Member Reviews
Fair Winds Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Vegan Slow Cooker: Revised and Expanded. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.
The Vegan Slow Cooker is separated into logical sections, such as Soups, Stews, Casseroles & Loaves, Breakfast, and Desserts. The sections of No-time-to-prep Recipes, Vegan Slow Cooker Basics, and Staples are the most invaluable, as they provide the necessary information regarding cooking vegan. They give the building blocks and the convenience that it takes to try out a new type of cuisine. The author takes the time to go over slow cooker basics, which is a plus for those readers who are new to the wonder of cooking in a crockpot.
The No-time-to-prep section contains mainly soups and stews, prepared from mostly canned or frozen ingredients. The soup section has delicious offerings, like Creamy Corn Chowder (p. 44), finished with non-dairy milk and basil, then topped with alternative cheese and sour cream. The recipe I am most excited to try is Hot and Sour Soup (p. 56), as it is very similar to the non-vegan recipe that I usually use. There are hearty stews, such as Hard Cider and Cabbage Stew (p. 72), which can cook all day and provide comfort on a cold winter's night.
Casseroles & Loaves has varied recipes like From-the-Pantry Pot Pie (p. 88), with its delicious vegetables and biscuit topping, and Julie's Loaded Enchilada Casserole (p. 90), with its spicy layers of pinto beans, roasted chilis, corn, and vegan crumbles, divided by hearty corn tortillas. The Pasta and Grains section has a delicious recipe for homemade Marinara Sauce (p. 99), cooked to perfection over many hours in the slow cooker. The Mushroom Lasagna with Creamy Garlic Sauce (p. 110) will have eaters, who may be skeptical about vegan cooking, asking for more.
My favorite Main dish is easily Kung Pao (p. 113), with its plethora of vegetables and spicy sauce. Thai Red Curry Tofu and Veggies (p. 126) is so flavorful that eaters will forget that there is no meat in the dish. The Side that I am most looking forward to trying is Super-Simple Roasted Veggies (p. 135), with its mixture of hearty vegetables such as carrots, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower. Spanish Quinoa (p. 143) is delicious and cooks quickly for a hearty side dish fast.
I particularly like the Sandwich and Taco Filling section, for its variety of dishes that are sure to please. The Bread section has offerings that range from the sweet Veggie Cornbread (p. 169) to Chocolate Chip Banana Bread (p. 175). Snacks and Appetizers, Breakfast, and Desserts have too many tantalizing recipes to mention, but many of them will give readers a greater appreciation for vegan cooking.
Whether readers have a nutritional need to eat vegan, or a medical one, all who pick up The Vegan Slow Cooker cookbook will benefit greatly from the many recipes contained within. I would highly recommend the cookbook and I look forward to more by this author in the future.
It's not easy finding good tasting recipes for vegan crockpot cooking. I've tried most come out mushy, lacking any distinguishable flavor. I looked through all the recipes, there is a good variety. I tried a couple recipes, Baigan Bharta (eggplant curry) and the Atomic Pecan Loaf, both were good and still held some flavor even after such long cooking time. Both could have been made quickly without using a crockpot. I also tried a couple that not one person out of five liked, Sage Walnut Pesto Squash, and Scrambled Tofu with Peppers. These tasted bland over cooked and had off textures. I found the ingredients easy to find but I live in a major metropolitan area, and can get to a specialty store easily. I did like the way the author set up a night before time table of prep work but why use a crockpot for such quick cooking dishes ? I cook and have made many of these dishes not using a crockpot. I don't see any time saving use for a crockpot for most of them, it actually takes away from the dish by over cooking. If you are dying to use your crockpot perhaps this is the book for you. The pictures are beautiful, the set up of the recipes wonderful, the spices are there, I might use this in the future minus the slow cooker.
Thank you NetGalley for giving the opportunity to get an advance copy of this book. The Vegan Slow Cooker, is a wonderful addition to any household,vegan and non-vegan . This book provides you with so many convenient meal options that will cover the entire family! I am excited to begin making some of these immediately.
Thank you Quarto Publishing for my early e-copy through NetGalley!
I find that time flies faster since I have two kids. I don’t have the same motivation to do elaborate meals, unfortunately. I have to admit that I didn’t think to use my slow cooker at all... and this book explains everything there is to know about cooking vegan meals (from breakfast to desserts)... I learned a lot! I can’t wait to try some of these!
