Slow cookers are invaluable for anyone with a busy lifestyle who still craves home-cooked, comforting meals. These one-pot wonders not only save time in the kitchen but are also perfect for budget-friendly vegan cooking and batch preparation. This article explores a variety of plant-based slow cooker recipes, from hearty soups and stews to flavorful main courses and even breakfast options, showcasing the versatility of this often-underutilized kitchen appliance.
The Underrated Slow Cooker: A Vegan's Best Friend
It's easy to neglect the slow cooker, leaving it to gather dust in the cabinet. However, this appliance is incredibly user-friendly, handling most of the cooking process with minimal effort. The slow cooker truly does all the work for you. It’s time to take it out and give it a place of honor in your kitchen. From vegan chilis and soups to dinner recipes, side dishes, and even breakfast options, the slow cooker can handle it all.
Soups and Stews: Warm Hugs in a Bowl
What's better than cozying up with a delicious soup that's been simmering all day long? Soup always tastes better the longer it cooks, making the slow cooker the perfect tool for creating rich, flavorful broths.
- Thick, hearty soup: A welcome addition to any winter day. This lentil soup checks every box thanks to its mild spices, protein-packed lentils, and seasonal ingredients like carrots, celery, and onions.
- Easy Slow Cooker Vegan Stew: This fat-free stew is packed full of root vegetables, chestnut mushrooms, and peas in a tangy, tasty broth.
- Slow Cooking Hot and Sour Soup: Slow cooking mushrooms in ginger and garlic broth gives this vegan hot and sour soup a deep and delicious flavor.
- Easy Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup: A bowl of this soup is the perfect weeknight meal.
- Barley Vegetable Soup: This recipe is super healthy and loaded with wholesome ingredients.
- Vegan Sweet Potato Soup: This naturally sweet soup is bursting with flavor.
- White Bean Soup: Loaded with vegetables, beans, and warm spices, this soup is perfect for a filling lunch or dinner.
- Vegan Slow Cooker Beet Stew: This mushroomy, buckwheaty stew is perfect for those who enjoy umami, earthy, sweet, and sour flavors. It features seitan, wild and white mushrooms, and roasted buckwheat, making it a hearty and satisfying dish.
Chilis: Effortless Weeknight Dinners
One of the easiest weeknight dinners is a cozy vegan chili. It's a go-to because it's one of those meals that always tastes delicious, even though it's a hands-off kind of recipe. Making chili in the slow cooker makes it even easier!
Main Courses: Flavorful and Fuss-Free
The slow cooker can be used to create a variety of flavorful and satisfying vegan main courses with minimal effort.
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- Red Tofu Curry: Spice up boring weeknight dinners with this simple curry. If you’ve never used a slow cooker before, this is an easy beginner curry that you can’t really mess up.
- Vegan Butter Chicken: Great for weeknight dinners or a weekend treat, this dish packs plenty of hidden veggies. As the thick, creamy sauce simmers, the flavors infuse to create a heavenly taste.
- Vegan Korma: When you’re craving an aromatic and rich dish, look no further than this easy recipe.
- Vegan Tikka Masala: When you need a warming meal, you can always turn to a tikka masala.
- Vegan Irish Stew: This vegan take on the traditional Irish stew celebrates seasonal produce like turnips, parsnips, onions, celery, and carrots. It’s a straightforward recipe, so it’s ideal if you’re new to vegan slow cooking.
- Vegan Ribs: This finger-lickin’ dish can be cooked in a crockpot.
- Vegan Black Bean Chili: This recipe has all the taste of a hearty chili and can be ready to eat in 15-minutes or less.
- Lentil Sloppy Joes: Hearty recipes like these are ready to serve when you’re hungry.
- Vegan Jambalaya: Bring some creole into your own kitchen with this recipe. A big, bold spice blend and your favorite brand of vegan sausage mimics the smoky, satisfying flavor of traditional jambalaya.
- Carnitas: After almost 6 months out there, the recipe was revised, eliminating the almond ricotta and substituting a cilantro-scallion tofu ricotta.
