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    Home » Recipes » Lunches & Dinners » Soups & Stews

    November 11, 2013 41 Comments

    Hearty Vegan Stew with Dumplings

    863 shares

    hearty-vegan-stew-with-dumplings


    Did you miss me? I missed you.

    You may have noticed how I was absent last week. No posts at all. Well, the brilliant combo of taking on more days at work, a new trend in burning my dishes, and getting a cold, left me with nothing to post…except for a few sad pictures on instagram and twitter.

    Well, the good news is, I am over my cold, I'm not working as much this week, and best of all, I didn't burn a single dish this weekend. What does that mean? Well, I was able to do a lot of cooking this weekend. Yay! So not only do I have some delicious recipes for you this week, but I have many more to come!

    Now onto the show! ….well, food.

    It has been cold, and rainy, leaves are blowing, and so was my nose. What to make? Not you, chicken noodle soup! Your flimsy wimp noodles aren't going to do anything for my cold. I want something rich, full of veggie power, and stick to your ribs delicious. So I made an enormous pot of Hearty Vegan Stew with Dumplings. I packed in a ton of hearty veggies, and made a hearty thick glorious broth with all sorts of hearty yummy spices. Did I say hearty? And the best part is, it definitely doesn't taste like chicken.

    Hearty Vegan Stew:

    Makes 4-6 very hearty servings

    Glug of Olive Oil

    2-3 Pinches of Cumin

    2-3 Pinches Mustard Powder

    3-4 Pinches Cayenne Powder

    2-3 Pinches All Spice

    2-3 Pinches Oregano

    Salt & Pepper

    1 Medium Onion

    2 Cloves Garlic

    1 Red Bell Pepper

    5 Carrots

    1 Tub of Mushrooms (or a couple of handfuls)

    4 Medium Potatoes

    1 Acorn Squash

    Splash of White Wine or White Vermouth (optional)

    Small Can of Crushed Tomatoes, or Leftover Tomato Sauce

    4-6 Cups Veggie Stock (or a couple veggie stock cubes and water)

    Couple Handfuls of Frozen Peas

    Spoon or two of Cornstarch

    Dumplings:

    1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

    1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

    ¼ Teaspoon Salt

    Several Grinds of Pepper

    ½ Cup Almond Milk (or other non dairy milk)

    1 Tablespoon Canola Oil

    *Super Secret Special Trick* I like to use veggie broth cubes or powder, and the reason I like to do this is, I can add more or less flavour as I please. In fact, I used a cube of mushroom stock, and a cube of onion stock to get ultimate awesome flavour! I recommend picking up a selection of high quality veggie stock cubes to have on hand.

    acorn-squashLets get stewing! Finely chop up the onion, garlic, red pepper, and one of the carrots. These veggies will be to start developing the flavours of the stew.

    Chop up the remaining 4 carrots and the rest of the veggies into heartier chunks all roughly the same size. For the acorn squash, I find it easiest to cut it in half, scoop out the guts and seeds (save for roasting if you like). Then use a potato peeler to peel off the skin. Cutting it in half first makes it easier to hold onto while doing this.

    vegan-stew-sautee

    In a big stew pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Toss in your onion, garlic, red pepper, and the finely chopped carrot into the pan. You can see in this picture, that my finely chop, is much closer to some peoples rough chop…and that's just fine. Cause guess what? It's a veggie stew!

    Add all your spices now too. Stir it all around and sautee the spices and veggies. Some delicious aromas will be starting to fill your kitchen.

    mushrooms-veggie-stewWhen the onions start to look golden and delicious, toss in your mushrooms and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes. When the mushrooms have cooked a bit, if you have white wine or white vermouth, deglaze the pan by splashing a in couple gluts,  and using your spoon to scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Otherwise, you can do this with a bit of broth.

    veggie-stewNow dump in the remaining veggies, the crushed tomatoes or about a cup of tomato sauce and all your broth. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower to a simmer and let it cook for about 18 minutes, giving it a stir every now and then. After 18 minutes poke the veggies with a fork, they should be mostly cooked. Add your peas now.

