Easy Vegetable Stew Recipe
Colder weather calls for hearty meals, and this easy one pot vegetable stew is perfect for an easy dinner that everyone will love! It comes together in about 45 minutes and is loaded with root vegetables and lentils which make this vegetarian stew super filling!
You Will Love This
- Vegan lentil stew is packed with nutrients! Five veggies and lentils mean that your family is getting a full serving of vitamins, fiber, and plant-based protein—all the good stuff they need to maintain a balanced diet in the cold weather months.
- Have I mentioned that it’s vegan?! This stew is an especially great option if you’re just trying to cut back on meat and dairy, or if you’re new to preparing vegan meals for your family. The umami flavor, starchy vegetables, and protein-rich lentils mean no one will miss the meat in this meal.
- It’s so easy! Some simple chopping is all the prep this veg stew requires, and it all comes together in one pot! Lentils are the one dried bean that doesn’t need to be soaked overnight, so dinner is ready in under an hour!
- If you loved this vegetable stew recipe, be sure to check out my Creamy Vegan White Bean Stew, my Simple One Pot Chickpea Stew, or my Creamy Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Onion, Carrot, Celery – The classic mirepoix (chopped onion, carrot, and celery) is what gives this veggie stew such a delicious flavor base. To save time, see if your local grocery store offers a pre-chopped mirepoix.
- Baby Bella Mushrooms – I prefer the flavor and texture of baby Bella mushrooms, but feel free to use your favorites!
- Fresh Garlic – Freshly sliced garlic will give this stew the best flavor, but if you don’t have any on hand, you can sub 1/2 a teaspoon or so of garlic powder in its place.
- Dried Herbs – My favorite combo is dried thyme, dried oregano, and dried sage. You could also use dried rosemary, dried parsley, or even dried basil. Italian seasoning is another great substitute.
- Flour – Stick with all-purpose flour for the best flavor and texture in this stew. But if you want to keep it gluten free, you can skip the flour which result in a thinner consistency. Or dissolve two tablespoons of corn starch in two tablespoons cold water to create a slurry. Add the slurry to the pot while everything is simmering and it will thicken up beautifully!
- Balsamic Vinegar & Soy Sauce – The combination of balsamic vinegar and soy sauce in this stew is what gives it the classic flavor of beef stew without the meat! If you aren’t a big fan of balsamic vinegar flavor, try adding just half initially and then adding more as needed. As the vinegar simmers in the stew it will loose some of it’s acidity as well and actually sweeten the dish slightly (similar to how a balsamic glaze made from simmered balsamic vinegar ends up being slightly sweet) which balances out the acidity of the tomatoes well. You could also just replace the vinegar with red wine if you prefer.
- Baby Yellow Potatoes – Baby yellow potatoes will work best in this dish because they have thin skins and they cook quickly. If you’re using another type of potato, make sure to dice them into bite-sized pieces and consider adding them along with the onion, celery, and carrot so that they cook through by the time the lentils are cooked.
- Red Lentils – I like to use red lentils for this veggie stew as they cook quickly and they’re so tender. If you are using brown or green lentils, you will want to cook them fully or almost fully before adding them to the stew.
- Tomato Sauce – Canned tomato sauce adds such a delicious depth of flavor to this dish. A great substitute for tomato sauce is equal parts tomato paste and water.
- Veggie Broth – If you aren’t worried about this stew being vegan you can substitute chicken broth or beef broth in place of the veggie broth.
- Bay Leaves – I love to use dried bay leaves to add another layer of delicious aromatic flavor whenever I’m simmering a soup or stew for a while.
Instructions
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery along with a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally for 8 minutes.
Add mushrooms, garlic, thyme, rosemary, oregano, sage, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper.
Cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes.
Add flour and stir to evenly coat everything.
Cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute.
Stir in balsamic vinegar and soy sauce to deglaze pan, scraping the yummy bits off the bottom.
Add potatoes, lentils, tomato sauce, broth, and bay leaves, along with a couple pinches of salt and pepper.
