This hearty stew has everything you love about beef stew, but without the beef! It has large chunks of potato, carrot, celery, and onion, and portabella mushrooms stand in for the beef. Garlic, paprika, and fresh rosemary provide excellent flavor.
Beefless Stew
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6 to 8 (makes about 10 cups)
Ingredients
- 1½ large yellow or white onions, chopped into ¾-inch pieces
- 3 ribs celery, chopped into ¾-inch pieces
- 3 medium carrots, sliced lengthwise and cut into ¾-inch pieces
- 2 portabella mushrooms (about ½ pound), cut into ¾-inch pieces
- 1½ tablespoon finely chopped garlic (5 to 6 cloves)
- 5 cups water
- 2 pounds white potatoes (I use about 3 large Yukon Gold), cut into ¾-inch pieces
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian herb blend
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1½ cups green peas (if frozen, thaw first)
- ½ cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
- Ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a large soup pot on high with 1 tablespoon of water. When the water begins to sputter, add the onion, celery, and carrot, and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently as the edges of the onion browns slightly, and adding a little water as needed to prevent sticking.
- Stir in the mushrooms and garlic, and continue to cook while stirring for an additional 5 minutes, adding water as needed.
- Add the 5 cups of water, potatoes, tomato paste, dried Italian herbs, and paprika. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a low boil. Stir in the rosemary and cook covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the peas, and cook for 5 minutes more, or until the carrots and potatoes are tender.
- Place 2 cups of the stew (broth and vegetables) into a blender, and blend under very smooth. Stir this back into the pot to thicken the stew, and stir in the parsley. Serve with a few twists of ground black pepper and, if you like, add a small sprig of rosemary as garnish.
Notes
Peeling the potatoes: I like to peel my potatoes before cooking them, but you can also leave the skins on.
Fresh rosemary: Fresh rosemary is wonderful in this stew, but if you only have dried, use ½ teaspoon.
Fresh rosemary: Fresh rosemary is wonderful in this stew, but if you only have dried, use ½ teaspoon.
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We just love this recipe, sadly never many leftovers! IMHO, the fresh Rosemary is essential, avoid canned peas, they are not pretty enuf! I dehydrate cremini mushrooms, grind them up and use it to thicken the stew. Next time I will add cannellini beans to the 2 cups I put in the blender and see how that works. Thank you for a delicious dish sheer all the veggies shine!
I love this stew! We have an old family favorite called “cider stew” that is made with lots of beef. I adapted this recipe to more closely fit our old favorite without the beef. I used 2 cups apple cider and 3 cups veggie broth in place of the 5 cups of water. I added lots more carrots and an extra potato or two. I like my stew thicker. I pureed about 3 cups of the stew instead of the 2. I also added 1/2 pound of white mushrooms with the portabella, and 1-2 T. apple cider vinegar. To make it a little darker, I added a couple teaspoons browning sauce (probably not good for you). Yum!
A true artist! 😉 Thanks for the comment Sherri!
Oh my! Hands down, the best stew I’ve ever made! Thank you for sharing!
Looks really yummy. I would definitely try this. Thanks for the recipe.
I followed Sherri’s suggestions. This is absolutely fabulous. Do you think this would freeze well?
Not sure; sometimes potatoes are iffy. Try freezing a little and see how it comes out. 🙂
I have found that carrots that were frozen and thawed, become rubbery. Potatoes only get a bit mushier, which isn’t so bad.
I have stopped freezing anything that contains carrots.
This sounds and looks delicious! Do you think I could add lentils to this stew? My husband hates mushrooms (annoying,I know) and I was thinking lentils could be a good sub. Thoughts?
Sure! 🙂
I just made this and OMG… it’s delicious! I substituted a cup of water for red wine though and left out the paprika – my boyfriend loved it. Thank you so much!
I would absolutely love to make this tomorrow; I’m newly vegan and one of my favourite foods that I’m needing to let go of is beef stew! One question though…
I don’t have a blender, so I was wondering if you have any alternative ideas to thickening the stew? I was thinking maybe cornstarch?
You can use a potato masher to thicken it instead of the blender. I’ve not tried cornstarch, but it would likely do OK. 🙂
I use potato flakes,and no one can tell the difference! Works good.
I added chopped bell peppers. My wife said, “This tastes just like beef stew.” My co-workers said, I thought you didn’t eat meat.”Outstanding!!!
