Slow Cooker Vegetarian Tamale Pie

Flip on your slow cooker in the morning and come home to a rich, warming vegetarian stew topped with a cornmeal crust. Comfort at its finest!

Calories: 362

Flip on your slow cooker in the morning and come home to a rich, warming vegetarian stew topped with a cornmeal crust. Comfort at its finest!

Photo: Cara Lyons

By Cara Lyons

Serves: 6
Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Total time: 7 hours, 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 28-oz box diced tomatoes
• 1 8-oz pkg sliced baby Portobello mushrooms
• 1 cup diced yellow onion
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 1 large zucchini, diced
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 2 cups cooked black beans or 1 15-oz BPA-free can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 3 tsp chile powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 1/2 cups whole-grain yellow cornmeal
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups skim milk
• 1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup low-fat shredded cheddar cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a 5-6 quart slow cooker combine garlic, tomatoes and accompanying juices, mushrooms, onion, jalapeno, zucchini, bell pepper, beans, chile powder, cumin, oregano and salt. Stir to combine, cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
2. Increase slow cooker heat to high. Meanwhile, prepare cornmeal batter: In a medium bowl, whisk cornmeal and baking powder. In a large glass measuring cup or small bowl, whisk egg, milk, oil and vinegar. Add to cornmeal mixture and stir to combine. Stir in cheddar.
3. Remove lid from slow cooker. Pour cornmeal mixture over top of vegetable mixture and spread evenly to form a crust. Place a clean dish towel over top of slow cooker and replace lid, resting over top of towel (this will prevent condensation from wetting the surface of the cornmeal crust). Cook for 1 hour, until cornbread sets. Remove lid and towel and slice into wedges.

Nutrients per serving (1/6 of tamale pie): Calories: 362, Total Fat: 10 g, Sat. Fat: 6 g, Carbs: 55 g, Fiber: 11 g, Sugars: 10.5 g, Protein: 17 g, Sodium: 285 mg, Cholesterol: 43 mg

Nutritional Bonus: Fats come in different varieties, some better for you than others. The same is true of saturated fats, and coconut oil – though high in this particular type of fat – contains the best kind. Predominately medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), these saturated fats contain lauric acid, which is considered antimicrobial in nature and has been attributed to increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the good kind).