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This Cozy Vegan Stew is the perfect one-pot vegan dinner. Hearty mushrooms, chunky vegetables, and tender potatoes simmered in a thick and creamy red wine broth. Vegan, One Pot, Gluten-Free Option.
This Vegan Stew is guaranteed to be one of your favorite vegan 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!
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A Hearty Winter Favorite
Once the weather cools down, I’m all about curling up with vegan soups and stews. Extra bonus points when they’re packed with nutritious vegetables and meaty plant-based flavor that keeps me feeling satisfied all evening long.
While I have many hearty, meat-like stews on the blog (check out my Easy Vegan Chili and Cozy White Bean Stew), I wanted this easy weeknight dish to be reminiscent of a vegan beef stew or pot roast. And after much recipe testing, I’ve combined the perfect ratio of chewy cremini mushrooms, imitation “beef” broth, and hearty chunks of tender potatoes for a meal to remember.
If you love my other vegan mushroom recipes, you’ll love this soul-nourishing vegetable stew!
Ingredients for Vegan Stew
Just like my other popular vegetable stew recipes, you’ll need just a few basic components to make this veggie stew:
- Mirepoix: A classic trio of yellow onion, celery, and carrots creates a flavorful foundation.
- Tomato paste: Toasted alongside the mirepoix to create a rich, well-bodied base for the red wine broth.
- Mushrooms: These hearty vegetables are the source of the “beef-like” texture in this stew. For the best umami flavor, I recommend cremini mushrooms, or other brown mushrooms, such as shiitake or portobello mushrooms. White button mushrooms are better suited for lighter dishes.
- Flour: Helps to thicken the stew and makes the broth extra rich and luxurious.
- Spices and herbs: I use a blend of smoked paprika, freshly ground black pepper, a bay leaf, and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. If you’re in a pinch, a teaspoon of dried thyme will do the trick.
- Red wine: I recommend a dry red wine, such as Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. Both will complement the smooth texture of the broth and add rich flavor.
- Potatoes: Use thin-skinned potatoes such as Yukon gold here. They’ve got the best creamy, buttery texture and will help thicken the stew as they simmer. Plus, they don’t require any peeling!
- Broth: For the best, authentic hearty vegan stew, use a vegan beef-flavored vegetable broth. These broths are more savory than your standard veggie broth and will make a huge difference in flavor.
How to Make Vegan Vegetable Stew
- Sauté onions until translucent and slightly golden. Add the tomato paste, carrots, celery, and mushrooms and cook until edges are seared.
- Stir in the flour and spices. Deglaze the pot with red wine, scraping the bottom of the pot to get the browned bits into the broth.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve while warm as is, or with fresh parsley and additional toppings of choice.
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- Sauté the mushrooms for a minimum of 5 full minutes. This helps the mushrooms to release moisture and develop a rich, concentrated flavor. Shortening this step will reduce the intensity of flavor and take away from the final taste of this vegan mushroom stew!
- Use a large pot or heavy-bottomed dutch oven. For ample space, use a pot that can comfortably hold 5 to 6 quarts of liquid for this vegetable stew.
Serving Suggestions
Aside from a hunk of crusty bread, this hearty vegetable stew is best served with simple sides such as this Everyday Kale Salad, Vegan Cornbread, or 15-Minute Garlic Green Beans. If you’re craving an extra boost of vegan protein, serve with a side of this Smoky Marinated Tofu or Baked Tempeh!
If you’re looking for more vegan soups and stews, you’ll also love this Vegan Zuppa Toscana, Classic Lentil Soup, and this Creamy Wild Rice Mushroom Soup (Vegan).
How to Store Vegan Stew
For optimal freshness, leftover vegan stew will keep best in an airtight 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 liquid expansion.
The next day, reheat leftover stew in a microwave safe bowl or in a pot over medium heat until warm.
Substitutions and Variations
- Gluten-free option: Swap the all-purpose flour for equal parts of a gluten-free flour blend or brown rice flour.
- Oil-free option: Replace the avocado oil or olive oil with a splash of vegetable broth or water. Add additional broth as needed to deglaze the pan and prevent sticking.
- 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.
- Broth: Vegetable broth will work as a replacement for the vegan beef broth, but I’d recommend adding a small splash of soy sauce or tamari to taste to replace the salty, umami flavor in 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 this hearty 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.
I haven’t tested an Instant Pot or slow cooker version of this hearty vegan beef stew recipe, but you might like these similar Instant Pot recipes: Quick Vegan Minestrone Soup, Instant Pot Potato Spinach Soup, or this Instant Pot Black Bean Soup.
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
When I first went through the ingredients, I was doubtful that I would like this recipe. I was wrong, I loved it! Flavorful and filling, I highly recommend it.
Glad you enjoyed it, Gene!