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Healthy and hearty vegetable stew packed with different vegetables, simmered together until the flavors will develop in perfect harmony. Ready in just under 30 minutes, this “speedy” stew is naturally thickened by using lots of vegetables which blend together into a rich vegan stew. Serve it piping hot with your favorite extras!
You will love this Hearty Vegetable Stew
This vegetable stew has a sweet taste that mainly comes from the using a sweet combo made of apple, carrot and parsnip. On the other hand, green peas combines with all the other vegetables to create a thick base for this stew. Lastly, this stew comes with a refreshing minty aftertaste from using a bit of fresh ginger.
Calling all vegetable stew lovers …. this easy vegetable stew was better than I expected. It was:
Easy to Make
Colorful
Rich & Delicious
Hearty
Sweet and Spiced
Nutritious
Satisfying
Amazing!
Ingredients list
This hearty vegetable stew incorporates quite a few vegetables and offers a few surprises in terms of ingredients, but also in terms of flavors. Yet, as you’ll learn in the following sections, making this vegetable stew is as easy as cooking breakfast (just with a few more ingredients and a bit more cooking time).
In a nutshell, these are the ingredients that you’ll need for making this hearty vegetable stew:
Enoki Mushrooms – These small mushrooms will give an interesting texture to the stew. You can of course use other type of mushrooms, just make sure not to add too many mushrooms otherwise you’ll end-up with a mushrooms’ stew.
Green Peas (fresh or frozen) – I used frozen green peas for convenience, but you can definitely use fresh green peas as well. Keep in mind that fresh green peas will take a bit more time to cook, but otherwise they’ll work exactly the same in this stew.
Green Beans (fresh or frozen) – As with the green peas above, you can definitely use fresh or frozen green beans and it won’t make much of a different in terms of taste or texture.
Broccoli (fresh or frozen) – Together with green peas and green beans, broccoli brings a lot texture and flavor to this stew, forming the base of the stew. I used frozen broccoli for convenience but fresh broccoli can also be used successfully.
Yellow Bell Pepper – Use the kind of bell pepper that you like, I used a yellow pepper for color.
Kapia Red Pepper – These long pointed red kapia peppers have a sweet flavor and will add even more aroma to our vegetable stew.
Shallot – You can’t have a stew without onion, right?! In case shallots are not your thing, feel free to use any type of onion you like (even scallions will work just fine).
Leek – When it comes to making a stew, you simply have to use as many different vegetables as possible. While leek are part of the same allium family as onions, it tastes quite differently and will compliment with shallot perfectly.
Apple – Using an apple when cooking stew can sound a bit strange for the average person, but it turns out that it’s not that strange. You see, using an apple together with carrots, parsnip and bay leaves will add a sweet-ish flavor to our stew, and will match perfectly with all the other veggies.
Carrots – Carrots are a must-have ingredient in any kind of stew, not just this one. We’re using carrots for flavor, color, taste, crunchiness and nutrients.
Parsnip – I absolutely love parsnip and I love using it in soups or stews. Since parsnip has a rather sweet taste, it adds a very interesting aroma to the whole dish. The key to using parsnip in stews is to make sure that you cook it enough, otherwise it can be a bit fibrous and hard to chew.
Bay Leaves – When it comes to spices, you simply cannot have a stew without bay leaves. Bay leaves are responsible for that special stew-like flavor.
Garlic Cloves – We don’t use too much garlic in this recipe, just enough to boost the flavor of this stew to a whole new level.
Ginger – We are also using a bit of fresh ginger as a way to compliment all the vegetables used in the stew, adding a spicy asian twist to our stew.
Himalayan Salt – Use the kind of salt that you prefer. Personally I find Himalayan salt to have a rich flavor that white salt just does not have.
Extra Virgin Coconut Oil – We are using extra virgin coconut oil as the cooking oil for this vegetable stew. Of course, you can also cook without it and the stew will turn out almost the same (just not that rich in healthy fats). You can even use extra virgin olive oil instead of coconut oil, but please stay away from any kind of refined seed oils (also avoid the classic olive oil).
Tomato Puree – At the end of the cooking process, we’re using tomato puree as a way to of making a thick sauce and add that special tomato flavor to our stew. Alternatively, you can use diced tomatoes or tomato passata.
How to cook this healthy vegan stew
I absolutely love how easy it is to cook this hearty vegetable stew, you simply can’t go easier than this:
- Start by preparing the vegetables. Peel, chop and slice all the ingredients except for the frozen ones. In case you’re using fresh green peas, green peas and/or broccoli, take care of them as well.
