Cook kidney beans in the crockpot first, THEN add the other chili ingredients and cook vegetarian chili in the crockpot

I just purchased a crock pot and would like more info on how to prepare beans before adding them to crock pot recipes. Ideally, I was looking at a chili recipe and wondering if there was a way to add dry beans with extra water (proportions?) with all the other ingredients to kill two birds with one stone.

I looked over some recipes like the crock pot veggie chili ^[1] and was still confused. Any tips would be helpful! - J.K.

Savvy Vegetarian Advice

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Hi J. K., Sorry about the confusion with the crockpot vegetarian chili recipe ^[1]. I’ve made the directions more clear.

For any bean recipe that you make in a crockpot, you need precooked beans, because they have a much longer cooking time than vegetables and grains. (Lentils are different. You can add them uncooked, but pre-soaking is still recommended.)

This is why I sometimes use canned beans, and keep a few cans in the cupboard. And why pressure cookers ^[3] are such a great invention.

You can cook the kidney beans ^[4] in the crockpot first (maybe the night before). THEN you can add all the rest of your chili ^[1] ingredients and cook for 6 hours or however long it takes.

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If you cook LOTS of kidney beans (might as well since you’re going to all that trouble) - you can freeze them in small containers so you’ll have them to use when you get an urge for vegetarian chili ^[6].

You can add frozen beans + cooking liquid directly to the crockpot, but that will increase cooking time by several hours. It’s a good idea to thaw them first on the stove or in the microwave.

Thanks for writing! All the best, Judith Kingsbury, Savvy Vegetarian

More Vegetarian Slowcooker or Crockpot Recipes ^[7]

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^[11]Healthy, Low Budget Recipe Tips for Veg Diet ^[11]