Easy Vegan Mushroom Stew

Easy vegan mushroom stew, with lots of vegetables and flavour! You only need simple ingredients and 25 minutes for a perfect meatless dinner that will have you coming back for seconds. Gluten-free and oil-free. 

I really have a thing for soups and stews at the moment. Especially of the hearty, rich and savoury variety. They’re healthy, but taste great pretty much every time even with the simplest cooking techniques. Plus in my opinion, nothing beats a comforting stew served over rice or mashed potatoes after a long day!

So, here we have a favourite easy vegan mushroom stew recipe of mine. This one is for all the veggie lovers out there, but also veggie sceptics because it really is that tasty!

Easy vegan mushroom stew

This mushroom stew is a recipe I make all the time for dinner. What I love about it is that it’s a perfect option for batch cooking. Make a huge portion, divide between containers, and you have lunch or dinner ready to go for 3-4 days. Also this is one of those meals that tastes even better the day after you make it!

Vegetable based meals may have a bit of a reputation for being boring or flavourless. Here, that couldn’t be further from the truth! This vegetable stew recipe is savoury and rich, and every forkful bursts with variety. The cooking process really helps bring out the natural flavours of the veggies, with the mushrooms adding a ‘meaty’ texture to act as a great meat replacement in this dinner.

Vegetable stew ingredients and substitutions

• Red onion. White onion works as well.
• Smoked paprika.
• Cumin.
• Turmeric.
• Cabbage.
• Carrot.
• Red bell pepper.
• Chestnut mushrooms. I prefer these to ordinary button mushrooms because they have a much better flavour.
• Chopped tomatoes.
• Vegetable broth/stock.
• Plant based milk. Use any unsweetened variety.
• Tomato paste.
• Nutritional yeast. Optional, but helps to add a nice ‘cheesy’ flavour.
• Coconut sugar. Maple syrup works too.
• Lemon juice.
• Tamari. Use soy sauce if not avoiding gluten, or coconut aminos for a soy-free option.
• Buckwheat flour. I like this for thickening the stew, but you can use normal gluten-free flour or cornstarch.
• Kale. Spinach works really well too.
• Mashed avocado, to serve.

How to make a vegan mushroom stew

Start by adding the red onion to a large non-stick frying pan or saucepan together with the paprika, cumin and turmeric. Add a splash of water and sauté for 2-3 minutes to soften.

Add the cabbage, carrot, bell pepper, and mushrooms. Sauté for a further 4-5 minutes, until the vegetables cook down.

Pour in the chopped tomatoes, vegetable broth and plant based milk. Stir through the tomato paste and simmer over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes.

Add nutritional yeast, coconut sugar, lemon juice and tamari and simmer for a further 5 minutes, stirring and adding more vegetable broth if it looks too dry.

Stir in the buckwheat flour and kale. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the stew thickens and the kale wilts. Serve immediately, or store in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.

You will love this vegan stew!

It is …

• Flavourful.
• Intensely savoury and rich.
• Packed full of vegetables.
• Ready in under 25 minutes.
• Simple.
• Easy and beginner-friendly.
• Gluten-free.
• Oil-free.
• Great for meal prep.

Tips and tricks

• This recipe is super versatile! Add whatever vegetables you have in the fridge to really make it your own and use up any leftovers.
• You can also add a plant based protein source, such as beans, tofu or tempeh.
• Serve this dish over vegan mashed potatoes, or with vegan cornbread on the side.

Other vegan soup and stew recipes

• Vegan french onion soup.
• Curry soup with tofu.
• Chunky potato soup.
• Butter bean sweet potato stew.
• Borscht.

Let me know in the comments: what’s your go-to simple recipe? If you give this easy vegan mushroom stew a go, be sure to tag me on Instagram (@earthofmariaa) so I can see your creations, and leave your feedback in the comments below!