Have you ever wondered what you can cook in a thermal cooker? Here are 10 thermal cooker recipes that I’ve handpicked for you. Reduce your carbon footprint and cook in a more environmentally friendly way at the same time.
1. Thermal Cooker Chicken Congee | Souper Diaries
For many Chinese, congee or porridge is the ultimate comfort food. Traditionally, it takes about 1 hour or more to cook congee as you need to stir every now and then until the grains break down to your desired consistency. For this Chinese congee recipe, I only had to cook it on the stove for about 25 minutes. No more constant stirring once it goes into the thermal cooker. The thermal cooker helps the porridge to achieve a smoother texture. I usually make this in the morning and by lunch time, it will be ready. So convenient and less hassle!
2. Thermal Cooker 4 Ingredients Chinese Chicken Stock | Souper Diaries
I don’t normally make chicken stock with a thermal cooker. One day, I decided to experiment and I was really pleased that it could also make a stock with a much shorter cooking time on a stove-top. Save time and energy? Yes, please!
3. Thermal Cooker Pulled Pork | The Baking Biatch
Love pulled pork? This thermal cooker version looks so yummy. Tender, juicy and savory meat which took just 30 minutes of stove-top cooking before it was left to thermal cook overnight. It’s perfect with buns and coleslaws or plain white rice.
4. Thermal Cooker Corn Soup | Souper Diaries
If you often cook soups, you’ll love using a thermal cooker. It is a wonderful tool for making soup. Enjoy hot and tasty soups without worrying about racking up hefty electricity bills or overcooking your soup. Chinese soup is not just a delicious complement to a meal but it also promotes good health and sometimes acts as a tonic for various ailments. Try this fresh and light tasting thermal cooker corn soup recipe using simple ingredients.
5. Thermal Cooker Chicken Stew|Souper Diaries
We often hear and read that a thermal cooker performs best when the inner pot is filled or almost full. Yes, this is true as there would be less air space for heat to escape. So I was pleasantly surprised that it could also cook a stew successfully even though I only half filled my Tiger Thermal Cooker 5.2L. Check out the recipe here.
6. Thermal Cooker Chicken Curry|Souper Diaries
Soft, tender chicken and potatoes in a bed of addictive curry! Did you know that making curries (the wet ones) in a thermal cooker is such a breeze? This must be the fastest curry that I’ve ever cooked. Cooking time on the stove-top was less than 15 minutes before I popped the inner pot into the cooker. We had a lovely lunch (which continued over to dinner) with this yummy Chinese-style curry chicken.
7. Thermal Cooker Baked Chicken|Prepare Today Ward Newsletter
I’m just amazed that baked chicken can be prepared in a thermal cooker with the help of a… cereal bag! How’s that for creativity and taking recycling to a whole new level. Julene, the author of the blog wrote, “For every meal that I prepare I think of how it could be made without electricity.” I love this! The Saratoga Jacks Thermal Cooker is one of her go-to powerless emergency cookers. Check out her blog to see how it’s done.
8. Thermal Cooker Shellfish Soup|Luxury Haven
Whether you’re going for a picnic, potluck, camping or even if you’re living on a boat, a thermal cooker is a very useful cooking tool as it is a much more energy efficient way to cook and is highly portable. Shirley from Luxury Haven uses a Thermos Shuttle Chef to cook this delicious looking shellfish soup. I would like a bowl of that!
9. Thermal Cooker Yogurt |Souper Diaries
Did you know it’s so easy and more economical to make your own yogurt at home? All you need is some yogurt starter and milk. A thermal cooker is a great tool to incubate yogurt and nurture good bacteria to grow and do its thing. I’ve used my thermal cooker to make yogurt on many occasions and it comes out perfect and delicious every time.
10. Thermal Cooker Red Dates Tea|Souper Diaries
Ever since I got my thermal cooker, this is my go-to cooking appliance to make red dates tea. It’s so nice to come home to a hot tea after a long day. My family loves this red dates tea as it is fragrant and has a smokey sweetness. 
Related Posts:
What Is A Thermal Cooker and Why It Is A Kitchen Must-Have
The Best Thermal Cookers – A Buyer’s Guide
Hi
All this food is really making my mouth water:)
I don’t have a thermal cooker i have a slow cooker would this be ok to do these recipes in the slow cooker?
I have been searching for different recipe’s and these would be ideal, i love the look of the chicken curry it would make a perfect meal.
Thanks for the detailed recipe’s 🙂
Hi Sharon,
It depends on which recipe you’re wanting to do and not all are suitable for the slow cooker.
Wow. Who knew you could cook so many things with a thermal cooker. I mean, tea? That’s amazing.
Thank you for opening my eyes to the wide range of uses for a thermal cooker. Someone mentioned using one the other day, and I hate to admit I had no idea as to what they were talking about.
These recipes look enticing. I have to admit I clicked on the yogurt recipe because it piqued my interest. It made me search for a thermal cooker. I enjoyed your step by step visuals. Again, thanks.
Very interesting post. I could not believe how many different meals you can cook with a Thermal Cooker. I have one, but I have never used it that much. This post helps me realized that I can use mine more often. Thank you.
Yes, I was surprised with some of things that you can cook in a thermal cooker. I am constantly experimenting with mine. Hope you’ll use yours more often!
Oh my gosh, all these recipes look so wonderful. And on top of it, I now have to have a thermal cooker so I can start making some of these. I was going to pick a favorite, but I honestly can’t do that. I want to try them all! Which thermal cooker would you recommend? I want one that can make quite a few portions, as I love leftovers 🙂
Hi Leahrae,
An important thing you have to know about thermal cookers if you wish to get one. This is from my personal experience.
Unless you often cook large portions or you’re cooking for a large family, don’t get such a huge cooker. This is because thermal cookers cook with heat retention in the inner pot. So they perform best when the inner pot is filled by at least 80%. The less air space for heat to escape, the better.
But if you normally do cook big portions, I would recommended that you get thermal cookers that are at least 5L and above. Here are some examples:
1. Saratoga Jacks 7L Thermal Cooker Deluxe (comes with a small 2.5L Stainless Steel innerpot with deluxe clad bottom that nests inside a 7L pot)
2. Thermos Brand Thermal Cooker 6.0L Carry-Out (RPC-6000) – (comes with two stainless steel 3L pots)
3. Tiger NFI-A800 8L
You may also want to check out this article: The Best Thermal Cooker – A Buyer’s Guide for more thermal cooker suggestions to suit every budget.
Awesome thermal cooker recipes and a really easy to read website. I love it! Thank you for sharing this.
Oh my goodness, this article has left me so hungry! I love time-saving cooking methods that still provide delicious meals, so a thermal cooker is definitely a useful item for that.
I am dying to try the Pulled Pork recipe you included here, so I think I am going to give it a try next weekend with my husband and his friend who is coming to visit us for a couple weeks. Hope it is as yummy as it sounds.
Thanks for the recipes!
You’re welcome, Brittaney. Yes, a thermal cooker helps you save time on cooking and also uses much less energy. Hope you’ll like the recipe! 🙂