Nesco SC-6-25 Slow Cooker review

Nesco SC-6-25 is a pretty basic device that works well and gives you enough cooking space to feed up to seven people at once. While it doesn't offer any noteworthy performance features, it will allow you to create delicious dishes with relative ease, making this one of the best slow cookers for the home.

Image 1 of 4

Nesco SC-6-25: Performance

Our taste testers loved the beef stew this slow cooker created, with one individual stating that "the constituent parts of the stew are ok, but the broth is really good." Additional taste testers commented that the broth was flavorful and good since it didn't come out as oily as some of the other devices. This might have had something to do with how much fat was in the cuts of meat. The beef came out tender, and the vegetables still had a little firmness to them, which allowed them to retain their own flavors instead of turning into a mushy blob.

This device performed very well in our evaporation test, losing only 8% of its moisture when set on high for four hours and only 4% when on low for four hours. Only the Crock-Pot SCCPVL610 retained water better. This means that this device should help keep your food from drying out during the cooking process.

We measured the exterior of the device when it had been cooking on high for an hour. Just above the analog settings knob, the temperature was 140 degrees making it one of the hottest front sides in our testing. You'll want to make sure to be careful when interacting with the settings knob as the area gets hot. Below the handles on either side of the device, it was only 111 degrees, which isn't very hot and will better prevent your fingers from burning when carrying the slow cooker. When you are done cooking, you can place the inner bowl and lid into a dishwasher and allow it to take care of cleaning for you.

Since this device has a capacity of six quarts, you should be able to feed five to seven people with one cooking session. This unit comes with a 25-inch cord, which is one of the shortest and might make it harder for you to plug it into an outlet. Of the six-quart slow cookers we tested, this one is the lightest, weighing only 11.1 pounds. The manufacturer covers this unit with a one-year warranty, which isn't bad but isn't anything special either. This is a basic slow cooker, so it doesn't include a timer, additional accessories, or an automatic warm setting. It doesn't even come with any recipes to get you started. Should you lose the included manual, you can find it on Nesco's website.

Nesco SC-6-25 doesn't stand out in the sea of slow cooker options, but that doesn't make it a bad choice. It has the heating power and moisture retention needed to create tasty and flavorful dishes and is covered by a basic warranty. While it isn't the least expensive six-quart option, it is still relatively inexpensive, making it a good choice for most homes.

Should you buy the Nesco SC-6-25?

The Nesco SC-6-25 is a six-quart slow cooker that doesn't offer any noteworthy performance features but works well, making it a great addition to any home. It allows you to create delicious dishes with relative ease, and our taste testers loved the beef stew it created. The device performed very well in our evaporation test, helping keep your food from drying out during the cooking process. The exterior of the device gets hot, so you'll need to be careful, but it's lightweight and easy to clean. It's not the least expensive option, but it's relatively inexpensive and covered by a basic warranty, making it a good choice for most homes.