Everyone loves a good, easy meal—especially vegetarians! It can be hard cooking meals from scratch all the time. This list of 45 best vegetarian slow cooker recipes is here to help!
Something about fall always makes me want to seek out slow cooker recipes. Maybe it's because crockpot recipes tend to be comfort foods—soups, stews, chilis, and casseroles. But when you're a vegetarian, sometimes it can be hard to find meatless recipes for the crockpot. Why does virtually every slow cooker recipe have to have meat in it?!
Well, these recipes don't! From soups to main dishes to desserts, there are enough vegetarian crockpot recipes to last until spring. If you're looking for strictly vegan slow cooker recipes, we love this roundup by Emilie Eats!
45 Best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes
This Chard, Lentil, & Potato Slow Cooker Soup requires just twenty minutes to throw together. It includes delicious vegetables such as celery, carrots, and yellow onion. These ingredients, along with a few others, simmer together for eight hours and create a delightful smell. This slow cooker soup looks beautiful with deep greens playing peek-a-boo through golden broth and yellow potatoes.
This creamy, rich, sweet, and smokey Slow Cooker Corn & Red Pepper Chowder is easy to make and smells terrific. Bold and vibrant in both flavor and appearance, this chowder is healthy and hearty. Thanks to the frozen sweet corn, the hint of sweetness balances out the chowder's savory smokey flavor. This chowder is healthy and hearty and makes for a wonderful weeknight dinner!
This Slow Cooker Lentil Chili is vegan and gluten-free. It's loaded with healthy ingredients like onion, garlic, diced jalapenos, and tomatoes. Simmer this chili in your slow cooker on low for six hours.
This Chipotle Black Bean & Quinoa Crock-Pot Stew is a beautiful deep burgundy red and has a wonderful smoky taste. The stew tastes amazing and will make your house smell incredible!
This Crock Pot Butternut Squash and Parsnip Soup is easy to make—simply toss the ingredients in and let it simmer for 6 hours! This soup has major health benefits and serves as a light and comforting meal.
This Slow Cooker Lentil Cauliflower Stew is easy to make and simmers quickly. You can garnish your soup with rich plain yogurt, herbed goat cheese, or even grated parmesan! This tasty stew makes for a comforting and cozy meal.
This Slow Cooker Vichyssoise Soup is easy to make and provides a dreamy rich, creamy meal. You’ll find carrots, celery, garlic, salt, and pepper in every spoonful. Garnish it with parsley and fresh thyme leaves!
This Slow Cooker Hot and Sour Soup is full of mushrooms, packed with tofu, and flavored with the perfect amount of chili paste. Let it simmer for six hours, then enjoy every delicious bite!
This delightful Fennel + Delicata Squash Soup is a unique and comforting dish. It combines fennel and squash to make a hug-in-a-bowl kind of meal!
This Minestrone Soup is easy to make and can be thickened by pureeing the beans. It is packed with healthy nutrient-filled ingredients and can be stored easily in the freezer. This recipe also gives many variations to explore various tastes and textures!
These Bourbon Mango Slow Cooker Baked Beans are delicious! They are made with a sweet mango puree and barbecue sauce. You'll also combine honey with bourbon to make this wonderful dish.
The secret to theses Slow Cooker Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes is to mash the potatoes right in the slow cooker! These potatoes make a fancy, beautiful side dish or a mouthwatering, scrumptious dinner. This meal also has an easy clean-up!
This Summer Slow Cooker Lasagna with Zucchini and Eggplant is bursting with flavor! It’s made with plenty of healthy ingredients and is assembled and cooked right in the slow cooker. Gooey and full of melted cheese, this lasagna is sure to become a new family favorite.
This Slow Cooker Vegan Chili is easy to make and is very tasty! It is packed with healthy, good-for-you ingredients and can be served alongside anything to create a well-balanced meal.
This delightful Slow Cooker Corn Chowder makes for a cozy, frugal meal. The recipe comes with several variations, so you can try them all out and find your favorite!
