Any good vegan crockpot recipes?
Any good vegan crockpot recipes?
Got a functioning crockpot for 5 dollars at my local reuse/recycling/thrift store. Looking for good vegan recipes I can use it for.
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Think anything that takes a long time to cook and uses liquid and you're on the right path. Beans and lentils... stews... that's the best starting point. Chili is always a go to recipe.
Some good ideas here. https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/meals-menus/g33598365/vegan-slow-cooker-recipes-ideas/
You can also do things like chocolate lava cake. https://thymeandlove.com/vegan-chocolate-lava-cake/#mv-creation-428-jtr
Not a recipe per se, but casserole style stuff works well too. I've made a mexican style layered chilaquiles sort of dish many times... just taking enchilada sauce then chips or better yet those unsalted "tostada" rounds, and stuff like sliced onions and black olives. I used to make this with cheese back in the day... IDK how well vegan cheese works. I'd be willing to bet that some cashew cream would actually work really well honestly. But you combine all these in layers and then just cook for a few hours to let it all combine and soak into the tortillas. You can make refritos using the crock really easily too. Soaked and drained (or par cooked) pintos... cook with some salt, garlic / garlic powder, onion / onion powder. Once the beans are cooked take them out and reserve some of the liquid. Add in a 1/2 - 1 tsp of cinnamon and some kind of fat... unflavored coconut oil or vbutter work, but you can even just use a little regular oil (fats just have better texture because they're firm at room temp). Then blend it all with a stick blender or food processor or mash the hell out of it with a potato masher. You can make this ahead of time, and reheat it later if you want.
It's possible to make lasagna in the slow cooker using similar method and those "bake in the sauce" no cook lasagna noodles. Don't have a recipe off the top of my head, but search around and you'll find one.
If you aren't used to using one, personally, I would start with beans and stews to get an idea of how it works as a cooking method. Also each unit will be a little different in how it behaves, so you'll want to find out where the low/high settings land on your specific model for temps. Mostly to see if the low setting is going to actually be low or if it's going to boil things. Low is meant to be in an 80-90c range so it cooks but doesn't boil out liquids. So it's not a bad idea to put some hot tap water (just to jump start because they take forever to heat up) and cover it.. then set to low and wander off for 4-5 hours. Come back and measure the temp of the water to see where it's sitting.
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Dried chickpeas cook up nicely in the slow cooker. No need to pre-soak, just add enough liquid to cover them well, e.g. any combination of water, vegetable broth, coconut milk, canned tomatoes, plus whatever aromatics and spices you like! Onion, garlic, peppers, lemon peel, tumeric, curry paste, etc.
Cook on low for 4-8 hours - you'll need to dial in your specific slow cooker at first, but you'll get the hang of it. Chickpeas won't be ruined by an extra hour or two.
You can add in other pantry staples as well - split peas, dried fruits, lentils. Makes a ton of food, especially if you serve over rice.
Of course, this works with pretty much any dried legume. Split pea and bean soup, bean chili, smokey red beans.
It should be noted that many legumes contain possibly dangerous levels of lectins such as phytohaemagglutinin. This is the reason for soak/discard or pre-boil/discard for them. Especially problematic are kidney beans, but others can have some levels remain. So while chickpeas and lentils are generally fine to just toss in and cook, some research should be done with other ones to see if the pre-prep is needed.