This hearty stew includes large chunks of potato, carrot, celery, and onion, and portabella mushrooms stand in for the beef. Garlic, paprika, and fresh rosemary provide excellent flavor. This is one of my most popular recipes--especially with husbands!
Beefless Stew
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 6 to 8 (makes about 10 cups) 1x
Ingredients
- 1½ large yellow or white onions, chopped into ¾-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
- 3 medium carrots, sliced lengthwise and cut into ¾-inch pieces (about 2¼ cups)
- 3 ribs celery, cut into ¾-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
- 2 medium portabella mushrooms, cut into ¾-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
- 1½ tablespoon finely chopped garlic (about 6 medium cloves)
- 5 cups water
- 2 pounds white potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾-inch chunks (about 6 cups)
- ⅓ cup tomato paste (half of a 6-ounce can)
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian herb seasoning
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1½ cups cooked peas (if frozen, rinse under warm water)
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of water in a soup pot over medium-high heat. When the water starts to sputter, add the onions, carrots, and celery, and and cook, stirring frequently, for about 8 minutes, adding water as needed.
- Stir in the mushrooms and garlic, and continue to cook while stirring for 5 minutes more, adding water as needed.
- Add the 5 cups of water, potatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, and paprika, and bring to a boil, uncovered. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the rosemary. Cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the carrots and potatoes are very tender.
- Add the peas and cook for 5 minutes more.
- Place 2 cups of the stew (broth and vegetables) into a blender, and blend just briefly. Stir the mixture back into the pot to thicken the stew. Stir in the parsley.
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.
In the Instant Pot: I put everything in on manual, high pressure for 9 mins (then let naturally pressure release; takes about 10-15 mins), except the parsley and peas (add those when done; they don’t need to cook, just warm). I also cut the slower cooking, denser veggies (potato, carrots) a little smaller than the faster cooking veggies (onions, celery, mushrooms), which can be bigger. Then proceed with step 5 if desired.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅛ recipe (1.25 cups)
- Calories: 168
- Sugar: 9.8g
- Sodium: 93mg
- Fat: 0.7g
- Saturated Fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 36.9g
- Fiber: 7.5g
- Protein: 6.2g
- Cholesterol: 0g
Anyone try this in an instant pot? How long did you cook it?
I would love to know as well. Thinking manual about 7 minutes
I do 9 minutes. 🙂
I am a new instant pot user. So you put everything together and cook on manual for 9 minutes? Do I cook it 9 minutes where it says cook for 15 minutes?
I put everything in for 9 mins (with natural pressure release for 10-15 mins) except the parsley and peas (add those when done; they don't need to cook). 🙂
HI! Mine has an option for low pressure or high pressure. What pressure would you recommend for 9 minutes?
High pressure. 🙂
After it cooks in the instant pot for 9 minutes, should I still blend up 2 cups of it, or will it be ok as is?
It's up to you. If you want it thicker at that point, blend some up. 🙂
Hi Ladies, I just made this last night as my first Instapot recipe so thank you! 9 minutes was perfect, I did use the immersion blender afterwards and might use less water next time. Delicious!
Why did you represent this as an IP recipe but did not provide the directions for that??
Hi Janie, thank you, I just added the instructions to the "Notes" section. 🙂
Yummy Stew ....i added 2 sweet potatoes and black beans and added more potatoes and used vegetable broth instead of water .Really good stew it looks so good and really tastes great 😀....thanks so much for the receipe
I also added sweet potatoes to mines and it was delicious making it again tonight 😄
Black beans! Excellent idea. Making it as we speak and I was looking for something to beef up. I also threw in a bay leaf and a little red wine.
I made this tonight and followed the recipe almost to the T. I used cremini mushrooms instead and tomato sauce instead of paste. The recipe was absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing!
How much tomato sauce did you use?
About 1/4 to 1/3 cup
Love your page, will try the stew. Thanks.
Absolutely delicious! Thank you.
Made the stew it was very good. I didn't use mushrooms and used chicken broth instead of water. I also just pureed one cup of the soup to thicken it.
Made this yesterday and my husband (75) and I (73) loved it. Love your cookbook too!
My husband loves date bar cookies, any idea on good way to make them??
I have not tried date cookies but I may, since I only have 1 cookie recipe. 🙂 Thanks!
what is your 1 cookie recipe, pray tell?