- Add vegetables and coconut oil into skillet. Since this is a one-pot meal, add all the ingredients (except salt, spices and tomato puree) into the skillet or cooking pot.
- Cook over medium heat. Let vegetables cook in a bit of water until they become tender. Add more water if needed and let it evaporate while cooking the stew.
- Season with spices and add tomato sauce. Once the veggies are cooked and the water has almost evaporated, add in salt, spices and tomato puree.
- Simmer a few minutes more. Bring to a simmer and cook until everything is nicely incorporated and the stew is thick.
- Portion and serve! – Your vegetable stew is now ready! Set aside to cool down for a few minutes. Portion and serve with different extras.
How to serve this hearty vegetable stew
- Serve it as I did – With avocado, fresh tomato and those salty wrinkled olives (zaromenes) on the side.
- With a slice of bread – Serve this vegetable stew with a slice of true sourdough bread or rye bread (rugbrød).
- Hot peppers – Vegetable stews like this one are the perfect excuse to enjoy your favorite hot pepper. If you’d ask me, I like to serve it with one red or green chili pepper, or a jalapeño.
- Pickled vegetables – Traditionally, pickled vegetables and stews always go hand in hand.
- Fermented vegetables – With a different flavor compared to pickled vegetables, fermented vegetables are another traditional way to enjoy stews.
- Handful of walnuts – How about adding a handful of walnuts on the side, for crunchiness and more nutrients?!
- A small serving of tagliatelle – Pair this vegetable stew with a small portion of freshly made tagliatelle. You can serve the tagliatelle without any extras, or you can combine them with half of avocado, or feta cheese, or both.
- Pair this stew with cheese – Both hard and soft cheese are great choices that match perfectly with this vegetable stew. Soft cheese like Brie, Munster, Carré, or Vosges, are among my favorites. When it comes to hard cheeses, I prefer Cheddar, Emmertaler or Comté cheese. This kind of vegetable stew can also be served with a few slices of traditional Feta cheese.
- Greek yogurt or creme fraîche – Instead of using avocado and olives, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of full-fat Greek yogurt or full-fat creme fraîche (sour cream) on the side. Both of these will add even more healthy fats and lots of creaminess to your meal.
If you decide to try this hearty vegetable stew skillet, please let me know how it turned out for you. I would love hearing from you and I hope that our stew recipe will be a big hit for you and your family.
Sharing is caring! Share this hearty stew with your loved ones and enjoy your health journey.
What was your absolute favorite vegetable stew recipe? Would you try this one? Let’s exchange ideas in the comments.
Hearty Vegetable Stew for Everyone
Equipment
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 50 g Enoki mushrooms
- 200 g frozen green peas
- max 100 g frozen green beans
- 100 g frozen broccoli
- 1 yellow bell pepper
- 1/2 kapia red pepper
- 4 shallots (slices)
- 5 cm leeks (slices)
- 1 small apple (seedless)
- 2 carrots (sliced)
- 1/2 medium parsnip (sliced)
- 1-2 bay leaves
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 2 slices ginger (chopped)
- 1 tsp Himalayan salt
- 1 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil
- max 200 g tomato puree (or passata)
- water (as needed)
Instructions
- Prepare all the vegetables as indicated in parenthesis - peel, slice or chop everything, except for the frozen veggies. If you’re using fresh green peas, green beans and/pr broccoli, prepare those as well.
- Add everything into the skillet except for the tomato puree, salt and spices. Also add a bit of water but not too much (you’ll add more water later, as it evaporates).
- Cook over medium heat, making sure to add more water as it evaporates. Use a spatula to stir from time to time, making sure that the vegetables won’t stick to the skillet. Cook until vegetables become tender (test them using a fork).
- Once the vegetables are cooked, it’s time to add salt, spices, and tomato puree. Use a spatula again to incorporate these into the stew.
- Bring to a simmer and cook until almost all the water from the skillet has evaporated and a thick sauce has formed. Don’t forget to taste and make sure you like how the stew tastes (season again if needed).
- Once vegetables are cooked, the stew is thick and it tastes as you want it, set aside to cool down for a few minutes.
- That’s it! Enjoy this vegetable stew on its own or with different extras.
At a glance looks complicated to cook this stew, especially for a non-cook person like my husband 🙂 but actually it was SUPER EASY to make and so delicious! Thank you Marcel for all the easy healthy cooking ideas.
This veggie stew is packed with lots of plants and tastes amazing by the way!
We made this stew the other day and both my sons loved it so I am happy!