Hearty and delicious, this vegan Vegetable Stew is made with a rich, flavorful homemade broth and tender veggies. Gluten-free.
The secret to a mouthwatering Vegan Vegetable Stew recipe lies in the foundation — the deep umami broth. Here, we show you how to make a quick, rich, homemade broth that imparts a big depth of flavor for an extra notch of savoriness.
It is so tasty and easy! While the broth simmers, you can prep the veggies. This stew is made with winter vegetables, tender potatoes, earthy mushrooms, and sweet carrots. These common ingredients blend beautifully with fresh rosemary as they simmer together in the delicious broth. Comforting and homey for a healthy vegan take on beef stew.
Why You’ll Love This
- Wholesome, simple ingredients. Familiar vegetables come together in this memorable veggie stew.
- Vegan and gluten-free. This dairy-free stew is made with whole foods, making it incredibly nutritious.
- Comforting and homey! A cozy, heart-warming homemade broth with tender, hearty vegetables that will make your home smell amazing!
Ingredients
- Veggies: onions, shallot, garlic, mushrooms, carrots, potatoes, celery.
- Herbs: fresh rosemary, fresh parsley, thyme, marjoram, peppercorns, bay leaves.
- Seasonings: salt, shiitake powder (or dried shiitakes), Worcestershire sauce (Wizard brand is vegan and gluten-free), cocoa powder, soy sauce.
- Red Wine: this fortifies the broth. Use what you like to drink.
- Balsamic vinegar: or use sherry vinegar.
- Molasses: gives a rich iron-like flavor that gives a lot of depth to the broth.
- Tomato Paste: can also use tomato sauce (double the amount).
*See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to Make Vegetable Stew
For the “beefy” Vegetable Broth: Sear carrots, mushrooms, shallots, and garlic. You want to veggies to be dark golden brown at least on one side.
Add wine, water, shiitake powder (or dried whole shiitakes or mushroom powder), cocoa powder, molasses, salt, peppercorns, bay leaf, and parsley stems. Simmer for 25 minutes uncovered. Strain the broth. It will be around 3 cups of liquid. Make the broth a few days ahead for faster dinner prep. Option for a thicker broth, blend the veggie into the liquid.
For the stew: Saute the onions until golden add in garlic and mushrooms. Add balsamic, tomato paste, Worcestershire, carrots, herbs, salt, pepper, and potatoes.
Add in strained broth (should be about 3 cups). Simmer together for 20-25 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Remove from heat and garnish with parsley.
Optional additions: stir in a cup of frozen peas, or a few handfuls of baby spinach after removing from heat.
How to Serve Vegetable Stew
You can enjoy Vegetable Stew on its own, with some warm, crusty bread, or over a bed of steamed whole grains. Here are some sides that go great with this recipe!
- Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Baguette
- Soft Sourdough Rolls
- Butternut Squash Dinner Rolls
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
- Endive Apple Salad
- Beet & Goat Cheese Salad
Expert Tips
- Make the homemade broth! This is a quick and easy broth, and it is SO worth making from scratch for optimal flavor.
- Use what vegetables you have. In a pinch, you can bring this stew together with the veggies you already have on hand.
- Save on cooking time. To save time, make the broth in advance!
- Add a pop of green! Stir in green peas or turn the heat off and stir in fresh greens like spinach.
- Simmer longer. If you have the time, simmer the broth and the veggies for longer to develop richer flavor.
FAQs
Yes, you can just use 3 cups of vegan “beef” broth to substitute for homemade broth if in a hurry. But we highly encourage you to make this broth!
We use onions, celery, carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes. You could also use cauliflower, yams, turnips, rutabegas, parsnips or winter squash.
Vegetable Stew uses less liquid than soup. This makes it very versatile to serve over steamed grains or over mashed potatoes!
This stew comes out to a nice texture. However, you can remove some of the liquid and simply reduce it then add it back in to the stew or stir in all-purpose flour (mixed with vegan butter or olive oil) if you prefer a thicker consistency in the sauce.
Make Ahead & Storage
To meal prep this recipe, simply make the broth ahead of time. Store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator until ready to make the rest of the recipe.
Cool completely, then store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can freeze this recipe for 2-3 months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Hope you love this hearty Vegetable Stew as much as we do! Please remember to rate the recipe and share your comments below.
More Delicious Stew Recipes
Vegetable Stew Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 5 cups 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Hearty and delicious this vegan Vegetable Stew is made with a rich flavorful homemade broth and tender veggies. Gluten-free.
Ingredients
Broth
- 1 shallot or 1/2 of an onion
- 1 carrot
- 4 crimini mushrooms
- 1/2 head of garlic
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 4 cups water
- 2 teaspoons shiitake powder or mushroom powder or 6 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon raw cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons molasses
- 1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley stems
Stew
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 ounces of mushrooms, baby bellas, or crimini, cut in 1/4 inch slices
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire (use Wizard brand for vegan and gluten-free) optional
- 1–2 teaspoons soy sauce (we use low sodium)
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 5 carrots, chopped in 1-inch chunks
- 1 pound potatoes red or yukon gold potatoes, cut into large chunks
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- For the “beefy” Vegetable Broth: Chop one carrot in half lengthwise and in 2-inch chunks, cut the shallot in thick slices widthwise, and cut the mushrooms in half. In a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot, sear carrots, mushrooms, and shallot in olive oil, cut side down over medium heat for 5 minutes without stirring. Cut the garlic head in half add to the pot and sear for 5 minutes more. You want to veggies to be dark golden brown at least on one side.
