This vegan beef stew recipe is perfect for a cozy, warm, and easy dinner on a chilly evening. This stew is 100% vegan with a rich flavor. It’s chock full of cozy root vegetables, savory & chewy seitan beef cubes, and topped with optional fluffy biscuits. This is the absolute BEST vegan beefless stew out there!
This post was originally published on September 23rd, 2020 and has been updated on September 22nd, 2022.
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Beef Stew
When it’s chilly outside, I’m all about soup season. This classic vegan stew is warm and hearty, perfect for those chilly Fall or Winter evenings. Here are a few more reasons we love this recipe and you will too:
- Hearty Vegan Stew: lots of hearty veggies and a thick beefless broth that will fill you up.
- Warm & Cozy: this plant-based stew is everything you’d want on a cold day.
- Easy & Made in 1 Pot: although it takes a little bit of time to simmer, this stew is super easy! A lot of the time to make this is passive. So you can lay down on the couch or put your feet up while it cooks!
- The BEST Homemade Vegan Seitan ‘Beef’: chewy seitan ‘beefs’ are the star of this stew.
Ingredients
Today we’re using simple ingredients to make this vegan stew. The homemade vegan beef cubes take about 30-40 minutes to cook and can be prepped while the veggies are simmering. The setian can also be made beforehand and kept in the fridge or freezer (they freeze wonderfully).
- Vegetable Stock
- Carrots
- Celery
- Onion
- Yukon Gold Potatoes: or use russet potatoes
- Stew Seasoning: premade seasoning packet or use the homemade mixture in the recipe card below
- Bisquick + Dairy Free Milk: this is optional- for the biscuit topping
the vegan seitan ‘beef’
This recipe uses my easy and out-of-this-world vegan seitan beef recipe. These homemade vegan beef tips are chewy, tender, and completely full of flavor.
They’re flavored with vegan Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and lots of other tasty spices.
They make this vegan ‘beef’ stew AMAZING and super similar to traditional beef stew or Irish stew.
The recipe linked above will show you exactly how to make the perfect plant-based ‘beef’ that you can drop right into this stew.
Substitutions
- The Vegan Beef: While I completely recommend using the recipe above (it adds so much flavor to the stew!), you could also try using pre-made vegan beef cubes.
- You could try these plant-based Gardein beefless tips or you could use Sweet Earth’s Seitan Strips.
- ‘Beef’ Stew Seasoning: In this recipe, you can use a pre-made beef stew seasoning packet that you can typically find at your local grocery store. This packet is made up of spices and is usually completely vegan despite saying ‘beef’ in the name. If you’re not able to find a vegan-friendly beef stew seasoning packet, you can use the individual spices listed in the recipe below.
- You’ll want to use cornstarch, flour, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, sugar, nutritional yeast, paprika, soy sauce and black pepper if you’re not using this type of seasoning packet! You can find the exact quantities in the recipe below.
- Bisquick: this recipe uses Bisquick to make the biscuit topping, but the biscuits can easily be made from scratch.
- Vegetable Broth: feel free to sub in vegan beef broth for the veggie stock
Add Ins
This stew is great because you can definitely customize it if you’d like! Below are some ideas of ingredients you could add in to the stew.
- The Veggies: I’m using hearty potatoes, carrots, and celery as the main veggies. But you could throw in green beans, frozen peas, or any other veggie you’d like to use.
- Red Wine: for an even richer flavor, add a splash of red wine to deglaze the veggies before adding the vegetable broth. This will make this stew similar to a vegan bourguignon.
- Balsamic Vinegar: if you’d like a more acidic flavor in the stew, add a splash of vinegar.
- Tomato Paste: tomato puree or paste will add a deeper flavor. Add 1 tbsp for a flavor similar to vegan bourguignon.
Helpful Equipment
- Large Pot with Lid OR a Dutch Oven: to make the stew
- Cookie Scoop: for the biscuit topping
Step-by-step Instructions
*Video Tutorial is Above the Recipe Card below!*
STEP 1: Combine olive oil, chopped onion, carrots, celery, and potatoes in a large stockpot on medium-low heat. Saute for a few minutes.
STEP 2: Sprinkle the seasoning packet (or homemade seasoning mix) on top, and add the veggie stock. Mix to combine.
STEP 3: Simmer covered on low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Prep the vegan seitan beef at this time, if you haven’t made it beforehand.
STEP 4: Add the ‘beef’ cubes and simmer covered on low – medium heat for 15 more minutes.
the vegan biscuit topping
Part of the reason (besides the amazing vegan beef!) that this recipe is so dang tasty and filling, is the biscuit topping. I use Bisquick in this recipe, which makes the stew even easier to make.
STEP 5: To make the biscuits, you can mix together the Bisquick and non-dairy milk. You can then dollop about 1/4 of a cup of the dough at a time onto the cooked stew.