This Slow-Cooker Split Pea Soup is rich in protein and packed with healthy nutrients and vitamins. The recipe is easy to follow, and you end up with a mouthwatering soup!
These Crockpot Vegetarian Fajitas are bursting with flavor and color. The several vegetables, spices, and nutrients make these fajitas a perfect weeknight dinner. And since they'll be simmering for hours, these fajitas will have your entire home smelling delicious!
These Crock-Pot Madras Lentils can be a side or entree. They taste like comfort food at its finest! This recipe requires little effort and is easy to clean-up.
Thes Greek Stuffed Peppers are tender and tasty! They are made with healthy ingredients like beans, couscous, garlic, and more. This gourmet stuffed pepper dish pairs beautifully with any entree.
This cozy Slow Cooker Lentil Quinoa Taco Filling is packed with flavor and is 100% plant-based. This filling is gluten and soy-free and has a great meaty texture.
This Lightened Up Sweet & Spicy Veggie Curry is a sensual dish. It’s light with just the right amount of spice—and 100% vegan! This bold, vibrant dish is delicious and looks beautiful set out with a spread.
These Slow-Cooker Bean and Spinach Enchiladas are bursting with flavor. They are easy to put together and will be loved by even the pickiest of eaters!
This slow cooker Chinese Barbecued Tofu and Vegetables meal is loaded with vegetables. It tastes so good and is sure to be a family favorite!
This Chai-Spiced Instant Pot Pear Applesauce is easy to make and tastes so good! It combines sweetness and spice to create a sauce that pairs great with oatmeal, waffles, and more. Each spoonful will be a delight!
This Slow Cooker Marinara is unlike any other. Simmering the ingredients in the slow cooker adds a certain caramelized sweetness to each bite. This recipe makes a large amount—enough to use for dinner and to store some in the freezer!
Bold flavors from Feta, Kalamata olives, and amazing spices dance together in this Slow Cooker Greek Rice. Juicy bell peppers fill each bite with deliciousness!
These Crock Pot Coconut Curry Vegan Baked Beans are sweet with a bit of heat in every forkful. Delicious, creamy, rich, and packed with flavor, this crockpot recipe is a winner!
This savory Wild Rice Medley has a beautiful color with festive bursts of orange throughout. And it’s super easy to make—simply toss all the ingredients into your slow cooker and simmer!
These Slow Cooker Refried Beans are delicious. This recipe provides a healthy way to enjoy refried beans without the bacon grease. Enjoying your refried beans like this means less salt and more wholesome goodness!
These Garlic Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes are full of flavor but without the heavy carbs! Now you can finally enjoy mashed "potatoes" without feeling guilty. Every forkful of these cauliflower mashed "potatoes" is bursting with fresh garlic and the perfect amount of salt and pepper.
Pudding for breakfast? I've never heard anything so delightful! This Crock-Pot Apple Crumble Breakfast Pudding will have you thinking it's dessert rather than breakfast. It has a crunchy cinnamon crumbly topping over a creamy pudding filled with apple, cinnamon, and more.
This heavenly Slow Cooker French Toast Casserole has a spicy, crumbly topping with a soft, gooey inside. It's absolutely decadent yet simple to make! Just let it simmer all through the night, and you'll wake to the most delicious smell.
This delicious Slow Cooker Pumpkin Granola will become your new favorite snack! It's a savory mix of oatmeal, pumpkin, almonds, and more. This granola makes for a wonderful topping to yogurt—or you can just snack on it cold!
Sweet and sticky, this Overnight Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal is going to make breakfast everyone's favorite meal! Top this oatmeal with your favorite fruit, and you have yourself a wonderful breakfast. This oatmeal simmers throughout the night and is ready to indulge in right when you wake up.
This Slow-Cooked Spinach Strata with Gruyere and Garlic is spongy and dense. It’s delicious and loaded with healthy ingredients! This casserole makes for a wonderfully nutritious meal.
Make this Lemon Poppy Seed Bread batter with ease, then spoon it into your slow cooker, and bask in the delicious aroma! This recipe makes a wonderful, soft and sweet lemon bread. For an added dessert-like touch, drizzle the loaf with lemon icing.
