Serves 6 to 8
Time: 45 minutes
I’ve been on a mission to build a better vegan beef stew. Anyone can throw some wine and tomatoes into a pot but even with all the right ingredients, it’s all too easy to make a flat stew. I wanted deep complex flavors, a thick and silky base, chunky carrots and potatoes cooked just right. And of course, beefiness. And I wanted it to all happen in one pot. A simple filling stew shouldn’t destroy the entire kitchen.
Put plainly, I wanted the “DAAAAYAMN!” factor. Nothing too fussy, but a bowl that not only comforts you on a cold winter’s night, it straight-up makes you look forward to the snowiest, windiest, all-the-roads-shut-downiest night possible, just so you can make stew.
So I pulled a Cook’s Illustrated and made vegan beef stews all week. Chipping away at the recipe, then building it back up. I tried several different “beefs”; tofu, tempeh, and seitan, finally settling on a mix of homemade vegan sausage and dried porcini mushrooms. Tofu was a little too mushy, or took too much work to make it not mushy. Tempeh just crumbled too much, despite my best efforts. The seitan sausage provides flavor and hearty texture without needing to be sauteed, while the porcinis create a sultry broth and a falling-off-the-bone meatiness (that phrase isn’t gross when you consider that there aren’t any actual bones here, right?) that just sings “Beef Stew.”
For the base I knew I didn’t want a limp tomato sauce. In fact, I wanted to steer away from tomato as much as possible. I tried lentils as a backdrop but it was too…lentil-y. I also tried starting with a roux, and it was yummy but too thick…more like a sauce than a stew, plus it made the veggies cook unevenly. Finally, I settled on a slurry — a mix of water and flour that can be added after the veggies have cooked. When slowly heated it becomes thick (but not too thick) and velvetty, and holds in all the great flavor from the wine, mushrooms and spices. Just a touch of tomato paste provided even more body and a hint of tang.
The other challenge was getting the veggies to cook perfectly. Potatoes overcook easily and I didn’t want potato soup. Adding the potatoes after the initial ingredients come to a boil and then simmering them until tender is a fool proof method. Then the slurry is added and cooked just long enough to marry the flavors and create TSH (Total Stew Harmony.)
So yeah, long-story-that-I-just-made-you-read-short: I love this stew! The one thing that maybe isn’t ideal is that you need to have the sausages on hand, but they are so very easy to whip up. Make a batch the night before and you’ll have more than you need for this recipe so it’s totally worth it. But there are some alternatives, see below.
Anticipated questions:
Can you make this gluten free?
Yes! Sub the flour for 2 tablespoons organic cornstarch or 1/4 of your favorite gluten free flour mix. Sub the sausages for thawed extra firm frozen tofu with the water pressed out (this was my second favorite “meat” while experimenting.) Slice tofu into 1/2 inch thick triangles. Add an extra 1/2 teaspoon crushed fennel seed to the stew for sausage-y flavor.
Can you use a different dried mushroom?
Yes! Shiitake or portobello will work. But chop them up a little finer before adding.
Can you use seitan instead of sausages?
Yes! Use 2 cups of sliced seitan but saute it first, then remove it from the pot and add later, otherwise it will be rubbery.
Can you make this in a slow cooker?
I haven’t tried it. Why don’t you give it a shot and let us know?
Ok, now let’s stew!
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, quartered and thickly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium carrot, peeled, sliced on a bias, 1/2 inch thick
1 cup red wine
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground fennel or crushed fennel seeds
Fresh black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms
3 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 pounds potatoes (any type), lazily peeled, cut in 1 1/2 inch chunks
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 vegan sausages, sliced into chunky half mooons
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Preheat a 4 quart pot over medium high heat.
Saute onions and a pinch of salt in oil until until translucent, 4 to 7 minutes. Add garlic, for about a minute, until fragrant.
Add carrots, wine, rosemary (crushed in your fingers), thyme (crushed in your fingers), paprika, fennel, fresh black pepper and salt and bring to a boil. The liquid should reduce in about 3 minutes.
