Vegetarian Beef Stew (Vegan)
This Vegetarian Beef Stew is hearty, cozy, and so flavorful! It is made in one pot for an easy and healthy dinner. This Vegan beef stew is incredibly rich and filling! Great for an easy dinner, meal prep, and leftovers.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This Vegan beef stew comes together quickly and easily.
- It is a healthy dinner for both kids and adults.
- A meat substitute can be used or omitted.
- The veggies are soft, tender, and melt in your mouth delicious.
- This cozy recipe can be made on the stovetop in a Dutch oven, or in a slow cooker or Instant Pot.
- For the version with meat, see this Whole30 Beef Stew or this Oxtail Stew Recipe.
- This recipe is Whole30 approved, Paleo, gluten free, dairy free, Vegan, and sugar free.
Ingredients & Substitutions
The onions, carrots, and potatoes are at the heart of this Vegetarian beef stew. Finely chop onion. I prefer chopped large carrots, but baby carrots work too. Red potatoes are my favorite, but use your favorite potato. Sweet potato would be delicious too!
Vegetable broth adds heartiness and flavor to this stew. In addition, the balsamic vinegar adds so much flavor!
The ground thyme, ground pepper and minced garlic make this stew extra tasty. Feel free to adjust proportions to suit your taste.
Fresh parsley adds some freshness and color to this beef stew. Feel free to omit if desired.
Variations & Add Ins
Since this beef stew is actually beefless and contains no meat, there are several ingredients that can be added.
Meat substitutes like tofu, beyond meat, or Seitan (not gluten free) can be added. Since I am gluten free, I have not personally tried these.
Veggies like celery and mushrooms are great to add! Add any additional veggies when carrots and potatoes are added.
How to Make
Step 1
First, add diced onion, minced garlic and olive oil to Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until onions are softened.
Step 2
Add in chopped carrots and potatoes. Place lid on top. Cook for 5 minutes or until veggies are softened.
Step 3
Then, add in remaining ingredients except fresh parsley. Place lid on top. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes on medium heat.
Step 4
Finally, remove from heat and ladle into bowls. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
Slow Cooker Method
Add all ingredients except fresh parsley to slow cooker.
Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or on high for 2 to 3 hours.
Remove from heat and ladle into bowls. Finally, garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
Instant Pot Method
Add diced onion, olive oil and minced garlic to Instant Pot. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes.
Then, press cancel. Add remaining ingredients except fresh parsley to Instant Pot.
Secure lid. Pressure cook on high for 12 minutes.
Allow pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes. Then, carefully manually release remaining pressure.
Remove lid and ladle into bowls. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
Expert Tips & Tricks
Continue cooking stew until veggies are soft and tender. This is key! To test veggies, stick a fork in them. If they are fork tender, then they are done cooking. If not, continue cooking until fork tender.
The potato skin adds texture and flavor. Feel free to peel potatoes if desired.
Adjust seasonings to suit your tastebuds.
For an extra thick broth, remove 1/4 cup broth from skillet or pan once veggies are cooked. Stir in 1 tablespoon tapioca flour. Then, pour this slurry back into skillet. Stir to thicken.
How to Serve & Store
Serve Vegetarian beef stew hot! It is meant to be a warm and hearty meal.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month.
To reheat, thaw and then cook in a skillet over medium until warmed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Meat substitutes like tofu and beyond meat can be used. Additionally, mushrooms can be added.
A good broth, hearty fresh veggies, and spices and seasonings add flavor to beef stew.
For a Vegan and Vegetarian stew, use vegetable broth.
Yes! See above for instructions.
To thicken broth, remove 1/4 cup of broth from skillet or pot. Stir in 1 tablespoon tapioca flour (or cornstarch or arrowroot powder). Then, pour this mixture back into skillet. Stir to thicken.
You May Also Like
If you make this Vegan beef stew recipe, I would really appreciate a review! You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. I would love for you to follow along!
Get the Recipe: Vegetarian Beef Stew (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 4 large carrots, sliced
- 1 pound potatoes, cubed
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp ground thyme
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- fresh parsley, to garnish
Instructions
- First, dice onion. Add diced onion, minced garlic and olive oil to a Dutch oven or large skillet over medium heat.
- Cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until onions are tender.
- Cut up carrots and cube potatoes. Then, add carrots and potatoes to Dutch oven. Place lid on top.
- Cook for 5 minutes or until veggies are soft.
- Add remaining ingredients (except fresh parsley) to the Dutch oven. Place lid on top. Simmer on medium for 15 to 20 minutes or until veggies are fork tender.
- Finally, remove from heat and ladle stew into bowls. Garnish with fresh parsley.
Notes
- Feel free to add your favorite meat substitute into this stew.
- Mushrooms would be a great addition to this recipe. If using, add to the stew when adding in carrots and potatoes.
- Peel potatoes if desired. I recommend keeping some skin on to add texture.
- Adjust spices and seasonings to your taste.
- See blog post above for Instant Pot and slow cooker instructions.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freeze for up to 1 month.
- To reheat, thaw and then add to a skillet over medium heat until warmed.
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9 Comments on “Vegetarian Beef Stew (Vegan)”
Yum, love a good stew, perfect winter comfort food when its cold outside! This would be great with some crusty bread to mop up the juices.
This looks so comforting and hardy! My favourite part of Fall is eating meals like this again. I can’t wait to try it!
Yesss! I’m loving everything about this dish and am so glad there’s an instant pot version. Soup season is approaching us and I’m excited!
you are right its hearty and tasty. go to food for everyday meatless meals
I need this right now! So hearty and delicious!
This was perfect for our meatless monday meal!
This beef stew has great flavor and is very hearty. This will be great all winter long. Thanks for the great recipe!!
Yum! This beef stew was so delicious! There were so many heavy flavor notes that I loved! So cozy!
This was awful. How come this is called beef stew? It tastes nothing like it.