    Whisk up about 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch in a bit of water. Then stir that into the soup. Why do this separately first? If you dump the cornstarch into the soup it will tend to clump and be hard to incorporate. So even though it seems annoying, whisk it with the water in a separate bowl first. Let the soup cook for about 2 minutes, and check to see how thick it is. If you want it thicker still repeat the cornstarch step, testing again after about 2 minutes of cooking.

    dumplings-for-stewNow make your dumpling by whisking the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper together.

    vegan-dumplings-for-stewThen whisk in the Almond milk and canola oil. Lumps are totally cool. Just don't over whisk this batter.

    vegan-dumplings-stewUse a spoon (I used a tablespoon) to drop the batter onto the surface of the stew. Don't worry about being neat or tidy, just blob it in wherever there seems to be room. Don't stir it! Now cover the pot, and let simmer for 15 minutes with the lid on. No peeking! The steam from the stew will cook the dumplings.

    vegan-stew-cooked-dumplingsAfter 15 minutes has passed, remove the lid to reveal magic! Look at those glorious dumplings! Are you drooling yet?

    vegan-stew-with-dumplingsServe it up and enjoy! Hello autumn deliciousness!

    Bon Appetegan!

     

    « Smoked Tomato Tofu Pie
    Vegan Coconut Whipped Cream »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. J says

      January 20, 2020 at 4:11 pm

      Made this tonight and my very carnivorous husband had 3 bowls and told me to save the recipe. Delicious! Followed it pretty much exactly (well, used pumpkin instead of squash) and had about 4 tablespoons of bechamel leftover from lasagna so just dumped that in towards the end to see what would happen. Sooooo goooooood. And filling. And warming. Thanks for the recipe!

      Reply
    2. Nicola G. says

      November 25, 2018 at 9:55 pm

      I made soup yesterday, and it “wanted” dumplings in it, so I used a package of my son’s store-bought biscuits (since dumplings and biscuits are practically the same thing).. They were okay, ,but I knew I’d need to make my own to put into the leftover soup for today. They turned out pretty good, but I think next time I'll use more baking powder to get fluffier dumplings. I subbed coconut oil for canola; thought it'd work better than olive (the only 2 oils I have right now.)
      Also next time, I will make your stew recipe as well, not just the dumplings -- it looks so good! One question
      after reading about your "Super Secret Special Trick": Where do you get your veggie broth cubes/powder? I've never noticed ,separate mushroom and onion stocks.

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        November 27, 2018 at 5:54 pm

        I get them at my local grocery store but you could order them on amazon here.

        Reply
    3. Krista says

      April 14, 2018 at 7:13 pm

      Have you ever tried ro make dumplings with gluten free flour? I love them but can't have gluten anymore. Any reccomendations for a replacement?

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        April 15, 2018 at 5:02 pm

        Hi Krista, no I have not, but I have heard good things about Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1.

        Reply
      • Jaybird says

        October 15, 2018 at 6:58 pm

        This is months and months late, but I've made vegan gluten free dumpling stew three times in the last year. It's not too hard! Start with gluten free all-purpose flour, then just add an appropriate amount of xantham gum in the dumpling batter and it sticks together wonderfully!

        Reply
    4. Jessica Fox says

      February 03, 2018 at 8:01 pm

      Hey Sam,
      I am a proud owner of your cookbook, having got it from a mutual friend Carmel (ring any bells lol). I just wanted to say how much Sean and I loved this recipe and that I solved your gluten free dumpling blend!!!! There's this cookbook called Bread & Butter (for gf vegans) by Erin McKenna who owns a successful bakery in the US, I referenced her flour guide and modified the dumplings and OMG they turned out perfectly fluffy and moist (I can't see any place to add a picture, otherwise I would)! Here's the recipe for all those GF peeps: in place of whole wheat flour use 1/2c brown rice flour, 1/4c arrow root and 1/4c potato starch...i also snuck in some garlic powder - it was bomb - all ingredients available at your local Bulk Barn! Everything else was the same, same prep and cook time. Try it out for yourself! Hope that's helpful

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        February 04, 2018 at 4:16 pm

        Hi Jessica! Wonderful. So happy you love the book so much, what a nice gift from Carmel 🙂 Thanks for the tips on making the dumplings gluten-free 🙂

        Reply
    5. Kathy LaVista says

      December 20, 2017 at 7:21 pm

      I am so happy to have found your site, just say "no" to everything kale and cauliflower! The recipes look delicious and tonight is crunchy lemon tofu. I can't find a print button on this Hearty Vegan Stew with dumplings recipe. I just bought your cookbook and I'm wondering if this recipe is in the book?

