Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker: 200 Ultra-Convenient, Super-Tasty, Completely Animal-Free Recipes

by Robin Robertson

Fresh from the Vegan Slow-Cooker includes eleven recipe chapters, four of which focus on main courses. There are homey and comforting foods in the American and European style, such as a Rustic Pot Pie Topped with Chive Biscuits and a Ziti with Mushroom and Bell Pepper Ragu, and there are lots of East Asian, South and Southeast Asian, and Mexican/Latin dishes, too. Beans, which cook slowly under any circumstance, are fabulously well-suited to the slow cooker, and Robertson includes such appealing recipes as a Crockery Cassoulet and a Greek-Style Beans with Tomatoes and Spinach. Eighteen robust chilis and stews—two more categories that do well in the slow-cooker—include a warming Chipotle Black Bean Chili with Winter Squash and a surprising but yummy Seitan Stroganoff. Beyond the mains, there are chapters devoted to snacks and appetizers, desserts, breads and breakfasts, and even one on drinks. The many soy-free and gluten-free recipes are clearly identified. Altogether, the collection offers readers loads of ways to expand their vegan repertoire and to get maximum value from their investment in a slow-cooker.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Vegan, Food, Nonfiction, Reference, Food and Drink

291 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

An experienced chef and consultant, Robin Robertson worked for many years in restaurants and catering in northeastern Pennsylvania and Charleston, South Carolina before she began writing cookbooks. In 1988, she left the restaurant business and became vegan for ethical reasons. She then rededicated her life to writing and teaching gourmet vegan cooking.

Over the years, she has fine-tuned her plant-based diet into an eclectic and healthful cooking style which she thinks of as a creative adventure with an emphasis on the vibrant flavors of global cuisines and fresh ingredients.

The author of more than 20 cookbooks, including the bestselling Vegan Planet, 1,000 Vegan Recipes, Vegan Fire and Spice, Vegan on the Cheap, and Quick-Fix Vegan, Robin also writes “The Global Vegan” column for VegNews Magazine and was a contributing editor and columnist for Vegetarian Times. She has also written for Cooking Light, Natural Health, Better Nutrition, Restaurant Business, and other magazines.

Robin Robertson has the professional experience in classic, contemporary, international cuisines to show you how to use plant-based ingredients to make the family favorites you grew up with and learn the secrets of exotic international cuisines, too.

Robin lives in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley with her husband Jon and their cats Gary and Mitzi.

Source: http://robinrobertson.com/about-me/

Reviews

[Arlian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Robins other cook book, "Fresh From The Vegetarian Slow Cooker", but her new book "Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker" is a little too recycled for it to be worth owning both. Yes, there are some new recipes in this, but there are also a bunch of reprinted ones.

Also, a layout gripe--which is totally beyond the authors control, (it is instead a complaint to be lobbied at the publisher)---is that each recipe is not given its own page as it is in her other book. It is designed such that wherever one recipe ends, another begins. This means that it's not as easy to browse and find the things you want to find, because the recipe titles are not all in the same place on the page, nor are all the ingredients on one page--they are sometimes split between the front and back sides of pages.

I was a bit disappointed with both the format and content of this book, but I am still super excited about all the new recipes contained inside--Robin is a wonderful cook and I will use this book dozens or even hundreds of times over the coming years. I've owned Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker since 2005 or 2006 or so and I have done almost every recipe in it, many multiple times.

[Janine Ballard]

I made this complete (I think) list of Robin Robertson's cookbooks. She is a very prolific author and it was a project to compile, so I thought I'd share it with any other Goodreads members who might find it helpful.

Here is her bibliography as best as I could reconstruct it (this order is mostly from newest to oldest, except that reissues and original versions grouped together blur the order some):


The How Not to Diet Cookbook

The Plant-Based Slow Cooker / Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker / Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker

The Plant Protein Revolution Cookbook

Vegan Mac and Cheese*

One-Dish Vegan Revised and Expanded Edition / One-Dish Vegan / One-Dish Vegetarian Meals

The How Not to Die Cookbook (co-written with Michael Greger)

Veganize It!*

100 Best Vegan Recipes

Cook the Pantry /Vegan Unplugged: A Pantry Cuisine Cookbook and Survival Guide / Apocalypse Chow

Hot Vegan / Vegan Fire & Spice*

Robin Robertson's Vegan Without Borders

More Quick-Fix Vegan*

Vegan Planet: 425 Irresistible Recipes… / Vegan Planet: 400 Irresistible Recipes…