I only have 1 cookie recipe: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. 🙂
I just made this recipe and other than using veg broth in lieu of the water I found it a bit bland. I added some tamari sauce and it helped a bit. Any suggestions as to what went wrong of what I could have done differently? Thank you.
If you're used to using salt it may seem bland since I don't use salt in my recipes. You could increase the herbs/spices in the recipe. 🙂
I found that simply adding a few shakes of onion powder and a teaspoon of red wine deepened the flavor.
This recipe tastes just like beef stew! Changes I made: sauteed in olive oil, deglazed with red wine, vege broth instead of H2o, in addition to recipe spices I added: bay leaves, oregano, coriander powder, celery salt, skipped beginning of step 4 and used flour plus cornstarch/warm h2o as thickener. Definitely adding this to my go-to recipe list!
How do you store it after cooking: refrigeration or freezing? How long will it store for?
Either will be fine. I don't keep anything frozen beyond 3 months. In the fridge, 4 to 5 days I'd say.
Hi Cathy, I am new to cooking and eating this way, so I was surprised my stew turned out like your picture. It smells, looks, and tastes great. I admit I added salt and pepper. This is the first whole food/non oil recipe I shopped for and cooked, and I'm excited to try some more.
Wonderful! Thanks Lois! 😉
You inspired me to do this for christmas dinner. I am subbing beans for mushrooms as allergic and really excited as i have all this handy
What else could be uesd instead of.mushrooms as im allergic .what would you recommend
Using anything else will alter the flavor and color, and "beef" effect, but you could use some zucchini, eggplant or just more of the other vegetables in the recipe (potato, carrot, etc.) In this case it will just look like a veggie stew, which is still good. But if you're going for the beef stew look and texture, I haven't found anything that comes close to portabella mushrooms.
This looks amazing...I'm making this for tonight's dinner as we eat a mainly plant based diet.Hubby suggested I add parsnip, swede & turnip as he loves his root vegetables, so will do that. We make our own tomato sauce base so I'll pop some of that in to add depth of flavour too. Thanks so much for a scrumptious looking recipe.
These sounds like amazing additions.
This was sooooo delicious!!! My hubby and I switched to a whole foods, plant based way of eating about 5 weeks ago. This hit the spot for a hearty meal!
Hi I just made this and it's terrific! Would love to know the nutritional breakdown if possible. Thank you!
This was delicious!! I followed to the *T* except I did add some salt. I will say I liked the consistency before I blended 2 cups and added back in. Next time around I plan to omit that last step. I only share it because either way tastes delicious - I just like to create as few dishes to clean as possible :/. Thanks for a great recipe!!
Thanks! Yes, the consistency before blending is slightly thick. Or you could just blend less if you don't want it as thick. But I hear you on the dishes front! 😉
Girl - this recipe is amazing! We can't believe how much it tastes like beef stew! And my hubby hates mushrooms, but he loves this dish! Thank you so much. He said "I finally have dishes I like on a vegan diet" because he only likes about 3 vegetables. This and your beefless stew are our go-to's.
Oh My Goodness. This is the best recipe I have tried since I went plant based sos free 6 months ago. The first time I tried it I said I will be using this recipe every week the rest of my life. The second time I tried it my boyfriend said "She(meaning you) totally nailed it. " It is better the next day. It works well frozen and reheated. The sauce makes great gravy. I bought your book today. Thank you so much!
This was absolutely delicious! Even my husband, a dedicated carnivore, loved it. I will be making this again and again. Thank you!!!
I'm very impressed with this recipe. It really captures the essence of a hearty beef stew without any of the guilt. Very versatile as well. Thank you!
Really good. Used veggie broth, added 2Tbsp Grey Poupon mustard and 1/2 tsp black pepper with the tomato paste.
Looks delicious! What about using a crock pot? What would you suggest for time and temp?
I don't use a crock pot so not sure; but just add the peas and parsley toward the end so they don't over-cook.
I made this recipe tonight except I added a can of kidney beans and stewed tomatoes
I got this recipe back in 2015. Cathy, it is my go to recipe for our church potlucks. Everyone loves it. Thank you.
Do you remove the gills from mushrooms or just use Whole mushroom? Thanks
Whole thing (except maybe stems, but they are edible), this adds to the color and flavor. 🙂
I loved this recipe and did it in my Instant Pot for 9 mins and natural release for 15 it came out perfect, I did add two extra mushrooms. Next time ill add some caraway seeds and maybe some red wine. Thanks Cathy. I just bought your cookbook too!