Add porcinis and vegetable broth, cover and bring to a full boil for 5 minutes or so, to quickly cook the procinis. Now add the potatoes, lower heat and bring to a simmer (not a full boil). Let the potatoes cook just until fork tender, about 15 minutes.
In a measuring cup, mix the flour into the water with a fork until no lumps are left. Slowly add the broth/flour to the pot, mixing well. Mix in the tomato paste. Let thicken for 5 minutes or so. Add the sausages and continue to cook. In about 5 more minutes it should be perfectly thick but still smooth. Taste for salt and seasonings, and serve! Sprinkle individual servings with fresh parsley if you want to be 70s food chic.
yum! it’s still entirely too hot here to be dreaming of stew, but that’s not going to stop me from making fauxsages next week and this stew as soon as I can. (I’ll crank the a/c if I have to!) Thanks so much!
In February I left a comment asking about what to do if you omit mushrooms (or, if it would still be good) – it is! I thoroughly enjoyed it w/o.
That said, I’ve discovered miso since then – and just now made this again with a little dollop of miso added toward the end – YUM! I’m guessing that added something the mushrooms would have – it’s just a little richer. Either way, though, killer recipe 🙂
Vegan “beef” stew:)
We made this tonight for dinner. I used tofurky italian sausages. I even forgot to add the tomato paste, but it was wonderful. We will be making it again. Thanks Isa!!!!
Vegan “beef” stew
I just made this and am eating it right now and it is AWESOME!! Before I was a vegan I loved stew and this takes me back haha. AND no cholesterol! Beautiful recipe for fall : )
OMG ~ the smell if this in my kitch was heaven and the stew was delectable!! Thank you for this recipe ~ love gourmet comfort food!
Oh. My. Goodness. So my boyfriend and I have been on a seitan kick (as in going through 7 bags in a couple weeks) and I love your website! So anyway we decided to make this tonight, and it was FANTASTIC. So flavorful and rich. I used shitakes instead of porcinis because we had them on hand and I love shitakes and it was so good. They absorbed all that rich flavor. The only thing that seemed a little off was the consistency. Mine was super thick, which is not a bad thing, I just wasn’t sure if that’s how it was supposed to be. But other than that, it was spot on. So. Good. Keep being awesome.
It’s not supposed to be super thick, but of course you can always thin a stew out!
Just made this. I used dried porcinis and kielbasa vegan sausage (not the best choice, but what I could get). It seems pretty beef stew-y! It was easy to make.
Supreme thanks for your time and effort in dialing this recipe in perfectly. I made it last night, using store-bought seitan, and it was outstanding. A malbec worked well for the red wine but I reduced the amount to 1/2 cup (leaving more for drinking while watching the debate – I needed it). Otherwise I followed the recipe precisely and I’m already looking forward to making it again for friends. Thanks again, Isa!
Delicious winter meal! I made it with home made seitan, instead of sausage, and it was amazing.
Delicious and perfect for a cold night like tonight.
Made this tonight, and wow, was this some wonderful comfort food! Had meant to make enough to have left overs, but we loved it so much we gorged ourselves and ate it all.
My husband requested a vegan shepherd’s pie for his birthday dinner, and I’d made this stew before (with fabulous results), so I used this recipe, slightly altered. I had some Gardein beefless tips, so used those instead of sausages, substituted parsnips for potatoes (not the full amount), and added some frozen peas. I skimmed off a bit of the gravy, topped the remaining stew with mashed potatoes, and into the oven to brown the potatoes a bit. Absolute heaven — my husband said it was the best shepherd’s pie he’d ever had (and he’d had my mother’s recipe in his pre-veg days). Plate-licking good!
I just made this, and pardon my language, but holy shit this is good.
I stuck to the recipe pretty closely, but I had some extra mushrooms lying around so I added those in the last 5 minutes of the potato step (in addition to the porcinis), and I thought it was a tad too thick so I added in some extra broth and red wine (about 1/2 cup broth and 1/4 cup wine).
