Serve-yourself slow cooker dishes when hosting

[ElleDeeCB]

Hi all. We usually have an open-house type party over the Christmas holidays, with people dropping in throughout the afternoon/evening. I like to have a large pot of something warm to eat on the slow cooker. For instance, nachos - so a bean chilli on the slow cooker which people can help themselves to, with tortilla chips, sour cream, guacamole and cheese. That way I don’t have to serve food at a specific time and it’s very obvious to guests how to dish themselves up a nice plate of food from what’s in front of them (so I don’t get stuck in the kitchen). Sides / accompaniments would all need to be cold.
It’s a bit complicated as we are vegetarian, and ideally nothing too messy like soup.
I’m thinking maybe a chickpea tagine, with sides of pitta, hummus, feta, dolmades etc.
anyone got any bright ideas for other dishes?
Thank you 🙏🏻

Dahl or veg curry with naan / roti.You could keep a load warm in the oven and refresh as needed.

A dhal with popadoms, mango chutney, raita, naan breads maybe some bhajis.

Yes, a friend of mine did this with a veggie curry last Christmas and it was wonderful. My family are confirmed carnivores but we all loved it.

Thank you @AtleastitsnotMonday @boulevardofbrokendreamss @Chickoletta sounds like curry will be a hit, and I could get those mini poppadoms to go on the side, along with the other suggested side dishes. Great!

Could you get a cheap rice cooker? Then could make a mushroom/ veggie rice type thing on the side

Marry me chicken pasta is a winner for us!

additionally, I did a bbq jerk- style chicken slow cooker pot the other week and served with rice

Jambalaya might work with fresh rolls?

https://www.seriouseats.com/search?q=Jambalaya

Love the curry idea. A few other ideas —

pulled jackfruit with rolls, salad, pickles etc (as you would have with pulled pork)
veggie fajita filling that people can then load into wraps with guacamole etc (but maybe a bit too similar to your original idea)
a vegetarian stew of some kind eg ribbolata , with salads to serve on the side

Thank @Laughamin the pulled ‘pork’ jackfruit is a great idea - I’ve made that before but not for a crowd and it would be great. Also your ribollita idea reminded me that I could do caponata (my husbands favourite) and serve that with focaccia and other Italian sides. So that would also work really well - thank you!

Thank you @Twinkletwinklelil @TheSandgroper I will look at these - I make a veggie alternative to marry me pasta and jambalaya so will think what the sides could be.