As soon as the temperature drops hearty warming meals are called for, and this vegetarian stew is perfect for a filling and warming dinner. Button mushrooms and root vegetables cooked in a rich red wine sauce make this vegetable stew a delicious cosy dinner!
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Being Irish, I grew up having beef stew at least once a week during the colder months. There was nothing better than coming home from school to a big bowl of piping hot stew with creamy mashed potatoes! Since we went vegetarian I made it my mission to make a really good veg stew that the whole family would love.
This vegetable stew recipe is the closest thing to those stews I grew up with. It's rich, filling and so tasty! Everything a good stew should be. This root vegetable and mushroom stew is all of those things and more. And it's really easy to make!
📝 What Do We Need
- Root Vegetables - I use carrots, parsnips and swede, also known as rutabaga or neeps.
- Mushrooms - Button mushrooms are great in this stew, I use chestnut button mushrooms which are similar to crimini mushrooms. You could also use baby bellas or white button mushrooms.
- Herbs - I use fresh rosemary and thyme for this veggie stew and a couple of dried bay leaves.
- Stock + Wine - I use a vegan vegetable bouillon to make my stock and a red wine to make the sauce. You could use a good non-alcoholic red wine if you wish.
- Henderson's Relish - this is an English sauce, it looks like Worcestershire sauce, but is a relish, not a condiment. It has a distinctive sharp, spicy, yet sweet taste. If you can't find this you could use vegan Worcestireshire sauce.
- Flour - To get that lovely rich sauce you will need to use plain (all-purpose) flour. If you need to you could use a gluten-free flour or leave it out, you will have a thinner sauce though.
🔪 How To Make It
1. Heat the oil in a large dutch oven or stockpot. Add the chopped onion and celery and cook for 10 minutes, then add the chopped carrots and cook for another 10 minutes. Once the onion is soft add all the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes.
2. Once the mushrooms have released some of their juices add the garlic, rosemary and thyme, cook for a minute then stir in the tomato puree (paste), soy sauce and vegan Worcestershire sauce. Then add the flour, stir until the flour is absorbed.
3. Now pour in all the wine, stir it into the vegetables and cook for a minute or two. You should have a thick sauce now.
4. Add the parsnips and swede (rutabaga), stir so they are covered in the sauce.
5. Now pour in all the stock, stir well then season with salt and black pepper. Add the bay leaves now too.
6. Finally, bring the stew to a boil then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 45-50 minutes. You should have a rich slightly thick sauce and all the vegetables should be cooked through. Remove the bay leaves and serve in bowls with mashed potatoes or bread.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
- Cooking the onions - I know it seems like a long time to cook the onions but it really makes a difference to the flavour of the stew. Cooking the onions longer over a low heat until soft reduces the acidity of the onions and makes them sweeter. This adds so much flavour to the stew. So I recommend cooking them for at least 20 minutes.
- Wine - the wine makes this stew so I recommend using it. I used a Malbec but you can use whatever red you like. If you are serving this to young children then you could omit the wine as no matter how long you cook this you will not "cook-off" all the alcohol. To replace the wine I would add a little more stock and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar.
- Root Vegetables - Make sure and cut the swede (rutabaga) into equal bite-size pieces. The carrots and parsnips should also be cut into equally sized pieces, this will ensure that the vegetables cook at the same time.
- Mushrooms - Bigger mushrooms should be cut in half and smaller mushrooms left whole. Again, this will ensure even cooking.
📌 Variations/Substitution
- Add more veggies - you can definately add more veggies to this stew, try adding leeks, turnips or butternut squash.
- Add some protein - you could up the protein of this vegetable stew by adding in some red or puy lentils. You could also add chickpeas, kidney beans or black beans.
- Add in some greens - try adding kale or baby spinach to this to add some greens. Cabbage would also work, my mum just to sneak that into our stews when I was a kid!
- Skip the mash and add potatoes - you could add potatoes to the stew of you wanted to make this an easy one pot meal. Add them when you add the other vegetables and make sure they are cut into bitesize pieces to ensure they cook ar the same time as the other veggies.
- Add a little marmite - if you are a fan of marmite or veggiemite then you could add a teaspoon to the stew, this will give it a little extra flavour.
🍽 How To Serve It
We love this served with a generous serving of mashed potatoes, you could go all out and serve it with some very tasty cheesy mashed potatoes. You could also serve this stew with a side of soda bread if you want to skip the potatoes. It's best to leave this cool slightly before serving as it will be piping hot!
📖 FAQS
If you prefer your stew even thicker then you could thicken it by using a cornflour (cornstarch) slurry. Mix a teaspoon or two of cornstarch with a little water, you should have a paste or slurry. Add that to the stew and stir the stew until it thickens.
Yes, you can. Let the stew cool then transfer to a suitable container and pop it in the freezer. Use within 3 months. Thaw the stew overnight then reheat until piping hot on the hob, or in the microwave.
