Vegan Mushroom Stew is a hearty stew that will warm you through, especially on an unexpectedly chilly day! Bonus: it’s full of veggies, and you won’t miss the meat.
It may be April, but Mother Nature is playing a cruel joke on New England, hitting us with snow, freezing rain, and everything in between. Just as I started to thaw from the winter freeze, and my beautiful hyacinths started to bloom, we got this. I’m just so. done. with. this. weather.
However, we’re turning lemons into lemonade (or perhaps the better analogy would be “snow into snow cones”) over here at White Coat Pink Apron. I thought I missed the opportunity to post this amazing vegan Mushroom Stew on the blog, assuming it was too warm to make something so hearty. Not so! The cold weather is back, however brief, and you should dig out your heaviest Dutch oven and get cracking on this delicious dish.
Mushroom Stew is, as the name indicates, a mushroom-based stew. Mushrooms sub for meat in this flavorful and completely vegan dish. The usual aromatics–carrots, celery, onion, garlic–create the vegetable base for the soup. I added Brussels sprouts because I had them, and I love them, so why not. The broth, though, is what really makes the dish. Umami overflows from the combination of mushroom broth (with miso), vegetable bouillon, and tomato paste. So much yum in just one pot!
I love this Mushroom Stew because you really, really don’t miss the meat. Not at all. With so many vegetables in a rich, hearty sauce, it’s hard to even notice that this dish is completely vegan! While the number of ingredients may seem off-putting, the methods are easy. You can eyeball most of the measurements, add what you’d like, and omit some of the veggies you might not like. Though I’m partial to my version with my homemade mushroom broth, you can substitute a good quality store bought version, if you’d like.
Mushroom Stew is warm, rich, comforting, and vegan. This batch makes about 6 servings, which keep well in the fridge for a few days, or in the freezer for months. Double the recipe if you like to cook in bulk, and freeze portions for lazy weeks.
Tag me if you make it!
Mushroom Stew
Vegan Mushroom Stew is a hearty stew that will warm you through, especially on an unexpectedly chilly day! Bonus: it's full of veggies, and you won't miss the meat.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and roughly diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 1 1/2 cup diced onions
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 lb baby Brussels sprouts, washed, left whole or cut in half, if desired
- 10-16 oz cremini mushrooms, cut into halves or quarters (if large) (if you'd like more mushrooms, you can use the full 16 oz. Otherwise, 10 oz is sufficient)
- 1 tbsp vegetarian bouillon (I like Better than Bouillon)
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 4 cups mushroom broth
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (can substitute about 1/2 tsp dried)
- 10 baby boomer potatoes, halves (can substitute about 1 cup of red or new potatoes, cut into large bite-sized pieces)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- salt to taste
Instructions
-
In a 5 quart heavy pot or Dutch oven, add the olive oil and heat over medium for 1 minute. Add carrot, celery, and onion, and a dash of salt. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-
Add garlic, Brussels sprouts, and mushrooms, and saute another 5 minutes. Add bouillon and tomato paste, and stir. Add wine, and stir, scraping bits off the bottom of the pan.
-
Add mushroom broth and thyme sprigs, cover, and simmer over medium for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-
Remove lid, and add 2 cups water and potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are cooked through, covered, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the woody stems of the thyme sprigs.
-
In a small bowl, combine cornstarch with 1/4 cup water and whisk to combine into a slurry. Pour into the stew and stir well to combine. Cook over medium for another 1-2 minutes until the stew thickens. Add frozen peas, and stir. Add salt to taste, and serve.
Recipe Notes
This stew will surely taste great if you change the proportions of the vegetables. Like carrots? Add more! Want more mushrooms? That's fine, too! You can even play around with a variety of mushrooms, maybe using button, shiitake, and portobellos. You can omit Brussels sprouts if you don't have them, or could replace them with something else (butternut squash? sweet potatoes? really, anything goes).
If you like a thicker stew, you can add more cornstarch/water slurry; just mix it up in a 1:1 ratio, and slowly add it in, stirring and cooking through, to reach your desired consistency.
Note: calorie information is approximate
Leave a Reply