The trick to a perfectly-cooked Crock Pot is to layer the ingredients in the right order: Dense, tough veggies on the bottom, delicate ones on top – and meat or lentils on top of everything.
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Now…onto today’s featured Healthy Kitchen Hack:
How to Layer Ingredients in the Slow Cooker
Here’s hoping you’ve never had mushy mystery vegetables from the slow cooker. And let’s not even talk about shoe-leather meat.
The issue is the order in which ingredients are placed in the slow cooker. To preserve their texture and individual flavors, quick-cooking and delicate vegetables must be placed on the top. Hearty, tough veggies must be placed on the bottom of the slow cooker.
And meat is generally best on top. If you place it directly on the bottom heating element, the meat can overcook, while the veggies are still crunchy.
Layer ingredients in this order:
Bottom – Next to the bottom heat source, the temperature is highest. Place dense vegetables like:
- Potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, beets, soaked dry beans, butternut squash and other winter squash
Middle – Medium-dense vegetables go here so they cook through, but don’t get mushy:
- Celery, fennel, carrots, green beans, bell peppers – and sometimes onions (although onions are usually sauteed first for more flavor)
Top – Add these tender vegetables the last 30 minutes of the cooking time
- Zucchini, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, peas, canned beans, fresh herbs
Very Top – Place meat on the very top so the meat juices drip down and flavor the entire pot – and meat doesn’t over-cook.
- Chicken, beef, pork, venison, tofu and lentils. Fish is a bit tricky, check out my Healthy Kitchen Hack for How to Cook Fish in the Slow Cooker. Avoid mushy veggies! How to Layer Ingredients in the Slow Cooker #HealthyKitchenHacks via @TspCurry Click To Tweet
Now that you know, try out a few of our slow cooker recipes and enjoy a perfectly cooked pot:
Slow Cooker Chicken Curry with Sweet Potatoes
Moroccan Slow Cooker Meatballs
African Peanut Stew with Quinoa
Slow Cooker Mushroom Bolognese
Have you ever experienced mushy mystery veggies from the slow cooker? What’s your fave slow cooker recipe?
Glenn
Monday 29th of October 2018
Should my Vegies and meat all be cover with a stock? How much stock should I be using?
Serena Ball
Monday 29th of October 2018
No, you do not need to cover all ingredients in the slow cooker with liquid. Just follow the recipe or use about 1-2 cups of liquid for a thick stew-like consistency. For a soup, use a lot more water, usually around 4-6 cups. Because the slow cooker traps all the moisture, in my super-popular recipe like Slow Cooker Chicken Curry with Sweet Potatoes only 1 cup of liquid is used. You can never really add too much water, but if you feel like you have, you can always scoop out extra liquid and save to use as stock. Also, extra liquid increases cooking times somewhat. Thanks for stopping by Glenn!
Tanya
Friday 10th of March 2017
I love using the crockpot but hate when things get mushy. Great advice! Thanks :)
Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table
Thursday 9th of March 2017
I've never really thought about how to layer, but it makes total sense! I've not had mushy veggies, but I've definitely had some slightly too fir sweeter potato chunks!
Serena Ball
Sunday 12th of March 2017
Ha! Yup, I've had too-firm potatoes on top of my overdone shoe-leather roast beef! Thanks for reading and sharing Laura!
Autumn @ AutumnPTW.com
Wednesday 8th of March 2017
Oh I love these tips! Thanks for the reminder, I need to use my crockpot for veggies more often!
Serena Ball
Sunday 12th of March 2017
Thanks Autumn. I love just setting my Crock Pot and forgetting it. And waiting for yummy smells to fill the kitchen. Let me know what you cook in your slow cooker!