This rich and hearty vegan stew is the ultimate comfort food. It’s simple fare that’s wonderfully warming and always satisfies.
Who doesn’t love a good stew? It’s simple, hearty and has you going back for a second bowl every time!
It’s perfect for cold nights, but just as perfect for nights when you just want something really filling and satisfying.
It’s simple and delicious and you won’t miss the meat in this hearty stew!
How to make Vegan Stew
We start off by adding some chopped onions to the pot with some olive oil and sautéeing the onions until softened. Then add in some crushed garlic and dried thyme, rosemary and oregano and sauté that in with the onions.
Then you add some sliced mushrooms and diced carrots and celery and toss that up with the onions and let it cook for a few minutes until the mushrooms are slightly softened.
Add in some all purpose flour and stir it in, then comes vegetable stock, marinara sauce (or sub for canned chopped tomato) and red wine along with some peeled chopped potatoes, kidney beans, tomato paste and dark soy sauce.
Stir that in, and then add in 2 bay leaves and bring it all to a simmer, cover the pot and let it simmer until the potatoes and veggies are soft and cooked.
I sometimes add in a little sugar at the end, my favorite is coconut sugar, to just balance the acidity from the tomatoes and I find that really rounds this out beautifully.
How to Serve Vegan Stew
You can serve it as is or over rice. My personal favorite is basmati rice as it cooks so fast! If you want something lighter then cauliflower rice would be great too. It’s also great served with vegan mashed potatoes or with some homemade whole wheat bread on the side to mop up all that delicious stew.
How to Thicken Vegan Stew
Because of the all purpose flour added in early on in this recipe, I find it’s thick enough. If you find it still needs extra thickening at the end, then the best way to do this is with some cornstarch.
Mix in a tablespoon of cornstarch with a little cold water into a paste. Then add this into the stew while stirring furiously and let the stew simmer for a few minutes after adding the cornstarch so that it cooks in properly. If you still would like it to be thicker, then repeat this step again.
Can I make this Vegan Stew Gluten Free
You can use a gluten-free all purpose flour blend instead of the regular all purpose flour to make this gluten-free. You can also omit the flour altogether, but then you will most likely need to thicken the stew at the end with some cornstarch (see above).
How To Store Vegan Stew
Leftovers keep very well in the fridge for a few (3-4) days. It is also freezer friendly if you want to freeze the leftovers.
More Hearty Vegan Dinner Recipes!
- Vegan Lentil Curry
- Vegan Korma
- Vegan Bolognese
- Vegan Sweet Potato Curry
- Vegan Shepherds Pie
- Vegan Potato Curry
- Vegan Chili
- Vegan Massaman Curry
Vegan Stew
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 6
Description
This rich and hearty vegan stew is the ultimate comfort food. It’s simple fare that’s wonderfully warming and always satisfies.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Onion (Chopped)
- 1 Tbsp Crushed Garlic
- 1 tsp Dried Thyme
- 1/2 tsp Dried Rosemary
- 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 18oz (500g) Brown Button Mushrooms (Sliced)*
- 3 Large Carrots (Diced)
- 3 Celery Stalks (Diced)
- 1/3 cup (41g) All Purpose Flour*
- 2 cups (480ml) Vegetable Stock
- 1 cup (240ml) Marinara Sauce*
- 1 cup (240ml) Red Wine
- 2 Large Potatoes (~600g/1.2 pounds peeled weight / peeled and chopped)
- 1 15oz (425g) Can Kidney Beans (Drained)
- 1/2 cup (130g) Tomato Paste
- 1 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
- 2 leaves Bay Leaf
- 1 Tbsp Coconut Sugar (Optional)
Instructions
- Add the chopped onion to the pot with the olive oil and sauté the onions until softened.
- Add in the crushed garlic, dried thyme, rosemary and oregano and sauté with the onions.
- Add the sliced mushrooms, diced carrots and diced celery and toss with the onions and spices. Let it cook for a few minutes until the mushrooms are slightly softened.
- Add the all purpose flour and stir it in, then add the vegetable stock, marinara sauce and red wine along with the peeled chopped potatoes, kidney beans, tomato paste and dark soy sauce and stir in.
- Add in the bay leaves and bring it all to a simmer, cover the pot and leave to simmer, stirring from time to time, until the potatoes and veggies are soft and cooked.