These Slow Cooker Grits are packed with gooey melted cheese. They're delicious and cook easily overnight while you’re sleeping!
This flavor-packed Slow Cooker Spinach and Mozzarella Frittata is delicious! It's easy to make and sure to be enjoyed by everyone you’re serving. The frittata has a beautiful spongy texture and is a festive dish to set out for brunch!
A slow cooker is such a handy kitchen tool, isn't it? You can make anything in it with little fuss. This Healthy Crock Pot Apple Crisp is a delicious—and healthy!—dessert. It's apple-y, buttery, and scrumptious! This crisp, from The Realistic Nutritionist, has a superb sweet, nutty flavor and tastes great paired with nice cream.
This heavenly sweet treat is going to have everyone asking for more! Triple-Chocolate Peanut-Butter Pudding Cake is rich, moist, and super tasty. Every bite is filled with gourmet-quality goodness. Top this dish with some nice vanilla cream for a decadent dessert!
These Mini Salted Caramel Mocha Cheesecakes are topped with a simple salted caramel sauce and require about an hour and a half to cook. This is a decadent dessert made from simple ingredients.
Soft, moist, sweet, and delicious—those are the words that best describe this Slow Cooker Berry Cobbler. Follow the recipe and you get a wonderful, heavenly dessert with little effort!
Scalloped Peaches make for a beautiful dessert or breakfast—or for whenever you want them, really! Sweet, soft, and cinnamony, these peaches require just two hours to cook. And as a bonus, they can be made with simple ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry!
This Vegan Blueberry Lemon Cake only requires a small amount of time to cook. It’s a great snack to indulge in any time of the day! Sweet and decadent, this is a recipe you’ll want to make again and again.
These Slow-Cooker Caramel Poached Pears are coated in a wonderful combination of sugar and ginger. Soft and sweet, this pear dish is easy to make and can be whipped together with little effort!
Vegetarian Slow Cooker Cookbooks!
If you're looking for more vegetarian and vegan slow cooker recipes, these cookbooks are my favorites:
Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker: 200 Ultra-Convenient, Super-Tasty, Completely Animal-Free Recipes
Ashley says
This is such a great list! I've been looking for some new crockpot recipes lately but you are definitely right that most do include meat. These are such a nice change! And there's something about the fall / winter that makes me want to use my crockpot more often...
Kiersten says
Yes, I'm always hauling out my crockpot at this time of year too! And then it pretty much stays on the countertop until spring. 🙂
Archana@FeedingTheFoodie says
what a great list - I'm pulling out my slow cooker!!! I love how effortless slow cookers are, fill 'em and forget 'em! My kind of cooking..
Kiersten says
Yes, it's SO nice to have dinner ready and waiting for you! 🙂
cookinwifey says
thank you so much... I am two months into veganism and have been dreading fall recipes because I am in love with my crockpot and have only used it for meat dishes... now I can't wait for some cold weather to head this way!!!
Kiersten says
If you need more ideas, the cookbooks I linked are fabulous too. I think most libraries should have at least one of them and if they don't, you can interlibrary loan them! (Can you tell I used to be a librarian?)
Gretchen @ Two Healthy Kitchens says
Confession: I own more than one crock pot. I own more than three crock pots. I can't help myself.
I'm pretty sure the desserts listed there will soon be slow cooking their way into my heart! Thanks for an awesome list!!
Kiersten says
Ooh, so with three crockpots, you could do soup, a main dish, AND a dessert all at once! I am jealous.
Kalyn says
Great post, and thanks for including me! (And I have ten slow cookers; crazy isn't it!)
Kiersten says
Wow, I've been thinking about getting a second and trying to justify that--now I don't feel so bad! 🙂
Lee says
Oh my days
Kelly @ Texas Type A Mom says
You have perfect timing! I keep thinking I want to start using my slow cooker more but then can't figure out where to start. Here!
Aliyah says
I'm getting my slow cooker tomorrow 🙂 its an early Christmas gift! I've always wanted one. Can't wait to try all the recipes especially the Lasagna...it looks delicious!!