Seriously this is so satisfying. Go make this tonight.
I made this tonight and it was wonderful. I didn’t use sausages, just the potatos and carrots, and it was still good. (I think I may try the Gardein beefless tips next time.) My husband’s not a big red wine fan, but I saw a comment suggesting beer instead, so I think I may also try that next time. I’d chop the mushrooms up and use less of them, since he’s also not a big mushroom eater. (But, hey, he’s willing to eat vegan!)
I don’t know if anyone will see this to respond, but I was wondering if I’m supposed to cook the stew covered or uncovered after adding the potatoes? I did a mixture of covered and uncovered and it seemed to come out all right.
Made this for dinner tonight, except used packaged veggie sausages because I was feeling a bit lazy and had some around. It was fantastic! This website is turning me—who usually ruins the easiest of recipes—into someone who cooks delicious meals from scratch.
I just made this and followed the recipe to a T (except I left out the “meat” and added frozen peas). It was delicious! I paired it with homemade vegan garlic biscuits. Thanks for the recipe! Yum!
This recipe is rad. Fuck the police.
I just cooked this and all I can say is WOW! this is the perfect Idaho winter warmer. Thanks for sharing
o3o I don’t have all the ingredients (and I stay far away from alcoholic beverages) but I’m gonna try to use this recipe as a base because >.> I wish I had carrots or mushrooms. |D I’ll be making this with frozen veggies I found in the back of the freezer with a bag of veggie ‘beef’. wish me luck, I’ll let you know how it goes.
I used a 12 oz. package of Trader Joel Italian sausage. I had four carrots instead of three. I used 6 regular mushroomas and oat flour. The seasoning makes it. Great Beef-less stew ever.
I hesitated over whether to post this review because I made a fairly major change, but it came out so well that I really wanted to thank you! I made it as is the first time, and my husband and I could tell what a high quality stew it was, but unfortunately neither of us really cares for the taste of red wine in cooking. So the second time, I was trying to think of a substitution that could still bring that complexity of flavor. I ended up using a 5.5-oz can of Spicy Low-Sodium V8 juice, then filling to the top of the cup with red wine. I also used 2 cups of homemade vegetable stock with 1 cup water + 1 ‘not-beef’ bouillon cube. Since my husband is also not a mushroom fan, I used about 1/3 the amount of dried porchinis and cut them up finely. He LOVED it. He said he’d go to a restaurant to get it. Thanks so much — this is the first dish that has given me some confidence that I can make vegan food he will actually enjoy, not just tolerate.
I think it’s great that you made a change that worked perfectly for you. That’s what it’s all about!
I wonder what this would be like with polenta…
Probably awesome.
I just had to tell you…I made this again for my husband (without the red wine, with the V8 juice). He had the leftovers for lunch, and told me today that I could make this everyday and he’d be happy. He said, “I don’t need to eat meat when we can have stuff like this.” Whoohoo! I’m going to try the shepherd’s pie version someone mentioned.
Hooray!
Holy Wow Isa, you’ve done it again.Phenomenal .
So this was the recipe that changed it all for me. If this recipe never worked out, I wouldn’t have gone on but it was great and two weeks later and half a dozen recipes in, I decided to go and get the ‘Recipe for reduction’ book.
I used shitake’s as suggested as I have a cupboard full of them but I kinda cheated and used Linda McCartney sausages at the time I had no idea what seitan was and I didn’t have time to make the sausages. I don’t even know if you get Linda Mccartney in the states…but here in the UK, Paul gave us the music, Linda gave us the best damm sausages!
Hee, I’d like to try the sausages when I’m there in the Spring!
Fantastic. So warming and delicious it makes me laugh in the face of the -40 wind chills we’ve been having!
This recipe is amazing! I substituted fresh oyster and cremini mushrooms for the porcini (because I’m cheap…). The sauce is just as flavourful and silky as Isa promises. It’s the perfect winter stew!
I’ve made this. Sooooooo yum!