Nut Butter Universe / Peanut Butter Planet

Quick-Fix Vegan*

Party Vegan*

Vegan on the Cheap*

1,000 Vegan Recipes

Quick-Fix Vegetarian*

Carb Conscious Vegetarian

The Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook*

Pasta for All Seasons (described as vegetarian)

Rice and Spice (described as vegetarian)

The Sacred Kitchen (“higher-consciousness cooking” so probably vegetarian)

The Vegetarian Chili Cookbook

Some Like It Hot (described as vegetarian—this may be an older version of Hot Vegan / Vegan Fire & Spice, but I’m not sure)

366 Simply Delicious Dairy-Free Recipes

366 Healthful Ways to Cook Tofu and Other Meat Alternatives

The Soy Gourmet

Her website, which has some recipes on it as well, can be found here: https://robinrobertson.com/

*The asterisk denotes that we have threads for these particular cookbooks already, so there’s no need to start new ones. The Quick-Fix cookbooks are all in one thread, titled “Quick-Fix Cookbooks by Robin Robertson.” I am not going to pin this many threads but you can search for them in the search engine to the right.

(Where I noted that a cookbook was “described as vegetarian” I meant in the full title. It’s a shorthand because I didn’t want to include long full titles for any of these cookbooks. I noted it to let you know this is not an omni cookbook. However, some of her cookbooks with “vegetarian” in the title, for example Quick-Fix Vegetarian, are actually vegan. In the old days when I first went vegan calling a cookbook vegan was the kiss of death so some authors called their cookbooks vegetarian when they were really vegan. Robin Robertson did that more than once. For that reason “described as vegetarian” means that in reality it could be vegetarian or vegan.)

[Amanda Vollmershausen · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, the most important thing about this book—the recipes are delicious, nutritiously balanced (for the most part), and not overly complicated to make. I love how Roberts has taught me so many new ways to use my slow cooker. It's truly exciting to come home to a meal prepared 8 hours earlier and left to simmer. I also really like her focus on from-scratch ingredients, and healthy proteins like tempeh, lots of beans and lentils, and seitan. A negative for me is the extensive dessert chapter. Although I don't doubt that some people have their reasons for enjoying slow cooker desserts, I've never really liked the texture that slow-cooked cakes/breads, exc have and in most cases it's much easier to just bake them. For this reason, that chapter is a bit of a throwaway for me. Another slight negative is the occasional use of eccentric ingredients. For example, one chilli recipes called for lime marmalade. As a result, I'll probably never make that recipe because I have no idea what I'd do with the rest of the jar once the recipe is complete. It's worth mentioning that the book doesn't include photos, but this doesn't bother me too much - slow cooker recipes tend not to be the most photogenic.

[Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book as a gift for Xmas from my partner's mum--she knew I had gone back to being vegetarian and she also knew I loved comfort food so she grabbed me this! Excellent book for both beginners and experienced veggie chefs. Many, many simple and yummy recipes--the comfort foods are especially great. The recipes are very do-able as well. Some veggie cooking suffers from a lot of time for prep and such but this book is actually very simple. The scalloped potatoes recipe is excellent (and has the added benefit of teaching you vegan cream cheese which could be useful in so many ways). The 2 lentil chili is also easy and tasty. There is even a pot pie recipe (topped with chive biscuits.). The thing this book really nails is the richness and warmth that slow cooker food provides. Highly recommend both for vegetarians and people looking to add more plant based food to their diet.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crockpots are always a good idea if you have time during the day to throw one on. My girlfriend often puts one on when she has night classes, leaving my evening free when I get home, and causing the entire house to smell delicious. The recipies in this book are astounding, some of the tastiest dishes I've seen in a vegetarian cookbook.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Robin's recipes. Some are my all time favorites. However, this book hasn't excited me. I check it out regularly from the library and rarely cook from it. I just don't get inspired. There are ingredients I don't use like wheat gluten. There are some great snack and breakfast recipes, which we often don't think to use a slow cooker for, so I do love that.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fresh From the Vegan Slow Cooker makes you more than happy to pull out your crock pot and get dinner ready before you leave for work. Who knew crock pots were capable of so many delicious vegan recipes? A great addition to my cookbook collection.

[(a)lyss(a) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I seem to be on a trend lately of picking cook books that don't have photos for the recipes, which is a disappointment for me because I want to know that what I'm making is turning out the way it's supposed to and what it looks like before I start.

Also I'm not vegan, so this book isn't really for me, but I was looking for crock pot recipes that are vegetable based. I was surprised by how many recipes use vegan cheese or soy-based products and this book is a reminder that vegan isn't always 'healthy' and may be tricky if you have dietary restrictions.

