In Grublin, the slow cooker is an extra you add to your kitchen kit. When it's set, every recipe request tells Grub the cook has a slow cooker and to use it where it genuinely helps, so braises, stews, curries and pulled meats are written for the slow cooker from the start rather than as a hob recipe with "or use a slow cooker" tacked on. Grublin is a free recipe app for iPhone and Android.
"Or use a slow cooker" is not a recipe
Most slow cooker recipes online are hob recipes with a sentence at the end. The browning, the liquid quantities, the timing for low versus high: left to you. And the dedicated slow cooker sites give you the same ten stews and a lot of cream-of-something soup.
Grublin writes the slow cooker method as the method. Tell Grub what's in, add slow cooker to your kit, and when the ingredients suit it the recipe comes back with the sear, the reduced liquid and the hours on low written out, because that is how the dish is cooked, not an afterthought.
How Grublin uses a slow cooker
Where it suits. The request tells Grub you have a slow cooker and to use it where it genuinely helps. Tough cuts, pulses, curries, chillis, ragùs and anything you want ready when you walk in are the natural fits, and that is where it is used.
Where it doesn't. A stir-fry or a piece of fish won't be forced into the slow cooker because you own one. With an oven and hob present, the slow cooker is a helper, not a rule.
Alongside other extras. Add an air fryer too and Grub will sometimes use both: the braise in one, the crispy topping in the other.
Honest limit. Low versus high and the hours come from the model's knowledge, not from a timing table Grublin keeps. That knowledge is reliable for common dishes. Your cooker's temperament is yours to learn.
Slow cooker plus your dietary rules
Set your allergens and diet once and every slow cooker recipe fits them.
- Gluten-free stews thickened with cornflour, never flour or beer.
- Vegan dhals, chillis and bean stews that do their own thing all day.
- Dairy-free curries finished with coconut milk.
- Halal lamb and chicken braises with stock in place of wine.
What you'll actually cook
Grub writes from your fridge or your craving, so there is no fixed list, but a slow cooker plus a normal shelf tends to produce beef and lamb braises, pulled pork or chicken (within your rules), chilli and ragù, dhal and chana masala, chicken curries, bean and vegetable stews, soups, pulled jackfruit, and overnight oats or porridge. Say "I fancy something I can leave all day" and the recipe is written to be ready when you are.
Yes. Add slow cooker to your kit in Preferences and Grub writes the slow cooker method out properly whenever the ingredients suit it. No. With an oven and hob present, the slow cooker is a helper and Grub is told to use it where it genuinely helps. Fast dishes stay fast. Yes, from the model's knowledge of slow cooking. Grublin keeps no timing table of its own, so treat the first run of a new dish as a calibration. Yes. Kit and dietary rules are both set once and apply to every recipe together. Yes. Photograph your shelf or a dish you fancy and, if it suits, the slow cooker version Grub writes follows your kit and your rules. See photo to recipe.Questions people ask
Does Grublin write slow cooker recipes?
Will every recipe become a slow cooker recipe?
Does it give low and high settings and hours?
Can I combine the slow cooker with allergies and diets?
Does it work from a photo?