Slow Cooker Vegan Chicken and Rice

ByBrittany Roche
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This super easy slow cooker vegan chicken and rice is classic comfort food made meatless with soy curls! It’s one of our absolute favorite healthy vegetarian crockpot recipes with rice, perfect for busy workweek meals or a meal prep session. This hearty plant-based and gluten-free dinner recipe is also kid friendly and easily made oil-free.

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This slow cooker vegan chicken and rice recipe is our latest installment in the series of recipes using our homemade veggie bouillon. And my oh my, is it a good one!

Cozy chicken(less) comfort dishes have totally been our jam this winter. If you’ve spent any time around these parts recently, this is a fact of which I’m sure you’re already aware! From our Creamy Vegan Chicken(less) Stew to our Vegan Pot Pie Casserole, there is no taste that quite warms our frost-bitten hearts more than those thyme, turmeric, and onion infused classics.

And given these are some of the most popular recipes on our site, it seems like you agree! These dishes are part of a collective nostalgia many of us experience. These flavors are part of our childhood, and it’s so much fun to bring them back into our lives (and yours!) in a modern and totally vegan way.

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This easy slow cooker vegan chicken and rice is classic comfort food made vegan! Great for a busy weeknight or meal prep session, it's also healthy, gluten-free, and can easily be made oil-free. #vegan #crockpot #slowcooker #rice #soycurls // plantpowercouple.com

Veganized Chicken and Rice

This slow-cooker vegan chicken and rice recipe is actually something I’ve been making for a few months now. Since we almost always have some frozen veggies, soy curls, bouillon, and dry rice around the house, it quickly became my go-to “we have no food in the house ” lunch.

It was so simple I didn’t really think anything of it, until I shared some of my leftovers with T one night. He RAVED about the stuff, and sure enough, I get a text the next day requesting vegan chicken and rice for dinner.

As you know, T and I are on opposite ends of the taste spectrum as far as food goes. I’m more of the creamy, cheesy, vegan junk food type. Whereas, T is after fresh, hearty, nutrition-packed meals. That’s why it’s super exciting to find a recipe over which we both go crazy. This is food that brings people TOGETHER, friends. 🙂

Overhead shot of the 5 ingredients in crockpot vegetarian chicken and rice recipe: long grain brown rice, dairy free butter, vegan chicken bouillon powder, frozen peas, and soy curls.

Ingredients in Vegan Chicken and Rice

The ingredients for this vegetarian slow cooker recipe could not be simpler. You’ll need just 5 plant-based kitchen staples plus water:

  • Long-grain brown rice – Make sure you use long-grain brown rice and not instant / quick-cook rice. This recipe is only tested on the former.
  • Vegan chicken bouillon powder – We used our homemade bouillon powder. Alternatively, you can use a store-bought version. Bouillon paste can be used, but I would cut the amount in half. Or, use 2-3 bouillon cubes.
  • Vegan butter – Alternatively, you can use olive oil or unsweetened canned coconut milk if you avoid oil. 
  • Frozen peas – You can easily sub canned green peas here.
  • Soy curls – You can sub TVP chunks or strips for the soy curls or just use any vegan chik’n you prefer. However, if you’re using a chik’n that does not need to be rehydrated, you may want to reduce the water by at least 1/2 – 1 cup and add the chicken either to each plate or closer to the end. If you’re making this recipe gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free chik’n here.
Three side by side photos showing the process of making vegan chicken and rice in a slow cooker with soy curls and green peas.

How to Make Easy Vegetarian Chicken and Rice in a Crockpot

This is the first *true* slow-cooker meal we’ve posted to the blog and therefore a whole new level of easy!

Simply dump 6 ingredients into your slow-cooker (we use this one), turn it on, and in just under 3 hours, your house will be filled with the most comforting, familiar, and tantalizing smells you can imagine.

I still laugh how this scent literally calls to T + me. Any time I’m cooking this slow-cooker vegan chicken and rice, I don’t even need to announce when dinner is ready. The smell just pulls us in for a nice warm hug, and before we know it, we’re both gathered around the slow-cooker sneaking the first bites as we clamor around for bowls and actual utensils. It’s a beautiful thing.

This easy slow cooker vegan chicken and rice is classic comfort food made vegan! Great for a busy weeknight or meal prep session, it's also healthy, gluten-free, and can easily be made oil-free. #vegan #crockpot #slowcooker #rice #soycurls // plantpowercouple.com

This would be a great meal prep recipe or weeknight dinner – especially if you have a family to feed! The recipe makes about 6 servings that hold up well when stored in the fridge for up to a week. It’s kid-friendly too!

No matter how or why you make this slow-cooker vegan chicken and rice, we’d totally love to hear how it goes! You can rate the recipe and leave a comment below or tag us in your delicious photos on Instagram. If you’re not already following along, we’re @theplantpowercouple with the “the”.

