Best multi

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From slow cookers to air fryers, having a variety of kitchen appliances can help with a multitude of cooking tasks, but if space (or your budget) is tight, a multi-cooker is a savvier buy.

Combining multiple appliances into one nifty machine, multi-cookers are a cost-effective way to cook, also using less energy than a conventional oven.

At the Good Housekeeping Institute, we put them to the test to find these best buys:

To find the best multi-cooker, we asked the experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute to put a range of them to the test. For each one, we used the slow cooker function to make beef brisket, vegan chilli and chicken curry, weighing the dishes before and after cooking to assess how much moisture was lost during the process.

Then, we adjusted our test according to each model's features. For example, if it can pressure cook, we cooked the brisket and chilli again, while for air frying, we made chips and chicken wings. We roasted vegetables, baked cupcakes, steamed corn and cooked rice, too. And we tasted every dish to make sure everything was cooked through. We also measured the energy consumption for every test we carried out.

Finally, we assessed each multi-cooker on ease of use, design and instructions, before awarding it a final score.

Read on to discover the best multi-cookers to buy now, plus a buying guide on how to use them.

Score: 90/100

A high scorer across the board, this six-in-one multi-cooker impressed when roasting vegetables and air frying chicken and chips. It also pressure cooks, slow cooks, sears, sautés and steams. And despite its roomy interior, it's compact overall, making storage relatively easy.

When it comes to energy consumption, it was the most efficient air fryer we tried (making chips used just 12p of electricity while chicken wings cost 11p). It comes with a comprehensive cooking guide too, which makes getting started a doddle.

Take care to avoid steam when releasing it and the crisping lid (one of two lids included) isn't the easiest to clean. Overall, though, it's a real all-rounder.

Score: 90/100

With 14 settings, including sauté, risotto and slow cooking, this cooker does a lot more than its name suggests. It scored the best marks on test for pressure cooking with a notably moist vegan chilli, making it worth the 20-minute wait for the pressure to build.

It was also a top-performer for slow cooking, with a melt-in-the-mouth brisket. In fact, we found it cooked nearly every ingredient evenly and it was fairly energy efficient – slow cooking the brisket for eight hours cost us 22p, for example. Delay start and keep warm functions will help if you’re leaving it to cook while you’re out of the house, too.

Don't put the cooking bowl in the dishwasher and, unusually, you must set the altitude before you can start using it, so the pressure is suitable for where you live (you can find your altitude here). It is a large machine, but we think it's a reliable and robust cooker that's ideal for big families.

Score: 89/100

For truly effortless cooking, turn to this versatile Crockpot, which impressed on test for producing fluffy rice and delicious roasted veggies. Its slow-cooked dishes were top notch too, locking in moisture, and it didn't consume much electricity – 29p for four hours on high and 30p for eight hours on low.

When it came to pressure cooking, we measured substantial moisture loss – 6.6% from our beef brisket and 13.8% from our vegan chilli. The latter wasn't affected by this though, emerging with an appetising taste and texture, but the beef had dry spots.

What makes this multi-cooker stand out, though, is its user-friendly design. It's intuitive to use from start to finish, with a well-placed steam release knob that minimises the risk of burning and 14 clearly labelled functions to choose between, making it simple to switch from rice cooker to sous vide. It even doubles up as a steriliser and has a capacity to serve six. A great value buy.

Score: 86/100

This mini multi-cooker is ideal if you’re tight on space or catering for households of one or two. You can move it from cupboard to counter with its carry handle, while its timer is simple to set and adjust. And it cleans easily – we couldn't find any obvious dirt traps on test.

As for the cooking, it's an excellent slow cooker, producing a chicken curry with fall-off-the-bone meat and a tender beef brisket. Any moisture loss we measured wasn't evident in the finished dishes and it was the most energy efficient on average.

It impressed with rice too, and the baking function provides a low-cost way to make cupcakes; it cost just 6p for 40 minutes of cooking time. There wasn't the same golden colouring you’d get in an oven, though.

Any niggles? Well, you’ll need to press the buttons firmly for them to work and the body marks easily. It also only has eight cooking programmes but it has a keep warm function, and for under £60, these are justified compromises.

Score: 84/100

This compact cooker can feed a family of five thanks to its 4.8L capacity. Well-designed handles mean it's easy to grip and move too, plus the bowl hand-washes well thanks to the brand's beloved non-stick coating.

We had to play around with the slow cooker setting to get it right, as the machine doesn't come with clear guidance on how to set the temperature (meaning our first attempt resulted in raw meat!). But once solved, the results were delicious and on average only required 22p of electricity.

Impressively, when we pressure cooked our vegan chilli it was done in just five minutes– although as a result you pay more in electricity (about 38p). To use the steam release, you must hold down the button continuously until all the steam has escaped, and this can take a few minutes. But it's well-positioned so you won't be in the steam's way.

