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This Cozy Vegan Stew is the perfect one-pot vegan dinner to warm you up on a chilly winter day. Hearty mushrooms, tender veggies, and chunks of potato simmered in a thick and creamy red wine broth. Vegan, One Pot, Gluten-Free Option.
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This Vegan Stew is guaranteed to be one of your new favorite stews to make every year as the seasons change. Fork tender gold potatoes, chunks of mushrooms and sweet carrots stewed in the richest plant-based broth. Once you try a bite of this goodness, you’ll be ready to put this recipe on repeat. Not to mention, it’s also freezer friendly!
A Hearty Winter Favorite
Once the weather cools down, there’s nothing better than curling up with a large, cozy bowl of soup or vegan stew. Extra bonus points when it’s packed with nutritious vegetables and meaty plant-based flavor that keeps me feeling satisfied.
I wanted this dish to be reminiscent of a vegan beef stew or pot roast and used a combination of cremini mushrooms and imitation “beef” broth to help emanate a similar flavor. If you love mushrooms, you’ll love my popular One Pot Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff and Portobello Mushroom Steaks.
Ingredients for Vegan Stew
This one pot vegan meal starts with the ultimate soup base – onion, carrots, and celery and is made meaty with quartered mushrooms, potato chunks and a umami rich broth. No need for animal proteins to make a thick and hearty stew! It’s an easy dish to double or triple – ideal for larger families, weekly meal prep, or cleaning out the fridge. Just like vegan chili, the flavors in this stew get even better over time.
Plus, it’s made from pretty budget-friendly, easy-to-find ingredients too.
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- For the best flavor, use an imitation “beef” flavored broth. Vegan beef broth or mushroom broth help mimic the umami-rich flavors of beef stew. Vegetable broth works in a pinch, but it does not have the same effect on the flavor.
- Use brown mushrooms. The only difference between cremini mushrooms and white button mushrooms is maturation. Brown mushrooms are older and deeper in flavor and best used in meaty dishes like this vegan stew. Shiitake and portobello mushrooms would also be great in this meaty stew.
How to Make Vegan Vegetable Stew
- Warm oil in a large Dutch oven on the stove top, then sauté the onion and tomato paste.
- Stir in the carrots, mushrooms, and celery and sauté again, stirring only occasionally.
- Add the spices and deglaze the pan with red wine, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan for more flavor. Add the imitation “beef” broth and bring to a boil.
- Simmer over medium heat for 20 to 30 minutes, until thickened.
- Serve warm and as desired.
Serving Suggestions
This vegetable stew is hearty enough to serve as a stand-alone dish, but feel free to serve it with easy side dishes like a simple Kale Salad or Vegan Cornbread. If you’re looking for more vegan soups and stews, you’ll also love this Vegan Zuppa Toscana, Black Bean Soup and this Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup!
How to Store Vegan Stew
For optimal freshness, store leftover vegetable stew in an airtight jar or container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. If freezing in a glass jar, leave room at the top of the jar for expansion. Reheat leftover vegetable stew in a microwave safe bowl or in a pot over medium heat until warm.
Substitutions
- Gluten-free option: Swap the all-purpose flour for equal parts of a gluten-free flour blend or brown rice flour.
- Red wine substitutions: If you prefer not to cook with alcohol, replace the wine with 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar and ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons vegan beef broth.
Recipe FAQs:
Using flour and potatoes in vegetable stew helps make it thick and creamy, however, if you’d like to make your stew even thicker, stir in a cornstarch slurry made of 1 tablespoon cornstarch plus 2 tablespoons water and simmer until your desired consistency is reached. Keep in mind that vegetable stew will thicken even further as it cools.
When making stew, it is best to chop potatoes into larger, ¾”-1” chunks. If using yukon gold potatoes like I did, cutting them into quarters works well.
If you are using Yukon gold potatoes, no need. These potatoes have a thin skin that does not require peeling. If you do substitute thicker skinned potatoes like russet potatoes, peeling is recommended.
