Vegan traditional British beef stew is a bowl of satisfying plant-based goodness. Each spoonful packs a flavour punch of rich savoury tomato-paprika gravy. This recipe is incredibly easy and quick. And uses everyday ingredients. Add this tasty stew to your regular meal plan. You’ll be glad you did!
Origins of stew
Since ancient times all civilizations and cultures have appreciated hearty bowls of hot stew. And its easy to see why as this delicious meal is filling, budget-friendly, and simply prepared in one-pot.
The ancient Romans had recipes for stews. And stew recipes have been located within Medieval French recipe books dating back to the 14th Century.
Most old stew recipes contain meat but it was likely that poorer communities would not have been able to afford meat for the stew-pot on a regular basis.
In my opinion stews that are packed with plant-based goodness are way tastier.
I love that preparing stews is so time saving as its quick to just bung everything together and then leave it to do its own thing.
Which leaves us more time to get all the other hundred-and-one things we usually need to get done.
My plant-based stew is gluten-free friendly
My vegan beef stew recipe is gluten-free as I have used Marigold stock cubes which are gluten-free and Doves Farm gluten-free plain flour.
If you don’t need this recipe to be gluten-free then just use whatever ingredients you have to hand at home. Plain, all-purpose or wholemeal flour will work just as well.
Textured vegetable protein (TVP) or soya chunks
I use soya chunks, also known as textured vegetable protein (TVP) which are widely available in the UK. Many supermarkets stock these protein packed pieces, as well as most wholefood stores and health shops. In the US soya curls are a good replacement if soya chunks are hard to locate.
TVP is generally a one ingredient product and is prepared with defatted soya flour. Although some TVP packs have already been pre-flavoured. TVP is most commonly available as dried mince or chunks. As the TVP is dried a pack can be used for 3-4 different meals making this ingredient amazing value.
TVP is a valuable source of complete protein, iron, fibre and other nutrients. Even better is that TVP provides no fat, cholesterol, and is low in sodium.
My stew recipe works fine without initially hydrating the TVP. But if preferred the TVP can be soaked in boiling water, to cover, for 30-60 minutes before using.
A teaspoon of vegetable extract/marmite added to the water can help flavour the pieces as TVP does not have an actual taste but instead soaks up the flavours of whatever dish its added to. Drain the water before using or use the water as part of the veggie stock.
How to easily prepare vegan beef stew:
Add the veggies, potatoes and soya chunks to a stock pot. 
Mix through the spices, herbs and flour. Combine the stew mix with passata and tomato puree. Pour in the veggie stock and soya sauce. Ten minutes before end of cooking, add the red wine vinegar. Check the seasoning. Serve up!
Recipe FAQs and Pro Tips
How to prepare your own veggie stock to use for this recipe or any recipe.
Making your own stock can be as easy as saving all your vegetable and potato cooking water and using this in place of stock. Or using the reserved cooking liquid as the basis for your veggie stock by adding the stock powder, bouillon paste or cubes.
Its super easy, saves money and reduces food waste.
Take your stock one step further and keep all your vegetable peelings, scraps, leaves, stalks, roots etc., and simmer these with 2-3 litres of water for up to an hour. For extra savoury flavour add some peppercorns, fresh herbs, a couple of bay leaf’s, or dried herbs.
After about an hour of gentle simmering strain the stock through a sieve or colander. Cool and then place in the refrigerator for about 5 days.
Alternatively, after cooling, pour into a large freezer bag or a few smaller bags, or a container, and freeze until required. The stock should be fine for at least 6 months. Vegetable stock can also be frozen in an ice-cube tray and popped out once frozen and added to a freezer tub or bag.
I like to keep a large freezer-proof bag in my freezer where I add vegetable scraps each day and make stock when I take the notion.
More tasty easy vegan stews to liven up your meal times:
Vegan Beef Stew With Fluffy Dumplings
Vegan Creamy Cashew, Lentil, and Roast Cauliflower Moroccan Stew
Vegan Traditional Beef Stew
Equipment
- Large saucepan/ stock pot/ soup pan/casserole pan
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion rough chopped.
- 4 cloves garlic fine chopped or minced. Or use 2 tsp of garlic powder.
- 3 medium carrots thick sliced 1/2-1 inch chunks.
- 3 stalks celery thick sliced.
- 450 g potatoes halved or quartered into large chunks,
- 100 g dried soya chunks otherwise known as textured vegetable protein (TVP). Alternatively use soya curls. If using a fresh alternative use about 300 grams.
- 1 tsp dried sage
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried marjoram
- 2 tsp paprika either smoky, sweet or ordinary
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp gluten-free plain flour alternatively you could use a plain flour or a plain wholemeal flour
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 250 ml tomato passata
- 2 tbsp soy sauce Use Tamari soy sauce if your recipe needs to be gluten-free. Also Tamari has less sodium.
- 1.5 litres vegetable stock I use Marigold bouillon powder or stock cubes which are vegan and gluten-free.
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Add the veggies, potatoes and soya chunks to the pan.
- Mix through the spices, herbs and flour.
- Pour in the veggie stock, soy sauce, passata and tomato puree. Give everything a good mix.
- Bring to the boil, turn the heat to low-medium and simmer for 30 minutes.Turn the heat to low.Add the red wine vinegar and give the stew a good stir. The stew will be getting thicker so check frequently that it is not sticking to the pan.
- Simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Stew is ready when the gravy is thick and rich, and the potatoes are soft.Check the seasoning, add salt and pepper if desired.
Notes
- Leftover stew will keep fresh for up to 3 days, within a covered container, in the fridge.
- Leftovers can be frozen for 3-4 months. Defrost before reheating.
- Reheat leftovers in a pan by adding a little water or veggie stock to loosen up the gravy if its gotten too thick, and gently bringing to a simmer. Heat until piping hot throughout, stir frequently to prevent sticking to the pan.
- This recipe is perfect for batch prepping.
I love beef stew and this sounds like an amazing vegan option. Saving this one to try.
Thanks for saving the recipe. Hope you enjoy 🙂
This is a hearty and delicious meal that is great for meatless Mondays. The broth is so full of flavor.
Absolutely perfect for meatless Mondays and hopefully lead to more meatless days! I love the broth flavour also especially dipping some crusty bread into it. So good!
I love how you made this traditionally meat heavy stew totally plant based! This looks so warming and delicious – can’t wait to try it soon!
Thanks! No-one will miss the meat with this savoury stew that’s for sure!
What a great recipe for a vegan alternative for beef stew. Love it!
Thanks so much. Happy you love the vegan stew 🙂
What a lovely and very comforting stew! My hubby and I absolutely enjoyed this stew a few nights ago! Such a tasty and great stew!
That’s so good to read that your family enjoyed the stew so much!