Vegetarian slow cooker recipes

[bessie26]

Help! I need inspiration!

I got a slow cooker for Xmas, used it a bit & then abandoned it for the summer. I really want to use it more, (every Monday & Friday lunchtime), but am getting stuck for ideas. Recently I've made: spag bol (I'm thinking I can do chilli the same way), lasagne, sausage casserole, ginger lentil soup and tonight I've prepped up some mushroom & barley soup, but I need some more!

Ideally the recipes will be ones I can prep up in the evening (when the DC have gone to bed) and switch on in the morning to be ready for lunch, not be all meat substitute (quorn etc), and be very tasty, but tbh everything will be considered! Extra points will be awarded for meals that will appeal to my gannet toddler, can be adapted for soon-to-be-weaned baby and that will impress my carnivorous ILs

Slow cookers are fabulous for cooking beans.

Try this recipe, without the pork www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/420621/boston-baked-beans

Or some of these southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotrecipes/a/Crockpot-Bean-Recipes.htm

Just found this www.slowcookerrecipes.org.uk/slow_cooker_vegetable_recipes.htm

Going to try some myself!

Have a google for Nigella's veggie chilli. Basically anything lentilly will be fine.

Lentil soup made with Indian spices, coconut milk and a big squueze of lemon.

Rice pudding is amazing in the slow cooker!

Ooooh thank-you!

I don't suppose you know any good tofu recipes? I just remembered I made a thai red curry last winter, but I'm not sure about giving DD1 that much chilli?

Remus did rice pudding today - yummy!

bessie - did you just follow the instructions on the packet for oven cooking? How long did you leave it in for?

Mckenzie here is what I did. I need to do some more "testing" to get the timings right!

thanks very much bessie. I need to wait for the cooler weather though now to try it. I'm sure it won't be long

This is a yummy veggie curry i do in the slow cooker:

thedomesticgoddesschallenge.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/chickpea-and-vegetable-curry/

Sorry forgot to convert link!

thedomesticgoddesschallenge.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/chickpea-and-vegetable-curry/

sounds delicious Sianilaa - thanks for sharing

I so fancy rice pudding now. I just cook it on low for ages. It's worth making a lot because it's lovely hot/cold/for breakfast/with stewed fruit etc etc.

I have made this butternut squash & bulghar wheat casserole

It is utterly moreish and you could leave out the wine to make it more family friendly. Although you'd think after hours in the slow cooker it would be fine, can you use alcohol in cooking for children?

laVita that squash casserole looks yummy! When you make recipes like that in the slow cooker, how do you work out how long to cook them for? I haven't done much experimenting with the slow cooker yet & without full instructions I am nervous of either ending up with undercooked veg, or something so mushy I have to pretend it's a soup!

Alcohol is fine - the alcohol will just evaporate, leaving the nice flavour but not making your children drunk!

Oh, and Remus I would love to have rice pudding for breakfast, but I'm not sure it would be wise to let DD1 see that was an option!

I did make some [[
bessiesveggiefood.blogspot.com/2011/02/spiced-porridge.html spiced porridge]] in it once. It smelt fabulous, but I wasn't that impressed

I stick everything on low and put it on for 6 hours but will sometimes take it out earlier/later depending on how hungry we are, sometimes I follow a recipe like this one, which was a result of a google of 2 lonely ingredients I find the best recipes this way. I don't think you can really go wrong with the slow cooker, I bung anything in.
I think it will only go mushy if you add too much liquid, so follow a recipe until you feel a bit more confident

Not a slowcooker one but I've been doing porridge with spiced plums and it is lovely. I soak the oats in milk for ages, whilst I stew some chopped plums, brown sugar and lots of freshly grated nutmeg plus cinnamon (sp?). Tbh I tend to zip the plums in the microwave, rather than cooking them properly. Then cook the porridge and stir the plums and all the syrupy spiced juices in.

mmmm porridgy-plums sound nice, might have to try that in the slow cooker to see what happens! I think it was the dried cherries that I didn't like in the other recipe (I only really like fresh cherries)

I definitely need to practice & experiment more with the slow cooker, I'm trying to do one new recipe every week & will then do one i know works when the GP are round. I've found some really nice sounding tofu recipes so will do one of those next week, but have good old thai red curry tomorrow night as the red curry paste needs finishing up.