Slow cooking is perfect for this time of year - pop your ingredients in before heading out for the day and just leave them; when you get home you'll find a hearty, wholesome home-cooked meal waiting. No wonder 'slow cooking recipes' is one of the most popular search terms on Allaboutyou.com. We've reviewed the best slow cooking cookbooks around - click through our gallery to discover them, and check out the slow cooker recipes below too...

Slow cooker recipes
Slow cooker stuffed peppers
Slow cooker stew recipes
Slow-cooked duck ragu 
Slow-cooked coq au vin
Slow cooker toffee apple pudding
Slow-cooked pork with sweet potato
Six slow cooker recipes 

If you just want one great all-round slow cooking recipe collection, we recommend this one. With over 350 pages and lots of colour photographs, there are recipes for all tastes and occasions here, from soups to curries and tagines to pot roasts and vegetarian dishes and puds. There's also a really useful section on slow cooking techniques and ingredients, which will help you get really confident if you're new to this method of cooking. And the traditional version of each recipe is given for those who don't have a slow cooker but still want to cook slowly.

The Slow Cook Book by Heather Whinney (£16.99, DK)

Slow cooker recipes
Slow cooker stuffed peppers
Slow cooker stew recipes
Slow-cooked duck ragu 
Slow-cooked coq au vin
Slow cooker toffee apple pudding 
Slow-cooked pork with sweet potato
Six slow cooker recipes 

This is a nice back-to-basics cookbook for a student or cookery beginner. There's nothing fancy, just lots of easy and effective favourites like chicken curry, coq au vin and navarin of lamb, using inexpensive store-cupboard ingredients including the odd jar of ready-made bolognese sauce or curry paste to make life easier.

Slow Cooker Simple by Sue Ashworth (£6.99, Kyle Books)

Slow cooker recipes
Slow cooker stuffed peppers
Slow cooker stew recipes
Slow-cooked duck ragu 
Slow-cooked coq au vin
Slow cooker toffee apple pudding 
Slow-cooked pork with sweet potato
Six slow cooker recipes 

It's easy to make healthy meals in a slow cooker - you don't need much oil or butter, and slow-cooking suits whole grains like barley or oatmeal perfectly. Here Rachel Rappaport offers 300-calorie, carb- and fat-counted recipes for anyone who wants to keep a close eye on what they're cooking. We love the sound of Thai peanut chicken, low-sugar blackberry jam and low-fat chocolate bread pudding.

The Everything Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook by Rachel Rappaport (£10.99, Adams)

Slow cooker recipes
Slow cooker stuffed peppers
Slow cooker stew recipes
Slow-cooked duck ragu 
Slow-cooked coq au vin
Slow cooker toffee apple pudding 
Slow-cooked pork with sweet potato
Six slow cooker recipes 

What we love about this scrummy new book by BBC 'Saturday Kitchen' presenter James Martin is that it's full of easy recipes that are both hearty and imaginative. Ideas like parsnip, pecan and maple soup, beef rendang and orange tart have both flair and flavour. James's love of slow food is infectious - it's all about 'proper honest grub that is as basic as cooking can get' he says. Although a slow cooker is a great kitchen aide in James's opinion, you can also make all these recipes using your hob and oven too.

Slow Cooking by James Martin (£14, Quadrille)

Slow cooker recipes
Slow cooker stuffed peppers
Slow cooker stew recipes
Slow-cooked duck ragu 
Slow-cooked coq au vin
Slow cooker toffee apple pudding 
Slow-cooked pork with sweet potato
Six slow cooker recipes 

The Good Food cookbook series is consistently reliable and straightforward, and this slow cooking title is no exception. From Mumbai potato wraps to cottage pie, there are 101 fast, easy-to-follow recipes here for all occasions. The pictures are beautiful and there are full nutritional breakdowns for every dish.

BBC Good Food: Slow Cooker Favourites by Sarah Cook (£4.99, BBC Books)

Slow cooker recipes
Slow cooker stuffed peppers
Slow cooker stew recipes
Slow-cooked duck ragu 
Slow-cooked coq au vin
Slow cooker toffee apple pudding 
Slow-cooked pork with sweet potato
Six slow cooker recipes 

With some tips on techniques and a solid variety of recipes, this is another good all-round slow cooking cookbook that will help you and your family get the most out of your slow cooker. It has a slightly retro feel and some really yummy recipes you might not have thought of making with a slow cooker like tomato, spinach and goat's cheese cannelloni. and there are some fab puddings, too, including chocolate brownies or crème caramel.
 

Slow Cooker Magic by Lorna Brash (£14.99, Pavilion)

Slow cooker recipes
Slow cooker stuffed peppers
Slow cooker stew recipes
Slow-cooked duck ragu 
Slow-cooked coq au vin
Slow cooker toffee apple pudding 
Slow-cooked pork with sweet potato
Six slow cooker recipes 

This little book packs a big punch - it's a perfect compact all-rounder, with a yummy selection of classic favourites adapted for the slow cooker. The helpful introduction gives tips on how to use any recipe for the slow cooker. We love the sound of slow-cooked banana and cinnamon porridge, Kashmiri butter chicken, sausages with beery onion gravy, sweet and sour chicken and olive and lemon meatballs; plus there are plenty of lovely puddings and drinks to make, too. If you like the sound of this, you'll also love the second book in this series, More Slow Cooker Recipes.

200 Slow Cooker Recipes by Sara Lewis (£4.99, Hamlyn)

Slow cooker recipes
Slow cooker stuffed peppers
Slow cooker stew recipes
Slow-cooked duck ragu 
Slow-cooked coq au vin
Slow cooker toffee apple pudding 
Slow-cooked pork with sweet potato
Six slow cooker recipes 

A super-duper slow-cooker companion, this book by one of Britain's best-known chefs is brimming with 100 delicious recipes, including aromatic chicken with oranges, and pork, apple and lemon thyme meatballs. It's beautifully  photographed and presented, with slow cooker tips and techniques, and alternatives for slow cooking in the oven or hob. Soups, sauces, braises, roasts, bakes, stews, curries and tagines are all here, plus some sublime desserts.

Slow Cooking by Antony Worrall Thompson (£17.99, Mitchell Beazley)

Slow cooker recipes
Slow cooker stuffed peppers
Slow cooker stew recipes
Slow-cooked duck ragu 
Slow-cooked coq au vin
Slow cooker toffee apple pudding 
Slow-cooked pork with sweet potato
Six slow cooker recipes 

This new collection of slow-cooker recipes draws on cuisines from around the world, from Japanese chicken curry to Iraqi beef daube. There are lots of super-easy recipes in here too. Wonderful!

I Love My Slow Cooker by Beverley LeBlanc (£12.99, Duncan Baird Publishers)

Slow cooker recipes
Slow cooker stuffed peppers
Slow cooker stew recipes
Slow-cooked duck ragu 
Slow-cooked coq au vin
Slow cooker toffee apple pudding 
Slow-cooked pork with sweet potato
Six slow cooker recipes 

This is a bumper collection of slow cooker recipes. The presentation is super-simple with no photographs, but the triple-tested recipes are proper, wholesome and sound. You'll find an excellent variety of favourites with worldwide influences: chicken in satay sauce, Lebanese lamb stew and chicken tikka masala. Yum!

250 Must-Have Slow Cooker Recipes (£9.99, Murdoch Books)

Slow cooker recipes
Slow cooker stuffed peppers
Slow cooker stew recipes
Slow-cooked duck ragu 
Slow-cooked coq au vin
Slow cooker toffee apple pudding 
Slow-cooked pork with sweet potato
Six slow cooker recipes