This looks absolutely amazing. I’m going to try it. I’m Celiac (gluten free) and Vegan. Thank you so much for posting this. I have a question for you – I don’t drink wine and I don’t eat mushrooms. May I politely ask what I would substitute for these two items? Thank you so much. And you are a wonderful chef! Thank you again. Peace’n love, Alison
I think replacing the wheat, wine and mushrooms would be too many replacements for this to work. I’m sorry! I’m about to post a stew that would work for you, or try the Rustic Winter Stew With Polenta on the blog.
Thank you Isa 🙂
I’ll try this recipe next weekend with some substitutes and let you know how it turns out. I’ll replace the wheat with gluten free flour, the wine with maybe some balsamic vinegar. And, I’ll await your new recipe!
Thank you so much for replying back. You are amazing.
Well, you’ve certainly gotten the “DAYMN!” factor! Very delicious! The smells while this was cooking was heavenly enough but with that first bite.. “OH! WOW!” “YUMMMMMM”.. along with a full body sensation of melting.. oh, the deliciousness!
Thank you for this! Keep them coming!
Finally someone takes on Cooks Illustrated. I have been telling those guys that they are making a mistake with Cooks Country and should go Vegan…. I adapt their recipes from time to time and really enjoy reading them…. like a culinary short story. And I even read the meat recipes… (yes I confess). But, I have adapted a number of the recipes to make them vegan. Cooks Illustrated is great for technique. I wish they would make more things Vegan Friendly. It is nice to see you referencing them as you gave us your process to make this dish… Go IsaChandra!!! Thanks. Can’t wait to try it!
I made this tonight in my slow cooker – it was awesome! I just threw everything in there, up through the potatoes, substituting the porcini mushrooms with shiitakes and leaving out the fennel, and adding a bit of tamari sauce as well. I let that cook on high for about 2 hours. Meantime, I browned up some Gardein beefless tips and defrosted some frozen peas. Threw those in after hour 2. For the thickening “slurry,” I used broth instead of water, just because I had only a little left and figured better to use it then. I used almost double the tomato paste, and I whisked that in with the slurry so it would mix in thoroughly. After adding that in and giving it all a good stir, I let it cook just under another 2 hours on high, stirring every 20-30 minutes, and placing the lid so it was vented for the last half hour. It was absolutely delish! I haven’t had my grandmother’s beef stew in decades, but it was a definite childhood favorite of mine. I proudly dedicated this remake to her — once I knew it was good. (At 92, she’s earned the right to have an opinion on anything and everything, and I can’t wait to cook this for her and hear her review!)
The Best!! I love this stew! I use the slow cooker and it always turns out well.
Thanks Isa!
Made this tonight and as usual with your recipes it was fantastic – going to take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Going to be a good day at work 🙂
JUST finished making this for myself and the omni boyfriend- it was a huge hit! I’m so full, I may never eat again. It was thick, hearty and delicious. I made the sausages in the same session, so I was cooking for a good 2 hours, but it was definitely worth it. I didn’t have a steamer so I made a makeshift one with an upside down bowl in a few inches of water. I had to steam them for about an extra 30 min. In the stew I used dried shiitakes, and had to add a substantial amount of extra vegetable broth (probably around 2 extra cups) to get it to the right consistency. It was absolutely delectable though, thanks for a great recipe!
Isa, you are a genious! i love it!!!
Great stew! Reminds me a bit of the Irish Stew from Appetite For Reduction! Great depth of flavour here!
I made this tonight and it was excellent. I wanted very much to eat half the pot!
Tried it with the field roast Roast, but without the mushrooms and it’s amazing!
This looks so yummy. I just made the Italian sausages for the first time yesterday (they are already gone) and they turned out great! I’m going to make another batch and try this!!!!
This was awesome. I was too lazy to make my own sausages so I bought me some vegan Italian links that I sliced and browned. . I try to be gluten free so I did the corn starch slurry to thicken and worked great. I subbed dried mushrooms for fresh portabello. Delish. Thanks for the great recipe, will make again!!!