Mushroom Stew Recipe

This savory, hearty mushroom stew recipe is full of vegetables with a thick, creamy herbal broth. You won't believe how delicious this vegan mushroom stew tastes.

Yesterday, I revised my vegan mushroom stew recipe, one of my favorite crockpot meals. Although I love the original recipe, I thought it needed a new and improved tweak. Mushroom stew is so hearty; you won't believe its deliciousness.

Jump to:

• The Benefits of Eating Mushrooms
• Vegan Mushroom Stew Ingredients
• Vegan Mushroom Stew Ingredient Substitutions
• How to Make Hearty Vegan Mushroom Stew
• Cooking Options
• Freezing Vegan Mushroom Stew
• Serving Suggestions
• Recipe FAQs
• Tips
• Vegan Recipes the Whole Family will Love!
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

As a child, I remember my grandma’s hearty, thick beef stew and the distinct smell when I walked into her house. My sister and I fought over the soft greek bread my grandma baked to dip in the stew.

Since transitioning to a plant-based diet and cooking without oil and fats, I realized herbs and spices bring out the flavors of natural, whole foods. The right combination of flavors creates a fat-free, vegan version of my childhood favorite foods!

The Benefits of Eating Mushrooms

Mushrooms are a rich, low-calorie source of fiber, protein, and antioxidants. They may also help to lessen the risk of developing serious health conditions, such as Alzheimer's, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. They're also great sources of Selenium.

If you want to include more mushrooms in your menus, try these delicious vegan mushroom recipes:

• Creamy Mushroom Pasta
• Vegan Mushroom Wellington
• Portobello Mushroom Fries
• Meati Classic Cutlet Vegan Chicken Gyro
• Mushroom Pasta Salad

Vegan Mushroom Stew Ingredients

• Portobello Mushrooms: Portobello mushrooms are low in calories and are a good source of 15 different vitamins, minerals, and antioxidant phytonutrients, including copper, selenium, and B vitamins. The phytonutrients found in mushrooms provide a powerful immune boost by charging our white blood cells, making them a nutritious addition to any diet.
• Baby Red Potatoes: Red potatoes are particularly healthy because of the thin, nutrient-filled skins, which are loaded with fiber, B vitamins, iron, and potassium. Half of the fiber of a potato comes from the skin. On red potatoes, in particular, the skin is already super thin, so it doesn't detract from the taste or texture.
• Celery: Celery gives the mushroom stew a delicious crunch.
• Carrots: Carrots provide additional crunch as well as a unique sweetness.
• Garlic: I prefer using fresh garlic cloves for the best flavor.
• Onion: I used white onion, but yellow onion works as well.
• Peas: I used frozen peas because fresh peas were not available.
• Organic Vegetable Broth: I buy low-sodium, no-sugar vegetable broth at Costco in bulk.
• Tomato Paste: Tomato pasta provides a thickening agent as well as deep tomato flavor.
• Whole Wheat Flour: Whole wheat flour is used as a thickening agent.
• Thyme: Thyme is an aromatic herb that delivers a balanced blend of citrus and mint essence with woody, floral notes. Thyme flavor can be peppery and sweet, sometimes with a clove-like sensation. I used fresh thyme.
• Rosemary: Rosemary offers an earthy, woodsy flavor with subtle notes of pepper, lemon, and mint. With its distinct, robust taste, rosemary benefits from the essence of other herbs, such as thyme, marjoram, and oregano, blending for a deep yet complex flavor profile.
• Bay Leaf: In their fresh form, bay leaves tend to be more bitter and pungent, while dried leaves taste more herbal, with flavor notes similar to thyme or oregano. 
• Nutritional Yeast: Nutritional yeast has a nutty, savory flavor. It's often described as "cheesy." Indeed, it's used in vegan "cheese" sauces frequently. But nutritional yeast is dairy-free, so it's OK for vegans and anyone with a dairy allergy. Nutritional yeast is rich, with many umami qualities, so a little goes a long way.
• Red Wine: I buy Cabernet in tiny bottles to use for cooking.
• Garlic Powder: Garlic powder is made of dehydrated garlic cloves that have been dried and finely ground to a flour-like consistency. The fine consistency allows the garlic to disintegrate quickly and incorporate into a recipe.
• Onion Powder: Onion powder offers a concentrated, savory taste akin to fresh onions but with a milder, sweeter note. It carries a subtle umami richness that enhances the overall flavor profile of dishes.
• Salt: A little salt enhances the flavors in food.
• Pepper: Pepper adds depth of flavor to the stew.

