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
Delmy says
I subbed the celery root for potatoes. Other than that I followed the recipe exactly and added some artichokes and hearts of palm. This recipe blew me away! I literally ate stew for four days in a row and very much looked forward to my dinner. Lol. I have made this 3 times over the past two months. It is super simple and I love how there are videos attached of how to properly cut the jackfruit and so forth. I am a big fan. 😊
Lindsay Grimes Freedman says
Ah yay!! I have the biggest smile on my face, I’m so happy you loved it!! xo
Renae Davis says
Do you know whether substituting the soy sauce or tamari for coconut aminos would be okay?
Lindsay Grimes Freedman says
I haven’t worked with coconut aminos, but I do know it’s not a 1:1 sub. I’d google a bit to see what people recommend. Let me know how it goes! xo
Tania Fuentes says
How do i prepare it with a fresh chunk of jackfruit?
Lindsay Grimes Freedman says
I’ve only tried this with canned jackfruit. Youtube some videos on how to cut up the jackfruit and then you should be able to use it the same. I can’t wait to hear what you think! co
Laurie says
I’m going to make this but I have 2 questions. I’m using frozen jackfruit, not canned; thaw 1st? And is there any reason I can’t cube the celery root& cook in crockpot with the jackfruit? I’m too tired at end of day to do a lot of last minute meal prep. It would make it like a “ regular “ stew with cubed potatoes instead of served over the mashed. Should I add the things you put in the mash so taste is the same?Thankyou in advance for advice 💚
Lindsay Grimes Freedman says
Hi!! I think since you’re cooking it in the slow cooker you don’t need ot thaw it first. If there’s any frost on it, it may make the stew a bit more watery so cook it on high a bit longer with the lid off to thicken it up a bit. But, you can always could thaw it if you have time! You can definitely cube the celery root and add it to the stew! That sounds delish!! Let me know how it goes!!
Emily Cook says
Hey,
This recipe looks delicious, however I do not have a slow cooker. I did some research and found out, that the low setting is equal to approximately 200F in an oven. But I am unsure if the time stays the same, do you know what I would have to adjust, to cook it in the Oven? (I do have a dutch oven)
Love Emily
Lindsay Grimes Freedman says
Hi Emily! I would probably just cook it on the stovetop for about 30 minutes instead of doing the oven. If you do use your oven, you can do 200F for 4 – 6 hours. Make sure you stay home while it cooks! Sending you lots of love!! xo