Our Vegan Scottish Stovies recipe is based on the traditional stovies my mum prepared throughout our childhood, in Glasgow during the 80s-90s. Our Vegan Stovies feature potatoes and onions stewed within a delicious home-made gravy, with pre-cooked vegan sausages or an alternative, and can be either enjoyed as a type of Vegan Sausage Stew or mashed up into a tasty comforting bowl of plant-based homely goodness!
potato masher optional, only required if mashing the stovies or preparing the mashed neeps
vegetable peeler optional, only required if preparing the mashed neeps or peeling the potatoes
medium saucepan optional, only required if preparing the mashed neeps
Ingredients
For the stovies:
8vegan sausages[pre-cooked according to packet instructions and sliced into 2-3 pieces, or if small kept whole, see notes below for alternatives]
950gramspotatoes[chopped into very large chunks, small-medium sized potatoes can be left whole.]
450gramsonion[sliced into thick onion rings, wedges, or slices.]
2tablespoonvegan Worcestershire sauce{or replace with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar]
1tablespoonsoy sauce
1teaspoonyeast extract[or marmite, vegemite]
2bay leaf
1tablespoononion powder
1tablespoongarlic powder
2litresvegan stock[Use a 'beef' flavoured vegan stock if available.]
For the mashed neeps:
800gramsswede[In Scotland a swede is called a turnip or neep, and in the US you will need a rutabaga.]
1tablespoonvegan margarine or butter[Or use 1-2 tablespoon of nutritional yeast flakes, hummus, or white miso paste.]
60millilitresplant-based milk[add more as required, if preferred the swede cooking liquid can replace the milk]
to season: salt, pepper, and fresh parsley [optional]
Instructions
Prepare the stovies:
Add a layer of potatoes to your cooking pot, and follow with a layer of onions, and so on until the ingredients are used up.
950 grams potatoes, 450 grams onion
Add the yeast extract, vegan Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, bay leaf, onion and garlic powder to the cooking pot. Add a few pinches of black pepper if liked.[One tablespoon of soy sauce and one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar can replace the vegan Worcestershire sauce]
Pour in the vegetable stock and over a high heat bring to the boil.
2 litres vegan stock
Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 60 minutes.Don't add a lid to your saucepan as you want the liquid to reduce and thicken up.
Once cooked, give the stovies a good mix and remove the bay leafs, check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste, and you can either mash a few of the potatoes directly in the cooking pot or leave everything whole. [We like to mash a few of the potatoes and stir these through the stovies as doing so can help thicken the cooking liquid. But sometimes we like to just leave the stovies whole especially if we use new or baby potatoes as they don't tend to mash well.]
Stir through the cooked vegan sausages and if your sausages are cold, simmer the stovies for a few minutes to heat the sausages up.[Some people prefer their stovies all mashed up so feel free to mash the potatoes, sausages, and everything together]
8 vegan sausages
Enjoy the stovies with a few slices of bread to mop up the the tasty stovies gravy. A side-dish of mashed neeps [swede] is also a delicious accompaniment.
Optional side-dish: Prepare the mashed neeps while the stovies are cooking
Place the chopped swede into a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil over a high heat, and once boiling reduce the heat to medium. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until very soft.
800 grams swede
Drain the cooking liquid away, and add the swede back into the cooking pot. Add the margarine and plant-based milk. Season with salt and black pepper.
1 tablespoon vegan margarine or butter, 60 millilitres plant-based milk, to season: salt, pepper, and fresh parsley [optional]
Give the neeps a good mashing (sometimes it can be near impossible to achieve a smooth mash so don't try too hard! A rustic homely mashed neeps is still amazingly delicious!Add extra plant-based milk and margarine if necessary to achieve your desired consistency and flavour, and more salt and pepper to taste. A handful of fresh chopped parsley mixed through the mashed neeps is a nice addition.Place a lid over the pot with the mashed neeps, as this will keep the mash warm for a few minutes until the stovies are ready.
Notes
Nutritional information is provided for guidance only and is not a strict calculation as ingredients vary. Data does not include the optional mashed neeps.
Estimated data including the neeps is: 480 Kcal, 90g Carbs, 24g Protein, 4g Fat, 14g Fiber, 107g Vitamin C. 182g Calcium, 26g Sugar, 8mg Iron, 1244 IU Vitamin A, 1933mg Potassium.
Leftover stovies can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Or frozen for 2-3 months in a freezer proof container.
To reheat stovies, add the stovies to a non-stick pan, bring to the boil, and reheat for a few minutes until piping hot. A little extra water or stock may be needed if the stovies are very thick.
For a stovies variation add 100g [about 2 cups] of chopped kale, about 10-15 minutes before the stovies are cooked.
Vegan sausages can be substituted for cooked and sliced vegan burgers, fillets, steaks, meat-balls, or tempeh, tofu, TVP [textured vegetable protein], soy curls, butterbeans, mushrooms, swede or carrots.
If using mushrooms, butterbeans, TVP, soy curls, tempeh, tofu, or vegan meatballs, as a sausage substitute these can be added directly to the cooking pot.
Or omit the sausages and any substitution and simply prepare traditional stovies which contained mainly potatoes, but onions are a delicious worthwhile addition.
Sweet potatoes can be used instead of white potatoes if preferred.
This is an oil-free stovies recipe but of course you can choose to saute the onions in oil or vegan butter if preferred, or add pats of vegan butter to the finished stoved potatoes so that it melts over.
See the recipe notes and FAQ section above for more substitution ideas and lots of useful tips for preparing the best vegan stovies!