25 Easy & Hearty Vegetarian Slow Cooker Dinner Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Are slow cookers good for vegetarian meals? ›

Indulge in a bowl of creamy vegetarian korma, cheesy lasagne or veg-packed stew with our top vegetarian slow cooker recipes. Perfect for no-fuss suppers, fun warming drinks and classic puds.

Tender vegetables

Vegetables such as peas, asparagus and peppers can become a flavorless, mushy mess in a slow cooker.

You can use slow cookers to make pasta as long as you don't mix the pasta in with the sauce and leave it sitting in the slow cooker for an extended period of time. Doing so will result in pasta that is mushy, soggy and unappetizing. For best results, keep the pasta separate until serving.

While a slow cooker offers convenience, it's not the only route to slow cooking. With alternative methods like Dutch ovens, stovetop simmering, oven baking, pressure cooking, and utilising crockery, you can still savour the joys of slow-cooked meals. The results will be worth the wait.

Food texture changes: Canned foods, such as vegetables, can become too mushy in a slow cooker. It's better to use them fresh or frozen. But, frozen veggies tend to make the texture of the dish more “watery”. Defrosting and draining the extra liquid before cooking can help minimize this.

Slow cooker recipes have (obviously) long cook times, and it's the meat—not the carrots—that benefit from it. By placing the protein at the bottom (closest to the heating element), and vegetables at the top, you can keep your plant parts a little more toothsome, while ensuring your meat is fall-apart tender.

Carrots may remain firm in a slow cooker if they're not cooked long enough or if the temperature is too low. Ensure sufficient cooking time and consider cutting carrots into smaller pieces for even cooking.

Place firm, slow-cooking root vegetables like potatoes and carrots at the bottom of the crock and pile the meat on top. Set the heat level: A general rule of thumb is that cooking on the low setting (170 degrees F for most models) takes about twice as long as cooking on high (280 degrees F on most models).

"Browning, or caramelizing, meat before putting it into a slow cooker isn't 100 percent necessary, but it is well worth the effort for the most flavorful and full-bodied end result," he says. "The caramelized surface of the meat will lend rich flavor and color to the finished dish."

One of the most common reasons for mushy noodles is overcooking. Pasta, including noodles, has a relatively short cooking time compared to other ingredients typically prepared in a crockpot.

Is it safe to leave a slow cooker on and go out? ›

Are slow cookers safe to leave on? Yes, it's safe to leave a slow cooker on when you leave the house. The purpose of a slow cooker is to allow you to cook while you aren't home. Slow cookers simmer food slowly, killing bacteria and raising meat to the perfect internal temperature.

Chuck steak was practically designed for slow cooking. It comes from the shoulder and upper arm of the cow, so it's done a lot of work over the life of the animal — with its abundant collagen, it's the type of cut that gets tough when grilled quickly, but becomes tender and juicier the longer you cook it.

However, Crockpots generally have ceramic or porcelain pots, while most slow cookers have a metal pot. As with a lot of cooking appliances, the biggest difference comes from the distribution of heat.

To mimic a slow cooker, you can use a dutch oven or covered casserole dish in a very low oven preheated to 200° Fahrenheit (United States) or 95° Celsius. Some new wall ovens and ranges include a preset “slow cook” function, then automatically switch to “keep warm” when the cooking time is over.

A pressure cooker can cook the same types of delicious recipes that a slow cooker can and so much more, but cook them substantially faster (click for pressure cooker recipes).

Pressure cookers are amazingly useful kitchen appliances that can dramatically expand your vegan cooking possibilities. They let you cook any number of meals that would otherwise be prohibitively time-consuming. If you cook beans often, or live in a place with long winters, you should strongly consider purchasing one.

Place firm, slow-cooking root vegetables like potatoes and carrots at the bottom of the crock and pile the meat on top. Set the heat level: A general rule of thumb is that cooking on the low setting (170 degrees F for most models) takes about twice as long as cooking on high (280 degrees F on most models).

By virtue of being in sealed unit, whether using an electric slow cooker or in a casserole dish in your oven, any of the nutrients usually lost in the liquid from heat are simply reabsorbed into the meal. Cooking over a longer period of time also increased flavour and reduces the need for added seasoning or sauces.

How much water do people put in a slow cooker for stew? Just cover the meat/vegetables for 'stew', more for 'soup'…. you can also use just a couple tablespoons for 'stewed' meals, as the meat and vegs will drop moisture and create a small amount of 'thin gravy'.