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Slow Cooker Cholent + VIDEO

This slow cooker cholent is a hearty beef stew with potatoes and beans. Perfect for Shabbat, this beef cholent cooks low & slow overnight or all day. 

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Updated 2019 with video

What is Cholent

Cholent is a Jewish stew created to comply with the Jewish law that prohibits cooking on Shabbat. Cholent works for Shabbat because it has a long cook time; you start the stew Friday before the Sabbath and it will cook through the night to be ready the following day. The low and slow cooking method makes cholent a great recipe for the slow cooker. This is one of those recipes where no two versions are the same; there are tons of variations to this Shabbat stew. The ingredients used in cholent vary depending on a few things one being geographic area of ancestry. For example, Ashkenazi cholent usually includes meat, barley, beans, and potatoes while garbanzo beans, rice, and eggs are common ingredients in Sephardic cholent, also known as hamin.

pear barley, red kidney beans, pinto beans, and great northern beans i

Barley & Beans

This slow cooker cholent recipe has both barley and beans. While it’s common to use pearl barley, a white bean, and a red or pinto beans, you can absolutely use a different type of bean if you want to. Remember how I said cholent can be made a lot of different ways? This is one area where you have some leeway. Do you need to soak your beans? Nope. That’s another bonus to this recipe. The dry beans don’t need to be pre-soaked, just give them a good rinse. Trust me, I make this without soaking my beans and they are still tender after 10+ hours of cooking. Red kidney beans are the exception. Dried red kidney beans contain a particular lectin that is toxic to people when not cooked fully. To be on the safe side and to make the kidney beans more digestible, boil them for 20 minutes before adding them slow cooker. You can use canned beans. If so, drain and rinse them first.

What Type Of Beef To Use

Bring on the cheaper, tough cuts of beef! Because of the long low & slow cook time, this cholent recipe will turn even the toughest cuts of meat into tender, falling apart meat. Suggestions include brisket, short rib, chuck roast, round roast, stew meat, etc. The tougher the better. You can use cuts of meat with bones too. If your meat has bones like short ribs, leave the bones in.

What Type Of Potatoes To Use

You can use your preferred potato. I like to use a waxy potatoes like red or yellow potatoes because compared to other potatoes, they hold their shape better during the long cook time.

before (slow cooker)

Using Eggs

Sephardic versions of hamin/cholent often use eggs. Personally I like to include eggs in my stew. This is of course optional. I usually add between 2-4 raw eggs to my cholent. If you’re going to add eggs, dig a little hole in the cholent and gently push the egg down until it’s submerged under the liquid. The eggs go in raw. They will cook to hard-boiled along with the rest of the food in the slow cooker. When the stew is done cooking, carefully remove the eggs (they will be hot) and let them cool before peeling.

after (slow cooker)

stirred cooked cholent in the slow cooker

Other Jewish Recipes 

Chopped Liver

Kugel

Chicken w/Apples & Honey (Paleo)

Matzo Ball Soup

I used a 6-quart slow cooker for this recipe.

 

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Slow Cooker Cholent

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 4 reviews

  • Total Time: 12 hours 10 minutes
  • Yield: 6-8 servings 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 pounds beef cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 1 pound potatoes, chopped
  • 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
  • 3/4 cup pearl barley, rinsed
  • 1/3 cup red kidney beans, cooked
  • 1/3 cup dried great northern beans, rinsed
  • 1/3 cup dried pinto beans, rinsed
  • 4 cups low-sodium beef broth
  • 12 cups water (if needed)
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 24 eggs (optional)

Instructions

  1. Add potatoes and onions to the bottom of the slow cooker.
  2. Add beef on top of the potatoes and onions. Sprinkle salt and pepper top of the beef.
  3. Scatter the pearl barley and the beans on top of beef. Pour broth on top of all the food.
  4. Top with paprika and honey.
  5. If all the food isn’t covered in liquid, add enough water until all ingredients are fully covered.
  6. Cook on low for 10-12 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more water if necessary.

Notes

*For those who observe Shabbat, do not stir or add more water during the cooking.

  • Author: Shannon Epstein
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 12 hours

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 364
  • Sugar: 6.9 g
  • Fat: 6.1 g
  • Saturated Fat: 2.5 g
  • Carbohydrates: 39.9 g
  • Fiber: 7.6 g
  • Protein: 37.3 g
  • Cholesterol: 130.6 mg

 

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[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”p3vwFeSX” upload-date=”2019-11-13T23:31:08.000Z” name=”Slow Cooker Cholent” description=”Cholent is a hearty beef stew with potatoes and beans. Perfect for Shabbat, this beef cholent cooks overnight in the slow cooker.”]

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

Graziella

Tuesday 31st of May 2022

Made this serevals shabbes and it’s perfect!

Rebecca

Wednesday 15th of July 2020

So how are the eggs used in the recipe? Just to make hard boiled for another dish or do they go back into this recipe?

Leah

Thursday 22nd of February 2024

@Rebecca, they are eaten with the cholent

Sheila

Thursday 13th of August 2020

No just put raw eggs it will cook it self

Whitney

Saturday 11th of July 2020

Can I just use all water instead of beef broth? If so, how many cups?

Leonard Eisenstein

Monday 20th of January 2020

EXCELLENT!!!!!

Lorenzo

Sunday 10th of November 2019

This reminds me of so many special shabbats with my family