Kiersten says
Yay! Enjoy your slow cooker! 🙂
Jasmine Blaise says
I just discovered your site by pure accident. After years at staring at my slower cooker, I decided to give it a go and successfully made a lovely split pea/barley/mushroom/peas soup yesterday. It was so amazing that I decided to search for more hearty recipes ... and found your website. THANK YOU for all the recipes, and much more. I can hardly wait to try them. Tomorrow's attempt will be the "Butternut Squash & Chickpea Coconut Curry." Happy Holidays!
Kiersten says
I'm so glad you finally started using your slow cooker! It's such a great time-saver and there are so many delicious things you can make in it. Happy Holidays to you too!
kevin says
Great recipes and ideas, just thought it might be worth mentioning that gruyere isn't a vegetarian cheese.
Will be trying the mushroom stroganoff shortly - thanks.
Kiersten Frase says
Boar's Head sells gruyere that's made with vegetarian rennet (even if the name of the brand doesn't sound veg-friendly!).
disappointed says
Many of these recipes are not vegetarian and also not for the crockpot. One of them actually only takes less than 30 minutes on the stove. : / What a mess that would be in the slow cooker. Very disappointed.
Kiersten Frase says
I just checked all 50 links and didn't find a single recipe that wasn't vegetarian, other than the one from The Roasted Root that I've noted can be made with vegetable stock instead of chicken. Can you let me know which ones you're seeing that aren't vegetarian? It does appear that two of the recipes weren't for the slow cooker and they've been removed - I apologize for the error.
Colin says
Wow. Just wow. I've never commented on a blog before but you certainly deserve to be my first! Thank you for corralling all these recipes in one place! I've been meaning to use my slow cooker more and now I have a multitude of dishes to choose from. Thank you!
Kiersten Frase says
Summer is a great time to do it - people don't think of slow cookers as a summer thing, but they don't heat up the kitchen as much as an oven!
Lorna Kennedy says
I would love to try a slow cooker Lentil Chilli 🙂
New to slow cooking.. says
I have never owned a slow cooker before and have been looking at all the options - from 2 to 4 quarts. Can you can make a recommendation of a slow cooker for a single elderly person who would love to try out some of these wonderful recipes? When looking at all the reviews on Amazon and being budget conscious, it really does get confusing as to what manufacturer, size, features, etc. I do understand if you can not make a recommendation of a particular cooker but maybe at least size and features necessary would be appreciated.
Kiersten Frase says
Most slow cooker recipes, like the ones listed here, will be for a larger slow cooker - 4 to 6 quarts. The great thing about slow cooker meals is that so many of them freeze beautifully, so if you have leftovers, you can pop them in the freezer and have them later. A smaller slow cooker is good for making smaller meals. I bought a 1.5 quart slow cooker for my mom for Christmas last year, along with this cookbook this cookbook, which contains recipes specifically developed with smaller slow cookers in mind. So really, I think a larger or a smaller slow cooker could both work for you, but with a smaller slow cooker, it's a little bit harder to find recipes. I also recommend checking out my friend Kalyn's website, Slow Cooker From Scratch, which has lots of recipe ideas as well.
Liya says
What a list.!!I am getting fat day by day. So, I will try Fat-Free Slow Cooker Refried Beans .
Nancy says
This is really very cool. Great list of recipes here. 🙂
Sujata Stg says
I just tried your pumpkin spice latte recipe and don't the kids love it. I wanted to show them that even I can make Starbucks-like coffee at home and still retain the taste of pumpkin pie spice. It's good that you use only a dash of cloves as I think too much of it can make the latter taste a bit off. Anyways, thanks for these recipes; I'm going to try the Apple Crumble Pudding next. Wish me luck! 😀
Katie Trant says
Good luck with the Apple Crumble Pudding, Sujata! And we're so glad you (and your kids) liked the pumpkin spice latte!
Emma says
Oh my gosh! thanks for sharing this huge resource. I will find my favorite and will make it.
Katie Trant says
You're welcome, Emma. Hope you enjoy!