Thanks John! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it!
Holy cow, this is the best stew EVER!! My husband would not stop raving about it’s delishisness! I did make one addition, though. I added about 1/3 cup red wine to the cooked veggies and let it cook nearly off before adding the water. This recipe will be in our regular rotation! Thank you, Cathy for your awesome creations!
I decided to give up meat for a couple of months and found this recipe on Pinterest! I have made it twice in 3 weeks. It makes a hefty batch, so plenty of leftovers and I didn’t miss beef at all. I love a little heat, so added a chipotle pepper and it was perfect. This will definitely be a staple for me — the perfect comfort food on a cold day.
I have made this several times now, and I change one or 2 things each time depending upon what I have in the house, but no matter what my family LOVES it. Thank you for the base for a great and adaptable meal.
It is amazing with crusty bread, or dumplings!
Mmm, thanks Tomi! 😉
This was so delicious even my two year old wanted seconds! This will definitely be part of our rotation of family dinners!
Has anyone made this without mushrooms?? How would you alter this??
I haven’t but I imagine zucchini might be a nice substitution or addition. Or just add more of the other veggies. The mushrooms add a lot to the texture, flavor and color of the stew, so what you’ll end up with is more of a tomato-based chunky vegetable stew, which also sounds wonderful! 🙂
Eggplant roasted or dry sauteed could also substitute for some of the mushrooms and would add a bit of “chewiness” or texture to the dish.
I’ll have to try that. I figured I might just throw in a bunch more potatoes. Allergic to mushrooms. Makes a lot of vegan options more difficult. 🙁
I’m allergic to mushrooms too. Thanks for asking because was wondering the same.
This looks fabulous. I am going to try this tonight. I have a head of organic cauliflower and will add that as well…..
I just made this camping!!! It was fabulous and filling and a huge hit with my husband and our friends (I believe one comment was “I could eat this every night!”). For a bit more savoriness, I added some red miso paste (yes, I know, some salt), then a squeeze of fresh lemon juice for a tiny kick at the end. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes. Thank you!
Thanks Brenda! 🙂 Wish I was camping. That would make a good outdoorsy dish!
Love this recipe!! 🙂
I used 2 cups Trader’s low sodium Organic vege broth and 2 cups water and instead of using red wine, I used 1/2cup water and two tbsp balsamic as a substitute! I like this recipe because it is filling!
Next time I might leave the parsley behind and just use onion springs/ scallions for an asian flavor.
Thanks so much for sharing this kind of recipes!!! 🙂
Excellent recipe. I’ve made it twice now and have tweaked it to suit our personal preferences both times. You could do anything with this beautiful recipe but mostly I like it exactly the way it is EXCEPT for – I sauteed in olive oil, and I added salt and tamari. Leftovers are delicious on Cauliflower Rice (grated cauliflower browned with garlic).
I love this idea! Thanks
I’m printing this recipe right now and cannot wait to try it — thank you! If I may ask a question, can you think of a good substitute for the peas? I just do not enjoy them and see that there are quite a bit in this recipe. Can you please tell me what might work instead? Thank you so much!
Hi Deb, you can just leave them out if you like. They are pretty traditional in beef stew recipes, but they are not really necessary and the dish won’t suffer without them. 😉 You could add something else you like in there, like corn, or cooked green beans cut small.
I made this stew tonight. HAD ALL THE ITEMS AND SPENT TIME CLEANING AND CUTTING AND COOKING FOUND IT VERY GOOD. ENJOYED THE SAUCE I ENDED UP WITH. WILL PREPARE IT AGAIN
When Do i include the peas? You have them listed but not in the recipe
They are there, at the end of step 3. 🙂
Just made this as one of my batch cooking recipes today. Thank you for another great recipe. My only tweak was I had some spicy smoked paprika. It is delicious 🙂
I made this this evening. Oh, it is fantastic. I will be making this a lot
this fall and winter. Thank you. I can’t wait to try out more.
Made this for the first time and it was wonderful!! Even my non-vegan husband loved it!!! Thank you Cathy for all your great SOS-free Vegan recipes! BTW – it was great meeting you at TrueNorth last month when I attended your class during my water fast. Can’t wait to get your new cookbook.
Yay! 🙂 Thanks Sherri!