I received this book in exchange for a honest review from NetGalley.
I really loved this cook book! It had lots of very good vegan crockpot recipes that worked well and tasted great. It is very hard sometimes to find good vegan crock pot recipes but this book has them. Overall I really enjoyed these recipes a lot I made the Philadelphia Style-"Cheesy" Portobello Sandwiches and they were amazing!
This will be another vegan book I add to my arsenal. Its extremely handy and has some great recipes. Theres never enough vegan slow cooker recipes on pinterest so this is a must have.
One of the better vegan cookbooks I’ve read. Not perfect but close. There’s something for everyone and it can all be made in a slow cooker (yay!).
As someone whose eyes start to roll if there’s too many ingredients, I found this book good for me but also good for those who enjoy cooking more and who do want a whole lot of prep work both. The mix of super easy to you may need some some cooking skills is good. Nice photos of most of the food so you know what you should be getting. Most of the ingredients are readily available, though a few here and there may be special orders online..
Recipes included:
No time to prep recipes:
- Asian Tofu Soup
- Split pea apple soup
- Split pea lentil soup
- Veggie Soup
- CItrus Black Bean Soup
- White Bean and Kale Soup
- Cheater chili for impossible days
- Teff, Millet, and Bean chili
- Thai Ginger Peanut Sauce with Veggies or protein of your choice
- Tofu or cauliflower masala
- Sweet Potato and Chard Dal
- Mashed Potato Edamame burrito filling
- Green Chiles retried black beans
- Jackfruit carnitas
Soups:
- Golden Borscht
- Herbed carrot and baby turnip soup
- Creamy corned chowder
- Summer squash bisque
- Asparagus tarragon soup
- Spring Minestrone with pesto Parmesan
- Sweet potato white bean soup
- Cauliflower and celery root bisque
- Thai coconut pumpkin soup
- Hungarian mushroom soup
- Tortilla soup
- Hot and sour soup
- Delicata and pear soup
- Turbodog root veggie soup
- Smoked tofu and stars
- Ann’s stuffed artichoke soup
- Creamy potato soup
- Rainbow Veggie soup
Stews:
- Asian-style Winter stew
- Veggie gumbo with cheater Roux
- Mojito pinto beans
- Tofu Buillabaisse
- Chinese-style eggplant in garlic sauce
- Hard cider and cabbage stew
- Rustic soy curl stew
- Caribbean mango black beans
- Chana Saag
- Baigan Bharta
- Anu’s Black-eyed pea curry
- Easy veggie chickpea Biryani
- Chickpea Cacciatore with Potatoes
- Dianne’s cannelloni bean Ratatouille
Cesseroles and Loaves:
- Soy Curls and Dumplings
- From the pantry pot pie
- Julie’s loaded enchilada casserole
- Italian eggplant casserole with Cashew-tofu ricotta
- Better-than-the-classic Shepherd’s Pie
- Atomic pecan loaf
- Holiday tempeh and sage loaf
- Chick’n and mushroom casserole
Pasta and Grains:
- Make your own marinara sauce
- Meatless sausage and Mushroom ragu
- Pumpkin white bean lasagna
- Mix-and-match jumbalaya
- Creamy Butternut Squash risotto
- Extra Creamy Mac and cheese
- Shiitake congee
- Spaghetti squash with Balsamnic tomato sauce
- Mushroom lasagna with creamy garlic sauce
Mains:
- Kung Pao
- Vegan Pad Thai
- Sweet-and-sour smoked tofu
- Ma Pa Tofu
-Tempeh braised with figs and port wine
- Thai yellow curry seitan with pineapple and edamame
- Potato stuffed Chile Rellenos
- Dill cabbage steaks over roasted rainbow potatoes
- Thai red curry tofu and veggies
- Acorn squash stuffed with cranberry pecan rice
Sides:
- Creamed corn with Truffle oil
- Sweet herbed beets
- Creamy scalloped potatoes
- Asian greens
- Super simple roasted veggies
- Curried roast cauliflower
- Balsamic Brussels sprouts
- Southern-style green beans
- Vodak and dill-glazed baby carrots
- Slow cooked apple and sausage stuffing
- Spanish Quinoa
- Beyond easy not baked potatoes
- Not baked beans
- Holiday sweet potato casserole
- Not fried pinto beans with Guajillo Chiles