My go-to “no beef” broths are by Better than Bouillon and Edward & Sons. Both are also gluten-free friendly and great for vegan stews and soups.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Cozy Vegan Stew with Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 stalks of celery chopped
- 3-5 large carrots peeled and chopped
- 16 ounces crimini mushrooms cut in half or quartered*
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour*
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper plus more to taste
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 3-5 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup dry red wine* (I used merlot; or sub more broth)
- 1 pound small Yukon gold potatoes quartered
- 2 cup vegan beef-flavored vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 cup water
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Aromatics: Warm the oil over medium-high in a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion once warm and sauté for 3 minutes, until translucent and slightly golden. Stir the tomato paste in with the onion and fry for 1 minute. Then, add in the carrot, celery, and mushrooms. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring only every 1 to 2 minutes or to get seared edges.
- Spices: Add the flour, smoked paprika, black pepper, and garlic to the pot and stir well. Sauté for 1 minute, then add in the thyme and bay leaf. Deglaze the pot with red wine and stir well, scraping the bottom of the pot to get the browned bits (aka flavor!) into the broth.
- Broth: Add the potatoes, broth and water to the pot, cover, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Uncover the pot, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The stew is done once the potatoes are fork-tender and the broth has reduced and thickened. If the stew gets too thick for your liking, thin it out with additional broth or water.
- Serve: Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Serve warm; leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in an airtight jar or container in the freezer for up to two months.
Recipe Notes
- Mushrooms: my mushrooms were on the smaller side, so I only cut them in half, but if yours are larger you can quarter them too. You can also use a variety of mushrooms here if you’d like – shiitake or oyster mushrooms would be great.
- Flour: sub the flour for equal parts of a gluten-free flour blend or brown rice flour.
- Wine: I used a merlot for this recipe. If you do not cook with alcohol, replace the wine with 2 tablespoons red wine or balsamic vinegar + the remaining liquid with vegetable broth
Excellent!
I just made this following the recipe exactly. (I’m a terrible cook). This came out so flavorful, we loved it Thank you for the delicious meal!
You’re so welcome, glad you loved it!
Very delicious! Very close to the beef stew I remember growing up. Warm, cozy, and filling. The only thing I did differently is added some soaked/ rinsed green lentils to up the protein!
Great addition! Glad you enjoyed the stew!
This is such a tasty and hearty meal. I didn’t have the beef flavored bouillon available so I just made it with vegetable broth. It was super delicious this way. I can imagine with the beef flavored brought it would be even better.
Glad it all worked out, Sandy!
I made this, it was so easy and delicious. I used less mushrooms because it seemed like just a LOT of mushrooms, could probably do less carrot next time too. I used mushrooms soup stock which made it dark and rich. It turned out perfect in the promised amount of time.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Kit 🙂
This is the most comforting stew. It’s rich and just feels like something you want to eat curled up in front of the fireplace on a cold evening.
Our thoughts exactly! Thank you, Kristen!
It looks so delicious, I’ll try it too. Thank you for the recipe, I am sure it will taste very good.
You’re welcome!
Tried this on a cold April night out here in Ontario Canada and let me tell you. It was incredible. So hearty, so filling and incredibly cozy. I used balsamic instead of red wine (thank you for the alcohol free suggestion!). I added some dried mushrooms + their broth and a half tsp of rosemary. It was comfort in a bowl and I can’t wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow!
Delicious- used gf flour & white wine & russet potatoes. We love this recipe!!
Thank you as always, Caresse!
Awesome
Made this for dinner tonight and it was so good! I didn’t use mushrooms or celery and threw some rehydrated soy curls in there when adding the potatoes and also added some frozen peas about 5 min from being done. I added about 3/4 to 1 cup more broth to account for the soy curls soaking up some.
Nice! Soy curls are also great for this.
This is so good! Reminds me of an old fashioned beef stew, except it is full of tasty vegetables. Added a few parsnips and peas at the end. Will make this again for sure. It is a cold snowy day in Toronto Canada and this was the perfect dinner. Just love these cozy recipes! Thanks Caitlin!
That sounds delicious, Rita! I love the addition of parsnips
Super yummy! I added a couple hand fulls of pasta because carbs are my jam and I wanted a thicker broth tonight. This is definitely my favorite soup that imitates a “beef” stew
Thank you for this delicious recipe. This was a classic staple as a kid. I decided to add some TVP and green beans. A slice of bread and vg butter and I was a child again. I’ll be making this again over the cold Midwest winter.
You’re so very welcome, Diane!
Fantastic
Thank you, Kyle!
Delicious: hearty but not heavy. Quartered mushrooms FTW.
Glad you liked it, An!