For 99% of humanity, the answer is a 5-to-6-quart slow cooker. This is the perfect middle child. It will feed a family of four with leftovers for lunch, or two hungry adults who refuse to stop eating chili until the pot is empty. I once made a whole pork shoulder in a 6-quart model, and it fed me, my roommate, and her cat (the cat just licked the bone).
Here’s a surprising fact: most recipes you find online are designed for this size. If you buy a 4-quart, you’re constantly reducing ingredients. If you buy an 8-quart, you’ll be adding water just to reach the minimum fill line, creating a weird soup of sadness. Stick with 5 or 6 quarts. It’s the Swiss Army knife of slow cooking.
