Vegan Stew and Dumplings

Vegan stew and dumplings are the perfect comfort meal. Easy, quick and affordable.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Vegan

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 10

Total Time 1 25

Servings

Calories 499kcal

Author Tajda Ferko

Equipment

Large cooking pan
Kitchen scales
Measuring spoons

Ingredients

FOR THE STEW

1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1 onion
2 carrots
3 celery stalks
½ can canellini beans washed and drained
150 g potato about ½ a large potato
550 ml vegetable stock
1 tablespoon thyme
2 tablespoon tomato puree
2 teaspoon yeast extract
1 teaspoon paprika powder
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoon cornflour mixed with 2 tablespoon water
optional: extra vegetable stock or water

FOR THE DUMPLINGS

120 g plain white flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon thyme or other herb like parsley and chives
1,5 teaspoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon vegan butter
1 tablespoon onion powder
130 ml unsweetened soy milk or other unsweetened and unflavoured plant milk

FOR GARNISH

thyme

US Cups - Metric

Instructions

Wash and chop all your vegetables.
Warm up olive oil in a large cooking pan. Add chopped onion and crushed garlic. Gently fry for 5 minutes.
Add carrots and celery and gently fry on low heat for another 15 minutes until softened.
Then add all remaining ingredients except cornflour. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Keep an eye out on the bottom of the pan to make sure your veggies don't stick to the bottom.
After 15 minutes of simmering, it's time to thicken your stew. Dissolve 2 tablespoon of cornflour in 2 tablespoon of water. Add to your stew. Stir well and keep simmering until your vegetables have cooked thoroughly - about 15 to 20 more minutes.
Don't forget to stir the bottom of the pan occasionally to prevent vegetables from sticking to the bottom. You will also need to add a splash of water to your stew if it gets too dry.
In the meantime, use a separate bowl to make your dumplings. Combine all your dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, nutritional yeast and herbs).
Little by little, add vegan butter. Make sure your vegan butter is at room temperature as this will help it dissolve better. Try to mix in your butter with your dry ingredients as much as possible, using a spoon to press the butter against the bowl's edge. Then add your unsweetened plant milk and stir well.
Using a spoon or a measuring cup, scoop out your dumpling mixture and add to your simmering stew. I usually use a ⅛ measuring cup which will create 6 dumplings (as original recipe is written - adjust if you've altered the batch size).
Place your dumplings on top of the vegetables in order to prevent them from sinking. Cook for 8 minutes uncovered, then add some more water to your stew (100-200ml - adjust if making a bigger/smaller batch than original recipe) and cook covered for 12 minutes.
Make sure to gently stir the stew around your dumplings to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Don't be afraid to move the dumplings around if you need to.
Once your dumplings have cooked thoroughly (you will notice they've become hard and changed colour), serve your stew with some extra fresh thyme.

Notes

The beauty of this stew is that it's super easy to customise. If you're missing any vegetables, simply swap them for something else. You can swap potatoes with sweet potatoes, beans with lentils or chickpeas, thyme with any other herb of choice etc.
You can swap cornstarch for plain flour.
To make this dish gluten-free, use gluten-free plain flour for your dumplings batter.
Make sure to keep an eye out on the bottom of your pan. Scrape the bottom well with a silicone or wooden spatula from time to time to prevent anything from sticking and burning.
If your vegetable stock and water have largely evaporated, simply add more water or stock.
Gently brush the dumplings with a little bit of stew whilst they're cooking - this will add a beautiful golden colour.
Don't be in too much of a hurry! There's nothing worse than spending time and effort on a delicious stew only to realise you haven't cooked the veggies thoroguhly. Allow time to cook completely, adding more water if needed and tasting your vegetables before removing from heat.

Nutrition