“You Won’t Believe It’s Pareve!” Cholent
Perfect for a Nine Days Friday afternoon or any time — with this pareve cholent, you won’t miss the meat!
For as long as I can remember, I’ve served cholent on Friday afternoon to my family. It is the perfect Erev Shabbos treat — warm and hearty in the winter and delicious and filling in the summer. When my kids were little, on long summer Fridays, I would feed them meat cholent as their seudah and put them to bed before Shabbos started. I cherished those quiet Friday night meals with my husband. (It’s amazing how the dynamic has changed, as I now look forward to my vibrant, lively Friday night meals with my teenage children.)
But during the Nine Days, I’d be stumped. I did not know what to serve them. Cholent wasn’t an option, and neither were schnitzel or deli. They had no interest in gefilte fish. Many people mentioned that they make pareve cholent, but to me that sounded like a watery, tasteless soup.
But then, one year I thought to myself… Maybe it’ll be good. Maybe it will taste like a delicious vegetarian stew! I decided it couldn’t hurt to give it a try. I made it, totally expecting a flop, but I’m sure you can guess — it came out amazing!!
It tasted EXACTLY like fleishig cholent — it wasn’t bland at all! And so my famous pareve cholent was born!
My regular cholent is super-easy to make. I just dump in all the ingredients and cook it. But since this cholent is pareve, sauteing the onions and spices is important for the best flavor.
This is my recipe, but I know that most people who make cholent are extremely passionate about their own recipes, ingredients and methods. However you make it, you can easily adapt your meat cholent recipe to make it pareve.
This recipe serves about 4-6 people, so it’s not a very big . You can easily double, triple or even quadruple it. I make this recipe in a 9×13 pan but if you prefer to make it in a slow cooker, this is my favorite Crock-Pot. I have tried so many over the years and this is the one I keep coming back to.
My oven-baked kani cakes are also a great pareve Friday afternoon snack!
“You Won’t Believe It’s Pareve!” Cholent
Ingredients
- 1 large or 3 small onions, diced
- 1/4 cup oil
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed (or 3 frozen cubes)
- 3/4 cup barley
- 1/4 cup cholent beans
- 2 Tbsp paprika
- 1 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 Tbsp onion powder
- 2 Tbsp salt
- 1 Tbsp pepper
- 4 medium potatoes, cubed
- Pareve kishke (optional)
Instructions
- In a large frying pan, sauté onion in oil over medium flame for about 10 minutes — it doesn’t need to be totally browned.
- Add garlic and sauté for an additional 2 minutes. Add beans and barley and continue sauteing so they get toasted, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add spices and mix.
- Add potatoes. Stir everything together and cook for about 5-7 minutes.
- Transfer to a roaster, 9×13, or slow cooker. Add kishke, if using.
- For oven-baking, add water almost to the top and place pan on top of a cookie sheet in case it boils over when cooking — saves a lot of clean up and smoky ovens! Cook overnight on 200°F. If you're in a rush, you can also bake it on 350°F for 3-4 hours, but check every hour or so to make sure it’s not drying out.
- For cooking in a slow cooker, cook on low for 8-12 hours (you know your slow cooker best — mine cooks things pretty fast so I am always watching it!).
Notes
Recipe by Faigy Murray | https://mykitchenmystudio.com/you-wont-believe-its-pareve-cholent/
