Vegan Stew And Dumplings

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Meet my no-fail vegan stew and dumplings. Packed with flavour, affordable and quicker than regular stew.

Vegetable stew in a large pan surrounded by bread, raw ingredients and toppings.

Disclosure: This recipe post was created in collaboration with EURASYP, the European Association for Specialty Yeast Products. All opinions expressed are my own.

What Makes This Recipe Great

- It’s super easy.
- Way faster than regular stew - no need to cook any meat.
- Packed with flavour thanks to my secret ingredient.
- You can customise it with veggies of your choice.
- You’ll get in several portions of veggies.
- It’s cheap as chips, using only staple ingredients.
- Popular with young and old alike.
- The dumplings are super soft and chewy. And don’t say you haven’t been warned - you won’t want to share this one with anyone!

Making Vegan Stew with Dumplings

Ever wondered what goes into a vegan stew? Here it comes!

All the ingredient needed to make a vegetable stew laid out on a flat surface.

- Yeast Extract: my secret ingredient to make this stew super savoury, rich and flavourful. Don’t mistake with nutritional yeast.

- Beans: If you like the starchy, bean flavour you can use the liquid from a can of beans too. Or you can simply just drain the liquid and use beans only.

In terms of equipment, you won’t need anything fancy. I recommend a good, medium-sized or large cooking pot, preferably a non-stick one.

As always, it will be handy to have proper measuring spoons, but you can use regular spoons if preferred.

1. How To Make the Stew

A collage of four images showing four steps in making stew.

Gently fry your garlic and onion.
Then add carrots and celery and fry for further 15 minutes.
Add vegetable stock, yeast extract, tomato paste, beans, potato and seasoning. Simmer for another 20-25 minutes. Add your cornstarch thickener halfway through.
In the meantime, make your dumplings (full instructions below). Add dumplings to the pan and cook uncovered for 8 minutes, then cover and cook for 12 minutes. Don't forget to stir the bottom ocassionally.

2. How to Make Vegan Dumpling Dough

All the ingredient needed to make dumpling dough laid out on a flat surface.

Wondering how to make vegan dumplings from scratch? You’ll be pleased to know it’s actually super easy. This recipe is pretty forgiving so even if you’re a complete cooking novice, you should have no issues.

There’s a reason why these are often called ‘drop dumplings’. You simply just make the dough and then drop it on top of a simmering stew. Here are the steps you'll need to take:

A collage of four images showing four steps in making dumpling dough.

Combine all your dry ingredients.
Then add in vegan butter (room temperature, but not melted) little by little. Make sure to really rub the butter into the flour mixture using a spoon.
Last but not least, add your plant milk little by little. Mix well. Don’t worry if some lumps remain.
If you want your dumplings to be really big like mine, use a 1⁄8 cup measuring cup. If you prefer smaller, just use a tablespoon. Drop the dough on top of the simmering stew. Preferably, place it on top of vegetables to prevent it from sinking. Then, as stated above, cook for 8 minutes uncovered and further 12 minutes covered.

Vegan Stew: F.A.Q.

Vegetable stew and a dumpling in a white bowl.

How to make a stew more flavourful?

It’s ALL in the herbs, spices and my secret ingredient. Let’s break it down.

Herbs-wise you will want to really stock up on thyme and not be shy to use parsley. In terms of spices, you will need a good teaspoon of paprika powder, plus some delicious black pepper.

Last but certainly not least, you will need yeast extract. This is not to be confused with nutritional yeast.

This is a crucial ingredient that adds a special ‘oomph’. It’s super savoury, salty and provides a real punch that vegan stews tend to miss from time to time.

Having not added any meat or meat substitutes, yeast extract will help add that hearty, salty, rich and deep flavour.

How do I fix a thin stew?

Add more flour. You can use either regular plain flour or cornflour. You will want to make sure your flour is dissolved in some liquid BEFORE you add it to your stew. Wondering how to do that?

Grab a tablespoon of flour and cover it with just enough water to make it into a smooth paste. Stir until no lumps remain.

Then slowly pour into your stew and keep stirring. You should see your stew thickening up in a few minutes. Don’t add more than a tablespoon of flour at a time.

Alternatively, you could also use arrowroot powder and dissolve it in water.

How to prevent vegetables from sticking to the pan?

Make sure to always keep an eye out on the bottom of your pan. If you see any vegetables sticking to the bottom, add a splash of water and immediately scrape the bottom with a silicone spatula.

Make sure to gently stir the bottom of your stew even whilst your dumplings are in the pan.

If you’re using a non-stick pan, never scrape with a metal utensil as they tend to ruin the non-stick coating.

Expert Stew Tips

A hand holding a spoon with a vegan dumpling topped off by thyme.

What side dishes go with stew?

The first thing that comes to mind are creamy mashed potatoes. They’re the perfect soft addition to your hearty stew and you can use regular or sweet potato. Another great simple side dish is bread. If you prefer something crunchier, you could top off your stew with croutons.

Seeing that our stew is already served with dumplings, you might go for a lighter side dish. Why not try a delicious green salad or a crunchy grated carrot & cabbage salad. You could also simply top it off with a dollop of yummy vegan yoghurt.

Just like my vegan pot pie, this hearty stew goes well with a big portion of long green beans. As you can see, the options are endless.

Can you make this stew ahead of time?

You most definitely can! Simply let it cool down completely, transfer to an airtight container and store in a fridge for 2-3 days. The stew itself can be stored for longer, even up to 5 days.

This is why if you’re making a stew and want to save it for as long as possible, I recommend making the dumplings later on.

If you’re a fan of hearty dishes like this one, you won’t want to miss my vegan pot pie. Or you could try out my baked vegan mac & cheese, savoury vegan muffins, roasted red pepper pasta or vegan scrambled egg.

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