A top-scorer for steaming and rice, and the most energy efficient for the latter too, it's ideal for tackling dinnertime staples.

Score: 84/100

Cramming 15 programmes – including a cake maker, steriliser and keep warm function – into one handy pot, this cooker can almost do it all (although it doesn't air fry). It's also easy to operate, with a safe steam release function and dishwasher-proof parts that can be stored inside.

Both its slow- and pressure-cooking functions were excellent, with the former resulting in a stand-out chicken curry while the latter's vegetable chilli retained nearly all its moisture and used just 18p of electricity.

Its carrying handles are small and it's a big appliance but it's an otherwise well-designed piece of kitchen kit.

Score: 84/100

At £250 this is a significant investment, but this sleek appliance has 15 different functions. It excels at air frying too, impressing on chicken wings (crisp yet moist inside) and roasties (perfectly cooked), while our slow-cooked beef brisket retained its moisture for melt-in-your-mouth results.

Its ‘combi-steam’ tech also deserves an honourable mention, as it allows you to cook all elements of your meal at once. Its accompanying smart meat probe takes any guesswork away too, as it monitors your food to ensure it's cooked just the way you like it, no timer required.

Yes, it's a sizeable machine that's heavy to move, but it really does do everything.

Score: 83/100

Big enough to feed up to eight hungry mouths, this Russell Hobbs multi-cooker isn't as fancy as some we tested but it's just as trusty. Our testers praised its simple design that's sturdy and easy to clean, with no pesky dirt traps.

It fared well slow cooking, particularly impressing with its moist chicken curry and beef brisket. The vegan chilli was dry but cooking for a shorter period may help there. It prepared rice perfectly too, which is no easy task.

You’ll need to press the buttons firmly, and you may need to refer to the manual when first using the machine, as the functions are only labelled with symbols. It wasn't the most energy efficient either – slow cooking for four hours cost us 41p and for eight it was 32p. But that's still less than it would cost to run an oven for the equivalent time.

Score: 82/100

The biggest cooker we tested, this is the one to go for if you like bulk cooking or often feed a crowd. It was also the best baker on test, using 7p's worth of electricity to whip up delicious cupcakes. And we found it was a reliable pressure cooker; our brisket was perfectly cooked.

Its air frying function also excelled, producing mouth-watering wings in just 30 minutes, and for just 13p's worth of electricity. It's slow cooking function was a tad inconsistent, however, as the brisket was over cooked while our chilli contained under-cooked beans.

It's user-friendly, with a simple steam release function and its accessories can be stored inside itself. Overall, a versatile and easy to use multi-cooker.

Score: 82/100

This intuitively designed machine has all its programmes pre-set, making it a speedy pick; simply select the cooking mode you need and let it do the rest. This worked well for pressure cooking, as well as steaming and cooking rice.

For slow cooking, the inability to set a temperature meant that some dishes still weren't cooked after four hours, but we’d just use this function for longer next time. It's just as energy efficient as other models, and you can wipe it clean, though there are a few dirt traps.

Put simply, multi-cookers combine multiple kitchen appliances into one, from slow cookers to pressure cookers to air fryers.

The capabilities of each multi-cooker will vary though, so decide on your priorities before you buy. Here are the main functions on offer:

Other features include sauté, sous vide (putting your food in a vacuum-packed bag and cooking under water) and even sterilisation.

And don't forget to consider the size you need too – the more people you’re cooking for, the bigger capacity you’ll need. Some multi-cookers can also be bulky and come with multiple lids, so make sure you’ve got enough room to store them.

It's hard to categorically say which is the most energy efficient multi-cooker because each function consumes energy at a different rate – a slow cooker, for example, may run on a lower heat for hours whereas an air fryer often cooks in minutes.

However, we’ve measured the energy consumption for every test we carried out and using the current electricity price of 34p/kwh, you'll find the most efficient energy appliance for each function we tried below:

For comparison, if you have a 2000-watt oven, using it for 30 minutes can cost up to 34p.

Hannah is our senior homes writer, specialising in reviewing the latest kitchen appliances, cleaning products, mattresses and bedding, and crafting equipment. Hannah has written about hundreds of products, from air fryers to smoothie makers to pillows, and is committed to finding the most reliable and best value for money buys.

Hannah is also interested in sustainability in the home and has completed a course with the University of the Arts London in sustainable textiles, so she can help cut through the noise on what's green and what's not. Hannah helps to uncover the best cleaning hacks too, with a focus on easy, natural solutions.

Hannah has an MA in Magazine Journalism and has previously worked as a freelance lifestyle and women's sports journalist, working for Stylist, Sky Sports and more.

Hannah has also previously worked in a florist and can normally be found caring for her house plants or sewing something new for her home or wardrobe.

You can find Hannah on Instagram on @sewnbyhan

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