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        December 22, 2017 at 3:30 pm

        Bahahaha! Love it!! This recipe is not in the book, this is one of the first recipes I posted (which is why it is missing a print button). I have slowly been going through and updating recipes, however, so hopefully I will get to this one soon. Enjoy!

        Reply
    6. Hawley says

      October 06, 2017 at 8:58 pm

      I've been making this stew for years now. It was the stew that taught me to make stew. I've made so many variations of it now-some almost totally different, but with the same techniques. Thank you so much for this recipe.

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        October 07, 2017 at 9:02 am

        Oh that's so awesome, Hawley 🙂 I should really update this recipe now that my recipe writing style is a little more polished 🙂

        Reply
    7. Debbie says

      February 06, 2017 at 8:36 pm

      Made this for dinner tonight! Delish! Only problem was cutting up that acorn squash. Yikes. I did par-cook it in the microwave to get the peel off of it a little easier. Next time I make this I would probably cut the squash in half, then bake it fully and use a melon ball scoop to add it to the stew. I absolutely love acorn squash and the flavor it adds to the stew, but cutting and peeling that thing nearly did me in. By the way, my hubby does NOT like acorn squash and I didn't tell him there was any in the stew. He just filled up his bowl for the second time!!!! Score!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        February 07, 2017 at 9:19 am

        Hahah! Yeah, acorn squash can be finicky. Glad you and your husband loved it!

        Reply
    8. Roxanne says

      January 17, 2017 at 10:25 pm

      This was probably the BEST vegan stew recipe I have ever found. A few tweaks to our tastes and my husbands vegetarian tomato sauce and this instantly became my new go-to stew. No more searching. It's the best. Thank you for sharing, I look forward to more of your recipes!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        January 19, 2017 at 1:34 pm

        Yay! So very happy you loved it so much Roxanne 🙂

        Reply
    9. nicole says

      November 13, 2016 at 12:12 am

      Hi, I loved the stew. It was so delicious! I had a problem with the dumplings though. They were chewy and tasted a lot like flour 🙁 do you have any idea what went wrong? I followed the directions, but i'm still new to cooking, so....
      thanks for the recipe!

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        November 14, 2016 at 8:13 am

        Hmm... it's possible your baking powder may have been a bit old. The baking powder causes the bubbles in the dumplings which would make them fluffier (and not so chewy). If that's not the case then it's difficult to know without being in the kitchen with you. Hopefully that helps a little. So happy you loved the stew 😀

        Reply
    10. Amanda says

      May 12, 2016 at 11:45 am

      I'm afraid of mushrooms. They totally freak me out . . . can I make this without out those scary little guys in there?

      Reply
      • Sam says

        May 12, 2016 at 11:50 am

        Haha! Absolutely! The stew should still be super yummy 🙂

        Reply
        • Amanda says

          May 12, 2016 at 12:01 pm

          Phew, sweet! I can't wait to make this stew!

      • Debbie says

        February 06, 2017 at 10:30 pm

        I'm no big fan of mushrooms either, but I used about 1/2 of what the recipe called for and chopped them up pretty small in the food processor. With all the other veggies, you'll barely notice them. Trust me, if I see a mushroom, I pluck it out of whatever I'm eating. Also be sure to only use fresh mushrooms. Those canned ones are way too slimy.

        Reply
    11. Eve says

      March 06, 2016 at 11:42 pm

      OMG this is so yummy. I've made it twice now, and I have to say, for me and my sweetheart we definitely get more than 6 servings out of it. FYI, squash season being pretty much over, I used yam instead, and it was really good.