Vegan Mushroom Stew Ingredient Substitutions

• Choose any mushrooms, potatoes, and vegetables you enjoy!
• When using dried herbs instead of fresh, use half the amount of dried herbs. Fresh herbs are much more potent in flavor.
• Soy sauce is often used if you don't have nutritional yeast.
• For a gluten-free option, choose gluten-free flour such as chickpea flour.
• Add red vinegar instead if you don't drink or cook with wine.

The true heart of any stew is the choice of vegetables and the thick broth that bathes the vegetables. The key to a thick broth combines vegetable, tomato paste, flour, and a hint of red wine. The meat is easily replaced with portobello mushrooms, a hearty, healthy alternative to meat.

How to Make Hearty Vegan Mushroom Stew

• One suggestion to ensure the vegetables cook evenly is to make sure all the vegetables are cut into equal bite-sized pieces.
• The onions, however, are diced and the garlic minced. 

To avoid any flour clumps and still get a thick and creamy broth, using a high-speed blender is the key! 

Cooking Options

Vegan Mushroom Stew Slow Cooker Option

Of course, the best part of this mushroom stew recipe is everything goes into the crockpot, and it cooks while you are away. Choose to cook it 4-6 hours on high, or 8-10 hours on low. 

• Cut portobello mushrooms, onions, celery, carrots, and potatoes.
• Place in the bottom of the crockpot.
• Add thyme, bay leaf, and rosemary (leave whole so that they can be removed after cooking).
• DO NOT ADD FROZEN PEAS UNTIL THE END!
• In a high-speed blender, combine 2 cups vegetable broth, ¼ flour, and tomato paste (this is to help avoid getting lumps from the flour)
• Blender on high speed until blended.
• Pour into the crockpot on top of vegetables.
• Pour remaining vegetable broth over the top.
• Add red wine seasonings; stir.
• Cover; cook 4-6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.
• Thirty minutes before serving, add frozen peas.
• Stir.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Cover and lower temperature to serve mode.

Although I love my crockpot, the stew can also be made in an instant pot with a few adjustments to the original recipe. 

Vegan Mushroom Stew Instant Pot Option

• Set your Instant Pot to sauté and add the broth.
• Once heated, add the onions and sauté until softened, about 3-4 minutes.
• Add the mushrooms and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
• Then, add the thyme and rosemary.
• Now, add the seasonings and stir to coat the mushrooms and onions.
• Next, add tomato paste and stir again. Add the remaining broth and stir to combine everything; be sure to scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
• Put in the carrots, potatoes, and celery, and stir once again. Cancel the saute function.
• Include the bay leaf, place and lock the lid onto the pot, and close the pressure release valve. Set to pressure cook for 12 minutes.
• The pot will take about 10 minutes or more to come to pressure.
• While the stew is pressure cooking, combine the flour with 2 cups of broth and blend in a blender. Set aside.
• When the pressure cooking time has ended, press cancels and open the pressure release valve to release the pressure manually.
• Slowly unlock and remove the lid once pressure has been released and the float valve pin has dropped.
• Remove the bay leaf, thyme stem, and rosemary and stir the mixture, so everything recombines.
• Stir the blended flour mixture into the stew.
• Now, add the red wine. 
• Then, add the frozen peas.
• Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

Freezing Vegan Mushroom Stew

If you need smaller servings, consider cutting the recipe in half, or freezing is always an option.

• I suggest using a solo cup to free individual servings for single people, then transferring each serving to a zip-lock bag. As a result, thaw one serving at a time and then reheat in a pan or the microwave. 
• Or, I love Souper Cubes for freezing vegan soups, stews, and chili.
• Always thaw the mushrooms stew completely before reheating to keep the vegetables fresh and tasty. 

Serving Suggestions

When I walked in the door, I caught Paul leaning over the crockpot with a spoon. Apparently, the smell drew him to the crockpot, and he couldn’t wait to taste it. He added the peas for me but chose to take a few bites before I caught him.

• Serve with crusty brad to dip in the delicious mushroom broth.
• I like serving a large Italian Chopped Salad with Vegan Creamy Italian Dressing!
• We also love eating a hearty mushroom stew with Zucchini Fries!

After a long day, I can clearly attest to the incredible aroma as well as the taste. We both enjoyed a large bowl of stew, and we prepared three additional mugs of stew for tomorrow’s lunch.

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• When cleaning mushrooms, use a brush or wipe them clean. Add a paper towel to remove excess dirt for extra dirty mushrooms.
• Blend the flour into the sauce to avoid clumping.
• Cut the mushrooms and vegetables into similar sizes to cook evenly at the same rate.
• Wait to add the frozen peas to the vegan mushroom stew recipe until the end, right before serving.

For a savory comfort meal, try this vegan mushroom stew recipe.

Vegan Recipes the Whole Family will Love!

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