Easy Slow Cooker Vegan Stew
Easy Slow Cooker Vegan StewToday I’m bringing you an Easy Slow Cooker Vegan Stew.
As many of you know my daughter is vegetarian and this week she managed to persuade my hubby to eat more vegetarian food. So I thought I’d adapt a Beef Stew with Worcestershire Sauce recipe that my hubby once concocted in the slow cooker. So this is really a Beefless Stew! But first I had a few dilemmas to solve!
What’s a good replacement for beef in a vegan recipe?
Well that was a no brainer, it had to be Chestnut mushrooms. They hold their shape and texture really well unlike white mushrooms and give that satisfying chew too.
What’s a good vegan replacement for Worcestershire Sauce?
What’s a good vegan replacement for Worcestershire Sauce?I decided that Balsamic Vinegar and Soy Sauce would give a great depth of flavour and compliment one other perfectly with the sweet and salty notes. I wasn’t wrong and together with the Tabasco Sauce for a hint of chilli, mixed herbs and vegetable stock the flavours just jelled beautifully.
What do you serve Easy Vegan Slow Cooker Stew with?
The stew is best served in a bowl along with lots of crusty bread to dip into the cooking juices or should that be broth? Or you could serve Easy Vegan Slow Cooker Stew as a side dish if like me you are catering for different diet preferences.
How many people does Easy Vegan Slow Cooker Stew serve?
How many people does Easy Vegan Slow Cooker Stew serve?You’ll get 5 – 6 servings. As there are just 3 of us here at the moment we had this stew over 2 days and I added a can of butter beans on the second day to bulk it out. My daughter wasn’t a fan of that though and picked them all out!
Can you use other root vegetables in Easy Vegan Slow Cooker Stew?
Yes of course, the world is your oyster, another time I’d try butternut squash or any other root vegetables I happen to have!
I do hope you try my Easy Vegan Slow Cooker Stew. Not only is it tangy and delicious but it’s also fat free. So if you’re on the Weight Watchers or Slimming World diet or just trying to cut down on your meat intake, then this is the recipe for you!
For more slow cooker (Crock-pot) vegan recipe inspiration you should check out the following recipes:
- Easy Slow Cooker Dhal
- Vegan Lentil Chilli
- Aubergine & Onion Masala
- Aubergine, Mushroom & Sweet Potato Massaman Curry
- Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup
- Simple Slow Cooked Beetroot
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Easy Slow Cooker Vegan Stew
Ingredients
- 3 onions
- 3 carrots
- 2 potatoes
- 1 parsnip
- 3 celery sticks
- 250 g Chestnut mushrooms
- 1 ½ tbsp plain flour (for vegan option see notes)
- 500 ml vegetable stock made with 1.5 stock cubes
- 1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tsp mixed herbs
- 2 dashes of Tabasco sauce
- 120 g frozen peas
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Roughly chop all the vegetables (except frozen peas) and place in a large bowl.
- Stir in the flour, herbs and pepper.
- Tip into slow cooker.
- To the stock add and mix in the Balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, tabasco sauce and tomato puree.
- Pour over the vegetables.
- Set the slow cooker for 3.5 hrs on high or 5.5 hrs on low.
- Stir in the frozen peas and cook until the vegetables are tender (about another ½ hour).
- Serve in bowls with crusty bread for mopping up the juices!
Recipe Notes
To make this stew vegan you could omit the plain flour and mix 1 tbsp of cornflour (cornstarch) into 15 ml of water and stir into the stew 10 minutes before the end of cooking. Add more if needed.
Wendy
Love this recipe and make it every week. It’s a great alternative to beef stew for vegetarians. All the flavors, minus the meat.
Camilla
Excellent Wendy, so glad you like it:-)
Krystal
Is this Gluten Free?
Camilla
Hi Krystal, no it wasn’t but I’ve now added a vegan alternative using cornflour in the notes. Sorry for the confusion!
Kid evans
Why does flour make it not vegan?
Camilla
I’m sorry I don’t understand, this is a vegan dish.
Kylie
Flour and cornflour are both Vegan.
Flour doesn’t have to be substituted as it isn’t an animal product.
Great recipe though
Camilla
Hi, Kylie, sorry, when I get a comment it appears in a table with no other context so I can’t see the previous comments. Now I’ve gone back to look, I had a brain fuzz and accidentally used the word vegan instead of gluten free.
Cathy
this recipe looks great, could I substitute the mushrooms for butternut squash. I think this dish would be nice at Christmas with the roast potatoes and all the trimmings for the vegitarians
Camilla
Hi Cathy, you could do but you’re replacing the mushrooms with something similar to the carrot & parsnip so it would change the dynamics of this dish. I would have a trial run before Christmas to see if you like it. Do let me know how you get on!
Liz
Made this today ,it was amazing ,defo be on my menu ,especially with winter just round the corner ,Have to say the smell of it cooking was lovely too ….Thank you
Forgot to ask …could I freeze this
Camilla
Thank you Liz, so glad you enjoyed it! I haven’t frozen it before but can’t see any reason why you couldn’t!
Donna Wilks
This dish is amazing, so tasty, thank you for sharing, its now one of my weekly dishes that I pop in the slow cooker when im working nights & sleeping during the day, I just pop it on in the morning when I get home & its ready to take to work on a night.
Camilla
Thank you so much Donna so glad you’re enjoying it:-)
Camilla
Thank you so much Donna so glad you’re enjoying it:-)
Choclette
I do love a good stew at this time of year and this looks delicious. I really should use my slow cooker more, but it’s stock at the back of the cupboard and always seems too much of a faff to get out.
Camilla
Thank you. You need to keep it out on the work top if you can:-)
Catriana Dunne
Hi. I don’t have a slow cooker. Could I make this as a casserole in the oven and if so how? Many thanks. It looks lovely.
Camilla
Hi Catriana, I don’t know the answer to that as I haven’t tried doing this. But this article might help: https://www.livestrong.com/article/469882-how-to-convert-crock-pot-cook-time-to-oven-cook-time/
Fiona Manoon
It looks very yummy.
Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe with us.
Camilla
Thank you Fiona, it is yummy:-)
Anna | Once Upon A Food Blog
My eldest isn’t a big meat fan but sometimes there’s no getting away from the fact that it’s stew/casserole weather so this looks like a fantastic option 🙂
Camilla
Thank you, I hope he likes it:-)
Corina Blum
It sounds really tasty and I’m sure the chestnut mushrooms were a great replacement for the beef. I’d also love it with the butterbeans too!
Camilla
Thanks Corina. Yes Chestnut Mushrooms are so much better than white mushroom I’ve found:-)