Last week my cousin (hey hey Jake) hit me up for a slow cooker recipe. I didn’t have one. He needed an elevated, deliciously yummy recipe that you could set, forget and chow down on hours later. It hit me that I have very close to zero slow cooker recipes on my blog.
So, this weekend I decided a GREAT idea would be to experiment a bit with my crockpot. To me, slow cooker recipes are the epitome of hearty, cozy, wintery recipes. Since Saturday was a chilly, rainy day the whole slow cooker vibe just felt right.
Since I had three cans of jackfruit stashed away in my pantry, I thought it would be really fun to sub in jackfruit for a traditionally meaty recipe. It was a welcomed challenge to make a vegetarian (vegan!) stew without missing out on any of the meatiness.
Jackfruit is really awesome because it shreds and resembles the texture of pulled pork. This stew has such a hearty, beefy flavor, but you really don’t miss any of the meatiness. ALSO! I’m serving this stew on top of celery root mash. Celery root mash is such a tasty way to switch up mashed potatoes or even cauliflower mash. I find celery root in my grocery store. Once you keep your eye out for it, you can find it pretty easily.
So, let’s get into this tasty recipe for Slow Cooker Jackfruit Stew + Celery Root Mash!!
First, drain and rinse your jackfruit. You want young green jackfruit in water. I don’t love the taste of jackfruit in brine, so make sure you grab the one in water. I buy mine off amazon here.
Once rinsed, look at the triangle fan pieces of the jackfruit. The fan part is the part of the jackfruit that will easily shred. Cut the point of the fan off and discard. I describe it a bit more in my YouTube video, so check it out here for visual. Place the trimmed jackfruit in a large bowl along with the avocado oil, sesame oil, ginger powder, garlic powder, sea salt, onion powder, and pepper. Toss until the jackfruit is covered.
Spray the bottom and sides of the slow cooker with avocado oil spray (or brush with avocado oil). Add the jackfruit to the crock pot along with the chopped onion, chopped carrot, chopped celery, coconut cream, coconut sugar, tamari (or soy sauce), arrowroot flour (arrowroot starch), fish sauce, and hot sauce. Cover and cook on low for 6 – 8 hours. When there are about two hours left, use a fork to press the jackfruit pieces against the side of the crockpot to shred it. Cover and continue to cook.
With about 30 minutes left of cooking, cut the top off the celery root and use a vegetable peeler to peel off the outer skin. Cut into 1 inch pieces and place in a large pan over medium high heat. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook for another three minutes. Add the broth to the pan and allow to simmer for five minutes. Pour the contents of the pan into a food processor along with the sea salt. Process for about three minutes until smooth. Take breaks to scrape down the sides of the food processor and start again.
Once smooth, place a couple dollops of mash into a bowl. Top with the jackfruit stew and garnish with some fresh thyme sprigs.
Slow Cooker Jackfruit Stew + Celery Root Mash
This Slow Cooker Jackfruit Stew + Celery Root Mash is the perfect hearty, cozy, comforting crock pot recipe to curl up with on a chilly day.
Ingredients
Jackfruit Stew:
- 3 20 oz. cans of green young jackfruit, in water
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
- 1 1/4 cup chopped carrots (about 4 medium carrots)
- 1 1/4 cup chopped celery (about 4 stalks)
- 1 can (13 oz) unsweetened coconut cream
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot flour (aka arrowroot starch)
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce (omit to make vegan)
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
Celery Root Mash:
- 3 medium celery roots
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Once rinsed, look at the triangle fan-shaped pieces of the jackfruit. The fan part is the part of the jackfruit that will easily shred. Cut the point of the fan off and discard.
- Place the trimmed jackfruit in a large bowl along with the avocado oil, sesame oil, ginger powder, garlic powder, sea salt, onion powder, and pepper.
- Toss until the jackfruit is coated.
- Spray the bottom and sides of the slow cooker with avocado oil.
- Add the jackfruit to the crock pot along with the chopped onion, chopped carrot, chopped celery, coconut cream, coconut sugar, tamari (or soy sauce), arrowroot flour (arrowroot starch), fish sauce, and hot sauce.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 – 8 hours.
- When there are about two hours left, use a fork to press the jackfruit pieces against the side of the crockpot to shred it.
- Cover and continue to cook.
- With about 30 minutes left of cooking, cut the top off the celery root and use a vegetable peeler to peel off the outer skin.
- Cut the celery root into about 1 inch pieces and place in a large pan over medium-high heat.
- Sauté for about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and continue to cook for another three minutes.
- Add the broth to the pan and allow to simmer for five minutes.
- Pour the contents of the pan into a food processor along with the sea salt.
- Process for about three minutes until smooth. Take breaks to scrape down the sides of the food processor and start again.
- Once smooth, place a couple dollops of mash into a bowl.
- Top with a couple scoops of the jackfruit stew and garnish with some fresh thyme sprigs.
Enjoy!! xo
Amanda says
2 things! How long should this be cooked in an instapot?
and can you recommend a veg/potato peeler? I need a new one! ha So looking forward to making this tonight! I am loving how you are adding more plant based options!
Lindsay says
hi Amanda! I haven’t made it in an instapot, but I don’t think it needs too much because it just needs to heat through and for the sauce to thicken – I’d guess cook on high for 5 minutes, release the pressure, pull apart the jackfruit, and then choose the saute mode for 5-7 minutes until the sauce is the desired consistency. let me know how it goes! xo
Candace says
Do you actually mean an entire can of coconut cream? Not coconut milk? Does this dish taste coconutty?
Could I substitute coconut milk instead? Trying to lower the fat content.
Candace says
J/K, I made the recipe as written, and it WAS SO GREAT!!! This is a keeper, and somehow didnt taste asian or coconutty.
Lindsay Grimes Freedman says
Yay!! I’m so happy you loved it!! xo
Mary Beth says
Love this recipe! Have made multiple times and it turns out perfectly each time. Freezes beautifully too!
Lindsay Grimes Freedman says
Love that!! So happy you enjoyed it!! xo
Deanna says
Really love this recipe. Thankyou so much
Lindsay Grimes Freedman says
Yay! I’m so happy you enjoy it!! xo
Key says
Can I omit the sugar? Or use something in replace of it, like date paste?
Lindsay Grimes Freedman says
Yes date paste should work. Also honey, agave, or maple syrup would be good options. Or, feel free to omit it altogether 🙂