How To Clean A Crock Pot

Dealing with a dirty slow cooker with cooked-on food? Check out how to clean a crock pot like a pro. Check out how to clean the slow cooker base, the stoneware, and more!

Recently I pulled out my crock pot to use it and I was surprised at how dirty it was. The actual stoneware is washed often,but the heating base rarely gets cleaned. I decided it was time for a deep clean.

If your crockpot regularly gets used and needs a little cleaning follow these easy tips on how to clean a crock pot.

Can A Crockpot Go In The Dishwasher?

Yes, the stoneware part of the crock pot is dishwasher safe. If yours is anything like mine though, it may need a good soak and gentle scrubbing besides just going in the dishwasher.

How To Clean A Crock Pot

To start, if you have just recently used your slow cooker you will want to make sure it is unplugged and cooled down. Remove the stoneware from the crock pot and place it in the sink.

It is important not to get cold water on it while it is hot or you run the risk of it breaking.

How To Clean The Stoneware

Although the crock gets washed regularly it can still get some stuck on food. You can see below the stuck-on food from the side of my crock after going through the dishwasher.

To clean it, I like to make a paste of dawn soap and baking soda. Just pour about a tablespoon of dawn soap and a tablespoon or two of baking soda into the crock. Then mix it up until you have a paste about the consistency of toothpaste.

Use a microfiber cloth to spread the paste over the sides and bottom of the crock pot. I love this brand of microfiber cloths to clean with. Then just let the paste sit on the slow cooker.

How To Clean A Crock Pot Base

While your stoneware is sitting with the paste on it you will want to move on to the base of your crock pot. If it looks anything like mine you will find that food dripped in there and then got burnt during the cooking process. The inside of my crock pot was a mess.

Take a clean, damp microfiber cloth and wipe down the inside. Make sure your cloth isn't too wet, you really don't want standing water in there. Spend a minute or two wiping down all of the burnt on food on the inside.

If after wiping it down you still have some stuck on food then you can use a little bit of the paste from the stoneware on the baked on food. Just make sure you wipe it all off. You can see below the inside of my base looks much better after being cleaned.

After you have cleaned the inside of the base you can clean the outside. I like to use this counter spray to clean the outside of my crock pot. It not only cleans it but it also kills any germs or bacteria that may be on the outside of the crockpot.

Now that you have the base cleaned you can go back to the stoneware. Use a damp microfiber cloth to really clean down the sides with the paste and then rinse the stoneware out.

Once the stoneware is dry you can put it back in the base and you are finished.

It doesn't take a lot of time to really give your slow cooker a deep clean. With these easy tips on how to clean a crock pot you can keep your slow cooker looking like new.

Want some more cleaning tips? Check out how to easily clean a Keurig.