Vegan Chuck Wagon Stew

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 45

Total Time: 1

Servings: -6 depending on appetites and sides

Calories: 207kcal

Author: Jacq

This Vegan Chuck Wagon Stew is a meat-free adaptation of the traditional chuck wagon stew, and features vegan mince cooked with black-eyed beans [peas], carrots, celery, onions and green peas in a delicious rich home-made gravy.

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US Customary - Metric

Equipment

Stew or soup pot with lid
Saucepan
mixing spoon

Ingredients

Precook the carrot and celery:

250 millilitres vegetable stock
3 medium carrots [sliced into bite sized chunks]
3 sticks celery [sliced into bite sized chunks]

Saute onions and garlic:

1 tablespoon olive oil [or replace with 125ml [½ cup] of vegetable stock]
1 medium-large onion [rough chopped]
4 garlic cloves [use more if your cloves are small]

Stew:

300 grams vegan mince [either fresh or frozen -thawed]
½ teaspoon chilli powder [use more if spicier is preferred]
1 teaspoon dried sage [or your preferred dried herb]
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon plain flour [all-purpose flour or replace with gluten-free plain flour or cornstarch/cornflour]
2 tablespoon soy sauce [use Tamari if gluten-free required]
2 tablespoon tomato ketchup [see FAQ section above for alternatives]
1 can black eyed beans [black eyed peas, 400g [14oz] can]
1 can chopped tomatoes [400g [14oz] can]
1 litre vegetable stock hot, [use a vegan 'beef' flavour if available such as OXO meat free beef flavour stock or bouillon cubes]

Add 5 minutes before end of cooking:

160 grams frozen peas

Instructions

Pre-cook the carrot and celery:

Heat the vegetable stock in a non-stick pan and add the carrot and celery chunks. Place a lid on top and simmer for 10 minutes until the vegetables are nearly softened. Add a few tablespoons of water or stock whenever it looks like the liquid may run dry.
Precooking the carrot and celery reduces the cooking time required for the stew, as these vegetables take longer to soften when cooked in a tomato-based liquid.
250 millilitres vegetable stock, 3 medium carrots, 3 sticks celery

Prepare the stew:

Heat the oil in a soup or stew pot.
1 tablespoon olive oil
Cook the onions over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring them occasionally.
1 medium-large onion
Next, add the garlic, pre-cooked celery, and carrot, and cook for another minute, stirring frequently.
4 garlic cloves
Now, add the vegan mince, tomato ketchup, soy sauce, bay leaf, chilli powder, dried sage, and plain flour, stirring well.
300 grams vegan mince, ½ teaspoon chilli powder, 1 teaspoon dried sage, 1 bay leaf, 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoon tomato ketchup, 1 tablespoon plain flour
Pour in the canned tomatoes and the black-eyed beans.
1 can black eyed beans, 1 can chopped tomatoes
Pour in the vegetable stock and bring the stew to a gentle boil.
1 litre vegetable stock
Cook for 20 minutes, stirring a few times.
Add the frozen peas and pop a lid over the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked and the stew is nice and thick. Although the stew will continue to thicken as it sits off the heat.
160 grams frozen peas
Stir well, remove the bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
A little fresh chopped parsley is a nice optional addition.

Notes

Nutritional data is for guidance only and is not an exact calculation as ingredients vary.
Pre-cooking the carrot and celery chunks is optional as they can simply be sautéed for about 5 minutes after the onions have cooked, but they will take much longer to soften up in the stew, so you will need to adjust cooking times.
The vegan mince used for this recipe was fresh Better Naked Evolution plant-based mince, but any vegan mince or crumbles can be used either fresh, frozen or rehydrated dried meat-free mince [such as TVP].
The vegetable stock was made with 3 OXO meat free beef flavour stock cubes stirred through 1 litre [1 quart] of boiling water. Any vegetable stock or bouillon cubes can be used, but for a beefy flavour go with a vegan beef stock cube, paste or powder.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Or freeze for 2-3 months.
Reheat in a non-stick pan by gently bringing to a boil and simmering for 2-3 minutes until piping hot throughout. Add extra vegetable stock as necessary.
Replace the black eyed beans with any cooked bean such as pinto, kidney beans, chickpeas, etc.
For a gluten-free stew use Tamari soy sauce, gluten-free plain flour or, and a gluten-free vegetable stock. Also check that your tomato ketchup and vegan mince is gluten-free.
To prepare in a slow cooker:
Add all the ingredients into the slow cooker [except frozen peas], but decrease the quantity of vegetable stock to 2 cups, or 500 millilitres. Cook on high for about 4 hours or until the vegetables are soft. Alternatively, cook it for a longer period on the lower settings. Add the frozen peas for the last 45 minutes of cooking.
The precise cooking time will vary based on the size of the vegetable pieces. For instance, diced carrots and celery will cook faster than chunkier pieces, so if you're using larger chunks, adjust the cooking time accordingly.
If at the end of slow cooking, the stew is too thick simply add a little extra vegetable stock. Or if the stew is too thin and you'd like to thicken it up then prepare a cornflour [cornstarch] slurry. We have an easy method for a cornstarch slurry over in the FAQ section of our Vegan 'chicken' Mango Curry recipe post.

Nutrition