Bring to a simmer over medium high heat, stirring occasionally so that the lentils don’t stick to the pan, but don’t bring to a boil.
Turn heat to low and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh parsley, serve with mashed potatoes, and enjoy!
Tips
- Salt is a very important ingredient in this recipe! You’ll notice that I mention adding a couple pinches of salt and pepper throughout the recipe instructions. Please make sure that you are salting this stew moderately/liberally! The salt is going to help the potatoes to break down and cook in the acidic stew base with tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar, and soy sauce. Acid can prevent potatoes from breaking down and cooking properly, and salt is the best way to counteract this!
- Feel free to switch up the veggies! You can dress up this vegan mushroom stew by swapping the veggies for your favorites. I love frozen peas, frozen green beans, or canned chickpeas. Just make sure you keep the proportions the same and it’ll turn out delicious!
- You can also switch up the flavors of this stew very easily by adding cumin, paprika, or even a pinch of ground ginger or cinnamon!
- To add a little kick to this veggie stew, try adding red pepper flakes right to the pot or add a little pinch to each individual serving.
Make Ahead, Storage, Freezing, and Reheating
- Make Ahead: This vegetable stew recipe is the perfect make ahead dish because the flavors just get better with time!
- Storage: Store leftover stew in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
- Freezing: This vegan stew can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Reheating: Reheat leftovers in a saucepan over medium heat. You may need to add a splash of broth to loosen up the stew as it will thicken as it cools. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until heated through. Season to taste with salt and enjoy!
FAQ
I try not to think of foods as good or bad. However, this vegetarian stew is loaded with fresh veggies and made with real, whole ingredients which means that you can feel good about feeding it to your family!
Stew might seem a bit complicated, but it’s actually one of the easiest meals to throw together! My vegetable stew recipes come together all in one pot in about 45 minutes and there are no fancy cooking skills required! If you can chop veggies and stir, you can make veggie stew!
No! As I mentioned, all the ingredients cook together in one pot! The veggies are added raw and cooked in a flavorful broth of tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, and herbs for a delicious weeknight dinner your family will love!
Vegetarian Family Favorites
Did you love this recipe?
Please leave a 5-star rating and review below!
Vegan Mushroom Stew
Colder weather calls for hearty meals, and this easy one pot vegetable stew is perfect for an easy dinner that everyone will love! It comes together in about 45 minutes and is loaded with root vegetables and lentils which make this vegetarian stew super filling!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup sliced carrot
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 16 oz. baby Bella mushrooms, halved
- 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 16 oz. baby yellow potatoes, halved
- 1 cup uncooked split red lentils
- 1 (14.5 oz.) can tomato sauce
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 2 bay leaves
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add onion, carrot, and celery along with a couple pinches of salt and pepper.
- Cook, stirring occasionally for 8 minutes.
- Add mushrooms, garlic, thyme, oregano, sage, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper.
- Cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes.
- Add flour and stir to evenly coat everything. Cook, stirring frequently for 1 minute.
- Stir in balsamic vinegar and soy sauce to deglaze the pan, scraping the yummy bits off the bottom.
- Add potatoes, lentils, tomato sauce, broth, and bay leaves, along with a couple pinches of salt and pepper.
- Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally so that the lentils don’t stick to the pan.
- Turn heat to low and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Garnish with fresh parsley, serve with mashed potatoes, and enjoy!
Notes
- Salt is a very important ingredient in this recipe! You’ll notice that I mention adding a couple pinches of salt and pepper throughout the recipe instructions. Please make sure that you are salting this stew moderately/liberally! The salt is going to help the potatoes to break down and cook in the acidic stew base with tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar, and soy sauce. Acid can prevent potatoes from breaking down and cooking properly, and salt is the best way to counteract this!
- Feel free to switch up the veggies! You can dress up this vegan mushroom stew by swapping the veggies for your favorites. I love frozen peas, frozen green beans, or canned chickpeas. Just make sure you keep the proportions the same and it’ll turn out delicious!
