Crockpot Bean Stew is a delicious Vegetarian Slow Cooker recipe and an easy freezer meal! This recipe is perfect for the cool Fall or Winter weather. This is an easy dump and go recipe. Simply place all your ingredients into the slow cooker and let the crockpot do the work. When you come home you will have a delicious aroma.
You can also prep this recipe ahead of time and freeze until ready to use. Just add all ingredients except chicken broth into a gallon size ziploc bag and place in the freezer. When ready to cook just thaw overnight in the fridge. Then in morning add to crockpot with chicken broth and cover. Cook on low for 6 hours and enjoy.
Be sure that you invest in a good quality slow cooker. Our favorite is this programmable cook and carry 6qt oval slow cooker. This is my favorite which is great for freezer cooking. This is a hearty recipe that the whole family will love. I like to stretch my family budget by making a meatless meal each week. This is a recipe that is high in fiber and one that everyone will enjoy. You can add more veggies if you like too!
This Crockpot Bean Stew recipe is also naturally gluten free which I love. I like to prepare it with Gluten Free Cornbread. I hope your family enjoys this delicious bean stew as much as my family does. I made this for Melissa and she loved it too! It is an inexpensive recipe to feed a large crowd.
Weight Watchers Points Plus: 3 Points Per Serving
Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1 cup dry beans picked over and rinsed
- 2 medium carrots peeled and finely diced
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks finely diced
- 3 tablespoons uncooked white rice
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground white or black pepper
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- If you are preparing for freezer simply dump all ingredients into a freezer safe bag and freeze. When ready to cook simply thaw in the refrigerator overnight and place in the slow cooker in the morning and cook on low for 8 hours.
CROCKPOT RECIPES:
Crockpot Bacon Cheese Potatoes
Melissa is a soccer mom who has been married to her best friend for 22 years. She loves sharing recipes, travel reviews and tips that focus on helping busy families make memories.
Danielle
Hope this is good, because just put it on. If it's good, i'm going to love this recipe for I always have all those ingredients either in the pantry, fridge or freeze. Would be a nice 'go to' dinner.
Melissa@StockpilingMoms
Let us know!
Danielle
This was wonderful! I used black beans, so mine was quite dark and used homemade chicken stock. I think have a good stock/broth makes this recipe, since it takes a bit of its flavor from it. Hubby loved it, 2 year old semi-picky loved it. Will make it again!
Melissa@StockpilingMoms
That is awesome!
Carla F.
Love soups will try this one!
Melissa@StockpilingMoms
Enjoy this Crockpot Bean Stew
Farah
Hi,
I'm looking to try this recipe but I was wondering if you served any sides with it and if you did, what would you recommend? And if I added say, chicken, does that change the time?
Melissa@StockpilingMoms
Corn Bread 🙂 If you add chicken it won't effect the cooking time.
Karissa Sjaarda
I'm trying this tonight--I just put it on around 3pm so we won't get to eat it until after we go to the gym. I'm going to add some leftover canned chicken to it at the end. Like Danielle said, I hope it's good because I have these ingredients on hand most of the time! (except chicken broth--I gotta start making that!)
Melissa@StockpilingMoms
I hope you enjoy it!
Jenni
Do you soak the beans overnight before adding them to the freezer recipe or just rinse and sort and the 8 hours in the crockpot bypasses the need for overnight soaking?
Melissa@StockpilingMoms
We did not since they are cooked for 8 hours. I would suggest rinsing them and removing any pebbles though.
Patricialynn
This is such a healthy soup 🙂
carol
can i used canned beans or they have to be the bulk style dry beans?
Melissa@StockpilingMoms
Yes but the canned beans will cook more quickly.
Nicole
What serving size does this make? Just wondering if I can get two meals out of this quantity (for a family of 4)? Thanks!
Melissa@StockpilingMoms
This fed a family of 5 with a little leftover.
Blaine
I've never made a bean stew before. Some people probably appreciate the flavor of veggies and just thyme- but for me I felt like this one was a touch bland. I do like things extremely flavorful though which some may not like. I added 1 tbsp of tomato paste and 2 tbsp of vinegar, as well as red pepper flakes, 1tsp chili powder and 1tsp sage. Had to play with it until I was satisfied. This isn't meant as a knock on your recipe- just sharing my experience. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe! You are right- the cornbread goes great with it.
Blaine
Oh and I forgot to say- I'm doing your 8 crockpot freezer meals, and I put a hunk of pork fat in it as well which was leftover from another recipe. We plucked it out before serving. Probably not for those that are being more health conscious but my southern heart couldn't help it.
Melissa@StockpilingMoms
Bless your heart 🙂 I am southern too!
Susan Jones
What kind of beans did you use?
Toni
I have never worked with the dried beans before. In one spot it says not to add the broth before freezing and in another spot it says to put all ingredients in bag.
Can I add the broth before freezing?
Melissa@StockpilingMoms
You can BUT you will need to use a bag large enough to hold all the liquid when it expands. I always freeze without the broth 🙂
Jennifer C.
I've never worked with dried beans before either? Any suggestions as to what kind of beans to use? Sorry, I'm a newbie and getting ready to attempt the 8 freezer meals! 🙂 Thanks!
Melissa@StockpilingMoms
Any white bean: Great Northern Beans, Navy or Cannellini beans. It is your choice but any dry beans will work from the grocery 🙂
Judy
I've had this in the slow cooker for 9 hours and the beans are still not done.. I turned the dial to "high" 2.5 hours ago, and the beans are still not cooked through. Any tips?
Melissa@StockpilingMoms
Keep it going. It will be worth the wait.
Jen
Does anyone know if the prepared soup freezes well? I want to make a batch to make sure I like it before I make a ton of it for the freezer, but I'd like to be able to freeze some of that first cooked batch.
Melissa@StockpilingMoms
I've never frozen it after prepared but I imagine it will be fine OR you could spit the recipe in half and prepare half now and freeze the other 1/2 as written).
Jolene DuBay
This was so yummy! And I'm not even vegetarian! My parents, who don't like to try new foods, even loved it.