaches a steady simmer around 95°C and stays there. Past the point where the collagen has broken down and the meat is tender, extra hours are not cooking it further so much as slowly destroying its texture.

So the relationship flattens. Between a half-hour dish and a three-hour dish, the oven time changes six-fold while the slow-cooker time roughly doubles. That is why the chart above works in bands rather than multiplication, and why the bands get narrower as the times get longer.

Low or High?

Both settings arrive at the same temperature. High reaches it in around three to four hours; Low takes seven or eight. Once there, the pot is simmering either way, which is why Low is almost exactly double High across the whole range and why you can swap between them freely to suit your day.

Where it does matter is the cut. Chuck steak, beef cheeks, lamb shanks, pork shoulder and osso buco are full of connective tissue, and the slow climb on Low gives that tissue longer in the range where it turns to gelatine. On High you get there, but the muscle fibres tighten more on the way. For a weeknight chicken curry it makes no difference at all.

The pressure cooker is a different clock

A multicooker at high pressure runs at about 115°C rather than 95°C, and that 20-degree difference collapses the timings by an order of magnitude. What it does not collapse is the overhead. A full pot needs ten to twenty minutes to build pressure before the cook timer starts, and a natural release — which you want for anything with meat in it, because a quick release makes the fibres seize — adds another ten to twenty. For a stew that is still a huge saving. For a twenty-minute dish it is barely a saving at all, which is why the pressure setting is wasted on quick recipes.

The other constraint is liquid. A pressure cooker makes steam or it does not come to pressure, so most Australian models need at least 250 ml of thin liquid in the base. Thick sauces go on top rather than stirred through, or the base scorches and the cooker throws a burn warning before it ever seals.

Getting the texture right

Brown the meat first. Every method here benefits from it, and no slow cooker will do it for you — the pot never gets hot enough. Most multicookers have a sauté function that does the job in the same bowl, which is the main practical argument for owning one instead of a dedicated slow cooker.

Add things in the right order. Root vegetables go at the bottom where it is hottest; they take longer than the meat. Dairy, peas, greens, fresh herbs and any thickener go in for the last half hour. And resist lifting the lid — a slow cooker recovers its temperature slowly and every peek costs about twenty minutes.

If the finished dish needs crackling, colour or a crust, that is a job for dry heat at the end. Ten minutes under the grill or in the air fryer will do what eight hours of steam never could. Our meat temperature guide covers where to pull each cut, and the running cost calculator will tell you what each method costs to get there.

Slow cooker times — Frequently Asked Questions

How do I convert an oven recipe to a slow cooker?+

Find the oven time and read across: 30 minutes becomes 4 to 6 hours on Low or 1½ to 2 hours on High; an hour becomes 6 to 8 hours on Low; a three-hour braise becomes 8 to 10 hours on Low. Then cut the liquid by about a third, because a slow cooker loses almost nothing to evaporation and an unadjusted recipe arrives swimming.

Is 4 hours on High the same as 8 hours on Low?+

Near enough, yes. Both settings settle at roughly the same simmering temperature, around 95°C — High just gets there faster. Low is close to exactly double High across the whole range. The choice is about when you want to eat, though genuinely tough cuts do benefit from the slower climb.

How much liquid do I use in a slow cooker?+

About a third less than the oven version, and the meat should be no more than two-thirds submerged. Nothing evaporates under a sealed lid, and the ingredients themselves release moisture as they cook, so a recipe transferred straight across ends up thin. If it is still loose at the end, take the lid off for the last half hour on High.

Can I convert a slow cooker recipe to the oven?+

Yes, in reverse: 8 hours on Low is roughly 2 to 3 hours in a covered dish at 150 to 160°C. Increase the liquid by about half, because an oven braise will reduce, keep it covered, and check at the halfway mark in case it needs topping up with hot stock.

How long does a pressure cooker take compared with a slow cooker?+

Roughly a tenth of the time on Low. A stew that wants 8 hours on Low is about 20 to 35 minutes at pressure. Remember the pressure minutes are cook time only — a full multicooker takes 10 to 20 minutes to come up to pressure before the timer starts, and a natural release adds another 10 to 20 at the end.

Why did my slow cooker meal come out watery?+

Almost always because it was an oven or stovetop recipe used unchanged. Those recipes assume the liquid will reduce; in a slow cooker it cannot. Cut the liquid by a third next time, and rescue this one by lifting the lid for the last 30 to 45 minutes on High, or by stirring in a cornflour slurry at the end.

Can I leave a slow cooker on all day?+

That is what they are designed for, and Low for 8 hours while you are out is the normal use. Set it on a hard, dry surface with room around it, do not fill it more than two-thirds, and use the Low setting rather than High for an unattended run. Do not use one to reheat food — it comes up to temperature far too slowly.

What does not work in a slow cooker?+

Anything crumbed or that needs a crust, lean cuts like chicken breast and pork fillet, pasta and rice added at the start, dairy, and fresh green vegetables. Slow cookers steam, so they reward cheap collagen-rich cuts and punish everything else. Add dairy, peas and fresh herbs in the last half hour.

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