Making this now and it smells DELICIOUS! Only change I made was added 1/2 cup lentils, extra cup of water.
Lentils!!!! That’s a genius idea! Next time I’m going to add them!
I added some Balsamic vinegar for extra flavor.
Hi and thanks this is delicious. My daughter doesn't like the texture of mushrooms so i cooked them up separately in veggie stock with some cooked lentils and blended them with some of the cooked sweet potato to make the thickener. ...it gave the stew the taste of beef stew without her seeing the mushies and we had the added benefit of the lentils. Yummy:)
This is such a great idea. I can't stand the texture of mushrooms. I will have to give it a try
Loved this recipe. My boy 'man' friend who eats total SAD diet tried it and he loved it also. He commented a few times how good it was.
Awesome! 😉
This was so good! Thank you!
Delicious!! Made this tonight and my family loved it and husband said it was a keeper!! 5 Stars!! Thank you!!
Thanks Emily! 😉 Love to hear that!
I made this recipe tonight. It was so delicious! I didn't change a single thing except I didn't have fresh rosemary, but will definitely try that next time. My husband who is an omnivore loved it too. I am eating WFPB and on the UWL diet and this fits in perfectly and is something I can batch cook for the week. Thank you!
Delicious! Thank-you!
I prepared this dish following the exact recipe. It was absolutely delicious! The aroma was wonderful! I cannot wait to prepare this dish again! Thank you soooo much for sharing!
Yay! 🙂 Thanks Dory!
This is a great recipe. For liquid, I used 4 cups veggie broth, 1 cup red wine, 1/2 cup water. Added pepper and a bit of sea salt. Added 2 yams. I think I will add more portobello next time. There will be a next time. This is a keeper.
love the recipe!! easy to make / follow!! thank u so much
Very delicious stew! Have made a few times, but in the Instant Pot. 😀
Loved this stew! My only change was using two No beef bouillon cubes. I loved the consistency with the puréed portion. I will definitely be stopping by here again.
I just finished my first batch and am impressed by his much flavor this has. I did add about 1/2 tsp. of salt and some freshly ground pepper. I also substituted rutabaga in for the potatoes as I'm not supposed to eat them. I used my immersion blender right in the cooking pot!
Great! 😉
We loved this recipe and found it hearty and filling. My husband and I love mushrooms so this was a perfect recipe for our taste in food.
Made this tonight for dinner and it was a huge success! You could smell it in the whole neighborhood and it tasted just as amazing as it smells! I used veg broth instead of water, added cumin, salt, pepper, onion salt, adobo, and garlic powder 🙂 this was incredible❤️ My hubby loved it too!
I was about to give up my meat fast when I found this recipe. The hint about blending a part to thicken is somethings I will apply forever from here. It is so clever, Thank you very much. I hope to find more recipes I can use until the end of March. God bless you.
I made this, followed it to a tee. Added peas and some salt after serving. Excellent! I wouldn’t change a thing. Blending two cups of soup is a must. What a great recipe.
I made this tonight, really delicious! I added more oregano, bay leaves, celery salt and I sautéed the veg initially. It turned out amazing! Thank you.
Cathy, I discovered your beefless stew this week! So excited to try your other recipes!! Thank you!!
This recipe is awesome. I made it for my vegetarian daughter she loves it. As a matter of fact the whole family likes it. Followed the recipe to a tee. It is delicious.
Hi. Using an instant pot at what point do I put everything in the pot. Do I bring it to a boil first (step 3), then cook it in the instant pot??
The IP instructions are in the "Notes" section. Everything goes in at the start except peas and parsley. 🙂
Hi! I followed the recipe to a tee and it came out bland. My husband said something was missing. What did I wrong? ☹️
If you regularly use salt, you may be missing the salt (I don't use any salt, oil or sugar). If it's not that, you can up the spices that are in the recipe, or add any that you think would please your taste buds. 🙂
A great, extremely healthy stew! No salt or oil... Amazing! Love this😍
I've been making this recipe all winter and I absolutely love it. I did add 2 tsp of salt but next time will try the suggestion of adding red wine. I add another mushroom to make it really thick. I usually make a double batch in my pressure cooker and freeze it. I have a Cuisinart and only cook for 5 minutes.