Ultimate Hearty Vegetable Stew Recipe - Yup, it's Vegan (2024)

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Thick and hearty vegetable stew that’s naturally gluten-free and vegan! Use your favorite vegetables in this flavorful, savory, comforting recipe!

Even though it’s May now, I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to comfort food and have been playing around with this thick and hearty vegetable stew over the past couple of weeks.

To make a long story short, it all started when I did an experimental 48-hour fast, and needed a hearty meal to break the fast with that would be easy on my stomach but still nutritious. In addition to being packed with vitamins and fiber, root vegetables are an awesome post-fast choice, in case you ever find yourself in the same situation! Throw them into this veggie stew and you’ll be good to go!

There is a certain kind of vegetable stew recipe that you can find on the internet: potato and carrot based; roux thickened; flavored with tomato and wine. Mine is the same general idea, but this version has a little bit of a Shannon spin on it and I think you’ll enjoy it!

I used whole grain brown rice flour to thicken the soup and give it an added boost of nutrition, but you should be able to use almost any flour that you’d like.

I noticed that most vegetable stews call for about a cup of red wine. I love the notes that wine adds to this hearty vegan stew, but because the seasonings are simple, I feel that a smaller amount of white wine lets you enjoy the flavor of the vegetables more, and gives the dish a little bit of Mediterranean flair.

This stew contains a whole quartet of my favorite ingredients to boost umami. Tomato paste, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, and marmite – the latter two being increasingly optional. I wanted to capture that super savory flavor that meat-based stews tend to have, but provide it to you in a vegan “beef” stew.

(To that end, this dish is great with vegan beef-less pieces – such as Gardein tenders, or re-hydrated TVP chunks – added.)

Hearty Vegetable Stew

A classic vegetable stew with my own little spin on it! Hearty and rich, full of umami flavor, you'll love this stew in winter or any time of year!

Course Main Course, Soup, stew

Ingredients

For the saute mixture:

3 tbsp olive oil (or vegan butter)
1 onion diced
2 stalks celery thinly sliced
2 carrots thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic minced

For the roux and deglazing mixture:

ground black pepper to taste
3 tbsp fresh rosemary, thyme and sage finely chopped (3 tbsp total, see note)
1/4 cup brown rice flour (or flour of choice)
1/4 cup white wine
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (I use vegan "chicken" broth)

For the rest of the vegetable stew:

1 medium sweet potato cubed (about 2 cups)
4 small Yukon gold or red potatoes cubed (about 2 cups)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp soy sauce (use tamari to keep this strictly gluten-free)
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp marmite (optional)
1 cup frozen peas
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt to taste (I use about 1 tsp)

Instructions

Add the olive oil to a large pot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion, celery, and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 7-9 minutes or until the onion is softened. Add the garlic, black pepper, and fresh herbs, and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the flour slowly while stirring the vegetables to coat them with it. Once all of the flour is added, cook for about 1 minute while constantly stirring. Very slowly add the white wine and vegetable broth, about 1/4 cup at a time, stirring continuously so that the liquid and flour are incorporated with no lumps.
Stir in the potato, sweet potato, tomato paste, soy sauce, nutritional yeast, liquid smoke, and marmite. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and stew is thickened, 20-30 minutes.
Stir in the frozen peas and red wine vinegar, and cook for another 5 minutes or until peas are warm. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and additional vinegar if desired. Serve hot.

Video

Notes

FRESH HERBS: I buy the "Poultry Blend" packet at my grocery store, which contains thyme, rosemary and sage, and use equal amounts of each. You can mix and match depending on what you prefer and is available; I use 1 tbsp of each herb. The total should be 3 tablespoons.

Nutrition

More stew recipes that are big on veggies:

Glowing Moroccan Vegetable Stew

Turmeric Chickpea Stew

Real Deal Vegan Chili