We have a lot of friends who are vegan.  So I try to have some good vegan recipes on hand for when they come over. One of our favorite vegan meals is a black bean stew with quinoa (pronounced “keen – wah”).   As with most of our crockpot meals, it’s a great recipe for kids to cook. 

First, Greyden pulls out the kid friendly recipe that I made for him, and uses a dry erase marker to check things off.

He then opens the black beans:

And adds them to the crock pot:

He opens the tomatoes:

And adds them to the crock pot as well:

Next he chops the bell peppers: 

And adds them to the crock pot:

He adds onion (yes, wearing goggle is a great way for onions not to bother the children’s eyes):

Then quinoa:

He adds the garlic:

Adds all the seasonings:

He pours in the chicken broth (veggie broth for vegan version):

He chops the cilantro: 

And adds it to the crock pot: 

We doubled the recipe, and cooked it in 2 separate crock pots, but for a smaller family 1 could be used.

Finished result: 

It really is good.  You could turn it into a non-vegan meal easily by adding ground beef and cheese or using chicken broth like we did. 

Recipe

Printable (kid friendly) version

In a crockpot add,

• 1 red onion, diced fine
• 4 cans black beans (not drained)
• 3/4 cups uncooked quinoa
• 1 can diced tomatoes (not drained, 28 oz)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (or 3 tsp from the jar)
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• 1 cup chicken broth (veggie broth for vegan version)

Cook on low in the crockpot all day

In the afternoon stir and season with,

• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder

Serve with,

• Fresh cilantro
• Green onions (thinly sliced)
• Lime juice
• Avocado slices
• Sour cream

Enjoy!