- Add in the coconut sugar (optional) which helps to balance out the flavors and salt and pepper to taste (if needed).
- Serve as is or with basmati rice.
Notes
*Also called portobellini mushrooms or baby bella or cremini mushrooms.
*If you want this stew to be gluten free then use a gluten free all purpose flour blend.
*You can use any marinara sauce that you like the taste of, or sub for canned chopped tomatoes.
*Nutritional information is for stew only and does not include any rice that you may serve it with.
- Category: Entree, Savory
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serve (of 6)
- Calories: 378
- Sugar: 15.1g
- Sodium: 741mg
- Fat: 8.7g
- Saturated Fat: 1.3g
- Carbohydrates: 58.4g
- Fiber: 9.1g
- Protein: 11.6g
Keywords: vegan stew
amazing! we doubled the recipe, used both regular potatoes and sweet potatoes, and my husband added pineapple pieces once the stew was ready on the table. IT WAS SO GOOD! 2yo and 4yo loved it too
thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Yay! Thanks Monika!
Made this a couple of days ago and it really is excellent and, once you have prepared the ingredients, simple to do. I had no celery so substituted some frozen chard which worked really well. Yesterday I had a bowl accompanied with creamy mashed potato as you suggested and it was marvellous! Have already forwarded this recipe to my vegan girlfriend! Thank you so much for sharing this.
★★★★★
Awesome Mark! Thanks so much for the great review.
The flavour is very good but I did find that by cooking the potatoes and tomatoes together, the acidity made it take a long time to cook. If I were to make this again, I would recommend to precook the potatoes at least 50%, then add in to the pot.
★★★★
Followed recipe exactly, turned out very good. Wanted to ask if sherry can be substituted for the red wine?
★★★★★
Hi Marg, so glad you enjoyed it! I think sherry would work great!
I made this for dinner a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing! I made it as written except I substituted sweet potatoes for the potatoes. Even my non-vegan wife loved it!
★★★★★
Wonderful! Thanks so much David!
If I take out the marianara sauce (or the tomato can) and tomato paste, what would I sub in for those? I would assume it would lack acidity at that point. I have acid reflux and tomato is a pretty hard trigger. Acid in general isn’t though (somehow).
Hi Andrei, you can try leaving it out altogether without a replacement or just adding in more vegetable stock. All the best!
Thank you! All the best as well 🙂
I need to avoid tomatoes, too. I use canned pumpkin and butternut squash or sweet potato soup. Sometimes apple cider or other vinegar can be added for the acid, but I didn’t use it for this recipe.
The shops near me are out of all purpose flour. Can I use rice flour instead? And would it be the same amount? Thanks!
Hi Francesca, yes it should work fine in the same quantity as the all purpose.
I’m an inexperienced cook who is looking for more vegan dishes to make, and this recipe is like a jackpot for me. Easy to make and delicious! I can’t get over how flavorful it is. I’m so happy to add this recipe to my list of “things I can actually cook”, hehe!
Thanks so much! I love it!
★★★★★
Wonderful! Thanks so much for the awesome review Sara!
For marinara sauce, do you mean spaghetti sauce? Or tomato purée?
Hi Tayler, yes it’s like a spaghetti sauce, it’s usually made from tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. You buy it in a jar or a carton. You can also just use canned chopped tomato if you can’t get marinara sauce.
Second time I have made this stew and I just can’t get enough of it.. Soooo……good!!
★★★★★
Thanks Deb! 🙂
Made this lovely recipe and had enough for my dinner with 4 portions to freeze.
I had some olives leftover (black and green)which I added at the end. I also substituted green lentils for kidney beans as I prefer them.
The meal was so delicious I had to add a comment. Thank you
★★★★★
So happy to hear that! Thanks so much for the wonderful review! 🙂
I’m a big fan of this stew, I’ve made it couple of times already.
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks Maryla! 🙂
Hi Alison,
I’m about to cook this recipe!!! Yay!! Question I have a family of 4 should I double the portions? They eat a lot!!!
Hi Karen, it makes a big pot of stew so it would be a nice big portion for 4 people. But of course you can double it as well since leftovers also keep very well in the fridge for 3-4 days. 🙂