We hope you find this recipe every bit as comforting and delicious as we do. Cheers!

More Vegan Chicken Recipes:

This easy slow cooker vegan chicken and rice is classic comfort food made vegan! Great for a busy weeknight or meal prep session, it's also healthy, gluten-free, and can easily be made oil-free. #vegan #crockpot #slowcooker #rice #soycurls // plantpowercouple.com

Slow Cooker Vegan Chicken and Rice with Soy Curls

Brittany Roche

This super easy slow cooker vegan chicken and rice is classic comfort food made meatless with soy curls! It's one of our absolute favorite healthy vegetarian crockpot recipes with rice, perfect for busy work week meals or a meal prep session. This hearty plant-based and gluten-free dinner recipe is also kid friendly and easily made oil-free.

4.64 from 41 votes
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes
Course Vegan Dinner Recipes
Servings 6 servings
Calories 178 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Add the water, brown rice, bouillon powder, and vegan butter to your slow cooker. Stir, cover, and turn on high. Let it cook (without removing the cover) for 2 hours.
  • When time's up, add your dry soy curls and peas. Stir and cover once more. Let it cook for another 30 minutes on high.
  • Finally, turn your slow-cooker off, stir, cover, and let it sit 15 minutes before serving. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. You may need a little more salt.
  • We like to top each bowl with some extra peas and some freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy!

Notes

  • OIL-FREE: Sub full-fat unsweetened coconut milk for the vegan butter / olive oil.
  • *I like to measure my rice into a fine mesh strainer and rinse in cool water before adding it to the slow cooker. This is supposed to help remove some of the starchiness, and I do see a big difference in the texture of the rice when we do this!
  • **You can use any vegan chik'n you prefer, but if you're using something that does not need to be rehydrated, you may want to reduce the water by at least 1/2 - 1 cup. If you're making this recipe gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free chik'n here.
  • Cooking times can vary depending on what kind of slow cooker you have.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 178kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 4gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 983mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2g
Keyword easy vegan crockpot recipes, easy vegetarian crockpot recipes, healthy chicken and rice crockpot recipe, kid friendly vegan crockpot recipes, slow cooker rice recipes vegetarian, vegan chicken and rice, vegan crockpot recipes, vegetarian crockpot dinners, vegetarian crockpot recipes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
This easy slow cooker vegan chicken and rice is classic comfort food made vegan! Great for a busy weeknight or meal prep session, it's also healthy, gluten-free, and can easily be made oil-free. #vegan #crockpot #slowcooker #rice #soycurls // plantpowercouple.com

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41 Comments

  1. This post is pure gold! Every one of these recipes looks delicious, can’t wait to try them! Thank you for such an amazing post.
    ★★★★★

    5 stars

    Reply
  2. Because I can't use salt, this turned out to be pretty bland. Any ideas how I can make this recipe more flavorful without salt?
    Reply
    1. Hi, Donna. Hmmm, because salt is usually used to enhance the flavor presence of the other herbs/spices, I would suggest either upping each of the other ingredients a little bit, or you could opt for a salt-free flavoring alternative (e.g. Mrs. Dash, etc) to flavor to your tastes after cooking. Hope this helps!
      Reply
    2. I can’t use salt either. So I added some onion powder and some poultry seasoning. Flavor was very good. You have to check the ingredients in poultry seasoning. Some brands add salt!
      Reply
  3. Hi! I made this today but all I had were shirt grain brown rice or jasmine rice so I went with jasmine and just reduced the water a bit. After the two hours I added the soy curls and cooked on high for 30 mins but the rice turned into a gelatinous mush :( Have you ever made it with jasmine rice? Any suggestions on what went wrong? I think I ended up using 4.5 cups of water instead of 5. Still too much? Otherwise the flavor was spot on!
    ★★★★★

    5 stars

    Reply
    1. Hi there, Veronica. Happy to hear it was still tasty, but very very sorry to hear about the rice issue. Yes, white jasmine will cook in a shorter period of time than short/long grain brown or long grain white rice. (Approx. half) Also, jasmine rice should be rinsed thoroughly beforehand to reduce its starchiness. In this case, the brown rice would be the better choice. Alternatively, you could reduce the cooking time of the recipe to accommodate for jasmine. Hope this helps for the future!
      Reply
  4. Very good, but cooked it even an additional hour and still some crunch to the rice. Next time I’ll soak the rice or try a different one or add more liquid and cook longer (had to stop because all liquid was absorbed)
    ★★★★☆

    4 stars

    Reply
      1. I had this same problem. I ended up dumping it all into a pot on the stove for 15-20 minutes and it turned out fine.
        Reply
    2. We had the same problem. Ended up cooking extra time in the crockpot and eventually had to finish it on the stove. The recipe was delicious, but will have to figure out a way to remedy the crunchy rice problem.
      ★★★★☆