📌 A note about the biscuit topping: before the dough cooks, it may look like there isn’t enough dough to cover the top. Don’t worry! The Bisquick will puff up as it cooks and will cover the entire top of the stew.
I once tried doubling the biscuit recipe but the ratio of stew to topping was way off. The biscuits ended up absorbing all the liquid of the stew!
STEP 6: Cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until the biscuits are cooked through. The biscuits should be puffed up and dry to the touch on the outside.
How to Serve the Beefless Stew
This stew is best served warm on the first day. Scoop the vegan stew into bowls with a biscuit on top.
Garnish with fresh parsley, chives or other fresh herbs for more flavor!
If you’re not making biscuits for the top of this stew, you could also serve it with vegan Irish soda bread or another crusty bread!
Storage
While this stew is best on the first day, it can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
📌 TIP: I recommend storing the biscuits separately or making fresh biscuits on the day you plan on eating the stew. This will prevent the biscuits from soaking up the broth.
Pro Tips
- Use homemade seitan beef if possible: this stew gets tons of its flavor from my homemade seitan beef recipe. While you can substitute this seitan for a store bought version, I highly recommend making your own if you have the time.
- Add seasoning to taste: use the recipe below as a guideline and add more seasoning, salt or dried herbs to your personal taste!
- Store the dumplings/biscuits separately: scoop the biscuits out of the stew if storing the stew in the fridge. This will prevent them from soaking up the broth.
FAQ
While I haven’t tested this recipe in a pressure cooker or slow cooker, it should be able to be made in either. Cooking time may need to be adjusted slightly if not making the stew on the stove top.
This vegan stew recipe uses seitan ‘beef’ tips and traditional Irish Stew uses lamb or mutton. Besides that, the recipe is pretty similar to Irish stew!
This beefless stew is made with homemade vegan beef tips and lots of spices for a hearty flavorful broth!
In the mood for more cozy vegan recipes?
- BUTTERNUT SQUASH RAVIOLI
- LENTIL SHEPHERD’S PIE
- SPINACH PESTO GNOCCHI
- SESAME “BEEF” UDON NOODLES (SEITAN)
- VEGAN SEITAN “BEEF” BOURGUIGNON
- VEGAN POTATO CHEDDAR PIEROGI
- HEARTY VEGAN WINTER STEW WITH LENTILS
Did you make this easy vegan beef stew?
I’d love to know! Leave a star rating and comment below!
Hearty Vegan Beef Stew
This vegan beef stew recipe is perfect for a cozy, warm, and easy dinner on a chilly evening. This stew is 100% vegan with a rich flavor. It's chock full of cozy root vegetables, savory & chewy seitan beef cubes, and topped with fluffy biscuits. This is the absolute BEST vegan beefless stew out there!
Ingredients
Stew
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 5 medium carrots, peeled & diced about 1 ¼ cups
- 6 celery stalks, diced, about 1 ¼ cups
- 1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, diced, about 3 ½ cups
- 5 cups low sodium vegetable broth
Spices (or sub. 1 package of store-bought vegan beef stew seasoning)
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp light or dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
Vegan Beef
- 1 recipe of the Best Homemade Vegan Beef, or sub Gardein Beefless Tips if short on time
Biscuit Topping (optional, but recommended)
- 2 cups Original Bisquick Mix
- ¾ cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
Instructions
- Combine olive oil, onion, carrots, celery, and potatoes in a large stockpot on medium-low heat. Saute for 3-5 minutes until the onions are slightly tender.
- Sprinkle the homemade spice mixture (or store-bought seasoning packet) on top. Mix until the seasoning is evenly coating all the veggies. Add the veggie broth. Mix to combine.
- Simmer covered on low heat for 1-hour, stirring occasionally.
- While the stew simmers, you can prepare the vegan seitan beef according to this recipe. TIP: This homemade beef can also be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge or freezer in a ziplock baggie or airtight container.
- Add the seitan ‘beef’ cubes and simmer covered for 15 more minutes.
- Make the biscuit topping: mix the Bisquick and non-dairy milk together.
- Dollop about 1/4 cup of the biscuit batter on the top of the stew. Repeat 4-5 times until most of the top is covered in biscuit batter. TIP: Try to create wide biscuits rather than thick biscuits, so they cook all the way through.
- Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the biscuits are cooked through. The biscuits should be puffed up and dry to the touch on the outside.
- Serve warm.
Notes
- Use homemade seitan beef if possible: this stew gets tons of its flavor from my homemade seitan beef recipe. While you can substitute this seitan for a store bought version, I highly recommend making your own if you have the time.
- Add seasoning to taste: use the recipe below as a guideline and add more seasoning, salt or dried herbs to your personal taste!
- Store the dumplings/biscuits separately: scoop the biscuits out of the stew if stored in the fridge. This will prevent them from soaking up the broth.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 366Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gSodium: 446mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 5gSugar: 9gProtein: 19g
Nutritional info is an estimate.
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