This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure and privacy policy.

This Vegetable Stew is a comforting recipe jam-packed with veggies. It tastes like classic beef stew, only without the meat!

vegetable stew with a spoon and bread inside the bowl.

This vegetable stew recipe ticks all the boxes. It’s hearty, flavorful, and doesn’t require any complicated vegan ingredients to keep it meat-free. It’s also prepared all in one pot so you won’t have a bunch of dishes to clean later.

All you’ll need is fresh veggies and a few pantry ingredients to get started.

Ingredients You’ll Need

To create a meaty texture in this soup, you’ll use a combination of green jackfruit, which you can buy canned for convenience, and finely chopped mushrooms. If you’re not a mushroom fan, try dicing them smaller so you won’t notice their texture. 

If you have other vegetables to use up, bell peppers or cut green beans would be delicious in this soup. And if you don’t like something, feel free to leave it out! (Plenty of readers make this without the jackfruit and it’s still delicious.)

Adding flour is traditional in stew recipes, as it helps to thicken the broth. You can use your favorite gluten-free flour blend or any other variety you keep on hand.

Dried thyme adds a class flavor to this stew, but you can also use rosemary or Italian seasoning for a similar flavor. And if you don’t need a gluten-free recipe, regular soy sauce can be used instead of tamari.

vegetarian stew lifted on a ladle from a soup pot.

How to Make Vegan Stew

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Saute the onion, carrots, celery, and mushrooms until they start to soften, about 8 minutes.

chopped mushrooms added to a pot of veggies for stew.

Add in the garlic, thyme, and tomato paste, and stir for 1 minute. Add the flour to the spices, and stir to coat the vegetables.

Add in the potatoes and water, and bring the liquid to a boil. (You can use vegetable broth if you prefer, but water will give you plenty of flavor after simmering.)

While you wait for the water to boil, shred the jackfruit with your fingers, to create a shredded meat texture. Rinse again, to make sure you remove as much brine as possible, then add it to the pot, along with the salt and tamari. 

veggies coated in flour and then jackfruit added to the stew pot.

Add the balsamic vinegar if you want more of a “wine” flavor, or leave it out. (You can also add this at the end, if you’d rather taste it without the vinegar, first.)

Once the soup is boiling, lower the heat and cover. Simmer until the potatoes are very tender, about 25 to 30 minutes. 

Remove the lid and stir in the frozen peas, which will thaw quickly.

Adjust the seasonings to taste, adding salt and pepper as needed, then serve warm. Feel free to garnish with fresh parsley or any other herbs you love.

Leftover stew can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, or you can freeze it for up to 3 months.

bowl of vegan stew served in a white bowl with naan bread.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I replace the jackfruit?

Readers have reported doubling the mushrooms instead of using jackfruit. Or, you can add 1 cup of dry red lentils plus 2 cups of water to make it more hearty. (The seasoning may need to be adjusted in this case. Don’t be afraid to add more salt!)

How do you thicken vegetable stew?

Flour is used as a thickener, but if you’d rather keep this soup grain-free, try using an immersion blender at the end of the cooking cycle. Puree the soup slightly to offer a similar thickened result, but be careful not to over-blend! A good stew has lots of texture.

Can I make Instant Pot Vegetable Stew?

If you want to pressure cook this stew, don’t add flour before pressure cooking. Instead, cook it for 10 minutes at high pressure, then let the pressure naturally release for 15 minutes so starchy water won’t shoot out of your steam release valve. To thicken this instant pot recipe, you can make a slurry with equal parts flour or cornstarch. (Mix 2 tablespoons of water with 2 tablespoons of flour, for example.) Stir that into the hot soup and it will thicken quickly.

Looking for more soup recipes? Try my Red Lentil Soup, Ultimate Detox Soup, or Instant Pot Lentil Soup for more ideas.

vegetable stew with a spoon and bread inside the bowl.