- Creamy Corn Spoon Bread
Sandwich and Taco fillings:
- Debris Po’Boy
- Philadelphia-Style creamy portobello sandwich
- Tempeh Tornado
- Tofu Taco Filling
- No-honey Tofu Lettuce wraps
- Sage walnut pesto squash
- Asian Lettuce wraps
- Verde Almost Anything
- Mexican shredded jackfruit
- King Mushroom BBQ
Breads:
- Savory Cheddar sausage bread
- Veggie cornbread
- Foolproof Focaccia
- Perfect pizze from your slow cooker
- Whole-wheat pumpkin gingerbread
- Wholesome chocolate chip banana bread
- Rosemary Whole-wheat rolls
- Citrus rosemary breakfast bread
Snack and Appetizers:
- Blueberry balsamic meatball sauce with rosemary
- Spicy maple nut mix
- Old fashioned cereal snack mix
- Pimento cheese fondue
- Subtly spice peanut coconut fondue
- Smoky bean dip
- Spinach artichoke dip
- Cherry bourbon cocktail carrots
Breakfasts:
- Lemon zucchini walnut oats
- Vanilla maple pumpkin latte
- Cinnamon spice syrup
- Pumpkin spice syrup with real pumpkin
- Do it yourself chai concentrate
- Annie’s Masala spiced coffee
- Cranberry vanilla quinoa
- Peach almond breakfast polenta
- Big pot of grits buffet
- Pumpkin pie oatmeal
- Be-my-valentine chocolate oatmeal
- Big pot of of oats
- Scrambled tofu with peppers
- Weekend tofu and hash brown breakfast casserole
- Annie’s multigrain breakfast pudding
- Maple pecan granola
- Mixed berry and almond granola
Desserts:
- Gluten-free walnut brownies
- Have it your way brownies
- Berrylicious Biscuit topped Fruit cobbler
- Butternut squash dessert pie with a kiss of miso
- Mango coconut rice pudding
- Turkish delight Tapioca pudding
- Slightly drunken apples
- Early Grey poached pears
- Thick Caradmom hot chocolate
- Not-from-a-box cake mix
- Spiced sweeet potato pudding cake
- Super moist double coconut cake
- Pineapple upside down cake
Staples:
- Dry beans from scratch
- Linda’s homemade chickpea Aquafaba
- DIY Cajun seasoning blend
- Italian spice blend
- Batch of cooked onions
- Balsamic onion marmalade
- All Occasion roasted garlic
- Perfectly easy every day brown rice
- DIY golden bouillon
- Golden Seitan
- DIY Italian sausage
- Apple Sage sausage patties
- Preserve-the-harvest diced tomatoes
- Easy DIY meltable vegan cheese
- Full harvest fruit butter
- Citrus rum BBQ sauce
- Homemade Smoky ketchup
- Perft pumpkin purée
- Brandied cranberry sauce
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It's chapterized really well, dividing the dishes from ''no-time-to-prep'' to casseroles, stews, breads, breakfasts and many more. There is also a chapter with many staples you can make from scratch, such as spice blends, boullions and sauces - which I personally find very appealing.
One main feature I like about the recipes themselves, is that they're constructed for prepping the night before, and turning it on in the morning, like I always do when I slow cook something. The author describes what to do ''the night before'', and what to do ''in the morning''.
To be highly recommended!
This is the latest edition of a really great cookbook - so few slow cooker books focus on Vegan meals and there are quite a few here to enjoy. The book is nicely presented with full color photographs every five recipes or so and a very clean layout. The recipes are easy to do and nicely sorted. In all, a win!
The book breaks down as follows: Slow cooker love, Vegan slow cooker basics, No-time-to-prep recipes, Soups, Stews, Casseroles & loves, Pasta & grains, Mains, Sides, Sandwich & taco fillings, Breads, Snacks & appetizers, Breakfasts, Desserts, Staples. Also included is an index and appendix.
The book has a nice introduction by the author that also gives tips and guidelines for buying and using a slow cooker. Considerations such as special diets (gluten-free, soy free, etc.) are also included. There is even a troubleshooting section when things don't come out as expected.
