Crock Pot Peanut Sauce with Lentils and Vegetables

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I’m a huge fan of making sauces in crock pots because it’s an easy way to make a hearty meal that can easily be served over rice or noodles. The base is always the same, and I can change the vegetables every time to make it unique. After preparing the ingredients, you let the crock pot do all the work, and then just pour it over some rice for a meal! This is a recipe for one of my favorite sauces (second to my masala curry sauce which is posted here). If you don’t like peanuts, you can substitute the peanut butter for your favorite nut butter. Note - This recipe is for a large batch, so you may want to cut it in half if this is your first time making it.

Peanut sauce with veggies over rice noodles

Ingredients:

For the peanut or almond sauce:

  • 2 cans (14 ounces each) of full fat coconut milk

  • 1 cup peanut butter or almond butter

  • 8 inch piece of fresh ginger, coarsely chopped (or 3 Tbsp ground ginger)

  • 8 cloves of garlic

  • 4 Tbsp soy sauce or liquid aminos

  • 4 tsp lime juice

  • 8 Tbsp chopped cilantro (or 3 Tbsp dried)

  • Optional - 1 tsp or more cayenne

For the lentils:

  • 1 cup lentils

  • 3 cups water

For the veggies:

**This is just a suggestion. When I make this recipe, I usually just use whatever vegetables are in my fridge, which makes for a unique meal each time!

  • 2 onions

  • 3 bell peppers

  • 5 carrots

  • 2 cups green beans

  • 1 stick of celery

  • 2 tsp sesame oil

Instructions:

  1. Begin cooking the lentils in 3 cups of water over medium heat and simmer until soft, about 20 minutes. Once cooked, add to crock pot (including any remaining water).

  2. While cooking the lentils, add the peanut sauce ingredients to the crock pot and heat on high.

  3. In a large skillet, add oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, then add to crock pot.

  4. Chop up the remainder of your veggies to your desired size, and add to crock pot. I typically use my food processor to finely chop about 2/3 of the vegetables, and then then final third I chop by hand into bigger pieces.

  5. Cook on low or high, depending on how quickly you would like you meal done. Simmering on low will allow the flavors to blend more, but it will come out delicious either way! Once cooked, serve over rice or noodles.