Best Vegetable Stew (Easy Vegan Recipe)

4.97 from 29 votes
This Vegetable Stew is a comforting way to eat more veggies and clean out your fridge at the same time. It has a meat-like texture and tastes like a vegetarian version of classic beef stew.
prep15 mins cook30 mins total45 mins
Servings:4

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion , chopped (~1.5 cups)
  • 5 carrots , chopped (2 cups)
  • 3 celery ribs , chopped (1 cup)
  • 8 ounces mushrooms , chopped (3 cups)
  • 3 cloves garlic , minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
  • 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose gluten-free flour (see notes)
  • 8 ounces Yukon gold or red potatoes , cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 cups)
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 (14 oz.) can green jackfruit , drained and rinsed
  • 2 tablespoons tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar (optional)
  • 1 cup frozen peas

Instructions

  • Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onion, carrots, celery, and mushrooms until they start to soften, about 8 minutes.
  • Add in the garlic, thyme, and tomato paste, and stir for 1 minute. Add in the flour, and stir to coat the vegetables.
  • Add in the potatoes and water, and bring the liquid to a boil. While you wait for the water to boil, shred the jackfruit with your fingers, to create a shredded meat texture. Rinse again, to make sure you remove as much brine as possible, then add it to the pot, along with the salt and tamari. Add the balsamic vinegar if you want more of a "wine" flavor, or leave it out. (You can also add this at the end, if you'd rather taste it without the vinegar, first.)
  • Once the soup is boiling, lower the heat and cover. Simmer until the potatoes are very tender, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the lid and stir in the frozen peas, which will thaw quickly.
  • Adjust the seasonings to taste, adding salt and pepper as needed, then serve warm. Leftover stew can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, or you can freeze it for up to 3 months.

Video

Notes

Nutrition is for 1 of 4 servings. This information is automatically calculated, and is just an estimate, not a guarantee.
This soup is very adaptable, so feel free to use what you have on hand!
I tested this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour and King Arthur’s cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend, and both worked well. I imagine it will work with any type of flour (gluten-free or not) so please let me know what you try in the comments below!

Nutrition

Calories: 196kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1837mg | Potassium: 941mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 13212IU | Vitamin C: 37mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 3mg
Course: Soup
Cuisine: vegan
Keyword: vegan stew, vegetable stew

If you try this vegan stew recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it.

Megan Gilmore leaning on her white countertop.

Megan Gilmore

Hi, I’m Megan. A former fast food junkie turned best-selling cookbook author. I create healthy recipes made with simple ingredients to make your life easier.

Read More

You May Also LIke

Leave a Review!

I love hearing from you! Submit your question or review below. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked*.

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. You taught me a different way to do things. I appreciate it all- the combination of ingredients and the beautiful taste. Thank you.

  2. Absolutely love this…. I changed a few things, I used a can of mushroom gravy instead of fresh mushrooms, a few different spices and veggies. I must say it was awesome.
    We had a guest who thought we went back to eating meat.

  3. Amazing !!! So hearty and delicious my family loved it. Made it without jackfruit because we didn’t have any. I will def be making it again just double next time!

  4. Very tasty and healthful stew. I. Place of jack fruit, I used a can of great northern beans, and used low sodium veggie broth, decreasing the salt. My family loved it and will definitely make this again. Thanks so much!

  5. You are always in my table…At least 2 ou 3 times a week your recipes is in my dining table.
    Today I did use this recipe as a base for the beef stew, with real beef.
    And…Its delicious, amazing, gorgeous!
    Thanks Thanks!

  6. This was amazing…all the comfort food feels and tastes. I sautéed the veggies a few minutes longer and I used low sodium vegetable broth instead of water. The balsamic vinegar is not an option. It adds great flavor.

  7. lOVE this recipe. My question is…it says you can freeze for up to 3 months, but whenever I freeze anything with potatoes in it, they come out tasting mealy.

  8. This is the BEST stew I’ve ever made!! Thank you for sharing this recipe!! It’s the first time I’ve tried jackfruit and it really tasted lovely. Will definitely be trying this again x

  9. This stew is amazing! I had never heard of jackfruit before this recipe and I am so glad to you introduced me to it. Even my husband, the meat eater, loves this stew.