Once cooled any leftovers can be stored covered in the fridge, they should be used within 3 days. Leftovers can be reheated on the hob or in the microwave.
🍽 More Warming Veggie Dinners
We love our comfort food especially when the weather gets cooler. One of our all-time favourites is my Vegan Sausage Casserole, it's warming and filling and so easy to make. Another family favourite is my Vegetable Pot Pie, this is perfect for a cosy Sunday lunch! And if you fancy a really cosy pasta dish my creamy Mushroom Stroganoff is exactly that, cosy and delicious!
Hearty Vegetarian Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium brown onion roughly chopped
- 2 stalks of celery roughly chopped
- 3 medium carrots peeled and sliced, if the carrots are big cut the slices in half
- 350 g (4½ cups) button chestnut mushrooms (crimini mushrooms) leave the smaller mushrooms whole and cut bigger mushrooms in half
- ¾ tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
- ½ tbsp thyme leaves
- 2 cloves of garlic put through a garlic press or finely minced
- 1 heaped tbsp tomato puree (paste)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce I used light soy sauce
- 1 tsp Henderson's relish or vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 35 g (⅓ cup) plain flour (all-purpose flour)
- 160 ml (1 glass) of red wine I used malbec
- 2 medium parsnips peeled then cut into equally sized slices
- 250 g (1 ¾ cups) swede (rutabaga) peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
- 800 ml (3 ⅓ cups) stock made using vegan vegetable bouillon
- 2 dried bay leaves
- ½ tsp sea salt more if needed
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large dutch oven or stockpot.Add the chopped onion and chopped celery along with a pinch of sea salt and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.After 10 minutes add the carrots and cook for another 10 minutes. Stir often so the onion doesn't burn.Prepare the vegetables while the onions are cooking.
- Next, turn up the heat to medium and add all the mushrooms to the pot, stir well and cook for about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms start to release some of their juices.Then add 2 cloves of garlic, that have been put through a garlic press or finely minced. Add ¾ tablespoon of chopped rosemary and ½ a tablespoon of thyme leaves. Stir well and cook for a minute.
- Once you can smell the garlic and herbs add 1 heaped tablespoon of tomato puree (paste) along with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of Henderson's relish or vegan Worcestershire sauce. Stir the puree and sauces into the vegetables and cook for a minute.
- Now add the flour to the pot, stir until it is absorbed.Then pour the wine, stir it into the vegetables and you should now have a thick sauce. Now add the parsnips and swede and give everything a good stir.Next pour in the stock, give it another stir then add the remaining salt and black pepper. Add the 2 dried bay leaves then reduce the heat to low and simmer the stew uncovered for 45 - 50 minutes stirring occasionally to avoid anything sticking to the bottom of the pan. Check the seasoning after 30 minutes and add more salt and pepper if needed.The stew is done when you have a thick sauce and the vegetables are cooked through. Remove the bay leaves before serving.
Notes
- Onions - I know it seems like a long time to cook the onions but it really makes a difference to the flavour of the stew. Cooking the onions longer over low heat until soft reduces the acidity of the onions and makes them sweeter. This adds so much flavour to the stew. So I recommend cooking them for at least 20 minutes.
- Wine - red wine makes this stew so I recommend using it. I used a Malbec but you can use whatever red you like. If you are serving this to young children then you could omit the wine as no matter how long you cook this you will not "cook-off" all the alcohol. To replace the wine I would add a little more stock and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar.
- Root Vegetables - Make sure and cut the swede (rutabaga) into equal bite-size pieces. The carrots and parsnips should also be cut into equally sized pieces, this will ensure that the vegetables cook at the same time.
- Mushrooms - I use button chestnut mushrooms, similar to crimini mushrooms. You could also use baby Bellas or white button mushrooms. Bigger mushrooms should be cut in half and smaller mushrooms left whole. This will ensure even cooking.
- Stock - I make my stock using a vegan vegetable bouillon, I use 2 teaspoons of bouillon and 800 ml of boiling water.
- Freezing/Storing - Any leftover stew can be stored in the fridge once it has cooled. It should be eaten with 3 days. You can also freeze this stew if you wish. Once the stew has cooled transfer it to freezer-friendly containers and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight and reheat on the hob or in the microwave.
- Nutritional Information - is calculated using an online nutrition tool, it is approximate and does not include mash or bread. It is based on one serving of four.
- Weights and measurements - For US readers, I use Cuisipro measuring cups and spoons, and a Pyrex measuring jug for liquids. These are the industry standard. Cup/spoon volumes can differ from brand to brand, for accuracy, I recommend weighing all ingredients if possible for best results.
Lovely tasty filling dinner on a cold night got 3 in the freezer had with dumplings
Thank you
Hi Christine, I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed it.