- You can also switch up the flavors of this stew very easily by adding cumin, paprika, or even a pinch of ground ginger or cinnamon!
- To add a little kick to this veggie stew, try adding red pepper flakes right to the pot or add a little pinch to each individual serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of stew
- Calories: 355
- Sugar: 9.7 g
- Sodium: 650.1 mg
- Fat: 9.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 57.3 g
- Fiber: 8.5 g
- Protein: 13.2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Loved this recipe!!! I used to the full amount of balsamic and it was definitely a kick but we loved it. My husband kept asking me for the leftovers of this and when we ran out he was beyond disappointed! Thanks for this lovely recipe 🙂
This looks like something both my omni husband and I would thoroughly enjoy!
Loved this very simple to make, I followed the recipe except missed the sage out as I don like the taste, I think the secret is using good quality balsamic vinegar.
Will be on on weekly menu thanks very much.
I am so glad that you enjoyed this stew, Lynda! I know some people don’t enjoy the flavor of sage so I’m glad to hear that it was still tasty without it. Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
So I just wanted comment that this is the first veggie recipe I’ve made that my husband liked!!
I can’t find split lentils so I used red lentils cooked ahead – the author’s suggestion.
We used less broth.
Served over non vegan mashed potatoes- I’ll have to work on that down the road.
Very good. Next time we’re not going to add the potatoes to the stew if we eat it over mash.
Full disclosure: The kids wouldn’t eat it (but that’s not the authors fault).
I’m so glad that you and your husband enjoyed this recipe!! Haha – I can’t get enough potatoes so I love eat this stew over potatoes, but it’s just as good by itself too! Maybe the kids will give it a try next time 🙂 Thanks for leaving a review, Jenny – I really appreciate it!
So much flavour. Great recipe! Thank you ☺️
This looks amazing. Has anyone made this in the Instant Pot? Always looking for a shortcut in the kitchen after work. Thanks so much.
This came out delicious..Even my nonvegan teens liked it..I put it over brown rice and substituted with white wine vinegar, added a pinch of coconut sugar during
deglazing!!
YUM! Coconut sugar sounds like the perfect addition! And I’m glad the white wine vinegar worked out well – so good to know!! Love when the non-vegans can enjoy a vegan meal too 🙂 Thanks so much for leaving a review – I really appreciate it!
Omg, this recipe is heavenly! My first “fall meal” of the season. The only changes I made were using green lentils because I couldn’t find split red and baby carrots vs whole. In hindsight I wish I had cooked the lentils prior to putting them in the soup because it ended up taking much longer than I anticipated. But soooo worth it! The flavor is unbelievable and this is such a filling meal. Served with homemade biscuits. Will definitely make this again and again!
Loved it!! I barely made any changes but only bc I am fructose malabsorption. I can not tolerate garlic but can have garlic olive oil so I sauté the veggies in that and no black pepper. I used canned lintels and rinsed them before added during the last 5 minutes or so of cooking. So delicious. This is a keeper. Thank you.
I am so glad to hear that this, Susan! So interesting about the garlic oil too – I’m glad that you’re still able to enjoy the garlic flavor even if you can’t have garlic; I can’t imagine a life without garlic!! Canned lentils would be great in this recipe – what a good idea! Thanks so much for leaving a review. I really appreciate it 🙂
I made this tonight and served it over cauliflower mash. We really liked it! I decreased the balsamic to 2 tbsp because my husband doesn’t like vinegar. I added 1/2 cup of red wine at the same time as the vinegar and soy sauce. Very good and will definitely go into our rotation. Thank you!!
I’m so glad that you were able to adjust this recipe to suit your tastes!! Red wine would be a delicious addition to this meal – maybe with an extra glass to enjoy while you’re making it 😉 Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it!
I made this today but didn’t have any sage and added a little peas. It still came out delicious. Best meal I had since becoming a vegan. Thank you and keep up the great receipts.
I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Craig!! Glad you were able to use what you had on hand as well 🙂 Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it!!
Would yellow pigeon pea lentils work?
