Should You Stir Crock Pot Meals? Probably Not, and Here’s Why

Resist the temptation.

Should you stir crock pot meals? No, and here’s why. We’ve all been there. It’s close to dinner time, and the savory aroma of tonight’s meal has been wafting up from the slow cooker for hours. The temptation to lift the lid of the slow cooker, stir its contents, take a deep inhalation, and maybe even take a little taste is almost too much to resist. As mighty as the urge might be, the truth is, lifting the lid on your slow cooker, even for just a minute, can cause major problems with your finished dish.

Read on to learn more about why you should avoid stirring food in your slow cooker.

Should You Stir Crock Pot Meals?

You’ve heard the expression, “A watched pot never boils.” Well, the same is true for your slow cooker. Slow cookers rely on the slow build-up of heat to cook food to perfection. Lifting the lid of your slow cooker during cooking lets built-up heat escape and will lower the temperature in the slow cooker considerably. Stirring the contents allows even more heat to escape from the lower layers of the food. Once the lid is replaced, it will take a significant amount of time for the heat to build back up to its previous temperature, thus extending the cooking time of your dinner. It is best to fight the urge to stir and just let the food cook the way it was intended to (unless the recipe tells you to do otherwise). Your strength will be thanked with a deliciously cooked meal.

When Should You Stir Crock Pot Meals?

There are, of course, exceptions to every rule. So, when should you stir crock pot meals? As we said above, you should stir when a recipe calls for it. You’re also going to want to stir when cooking something thick or creamy to prevent the dish from clumping. Finally, if you’re cooking anything delicate that may stick to the bottom of the pan—like fish, tofu, spinach, or pasta—you should probably stir your crock pot to prevent them from sticking and scorching. 

What if I’m not cooking any of those things but I still want to stir?

We get it—after all, you want to make sure all those tasty and nutritious ingredients meld together and mingle—that’s part of the appeal of using a slow cooker! 

If you do want to stir everything together in your crock pot, it’s best to do so at the beginning, before any heat has had time to build up, or if/when you need to add a new ingredient (since you’ll be letting heat escape anyway.

Learn more about slow cooker cooking with these 21 Slow Cooking Tips.

What if Someone Else Tries to Stir the Crock Pot?

Think the temptation to stir might be too great for someone else in your family? Try pasting a sticky note to the lid of the slow cooker, reminding your loved one that if they want to eat, they should avoid lifting the lid!

In most cases, you can trust your crock pot to do the work for you without the need for frequent stirring. Just add your ingredients to the crock pot and let it do its job. Remember that every time you open the lid, you’ll release heat and extend the cooking time, so try to resist the urge to stir unless your recipe specifically calls for it.

Check out our fabulously Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes.

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