About the numbers

How the conversions work

Short version: the same rules of thumb every slow cooker manual prints, applied consistently, with floors and caps so the arithmetic doesn't produce nonsense for chicken or desserts.

The three rules

• Oven or stovetop → slow cooker: High ≈ 2× the oven time, Low ≈ 4×. Nothing converts to less than 1½ hours on High, because a slow cooker spends its first hour heating up. Dish types apply a factor and a cap: chicken 0.8× (max 4 h High), casseroles 0.9× (max 3½ h High), desserts 0.65× (max 3 h High).
• Slow cooker → oven: 15 minutes at 325°F per hour on Low, 30 minutes per hour on High, minimum 30 minutes, always covered. The 350°F figure is 15% shorter.
• Slow cooker → pressure cooker: a third of the oven-equivalent time at High pressure, then a food factor: cubed meat 1×, whole roasts 1.4×, poultry 0.55×, soaked beans 0.9×, soups and vegetables 0.45×, each with a sensible minimum.

Why the settings translate the way they do

A slow cooker's Low and High both end at the same simmer, around 209°F; High simply reaches it in half the time. That is the physical basis for the 2:1 ratio between the settings. A covered 325°F oven holds food at a similar gentle simmer, which is why it substitutes for either setting. A pressure cooker at 10–12 psi raises the boiling point of water to about 240°F, and cooking chemistry roughly doubles in speed for every 18°F, which is where "about a third of the time" comes from.

Sources

• Crock-Pot owner's manuals, conversion guidance (Sunbeam Products).
• Pillsbury, "Cooking conversions for slow cookers" (the widely reprinted 15–30 / 35–45 / 50 min–3 h table).
• USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, safe minimum internal temperatures, and "Slow Cookers and Food Safety".
• Instant Brands cooking-time tables for the Instant Pot Duo.

Tables checked against these sources September 14, 2026.

What this site can't know

Your cooker's real temperature (they vary by 20–30°F between brands), how full it is, how cold the food went in, and your oven's calibration. Every number here is a starting point. Use a thermometer; the safe temperatures are on the printable conversion chart.

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