      4 stars

      Reply
  5. If I wanted to say double the soy curls in this, would you recommend adding more water up front ? or just keep an eye on it towards the end of cooking and add water as needed? Never cooked with soy curls before but excited to try this out. Great recipes, thanks very much for sharing
    Reply
    1. Hi, Kate! Hmmmm...I'd start by adding a bit more water (maybe 10-20% more) but I don't think I'd double it because then your playing too much with the integrity of the rice. Then, as you said, keep an eye out as you go. Your other option would be make the recipe as is and cook some extra "chicken" on the side. Hope this helps.
      Reply
  6. Wow! This is fantastic! I'm so suprised by the soy curls, they worked out so well! Wondering how well this freezes? This made a lot and I would hate to waste it.
    Reply
    1. So glad you liked it, Jaclyn, and the addition of carrots sounds delicious! I think this should freeze just fine. We've never had leftovers of this particular recipe, LOL, but we have frozen very similar recipes and they've come out great! I'd recommend freezing portion sizes. Hope this helps!
      Reply
  8. Thank you for the recipe and i can't wait to try it. Will it work out well on a regular cooker on low heat because I don't have a slow cooker?
    Reply
    1. Hi, Yemisi, I haven't tried this particular recipe in the oven, but I can offer you this recipe for a vegan chik'n and rice casserole that is made in the oven (https://www.plantpowercouple.com/recipes/easy-vegan-chicken-rice-casserole/) If you don't have a slow cooker, I'd follow the directions in the casserole post. The dishes are quite similar, you'd just be swapping out vegetable choices. Hope that helps! Let me know if I can help in any other way. --T
      Reply
  9. Would this recipe work if I turned the slow cooker on at 7 am and cooked for two hours as suggested, then kept in the slow cooker on "warm" until say... 5 pm? I need something I can put in the morning to be ready when I'm home from work!
    Reply
    1. Hi, Candice! I don't see why it wouldn't! One caveat though: some slow cooker's "warm" can be kind of hot and cause, not necessarily burning on the bottom, but definite sticking. So be mindful of that. (You may need to deglaze slightly.) Would love to hear how it turns out!
      Reply
    1. Hi, Melissa, the short answer is yes, I believe so. White rice usually calls for a little less liquid and a slightly shorter cooking time than brown rice because it's had its outer bran layer removed and doesn't take as long; but I haven't used white rice as a sub in this, so I couldn't give you exact measurements at this time. Because it's a slow-cooker recipe though, the end result might be a little more forgiving. Sorry I can't be more specific, but I hope this helps a bit.
      Reply
  11. Literally All I have is just under 2 cups of brown jasmine rice. Will that work or do I need to adjust water ratio? Really wanting to make this for supper tonight it looks delicious!
    Reply
  12. This has become a staple in my house. Even the meat eaters love it. Literally takes 3 minutes to put together if you already have the broth powder made up. It is so yummy!
    ★★★★★

    5 stars

    Reply
  14. Hi, just made this...Thanks so much!! I use the instaPot. I didn't use enough water to add the soy curls, so I just rehydrated the curls separately and mixed it with the rice/pea mixture in a separate bowl. It does make a lot, so I only used about 3/4 of the rice mixture with the whole 8 once bag of curls. I am using the remaining rice mixture for Buddha bowls. LOVE IT!!
    Reply
  16. It would be nice to see a picture of what it looks like, prior to adding the curls/peas. It clearly wasn’t done as directed, probably old rice/crockpot. Still ate the crunchy rice and it eventually was fine. Super great flavor!
    Reply
  18. Has anyone tried using cubed tofu for this instead of soy curls? Should I just press tofu and toss in? Should I pre marinate the tofu and bake before adding in?
    Reply
    1. We have not tried that, so I couldn't say with any certainty how it would turn out. If you do go this route, I would definitely suggest marinating and baking in advance of putting it in the dish. I'd be interested in hearing how it turns out if you do give it a go.
      Reply
  19. This looks really good. Going to my son's this weekend and I thought a vegan version of what they are eating would be interesting. I was considering using a bag of frozen California blend veggies or using broccoli/mushrooms/onions. Will that alter the ingredient proportions too much? Thanks in advance.
    Reply
    1. Hi, Deb! You can pretty much use whatever frozen veg you like. The recipe only calls for a cup of frozen peas, so a whole bag of frozen veg might throw off the water content a little; but I really don't think it would make too much of a difference that can't be adjusted for. Hope this helps, and I hope you enjoy your visit!
      Reply
    1. Hi, Michelle. The best and most honest answer I can give you is I have no idea. It really depends on how long "overnight" means, the type of cooker you have, the type of rice, etc. If you do give it a try, I'd love to hear how it works out for you.
      Reply

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