The recipes come two to a page (or photograph and recipe) and are very cleanly presented so they stand out separately (note: very small text). There is a small introduction to the recipe and then symbols/text denoting gluten-free, soy-free, no oil, etc. Line breaks separate the ingredients (which are bold faced) from the steps. The steps are not numbered and instead are broken down into three categories: the night before, in the morning, and then after serving. That may seem unusual but it makes sense in terms of how slow cooking is done. At the bottom of each recipe is yield (servings), equipment, and cooking time. Every fifth recipe has a nicely photographed image and there is a large variety of recipes.
In all, I found the recipes very easy to follow and the variety was wonderful. Nearly every recipe is extremely easy, many of which can be prepared the night before and then dumped into the slow cooker on the way out the door. Recipes may require additional cooking; e.g., the Asian recipes will need some rice. But in all, there were some beautiful flavors to be had. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.
I can't wait to try out the recipes in this book. I love using my slow cooker and I've been wanting to move to a more plant-based diet so this is perfect.
Some delicious recipes for healthy vegan eating. Glad to see recipes that are not full of cumin, which can make so many vegan dishes taste a like.
Beautifully written and illustrated. The directions are pretty forthright and easy to do. I have not tried doing it in an Insta pot yet, but love that the author gives that as an option. I have various people in my life who are vegans and will happily share this book title with them.
Some truly delicious looking recipes which I can’t wait to try - colourful and great presentation. I have a slow cooker not doing anything so it will be put to good use
I hate to rain on the parade that is The Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester, but I was not impressed with this book. The measurements on the ingredient listings are small so I often had to zoom in to make sure I had the right amount of the item in question and to make matters worse, everything I made from this book was ridiculously bland.
A nice idea, but not something I see myself recommending anyone.
Some delicious and varied recipes here, it's very hard to find non-meat based recipe books for the slow cooker so can't wait to try them out!
Some truly delicious recipes in this slow cooker recipe book. As a vegetarian I do eat quite a lot of vegan dishes, my family however eat a lot of meat and fish dishes, but even they were salivating at some of the dishes I was preparing. As well as having a slow cooker, I also have a soup maker which I used for a couple of the soup recipes, yum, yum, delicious. The curries were also some of my favourite recipes in this book. It also gave me lots of new recipes and ideas, for instance I didn’t have a clue that you could bake jacket potatoes in the slow cooker, as well as pasta dishes, rice dishes and deserts. Easy to follow, quick to prepare and so much fun to eat, tasty dishes for the whole family. A wonderful addition to any kitchen. I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is my honest review.
You will be surprised at how many things you can make in the slow cooker that take much less time and effort to prepare and serve! The beginning cook will appreciate the introductory information about what size and type of slow cooker you should use.
The author includes a list of the most used ingredients at the beginning of the book and the last few chapters of the book include recipes for ketchup, bbq sauce, and even vegan cheese!
There is a recipe for “chocolate oatmeal” that uses unsweetened cocoa powder and steel cut oats that is delicious - I eat it every morning. There is a recipe for “kung pao ” that use ginger, garlic mushrooms and “seitan” a vegan chicken, and the seitan vegan chicken recipe is in the back of the book.
These recipes use tofu, vegetables and vegan cheese to replace meat, and most of the recipes have a gluten free recipe within the vegan recipe.
These recipes will work out well for the busy family or couple who enjoys coming home to an already cooked meal.
I requested this book from NetGalley based on the description that these recipes could be made in the slow cooker or Instant Pot. Unfortunately, you would be using the slow cooker function on your Instant Pot not the pressure cook function.
With that being said, I did find many delicious recipes that I am eager to try. I am unable to eat dairy and found some awesome ways to use plant based ingredients to enjoy some of my favorite cheese filled dishes.
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
This book is bursting with a variety of recipes and snippets of useful information for vegans. I found the instructions on how to use aquafaba in place of eggs very useful, as lots of books tell you that you can but they don't tell you how. I would have liked a few more pictures and there were a few recipes that were better without a slow cooker, but overall a very useful book and a definite buy for any vegan kitchen
A good option for vegans or vegan-interested. Many recps to make a varied menu. There are so many recipes I want to try!