Life can get hectic, and finding the time to prepare healthy and delicious meals can be a challenge. That's where the slow cooker comes in as your culinary best friend. This article explores a variety of healthy vegetarian slow cooker recipes that are not only convenient but also packed with bold flavors and wholesome ingredients.
Soups and Stews
What's better than cozying up with a delicious soup that’s been simmering all day long? Soup always tastes better the longer you let it cook, making the slow cooker a perfect tool for creating flavorful and comforting soups and stews.
- Spiced Carrot & Lentil Soup: This delicious, spicy blend is packed full of iron and low in fat. It's ready in under half an hour, or can be made in a slow cooker.
- Vegan Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup: A reader favorite, this soup is a testament to the ease and flavor that slow cookers can deliver.
- Slow-cooker chickpea stew: Enjoy the depth of flavour that comes with slow-cooking our chickpea stew. Serve with couscous for a healthy, low-fat, high-fibre dinner.
Hearty Main Dishes
The crockpot is good for so much more than just soups and stews! From lasagnas to curries, the slow cooker can handle a variety of main dishes, making it easy to enjoy a satisfying and healthy meal.
- Slow Cooker Vegetable Lasagne: Make this low-calorie veggie lasagne as a lighter alternative to the traditional bake. It's layered with pasta, ratatouille and sliced aubergine, and packs in all of your five-a-day. Layers of tender veggies, sauce, and cheese slowly meld together for a healthier lasagna you can set and forget. Who knew lasagna could be this easy?
- Sweet Potato & Coconut Curry: Prep your veggies and let the slow cooker do the work with our filling sweet potato curry
- Creamy Veggie Korma: Creamy and healthy - a winning combination for this curry, which can be easily adapted to suit all the family if some want to add meat
- Slow cooker vegetable curry: Use the slow cooker to make our easy veggie curry with coconut sauce and freeze the leftovers for another day. One delicious serving provides four of your five-a-day
- Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili Mac: This is a healthy meatless meal that the whole family will love!
- Place all ingredients except for pasta, cheese, and green onions in slow cooker. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 6-8 hours.
- Stir in pasta and continue cooking on high for 15-20 minutes, until pasta is cooked through. Stir in 1 cup of the cheese.
- Serve topped with remaining cheese and green onions.
- To make this a freezer to crock pot meal: Place all ingredients except for broth, pasta and cheese in a heavy duty zip-top bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal. Freeze for up to 3 months. When you are ready to cook, thaw and transfer bag contents to your slow cooker. Add the broth (you can pour some of the broth into the empty bag to get all of the spices, etc.
- Slow-cooked marrow with fennel & tomato: Try this vegetarian stew with crusty sourdough, or as an accompaniment to grilled meats.
- Slow Cooker Moroccan Chickpea Stew: Warm spices, sweet dried fruit, and hearty chickpeas come together in this Moroccan-inspired stew. Every bite is cozy and full of flavor.
- Slow Cooker Lentil and Sweet Potato Stew: A creamy and wholesome stew of lentils, sweet potatoes, and coconut milk spiced just right. It’s simple, vegan, and irresistibly cozy-a one-pot wonder you’ll keep coming back to.
Side Dishes
Need a vegan side dish recipe to bring to your next potluck? An appetizer to share at your next tailgate? Or maybe you’re looking for vegan Thanksgiving sides! Not only does the crockpot make it easier to whip up a large party-sized batch of whatever side dish or appetizer you’re hoping to make, but it’s also easy to transport!
- Slow Cooker Vegetable Stew with Cheddar Dumplings: Give classic stew a veggie twist with creamy sauce and cheesy dumplings. Make it in the slow cooker and be rewarded with a hearty meal at the end of the day
- Slow cooker ratatouille: Make up a batch of this slow-cooked ratatouille and freeze for easy midweek meals when you’re busy. Packed with nutrients, it also delivers four of your 5-a-day
- Slow cooker cheesy creamed greens: Pair the rich, earthy flavour of cavolo nero with cream and salty parmesan to make this perfect veggie side dish. Serve leftovers with roast ham or fish
- Slow cooker red cabbage: Dig out your slow cooker for this delicious red cabbage. Braised cabbage makes the perfect side dish for a festive lunch or roast dinner
- Slow cooker aubergines: An easy vegetarian slow cooker recipe, packed with summer flavours - ideal if you're busy, simply put it on in the morning and it'll be ready come supper time
- Quinoa Pilaf: Packed with protein-rich quinoa, sweet cranberries, and crunchy nuts, this pilaf is a hearty side or a light main dish. The mix of herbs gives it a cozy, holiday vibe, perfect any time of the year.
Breakfast
Yep you read that right! Make your mornings even easier by prepping your breakfast the night before!
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- Slow Cooker Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars: When you want to make a delicious breakfast in your slow cooker, try these!
- Slow cooker breakfast beans: Enjoy this slow-cooked alternative to canned baked beans for breakfast or brunch, served on toast or with eggs. They're a good source of protein
- Slow cooker spiced apples with barley: Choose eating apples if you want the sliced rings to stay intact in the slow cooker. Make as a low-fat yet tasty pudding, or lazy weekend breakfast dish
- Slow cooker bio yogurt: You need just two ingredients - milk and live yogurt - to make this bio yogurt, full of gut-friendly probiotics. Mix with fruit, or cereal for breakfast
- Slow cooker Turkish breakfast eggs: Spice up your baked eggs and get two of your five-a-day with this Turkish-style breakfast or brunch dish. It's low-calorie, too, and high in vitamin C
Even Bread and Dessert!
Believe it or not, you can even bake bread and make dessert in a slow cooker!
- Slow cooker bread: Make an easy loaf with this slow cooker bread recipe. This simple project is perfect for beginners and uses strong wholemeal or white flour
- Slow cooker mac ’n’ cheese: There’s no need to make a white sauce with this easy recipe. Just tip the ingredients into your slow cooker for a velvety smooth veggie pasta dish
- Slow cooker self saucing pud: Create a treat for family and friends in your slow cooker. The added ginger sauce means it promises to be deliciously moist, but you could serve with cream for extra indulgence
- Slow cooker sticky toffee pudding: Leave our slow cooker sticky pudding to cook all day so it’s ready to serve in the evening with ice cream. Rich and indulgent, it's the ultimate comforting dessert
- Slow cooker hot chocolate fondant cake: Indulge in this slow cooker chocolate fondant cake. A cross between a chocolate fondant and self-saucing pud, it's a guaranteed crowd-pleaser
Tips for Slow Cooking Vegetarian Meals
- Don't overcook pasta: When adding pasta to a slow cooker dish, add it towards the end of the cooking time to prevent it from becoming mushy.
- Use high-quality ingredients: The slow cooker brings out the best in simple ingredients, so be sure to use fresh, high-quality vegetables, herbs, and spices.
- Adjust seasonings: Taste and adjust seasonings as needed throughout the cooking process.
- Experiment with flavors: Don't be afraid to experiment with different flavor combinations to create your own unique vegetarian slow cooker recipes.
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