You can convert a slow cooker recipe easily for baking in a roaster only by adjusting the temperature settings. Remember, your roaster oven is also an extra-large slow cooker! So, there is no need to adjust the cooking time or the liquid levels of your slow cooker recipes when using a roaster oven.
Many people use their roaster ovens and slow cookers for cooking ham, stew and turkeys but you can also bake delicious cookies, cake and bread. Just set the dial to bake on your roaster oven and use a loaf pan for the bread.
If you are looking to buy a slow cooker, but you are not entirely sold on the idea, read our post where we review some of the best slow cookers on the market. Also, you can also check out our slow cooker recipes.
Adjusting Temperature on The Roaster for Slow Cooking
Slow cookers usually have two settings: High and Low. These temperatures convert to 200°F and 250°F on a roaster, respectively. Some recipes call for cooking on high setting for several hours and then continue with the low setting. All you need to do on the roaster is to switch the temperature to 200°F when it says ‘Low’, and then to 250°F when ‘High’ is required.
If your roaster oven heats up too fast then you can experiment and use 190°F for ‘Low’ and 300°F for ‘High’ respectively. But the 200-250°F range is good for most roaster ovens. Your roaster oven manual would also contain this information.
Adjusting the Liquid in A Roaster Oven for Slow Cooking
As a rule of thumb, you should use 1/3 less liquid when you are cooking with a slow cooker compared to cooking traditionally in pot over stove. And when you are cooking with the roaster oven you can use the slow cooker settings exactly since it functions as a slow cooker.
Slow Cook Lemon Cake in A Roaster Oven
Ingredients:
- 3 medium eggs
- 2 cups of wheat flour
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- ½ cup of oil
- ½ cup of whole milk
- 1 tablespoon butter (unsalted)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
Directions:
- Beat the eggs well in a bowl then add the sugar and continue to mix for another minute or two.
- Add all the liquid ingredients, slowly mix with a plastic spatula.
- Mix the baking soda, flour and salt in another bowl and add these to the egg mixture slowly stirring by spatula.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix for 2 minutes with hand mixer at medium speed.
- Grease a cake pan and pour the cake mixture in it.
- Bring your roaster oven temperature to 250°F /93°C (High on slow cooker, ‘Bake’ mode on the roaster) and bake for 1 ½ hour or until it’s done (max 2 hours).
Slow Cook Stew in A Roaster Oven
If you like stew then you should know these helpful tricks on slow cooking it on a roaster oven.
Slice your vegetables long and big as they are going to cook for a long time. Celery and carrots are best when cooking for longer hours since they are more durable compared to summer vegetables. I also throw in some red apples and spice it up. If you brown the meat (grill it for a minute or two on stovetop) before you start the stew then it adds a lot of flavor and tenderness. Slow cook at 200°F (93°C) for 6-8 hours.
Sauce Hint: If your stew sauce is too thin then mix 1 tablespoon of corn flour and ¼ cup of water in a bowl thoroughly and add to your stew. Cook for another 10 minutes and that’s it.
Stew is not the only thing you can slow cook over roaster oven. You can actually slow cook amazing vegetable dishes and even sweets.
In Conclusion
Get the best out of your roaster and experiment with its functions. Adjusting or converting your slow cooker recipe to roaster oven is easy; just use 200°F for the ‘Low’ and 250°F for the ‘High’ setting. However, this is not the case if you are converting slow-cooker recipes to bake with conventional ovens. You have to adjust the cooking time in addition to temperature settings.