It's got a lot of recipes, but nothing that you couldn't find with an online search.

[Brittany Benton · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as vegan cookbooks go, I was unimpressed by the recipes....a lot of stuff I could have found on the Net’ anyway, lots of TVP & Seitan....just subbed in for meat....& not one photograph, other than the cover.....

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the recipes are simple and easy to make, which is great compared to some other vegan cookbooks. I do wish there were some pictures in this book though. It would have made the recipes seem more appealing.

[Pete Apple · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent selection of recipes, look forward to making a number of them.

[Aja Marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

some interesting recipes/inspiration in here i'd like to try this winter.

[Sarah Casady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recipes from a variety of cultures. Problem being many ingredients were not things I would regularly have at home, so they were not as practical as desired.

[Aubrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel that I can finally review this book after trying a nice handful of recipes - we loved it!

[Beverly Hallfrisch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not awful, but a bit too one note for my taste.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't sampled a significant portion of the book yet but I have done a sampling of recipes. I think it is a great starting point: I have notes to modify the recipes I have tried (mostly stuff like "change ratio" and "I wonder if these too recipes would work together, because I want something in between") so I think it needs a few tweaks - that may be about personal preferences but I usually find it takes me a long time to figure out X should change, etc. I dislike cookbooks without pictures, but I am finding too many of the cookbooks are particular subjects without pictures lately; in particular, I find cookbooks appeal to niche markets tend to have less (or no pictures) and less editing. While troublesome at times (particularly when searching for what to cook next), sometimes it can be nice having nothing to compare to your version.

I feel the breakfast section could use some work: if the recipe is 2-3 hours, you cannot make it overnight for breakfast but is too late in the morning to eat.

It is worth noting that I am NOT a vegan, but I have enjoyed these recipes (in particular, squash chili).

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this a lot, but there are fewer recipes in here that I am super excited about than in Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker. Obviously she can't just keep publishing the same great recipes over and over, and there just happen to not be as many Allie-friendly recipes. It's still great though.

Every recipe is labeled if it's gluten-free (or gluten-free option) or soy free, which saves me so much time. I also really like how she formats the essential details of the recipe: how much time, what size slow cooker, and what temperature. There are no pictures, which I don't mind, but I know can be off-putting.

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a library book and I only had time to try one recipe (polenta bake was the general name). I'd hope it would serve well for leftovers, but didn't think it met my needs. However, for dinner it was great. We did nachos-style and added fresh toppings. I put this on my Amazon wish list to own because of like to try more of the recipes. I may change the rating when I can try out some of them.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not so much 'read' this one as 'go through it'. I have also tried a couple of the recipes and the resulting dishes were scrumptious. I borrowed this one from the library but will likely buy myself a copy to keep on my shelves and use regularly.

How wonderful to come home to such a beautiful, delicious meal!

[Wanda Shuster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Checked this out because I was considering buying a slow cooker. I always had the impression that most people cook meat, like a pot roast in them. I received an instant pot for Christmas so working on learning what to cook in there and may revisit the slow cooker mechanics of the instant pot and will check these recipes out again!

[Gigi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this cookbook. Very gluten-free friendly, super healthy recipes. Yet another reason I use my slow cooker at least once per week. Huge thanks to my friend Elizabeth for the recommendation!

[mad mags]

I haven't yet gotten around to reviewing this cookbook - but you can see some of the dishes I've made from Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker here: http://www.easyvegan.info/tag/fresh-f...

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This looks pretty darn useful; not so much as a library book but if I had my own copy. [skimmed 19 January 2015]

02 February 2015 Update: I got myself a copy. Made us something from it the next day, which is a record for me. Started reading it tonight.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will definitely need to buy this book for my own collection. The recipes were easy and tasty.

[penny shima glanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great variety of recipes beyond the standard beans, beans, and more beans. I love that many recipes are gluten-free or can be adapted easily.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for the vegan and non-vegan alike! I love how all the recipes are laid-out, too. There are many gluten free and soy free recipes, as well. Easy and delicious. This one is a keeper!

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best vegan lasagna I have ever had came from this cookbook - even my omnivore friends loved it.

[N.L. Riviezzo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very exciting book. The recipes did not strike my interest. Just kind of meh.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything I make from this cookbook is delicious!

[Audrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

no pictures and was hard to tell what size slow cooker would work for these recipes. Didn't think I would make any, seemed like too many steps. There are other vegan slow cooker books I like better.