I think you could essentially use any type of lentil for this recipe, but I would take into consideration the cooking time on the lentils. Split red lentils cook in about 5-10 minutes making them perfect for this recipe because, by the time they are cooked, the potatoes are about cooked through as well. If you use a lentil that takes longer than 5-10 minutes to cook, I would recommend cooking them partway before adding them to the stew, otherwise, you’ll end up overcooking the potatoes while you’re trying to get the lentils done. Hope that helps! Can’t wait to hear what you think! 🙂
Can’t wait to make this! Can I use green instead of red lentils in this recipe? Red are more mushy when cooked. Not sure if that adds to the texture of the stew. Thanks!
I think green lentils would work okay in this veggie stew! You will need to increase the simmer time so that the green lentils can cook through as they take a bit longer than split red lentils. My one concern would be that the potatoes might overcook if you leave them in the entire time that the lentils are simmering. Perhaps try adding the potatoes once the green lentils are about halfway or more through their simmering? I’d love to hear how it turns out if you do end up using the green lentils! Great question, Shannon!
I’ve had this recipe opened on my phone for a week. Finally made it today for dinner. I had to make a couple of substations, but it still turned out amazing. I’m already looking forward to eating the leftovers tomorrow. I will be making this again. And next time I’ll be sure I have exactly what I need before I start cooking.
This is a delicious and hearty stew! Fits is with my efforts to eat more of a Mediterranean diet. I cut back on the balsamic vinegar just a tad and added 1 T of brown sugar to round out the flavors. Will definitely make again!
Brown sugar would be such a great addition to this stew! I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Mary Ann! Thank you for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
I’m so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Susan. Thanks for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
This was spectacular! The only additions I made was to add a few spoonfuls of marmite to give the sauce a slightly deeper taste because the veggie stock I used was fairly bland and tossed in some leftover green beans, peas & corn from another recipe I had made earlier so they wouldn’t go to waste. What a wonderful flavor though! This is going into my regular recipe rotation.
I will have to check out marmite!! That sounds like a great way to add an additional boost of flavor 🙂 I’m glad you were able to use up some extra veggies too – that’s great! I am so glad that you enjoyed this recipe, Marianne! Thanks so much for leaving a review – I really appreciate it!!
Hello… I added roasted cubes of parsnips instead of the potatoes. Also I didn’t have a plain balsamic vinegar, but had a habanero honey ..balsamic vinegar. I was afraid it might be too much so only did 2tbls. Also only had regular lentils. I’ll let you know .. we haven’t eaten it yet. And my daughter’s boyfriend is coming over for dinner first time🥴
Hope he likes it
I made this last night, and followed the recipe exactly, except I also added a cup of red wine and some kale that I had and didn’t want to spoil. It was delicious and very hearty. I serve it with some jasmine rice. My family loved it!
Adele
Nothing wrong with a little more wine!! 😉 Glad you were able to use up some extra veg you had on hand as well!! Thanks so much for leaving a review – I really appreciate it 🙂
This looks yummy I’m going to try it right away
I think you’re going to love this one, Rosemary! It’s a perfect winter meal!! 🙂
It is really delicious! I think next time I’ll cut back on the balsamic a little and use red or white wine in it. So good though!
So glad to hear that, David! Red/white wine would be DELICIOUS in this recipe!!! Great suggestion! 🙂
I made this today but didn’t have any sage and added a little peas. It still came out delicious. Best meal I had since becoming a vegan. Thank you and keep up the great receipts.
Woohoo! Love to hear that, Craig!
Have you made this leaving out the tomatoes & how did it taste?
I think you could definitely give this a try without the tomatoes if you prefer. The texture will be slightly different and the flavor too of course but you could try adding a bit more broth and adjust the seasonings to suit your taste!
This recipe is FABULOUS! I followed it almost to the letter, but reduced balsamic vinegar by half, and added a teaspoon of Sriracha sauce for a little heat. I’ll be making this over and over again all winter long!
LOVE it! My husband would love that little kick of sriracha too! Thanks so much for leaving a review, Heddie! I really appreciate it 🙂