Good morning everybody! It’s super dee duper cold here (for Georgia, that is), so it’s time to break out the trusty crockpot! We’re linking up with iHomeschool Network to share one of our favorite crockpot recipes for winter: Vegan Crockpot Rigatoni!
Even if you’re not vegan (which we’re not at the moment), this is a quick and delicious recipe that our family loves. I mean, I toss five ingredients into the slow cooker at around 2:00 and then we have a hot dinner at 6:00 p.m. It couldn’t be easier!
Yes, this recipe only has five ingredients. And they’re all kid-friendly! So there’s no “Ewwww!!! I don’t like this!” at the dinner table.
Plus, this is an easy recipe to customize. If you don’t like mushrooms, swap them for something else or leave them out. Prefer to use meat? Replace the vegan tofurky with ground beef. It’s really easy to make this into something your family will love!
If this is a family favorite, add our easy chocolate chip butterscotch cake mix cookies for a simple dessert!
Vegan Crockpot Rigatoni
We got the original recipe from the book Fix-It and Forget-It: Feasting with Your Slow Cooker
, which I later gave away (like an idiot). Fortunately, the whole recipe is posted at Food.com. We’ve adapted the recipe to make a meat and dairy-free version below.
Yes, there are only five ingredients in this dish. (This is probably one of the reasons why I love it so.)
You’ll need:
16 oz. box of rigatoni
4 oz. Daiya mozzarella-style shreds
12 oz. Tofurky ground beef style
24 oz. spaghetti sauce (any brand is fine)
2 – 6 oz. cans mushroom stems and pieces
Cook the pasta according to the package directions, then drain it. Spray the inside of your slow cooker with nonstick spray. (You’ll be glad you did this later.) I usually turn my slow cooker on low heat when I put the pasta in the water.
Layer the ingredients in the slow cooker in this order:
1/2 of the spaghetti sauce
1/2 of the cooked pasta
1/2 of the ground Tofurky
1 can of mushroom stems and pieces
Repeat all of the layers a second time. I’m using a five-quart slow cooker here and it nearly fills it up, so you probably don’t want to try making this much with a smaller size slow cooker. If you have a smaller model, be sure to reduce the quantities of your ingredients.
Put the lid on the slow cooker and let everything cook on low for about 2 1/2 or 3 hours.
Since we’re using vegan “cheese”, we didn’t add it until the end. It’s not as firm as dairy cheese, so it takes very little time to melt it. By the time we were ready to add the “cheese” to the top, our dish was looking like this and smelling wonderful.
Sprinkle 1/2 of the Daiya mozzarella-style shreds over the top. Be sure you cover the entire surface with cheese. Replace the lid and cook for another 30 to 45 minutes.
Let’s take a look at how everything cooked underneath…
Oh my. That’s simply marvelous.
We dished it up and we served it and all the kids had seconds! If you want to round it out, you could easily add rolls and a salad for a full meal.
Full instructions and a printable recipe are below!
Vegan Crockpot Rigatoni
Adapted from recipe at http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-rigatoni-60703
Ingredients
- 16 oz . rigatoni
- 24 oz . spaghetti sauce (any brand is fine)
- 12 oz . Tofurky ground beef style
- 2 - 6 oz . cans mushroom stems and pieces
- 4 oz . Daiya mozzarella-style shreds
Instructions
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Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Spray the inside of the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Turn the slow cooker on to low heat.
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Layer half of all the ingredients, except the Daiya mozzarella-style shreds, in the slow cooker in the following order: spaghetti sauce, cooked rigatoni, ground Tofurky, and mushroom pieces. Repeat with the other half of each ingredient. Cook on low for 2 to 3 hours.
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Sprinkle the Daiya mozzarella-style shreds over the top. Continue cooking on low for 30 to 45 minutes. Serve.
If you’d like even more great slow cooker meals, check out the Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook! (Affiliate link provided below.)
Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook: Feasting with Your Slow Cooker
Don’t miss these other easy recipes!
This post is part of the Crockpot Meals linkup from iHomeschoolNetwork! Be sure to stop by and visit our fellow bloggers for some great winter crockpot recipes!
For more simple family dinners, check out my Family Meals board on Pinterest!