Very little! The stove top means you can cook this in as little as an hour, but you do need to stir every 20-30 minutes and keep it over low heat. The crock pot has less risk of scorching, but it does take closer to 4 hours on low - which is not a bad thing when you're cooking a holiday meal or want a hands off prep. Just stir every hour or so, and take the lid off in the last 30 minutes.