Comfort food is taken to a whole new level with this deliciously creamy vegan Vegan Mushroom Stew Recipe!

This is one of those recipes, that simply happened because I was trying to use up some leftovers from the fridge! However, this hearty Vegan Mushroom Stew Recipe has worked out to be so moreish it would be a sin not to share the delicious & simple recipe with you!

What I’ve mainly followed with this recipe was the following idea: Make a lentil & barley stew by cooking it in the ingredients I’d normally use for vegan mushroom gravy. BOOM.

Sounds simple? That’s because it is, and this is exactly how this recipe came about.

The mushroom gravy ingredients simply give this mushroom gravy stew a depth of flavour that is normally hard to get into a stew. It’s full of umami and comes with a creamy gravy texture that takes me right to Sunday roasts in my head.

Not that I’ve tried this out (yet), but I am certain that this is the perfect Sunday roast leftover recipe that you can easily make from leftover potatoes & mushroom gravy!

What you’ll need to make this Vegan Mushroom Stew Recipe

Ingredients

Dairy free margarine
Shallots
Garlic
Chestnut mushrooms
Thyme
Balsamic vinegar
Vegan red wine (check Barnivore!)
Dried red lentils
Dried barley
Vegetable stock
Water
Tamari soy sauce
Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

For the potato mash

Cooked white potatoes
Vegan margarine
Ground nutmeg
Dried parsley
Plant milk
Nutritional yeast (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

How to make this Vegan Mushroom Stew Recipe

For the stew, I’ve started with two tablespoons of vegan margarine, thinly sliced shallots and minced garlic in a large saucepan over medium heat. Once the onions & garlic have turned translucent, I’ve added sliced chestnut mushrooms and thyme and cooked until the mushrooms softened.

To add to the seasoning of the stew, I’ve also added a little balsamic vinegar, which adds a wonderful acidity to the dish.

Another ingredient I added is vegan red wine – this is of course optional, but it adds a wonderful depth of flavour and a real umami kick! Don’t you worry: the alcohol will cook off and it’s simply added for flavour purposes, so if you have any leftover wine at home, I’d definitely recommend you add it!

Pro Tip: Where to get vegan wine? It’s best to check Barnivore – it’s an amazing website guiding you through which alcohol is vegan and it lists a massive amount of supermarket brands too, making it easy to find the perfect vegan wine for this recipe. Side note: you can find vegan wine even in Sainsbury’s and Tesco! No special stores required 😉

The next step is adding the dried red lentils and barley. By using dried legumes they are able to fully soak up the flavour of the mushroom gravy (yeah baby!). As they gradually soak up the liquid around them I prefer crumbling in a vegetable stock cube and gradually adding water afterwards, which allows me to add the perfect amount of water (instead of making a soup!).

Pro Tip: Cover the saucepan with a lid and add a little water & stir every few minutes until the lentils and barley are cooked. (about 20 minutes)

Last but not least, I added 2 tablespoons of tamari soy sauce – it adds a little saltiness and also adds to the colour of the stew.

Making your mashed potatoes

While you’re waiting for the stew to cook, you can get on with you vegan mashed potatoes! Firstly, add the cooked potatoes to a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of vegan margarine and season it with nutmeg and parsley.

If you’re using nutritional yeast, now’s the time to add it in and then stir in 50-75ml plant milk and stir until your potatoes are soft and fluffy.

All you have to do now is serve your mushroom stew over your potatoes and enjoy! Of course, this recipe is delicious with your stew served over mashed potatoes, but really you can serve it however you want!

This recipe is:

100% vegan
dairy free
egg free
completely plant based
a lovely winter warmer
deliciously moreish