- Add wine and cook for 3 minutes at a simmer. Add water, shiitake powder (or dried whole shiitakes or mushroom powder), cocoa powder, molasses, salt, peppercorns, bay leaf and parsley stems. Simmer for 25 minutes uncovered. Strain the broth. It will be around 3 cups of liquid. (This can be made a few days ahead.) Option for a thicker broth; blend the veggies into the liquid, first discarding garlic skins, peppercorns, bay leaf, and parsley stems (or chop stems small before simmering or blending).
- Make the Stew: In a large pot over heat olive oil over medium high heat, saute the onion for 5 minutes until golden. Add garlic and mushrooms and saute until mushrooms wilt slightly. Add balsamic stir for one minute and add tomato paste, Worcestershire, soy sauce, celery, carrots, herbs, salt, pepper, and potatoes.
- Add in strained broth (should be about 3 cups). Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer together for 20-25 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Remove from heat and garnish with parsley.
Optional additions: stir in a cup of frozen peas, or a few handfuls of baby spinach after removing from heat.
Notes
Storage: Once leftovers have cooled completely, store in the fridge in a sealed airtight container.
Yes, you can just use 3 cups of vegan “beef” broth to substitute for homemade broth if in a hurry. But we highly encourage to make this broth!
Option for thickening the stew when using just the strained broth: This stew comes out to a nice texture. However, you can remove some of the liquid and simply reduce it then add it back in to the stew or stir in all-purpose flour (mixed with vegan butter or olive oil).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 261
- Sugar: 16.9 g
- Sodium: 517.5 mg
- Fat: 1.1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 54 g
- Fiber: 10.2 g
- Protein: 7.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Not really good flavor on this. The balsamic might have been why, but this really didn’t work for me. It was disappointing because it really looked and smelled delicious. Just not a hit for me.
oh shoot! Did you make the broth?
Delicious, very hearty stew. I’m trying to do plant based but missing chicken and beef broth in dishes, this recipe left me satisfied. I thickened it up by blending some carrots and potatoes with some broth in the blender.
Awesome Lorri, great to hear!
So beefy tasting!!! It’s a wonder! I really enjoyed this one especially with the chunky potatoes. I added peas and served it with a slice of toasted sourdough, plus some salted edamame on the side. Perfection!!! I also could only find fresh shiitakes, so after I made the broth I seared them and threw him in with some pasta 🙂
Sounds yummy Angeli!
My guests and I were amazed by the depth and richness of the flavors. I gave the broth veggies (without bay leaf and garlic) to my dogs, but next time I will puree and add back in the next time I make this. My only issue was that the potatoes took a long time to soften. But so worth the wait!
That is a great idea with the broth, I will add that to the recipe notes. Glad you enjoyed! I suppose potato varieties vary on cooking time, depending on the season and location.
Sooooooo savory, umami, rich and delicious! I have never made a bad recipe from this website and this one is amazing too!!!
Yay! We really appreciate your review Korina!
Amazing.
Wow what a flavorful broth! I had a couple of questions while making this stew. When do I add the celery and the soy sauce, and how should I best chop the 8oz of mushrooms? Thanks! Love this recipe.
I added these missing details to the recipe. Thanks Amy, so glad you enjoyed!
Very yummy! After I made and strained the broth, I removed the bay leaf, pureed the ingredients (since they still had some flavor to them), and added them back into the stew for additional thickening.
Next time, I will double the sauce so I have it on hand when I make this again.
Love that Leslie, great ideas!
Wow! You’re not kidding about this broth- it is so full bodied and rich! I can think of lots of ways to use it. The stew is delicious!!
Is there a good sub for the wine?
This sounds delicious!
You could do beer but if you are skipping alcohol altogether, just add a couple of tablespoons of balsamic.
Thank you!
Love your recipes!
Hi,can I hust say that Worcester sauce is NOT gluten free although you can get gf Worcester sauce, but you don’t specify that in your recipe so this could potentially catch some gluten intolerant/coeliac’s out or even people that think they are cooking gf for someone who is coeliac
Thanks for the important suggestion Pauline. The vegan brand we suggest is also gluten free.
Very Tasty! The broth is incredible. I did add a pinch of smoked salt and a teaspoon of chipotle in adobo puree to give a bit of smoke and heat. I also like to use potato starch to thicken, as it results in a clear glossy finish. I am a meat eater, but did not miss it at all!
Glad you gave it a try Joseph! Love the additions.
A teaspoon of mustard powder to this recipe adds another depth?
If you like that spicy kick, go for it! I find mustard powder strong so I personally would start with less and add more to taste.