Slow Cooker Plant Based Chickpea Menudo or Filipino Sloppy Joe

Filipinos love to eat savory snacks for their afternoon break.  It could be chicken arroz caldo, pancit or ground beef or pork menudo.  I have featured all these dishes in my blog.  Now that I am into the plant based approach to eating, I decided to come up with the all vegetable version of menudo using canned chickpeas and other vegetables that usually are used with the meat version.  This plant based menudo has a delicious sauce that coats the bread pieces you use or rice if you prefer to use this as a main dish.  The chickpeas give it texture in every bite you do not miss the feel of ground meat.  The spices and the vegetables like red pepper, carrots, green peas flavor the sauce you do not need any chicken broth.  The raisins give the dish a delectable sweet taste characteristic of menudos in the Philippines.  This is a convenient recipe to have.  The dish can be used as a filling in your buns or sliders for a sandwich reminiscent of a Sloppy Joe. Or it could be one of your plant based dinner during the week.

Slow Cooker Plant Based Chickpea Menudo or Filipino Sloppy Joe

6 servings 

• 1 -15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 large carrot, chopped into small cubes
• 1 large potato, chopped into small cubes
• 2 red or green pepper or both, chopped in small pieces
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 cup sweet peas from a can or frozen
• 6 tbsps catsup
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup diced tomatoes, from a can or fresh
• 1/4 tsp peppercorn
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp cornstarch in 2 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp soy sauce (optional)
• 1/2 inch jalapeno pepper or dash of hot sauce
• 1 tsp cumin

Place all the ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cook for 6 hours at low setting or 3 hours at high setting.  I cooked mine in an Aroma Brand rice cooker/slow cooker for 2 hours at slow cooker setting.  You can use this dish as a filling in a hamburger bun or sliders or you can eat this dish with brown rice.  

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 158 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 113 Calories from Fat 4

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 0.4g 1%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 931mg 39%

Potassium 551mg 16%

Total Carbohydrates 26.1g 9%

Dietary Fiber 3.4g 14%

Sugars 10.6g

Protein 2.9g

Vitamin A 69% • Vitamin C 113% Calcium 3% • Iron 8%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Nutritional Analysis

Good points

• Very low in saturated fat
• No cholesterol
• High in dietary fiber
• High in potassium
• Very high in vitamin A
• High in vitamin B6
• Very high in vitamin C