This Old-Fashioned Vegan Stew is thick, hearty, and comforting. It's loaded with tons of veggies and smothered in a thick, creamy, savory broth. This vegan stew is great for dinner and tastes delicious reheated the next day too.
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This vegan stew is loaded with carrots, celery, potatoes, mushrooms, peas, and more. This has quickly become one of my all time favorite vegan stews. Give it a try and let me know how you enjoy it!
This Old-Fashioned Vegan Stew recipe is...
- An old-fashioned classic stew
- Loaded with nutrient-rich veggies
- Thickened with a roux base
- Made with flavorful fresh herbs
- Great for meal prepping
How to Make Old-Fashioned Vegan Stew
- Add oil to a pot. Cook onion and garlic on medium heat until translucent.
- Add potatoes, carrots, peas, and mushrooms, and cook.
- Add herbs, broth, tomatoes, soy sauce, and vinegar. Stir and bring to boil.
- Make cornstarch slurry and stir in to thicken soup.
- Turn down heat, cover, and let simmer.
Full directions for how to make Old-Fashioned Vegan Stew are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Tips & Tricks for Old-Fashioned Vegan Stew
Cutting the Vegetables
Make sure that when you are chopping the vegetables for this stew, you cut everything into true bite-size pieces. You don't want super large chunks of vegetables, as they will be hard to eat.
Sauté the Garlic & Onions
When you sauté the onion and garlic, it helps to really enhance the deep flavor of this vegan stew. The sautéed vegetables will give your stew a rich and hearty flavor. If you don't sauté the onions and garlic, as some people do to save time, you will find that they have a sharper flavor.
Use a Heavy Duty Pot
Using a Dutch oven or other heavy duty pot is great as it will provide an even cooking surface for the stew. Cast iron is a good choice as well. If your pot isn't sturdy, it can create hot spots and your veggies will vary in doneness.
Variations to Old-Fashioned Vegan Stew
Add Rice or Quinoa
Barley, rice, and quinoa are all great additions to this veggie-packed stew. Adding any of these grains will make your stew a lot heartier. I would recommend tossing some in if you feel you want a bit more depth.
Mix in Pasta
You can also add some vegan-friendly pasta to your stew. Just add it in at the end of the cooking time. Adding pasta will add more carbs to your soup but also allow the stew to stretch a bit more and feed a larger crowd.
Different Vegetables
You can mix in other varieties of veggies to your stew, as well. I used what I had on hand, but you can swap out different vegetables depending on what you have in your fridge and what's in season. For example, you could toss in some squash, zucchini or cauliflower!
Old-Fashioned Vegan Stew FAQs
How do you know when the stew is done?
You will know your stew is done when the potatoes are fork tender. When the potatoes are done, you can take your stew off the heat. However, I like to cook mine a bit longer as it helps blend the flavors even more.
Why add in the cornstarch slurry?
Cornstarch and water combined - referred to as a slurry - is a thickening agent used for thickening soups, stews, and more. I find that a cornstarch slurry is great for thickening dishes without altering the flavor of the recipes you are cooking.
How do you store leftovers?
Store your leftover stew in the fridge for 3-5 days. When you want some, you can simply warm it up in the microwave or over low heat on the stove. Just make sure to stir your stew periodically as it reheats- it will burn if left to simmer too long.
More Tasty Vegan Recipes
If you love this vegan stew, be sure to check out these other delicious ideas:
Also worth trying: our vegan creamy mushroom pasta.
Also worth trying: our yellow squash soup.
Also try: our Creamy Pasta And Butternut Squash Casserole.
- Vegan Sweet Potato Lentil Soup
- Vegan Comfort Food Casseroles
- Vegan Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili
- Or try our warming miso butternut squash soup for a Japanese-inspired twist.
And while you're here, don't forget to grab a copy of my free vegan cheat sheet. It's packed with all my favorite substitutions to vegan-ize any recipe!
Recipe
Old-Fashioned Vegan Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 large carrots sliced
- 2 stalks celery sliced
- 2 cups baby potatoes halved
- 1 cup white mushrooms sliced & quartered
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 19 oz diced tomatoes canned with garlic
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- small bunch fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoon water
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil, then add onion and garlic; sauté 3-4 minutes or until onion is translucent.
- Add the carrots, celery, baby potatoes, mushrooms, and peas into the pot.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the Italian seasoning, vegetable broth, diced tomatoes, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, and thyme. Stir and bring to a boil.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water to form a slurry mix. Add to the stew and stir.
- Turn heat down, cover pot, and simmer for 45 minutes or until veggies are tender.
- Serve.
Chrissie says
This stew was amazing, I added barley pearls and omg was it great! Definitely making this again thankyou 🙂
Charl says
I loved stew and wanted a vegan alternative to it. The tomatoes took over the dish in my opinion. Also, part boil the vege as the potatoes took FORVER to cook other than that really nice.
Amanda says
Absolutely delicious. I will definitely make this again many times throughout the winter ❤️
Anna says
Really easy and delicious! Making it again tonight 🙂
Thelma says
Made this stew few times now …. It’s a winner
Julianne says
Great recipe! Decadent, rich, and perfect for a cold day. I love how creamy it is. 100% will make again!
I've never used balsamic vinegar in soup before but omg it's amazing.
A few tweaks I will do next time:
-I would add a little more vegetable broth. 2 cups doesn't seem like nearly enough, especially as the stew reduces a little.
-Next time, I will add the tomatoes near the end of cooking. Sometimes the acidity from tomatoes can halt the cooking of the potatoes, carrots, celery, etc. I cooked my soup for over an hour and the potatoes and carrots never fully softened. Still good!
Deidra A Spencer says
Great tast, easy to make.
Amy S. says
This stew was so flavorful and savory. I used red potatoes cut into bite sized pieces and substituted 1 tsp dried thyme for fresh and the recipe turned out great. My partner eats meat and he was so impressed he went back for seconds. Will definitely be making this wonderful stew regularly.
Shana says
This was super yummy. Hubby loved it too. Going to add this to our winter rotation
Leigh Colby says
Can this be made in a crock pot?
Marcia says
This turned out amazing. I added lentils instead of frozen peas. I cooked the lentils for about 20 mins before adding it in. I will definitely make this again.
Jan I. says
Absolutely perfect. I doubled the recipe and there were no leftovers to be found. It was enjoyed by my vegan & non vegan guests. Very satisfying on a cool fall day. This will definitely be a repeat in my kitchen.
Jane says
Absolutely delicious. I’ve been looking for a really good stew recipe for ages and yours is the recipe. My husband and I enjoyed every mouthful and can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow I added a can of cannellini beans for a bit more protein and extra vegetables we had on hand. Wow! Thank you so much!
Allison McKean says
Very hearty dish! I used chopped kale, lentils and chopped red cabbage and it's simply delicious!
Paula says
Love love love this! I swap out the potato for parsnip. (due to medical reasons) It freezes well too, so I can enjoy it anytime!!
Erin says
Delicious and easy to make. My house smells amazing too!
Brooke says
This came out really good and I'll make it again. The flavors are rich and it's definitely a nice, thick stew. The only thing I did differently was to use more mushrooms than are called for, and I fried them to within an inch of their lives in vegan butter so that they were greatly reduced in size and dark brown and chewy.
Pa says
I make this all the time now! Yum! I'm giving the original recipe 5 stars. It's still 5 stars, due to my dietary restrictions, I swap out the potatoes for turnip. Thank you!