One of the best parts of the weather turning cool-ish (I know some of you reading this may be in cooler temps than I am!), is that I get to break out my crock pot. There is nothing I love more than being able to set it and forget it. I’m serious – 5PM rolls around I don’t even have to think about dinner. Sure there are 100 crock pot ideas for chicken something-or-other or some kind of slow roasting meat (those aren’t bad!), but what about the veggie lovers? Today’s post is for you! All of these recipes are vegetarian friendly and if you want to add a little meat protein, that would be yummy, too! So, let’s get down to business.
5 Vegetarian Crock Pot Recipes To Try
1. Spaghetti Squash. Slice it in half and roast that baby for 8 hours in your crock pot (skin on!). When it’s done, all you need to do is scrape out the insides and toss in your favorite sauce. I love pesto and red sauce, but I recently saw a recipe for tossing it in buffalo sauce and adding in some blue cheese crumbles!
2. Black Bean Pumpkin Chili. This chili recipe has been on repeat at my house for quite some time. I am physically incapable of following a recipe to the letter, so I add in whatever beans I have on hand (except garbanzo…) and puree the crushed tomatoes with my immersion blender before adding them in. I promise, you won’t be disappointed here!
3. Butternut Squash Soup With Maple Roasted Chickpeas. Okay, I have a confession: I made this the other week and it was a total fail. Why? Because I realized I had no chickpeas and thought “Oh well, it should be fine”. There’s a reason there are chickpeas as part of this recipe, people! So, I’m giving it another go this week, because the buttery soup is too good to just file away and forget! I think this would also be delicious with leftover shreds of rotisserie chicken.
4. Spaghetti and Veggies. Have you ever seen those “One Pot Meals” books? I’m always so drawn to them, mostly because I hate doing dishes. Anyway, this recipe is a twist on one of those. All you need is a box of angel hair pasta (I recently tested out this gluten free angel hair varietal and it was AMAZING!), sauce of your choosing and lots of veggies. Start with your crock pot on high and add in all the veggies you want to use. I chop up a pepper, an onion, some zucchini, squash and eggplant (if I have it). Then add in 2 cups of water, 2 cups of sauce and some garlic and set the timer for 70 minutes. At the 70 minute mark, add in your pasta and let it cook for an additional 20-30 minutes. Stir it all up and serve. Dang, it’s so good!
5. Oatmeal. OF ANY KIND! You know me – I love any excuse to get creative. When we were on the mainland visiting my parents this summer, my mom was showing me all these different ways to make oatmeal — stove-top, mason jars overnight, crock pot..you see where this is going. Oatmeal is a staple in my diet and when I don’t have it, bad things occur in my digestive tract. Anyway. To make oatmeal in the crock pot, all you need are steel cut oats and coconut milk. The real fun comes in when you want to make flavors. But! For just the basic recipe, remember the .5:1.5 ratio. For every half cup of oats, use 1.5 cups coconut milk. That’s it! Put them in your crock pot and cook overnight on low for 8 hours so you wake up ready to dive right in! Now, I will say that making them plain is not exciting. At all. I like mixing in nuts, coconut, pumpkin and cinnamon. If I have made it plain, I like adding fruit in the morning and sometimes brown sugar if I’m treating myself.
What are your go-to crock pot meals? I’m always up for any new suggestions (meat or no meat) to try!