You Won't Miss the Meat in These Easy Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Is a slow cooker worth it for vegetarian? ›

Benefits of using a slow cooker for plant-based cooking

Easy: Throw in a sensible bunch of ingredients and, six to eight hours later, you have a delicious soup or stew. It's not fancy cuisine, but the vegetables will retain all their nutrients and the result is practically certain to be comforting. Anyone can do it.

Choose the right cut: Chuck roasts, short ribs, pork shoulders and lamb shanks (think fatty and tougher meats) become meltingly tender with the moist, low heat of a slow cooker. Leaner cuts like pork tenderloin tend to dry out. Likewise, dark meat chicken — thighs, drumsticks, etc.

After touching raw meat, poultry, or seafood, wash your hands again for 20 seconds with soap and water. Vegetables cook slower than meat and poultry in a slow cooker, so put the vegetables in first, for the best quality. Add meat, poultry, or seafood to the slow cooker.

Fill the crock pot at least half full and no more than two-thirds full. Thaw frozen meats and vegetables before placing in the crock pot. Place dense vegetables in crock pot first, such as carrots and potatoes, since they take longer than meats to cook.

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'.

Gravy beef and chuck steak are great slow cooker options, as they are tough and rich in tissues that make for deliciously tender meat. Can you put meat straight into a slow cooker? Meat can be added directly unseared and not browned.

You really do not need to flip your meat in a slow cooker. Slow cookers are a hassle free way to cook your food. Make certain, however, to add some water, about 1 cup, in with your meat. Then go on with your day.

Why are my carrots still hard in the slow cooker? ›

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.

"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."

For more delicate vegetables, add them last. Precooking Can Boost Flavor. While the slow cooker is designed to make meals as easy as possible, you can add another depth of flavor by sautéing vegetables first, before adding them to the crock. This is especially true with aromatics like onion and garlic.

A general rule of thumb from Luis Sanchez, senior category manager for the appliance manufacturer Breville: To go from "High" to "Low" (or vice versa), multiply (or divide) the original time by 1.5 to 2.5 hours. And as with the cooking times for specific ingredients, these times are approximate.

Vegetables cooked in a slow cooker or crock pot retain more of their natural vitamins and nutrients than harsher cooking methods – such as boiling – because the temperatures are lower.

: I know that boiling vegetables makes them lose some of their nutritional value. But what if you cook them in a slow cooker and eat the liquid the vegetables stewed in? Answer: Done right, veggies prepared in slow cookers can deliver disease-fighting nutrients and a delectable meal all in one bowl.

The answer is yes. LiveStrong says cooking your food too long in a slow cooker can cause the ingredients to shrink and lose any tenderness they once had. However, other ingredients might turn mushy, which is also something no home cook is looking to achieve.

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.