A large number of vegetarian slow cooker recipes tell how to cook beans or peas. This is because a crockpot favors the cooking of beans and peas like no other.
Most of the beans, except chickpeas and soybeans, become tender in a slow cooker within 6 to 8 hours of cooking, provided they are presoaked.
Black-eyed peas, lentils, and red lentils cook quickly. You need not presoak them either. Chickpeas are stubborn beans. They need about 12 hours to get tender in a slow cooker. Also, you need to presoak them the night before.
The time peas and beans take to cook depends on the working of your crock pot, the freshness of the beans or peas, and the hardness of the water.
The type of recipe may also influence the cooking time. That’s why vegetarian slow cooker recipes using beans have different cooking times.
Tips for Vegetarian Crock Pot Recipes With Beans or Peas
• Add spices, especially tomatoes and salt, only after the beans are tender.
• Slow cooking the beans and peas intensifies their flavor. You may need lesser amount of spices to enrich the dish than that required in regular cooking.
• You can cut 2 to 3 hours off the cooking time if you pour boiling water with beans.
• When cooking beans or peas, setting the time on a digital timer is not required. If there is sufficient cooking water in the crock pot, it’s unlikely that the peas or beans will overcook. Start your slow cooker early in the morning, and forget it until dinner time!
• For cooking plain beans, it’s best to cook them in the crock pot overnight. In the morning, you can have a healthy breakfast of freshly cooked beans or peas, combined with freshly cut salad or cheese. You can keep aside some cooked beans for preparing healthy slow cooker recipes for supper.
• If you’re present at home while cooking, do this: Set the cooker at high in the first 2 to 3 hours of cooking beans or peas. Then, set at low for the remaining time.
• When preparing bean stews and soups, sauté the onions and spices in oil before putting them in the crock pot. This adds to the flavor of the vegetarian recipes.
No Need for Meat
Beans and peas make for such fantastic vegetarian slow cooker recipes that you may never feel the need to add meat or other such animal-based foods to the recipe.
There are a variety of peas and beans to create savory and purely vegetarian dishes. Whether it’s green peas, chick peas, split peas, or kidney beans, soybeans, and others, it helps in putting together a tantalizing dish at the end of a hard day.
If your kids hate beans or refuse to eat peas, introduce a crock pot in your kitchen. Watch the eating habits of your kid change!
The tasty vegetarian slow cooker recipes will teach your kid to savor plant-based ingredients with delight.