- Vegan Italian Beef: This recipe combines shredded young jackfruit and thinly sliced seitan with a super savory au jus loaded with red miso, reduced sodium soy sauce, onions, garlic, and Italian herbs and spices.
- Vegan Eggplant Chickpea Stew: This recipe is inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine-pomegranate molasses, saffron, cardamom, and more. The flavor is warming, slightly tangy, and comforting all at once.
- Vegan Smoky Tempeh Sauerkraut Stew: This recipe includes liquid smoke, smoked paprika, caraway seeds and more.
- Vegan Kidney Beans and Rice: Taking inspiration from Louisana’s Cajun cuisine, this recipe involves stewing the beans, green peppers, celery, and onion with a bit of smokiness, a bit of heat, and a lot of savory flavor.
- Vegan Red Kidney Beans and Coconut Rice: Inspired by Jamaican rice and peas, this recipe is easy, tasty and hearty.
- Vegan Seitan Goulash: Inspired by the classic dish, this recipe is loaded with potatoes, carrots, red peppers and more.
- Vegan Enchilada Casserole: This recipe is a healthier version of the Tex-Mex classic.
- Vegan Sloppy Joe: Meatless Monday has reinvented the sloppy Joe to make it completely plant-based and vegan-friendly.
- Vegan Jackfruit Porcini Ragu: While it has a few more steps than the original, it doesn’t take much time at all to put together. Each step is essential to creating the flavor of this vegan mushroom ragu recipe.
- Khorake Loobia Sabz (Persian Green Bean Stew): This Persian-inspired recipe incorporates many of traditional elements to produce a delicious, slow cooker vegan (or vegetarian) green bean stew.
- Vegan Ropa Vieja: This recipe is inspired by the Cuban national dish. It’s easy to make and very hearty. Served over a heaping pile of quinoa or brown rice, it’s loaded with protein and fiber.
Side Dishes: Effortless Additions to Any Meal
The crockpot is good for so much more than just soups and stews! It's perfect for creating side dishes and appetizers in large batches.
- Sweet Potato Mash: Sweet potato combined with ginger creates a rich, spicy mash for an added kick to your meals.
- Stuffed Butternut Squash: Butternut squash is yet another seasonal staple you can prepare in your slow cooker. This stuffed squash is a yummy dish to tuck into when the cold weather creeps in.
- Healthy Veggie Pot: You won’t struggle to get your five a day with this healthy veggie pot!
- Crockpot Carrots: These carrots are simmered in tangy bbq sauce and mouthwateringly delicious.
- Crockpot Carrot Little Smokies: When making these, use a smaller 2-quart crockpot.
- Country Smoked Bake Beans: These are sure to be a hit for that cookout, picnic, or potluck.
- Vegan BBQ: This sweet and tangy recipe is out-of-this-world! Perfect for summer outdoor gatherings or any time of the year.
- Vegan Baked Beans: As they slow simmer in the crock pot, the smell is positively heavenly-punctuated by maple syrup, smoked paprika, liquid smoke, and savory notes of onions and garlic.
- Coconut Stewed Greens: These tasty coconut vegan collard greens are soft, flavorful and totally delicious.
- Vegan Stuffed Cabbage Rolls: This recipe is packed with savory, sour flavors.
- Green Beans: This is the only way he wants to eat them from now on.
Breakfast: Wake Up to a Delicious Meal
Make mornings even easier by prepping breakfast the night before!
- Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars: When you want to make a delicious breakfast in your slow cooker, try these!
Desserts: Sweet Treats Made Easy
Dessert in a crock pot or slow cooker is a lovely thing. No need to heat up the kitchen and a fabulous dessert is warm and waiting to eat when you are ready.
- Chocolate Vegan Lava Cake: Crockpot lava cake is rich, delicious, and super easy to make.
Tips for Slow Cooking Success
The secret to cooking with the crock-pot is timing. Try to anticipate when you’ll want your dish ready to go, and set the timer accordingly.
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