Tova's Shabbos Kitchen Make-ahead Shabbos and Yom Tov cooking

Overnight Crock Pot Cholent: Beef, Beans, Barley, and Potatoes

Meat · · By Tova's Shabbos Kitchen · Jump to recipe

A classic overnight slow cooker cholent with beef, beans, barley, and potatoes, plus how long to cook it, how much water to add, and how to freeze leftovers. Meat.

Cholent is the original make-ahead meal. It was built for Shabbos: everything goes in the pot before candle lighting, and lunch is ready when you come home from shul. The hard part is not the cooking. It’s the water. Too little and it dries out; too much and it is soup.

What makes a good cholent

  • Large chunks. Big pieces of beef and potato survive 18 hours. Small ones disappear.
  • Potatoes on the bottom. They sit closest to the heat and act as a buffer, so nothing scorches.
  • Enough water. Cover everything by about 1 inch. Beans and barley drink a lot overnight.
  • Flanken or chuck. Both have the fat and connective tissue that turns tender over a long cook.

A food-safety step most recipes skip

Most cholent bean mixes include red kidney beans. Raw or undercooked kidney beans contain a natural lectin that can make people sick. The FDA says boiling at 212 F for 10 minutes destroys it and recommends boiling for 30 minutes to be sure, after soaking. A slow cooker on LOW may not get hot enough to do that on its own. The boil is mostly waiting, about 3 minutes of actual work, and it removes the worry. Canned beans are already cooked, so they skip this step, though they turn softer over a long cook.

Your Friday timeline

WhenTaskMinutes
Thursday nightSoak beans. Cut beef, potatoes, onion.10
Friday morning or early afternoonBoil beans hard for 30 minutes, drain.3 hands-on
Right afterLayer, season, add water, set on HIGH.10
Before ShabbosCheck the water level, then set to LOW.2

What to serve with cholent

Kugel is the classic partner. A potato kugel or sweet noodle kugel baked earlier in the week, plus a crunchy salad, makes a full Shabbos lunch. For a lighter Shabbos day, see our cold Shabbos lunch ideas.

About Shabbos and slow cookers

Families follow different practices for slow cookers on Shabbos: how the dial is covered, whether you can add water, and how food is served from it. We don’t give halachic rulings. Please ask your rav.

Planning cholent weeks and Yom Tov weeks at the same time? Our 2027 Jewish calendar printable lists every Yom Tov, Rosh Chodesh, and the weekly parsha, and the Shabbos menu planner gives each week its own page.

Leftovers

Made too much? Cholent freezes well once it is cooled quickly. Here is how to freeze and reheat leftover cholent safely, including why frozen cholent never goes straight into a slow cooker.

Recipe card · Meat

Overnight Crock Pot Cholent

A classic Ashkenazi-style cholent of beef, beans, barley, potatoes, and eggs, cooked overnight in a slow cooker for Shabbos lunch.

Prep
55 min
Cook
18 hr
Total
18 hr 55 min
Yield
8 to 10 servings
Kashrus
Meat

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dried cholent bean mix (or a mix of kidney, navy, and pinto beans)
  • 1/2 cup pearl barley, rinsed
  • 2 to 2 1/2 lb beef flanken or chuck, cut into large chunks
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 5 medium potatoes (about 2 lb), peeled and cut into large chunks
  • 4 large eggs in their shells, washed (optional)
  • 1/4 cup ketchup
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • 1 Tbsp sweet paprika
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • About 8 cups water

Instructions

  1. Thursday night: soak: Cover the beans with plenty of cold water and soak 8 hours or overnight. Drain.
  2. Friday: boil the beans: Put the soaked beans in a pot, cover with fresh water, bring to a boil, and boil hard for 30 minutes. Drain. Most cholent mixes contain red kidney beans, and the FDA advises soaking and then boiling them (it recommends 30 minutes) because a slow cooker on LOW may not get hot enough to break down a natural toxin in them.
  3. Layer: In a 6 to 7 quart slow cooker, layer the onion and potatoes on the bottom. Add the beans and barley, then the beef. Nestle the eggs on top.
  4. Season: Stir the ketchup, honey, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper into 2 cups of hot water. Pour over everything. Add more water, about 6 cups, until everything is covered by about 1 inch.
  5. Cook: Cover. Many cooks run the slow cooker on HIGH for 1 to 2 hours Friday afternoon so it is fully hot, then set it to LOW before Shabbos. Cook on LOW until Shabbos lunch, about 18 to 20 hours in total.
  6. Serve: Peel the eggs and serve them alongside. The whites turn tan and the yolks creamy after the long cook.

Make-ahead and storage

  • Thursday night: soak the beans and cut the beef, potatoes, and onion. Keep the potatoes covered in cold water in the fridge so they don't brown.
  • Leftovers keep in the fridge up to 3 days.
  • Freezer: cool leftovers quickly and freeze up to 3 months. Take the eggs out first; cooked eggs turn rubbery in the freezer. Potatoes soften a little after freezing.

Notes

  • Water level is the most common problem. Beans and barley absorb a lot. Covering everything by about 1 inch before Shabbos keeps it from drying out.
  • Kosher beef is already salted during kashering. Taste a spoonful of the seasoned water and adjust before it goes in.
  • Questions about setting, adjusting, adding water to, or serving from a slow cooker on Shabbos are halachic questions. Please ask your rav.

Questions people ask

How long do you cook cholent in a slow cooker?

The meat and beans are tender after about 8 to 10 hours on LOW, but traditional cholent cooks overnight, about 18 to 20 hours, which gives it its deep brown color and thick texture.

How much water goes in cholent?

Enough to cover everything by about 1 inch, which is about 8 cups for this recipe in a 6 to 7 quart slow cooker. Beans and barley absorb a lot overnight.

Can you freeze cholent?

Yes. Remove any eggs, cool it quickly, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and reheat until steaming. The potatoes get a little softer.

Save it for Thursday night

Overnight Crock Pot Cholent (15 Minutes to Set Up)

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