      Reply
      • Sam says

        March 07, 2016 at 8:51 am

        Yay! So happy you enjoyed it Eve 🙂

        Reply
    12. Laura says

      December 21, 2015 at 10:06 am

      Hi Sam!

      I have a cold coming on so I'm looking forward to making this for dinner tonight. I was going to make your Tuscan White Bean soup (I think that's what it was called, regardless - it's a favorite in our house) but then I saw this and figured I give something new a try!

      How much crushed tomato/sauce do you think should be used? The recipes just says "a small can" so I assumed maybe about 8oz? I'm sure I'll figure it out but you're usually so quick about replying I thought I'd ask and see what you recommend.

      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Sam says

        December 21, 2015 at 1:56 pm

        Yes I think an 8oz can is perfect. I hope you feel better soon Laura. Enjoy the soup!

        Reply
    13. Sam says

      December 06, 2015 at 10:19 am

      Oh no! That's terrible. It shouldn't be like that. Could you help me solve this problem? Are you using a phone/tablet, or a computer to view my site? Can you take a screenshot and email it to me? sam@itdoesnttastelikechicken.com
      Thank you!

      Reply
    14. sophie says

      November 12, 2015 at 1:03 pm

      super yummy - thank you. I added some miso and marmite to deepen the favors.

      Reply
      • Sam says

        November 12, 2015 at 3:12 pm

        Oh great idea! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂

        Reply
    15. Amanda says

      July 31, 2015 at 4:06 am

      I used the dumpling recipe (made it GF with King Arthur flour) with a soup I made and the dumplings were good, before they dissolved into the soup. I was disappointed, but the dissolved dumplings thickened up the soup and the flavor was good. I'm thinking it's because of the GF flour. Still searching for a good GF and Dairy free dumpling recipe.

      Reply
      • Sam says

        July 31, 2015 at 10:17 am

        What a bummer! I have never tried this recipe with gluten free flour, and I suspect that it was the cause of the dissolving. I unfortunately, don't know much about gluten free baking so I am not sure what to recommend. I hope you find a recipe that works for you!

        Reply
    16. Nadine Smith says

      August 25, 2014 at 3:53 pm

      This is the perfect stew! Will be great for wintertime

      Reply
      • Samantha Turnbull says

        October 05, 2014 at 12:49 pm

        Thanks Nadine!

        Reply
    17. Amber Walker says

      February 01, 2014 at 11:24 am

      I love this ,so does my family. I need a bigger pot though!

      Reply
      • Samantha Turnbull says

        February 01, 2014 at 6:17 pm

        Hahah! I know it goes quickly! Thanks for commenting Amber!

        Reply
    18. whisperingfury says

      January 10, 2014 at 9:18 am

      I just wondered how many people this recipe would serve? I've become Vegan for January and have joined with a group of 8 other like minded individuals in a cooking cooperative, where we each cook twice a month for everyone, and those meals are distributed every week. Making it much easier to get a variety of healthy vegan meals. I'd like to cook this on Sunday, but need it to feed 10 people (my girlfriend will want a portion too). Thank you, Bradley. x

      Reply
      • Samantha Turnbull says

        January 10, 2014 at 12:16 pm

        Hi Bradley, welcome to my blog!
        Good question. I think this would be about 4-6 servings depending if you plan on serving it with anything else. I would double it for sure. You will probably need two big pots so you have enough surface room for all the dumplings. I love this idea of a dinner swap! so much fun! Enjoy! Sam.

        Reply
    19. Jen Scheidies says

      December 06, 2013 at 2:25 pm

      Excellent stew, Sam! I'm making this for my family on this cold weekend in Nebraska.

      Reply
      • Samantha Turnbull says

        December 06, 2013 at 2:33 pm

        Thank you Jen! Yes, it is an awesome meal for a cold night! Really warms you up from the inside out. Enjoy!

        Reply
    20. lizziefit says

      November 12, 2013 at 9:13 pm

      Oh my, this looks amazing. My boyfriend loves stew so I will definitely be saving this recipe 🙂

      Reply
      • Samantha Turnbull says

        December 06, 2013 at 2:32 pm

        Haha, thanks! Andrew also devoured the stew!

        Reply

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