This one-pot, hearty Vegan Irish Stew is so flavourful and can be made on the stove, in an Instant Pot, or in a slow cooker. Vegan-friendly Guinness Beer gives an incredibly rich, deep flavour to the gravy and it's loaded with chunky, sweet, tender vegetables. Make it with just veg, or add some optional vegan "meat" or mushrooms to make it even more satisfying and flavourful!
9 oz / 255grams OPTIONAL beefless tips or portobello mushrooms, or approx the same amount of seitan pieces (or omit completely - It's still really good with just the veg)
1largeonion, diced
3largecarrots, cut into ½ inch chunky pieces
2ribscelery, diced
5clovesgarlic, minced
4tablespoonsall purpose flour, or cornstarch
330 mls / 11 ozbottleGuinness, or any dark stout
1 medium (about 800 grams / 28 oz)rutabaga/ swede , or turnips, cut into chunky pieces
4 large (about 650g / 23 oz)potatoes, cut into large chunks (each potato into about 6 pieces)
¼headgreen cabbage, shredded
4 cups / 960mlsvegetable stock
¼ cup / 60mlssoy sauce, or Tamari
2teaspoonssalt
1teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
1tbspwhite or cane sugar
2largebay leaves
2 x4 inch sprigsfresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
2 x4 inch sprigs fresh rosemary, or 1½ teapsoon dried
Instructions
In a large Dutch oven or soup pot (that holds at least 6 quarts / 5.7 litres), add the oil and place over high heat.
When really hot add the beefless tips or mushrooms and sear in the pan until golden on all sides. Scoop them out and put in a bowl or on a plate and set them aside until near the end.
Turn the heat down to medium, then to the same pot (don't clean it .. we want any stuck-on residue for flavour!), add the onions, carrots and celery. You might also need to add a teeny bit more oil depending on the pan you're using. If you are not using vegan beef, seitan or mushrooms begin with this step, adding the oil and warming the pan first.
Let them sweat down and just as they are beginning to colour add the garlic.
After about 30 seconds add the flour. Stir it around so everything gets coated and let it cook out for a minute or two to remove the raw flour flavour. If you use cornstarch instead of the flour it will get a bit gloopy and weird but don't worry, once you add everything else it will be fine.
Pour in the Guinness/stout slowly, stirring as you go, then once it's all in, give it another really good stir to work out most of the lumps. Don't worry about any small lumps.
Add the rutabaga/swede, potatoes, cabbage, stock, soy sauce, salt, pepper, sugar and herbs and give it a really good stir.
Bring slowly to a boil stirring frequently, then immediately turn down to medium-low and let it simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are soft and the gravy is thick. I like to wait until the potatoes are really soft and just starting to break down before I serve. It will take about 45 to 50 minutes, but you can leave it simmering away much longer if you want to. Just turn it down to low and cover with a lid if it's going to be significantly longer.
About 10 minutes before you are going to serve, add the beefless tips/mushrooms back in and give it a stir.
If you used fresh herbs be sure to pick out the stalks before serving.
Video
Notes
How to make in an Instant Pot
Follow the steps as per the stovetop instructions, using the saute function to sear the vegan beef/mushrooms (them remove it as per the instructions), and saute the onions, celery, carrots and garlic. DO NOT add the flour.Turn the Instant Pot off and add everything else as instructed (still not adding the flour or the stew will get too thick and trigger the burn error). Give the bottom of the Instant Pot a good scrape with a metal spoon to get any burnt-on residue off, then close the lid, seal the vent, and cook on manual (pressure cook in newer models) on high power for 15 minutes. Once it's done, leave the pressure to release for 10 minutes then release what's left through the vent. While waiting make a slurry with the flour. Add water to it gradually to make a lump-free paste then add a little more, stirring constantly until it's pourable like cream.Once the pressure has released turn off the Instant Pot, remove the lid, scoop out the fresh herb stalks and discard. Turn the Instant Pot to "sauté" and pour in the slurry, stirring immediately to incorporate. Then add the vegan beef/seitan/mushrooms back in and stir gently again. The potatoes will be really soft and might break a little but that's ok. They taste at their best when soft like that in this recipe.Give it a couple of minutes for the gravy to thicken a bit and for everything to warm through then serve.
How to make in a Slow Cooker
Sear the beefless tips/mushrooms in a pan then remove until the end. Saute the onions, carrots and celery in the same pan as per my instructions, and add the garlic for the last 30 seconds. Then transfer them to the slow cooker.Stir in the flour then add everything else (adding the liquid gradually to work out lumps) and stir really well. Cover and cook on low heat for 6 to 7 hours or high heat for about 3-4 hours or until the potatoes are very tender. Remove the herb stalks and add the beeefless tips/mushrooms back in. Let them heat through for 10 minutes then serve.
Success Tips
Be sure to use a large soup pot that holds at least 6 quarts or 5.7 litres. This recipe makes a big batch!
No need to wash the pot throughout the cooking process. Any leftover stuck-on residue from searing the vegan meat/mushrooms adds more flavour!
Cut the carrots into big chunks instead of thin slices. I don't know what it is but they become so sweet and delicious when they are really chunky.
Use regular potatoes like Yukon Gold or Russet rather than baby potatoes. They need to be nice and starchy so they can become meltingly soft in the gravy.
The Guinness/Stout beer adds an incredible authentic Irish flavour to this stew. If you want the best results, don’t swap it out for anything else.
Use fresh herbs if you can. Their flavour is so much better than dried.
Don't leave the beefless tips, mushrooms, or seitan in the stew for the entire cooking time as they will get too soft and lose their texture. By searing them then adding them back in at the end, you get all the flavour without losing texture.
I like to wait until the potatoes are really soft and just starting to break down before I serve this meal. This means the stew will take about 45 to 50 minutes to cook but you can leave it simmering for much longer if you want. Just turn it down to low and cover with a lid if it's going to be significantly longer.
Variations
The Guinness/Stout adds an incredible flavour to this stew and of course an Irish touch, so if you want it to turn out at its very best I don't recommend using anything else. If you are concerned about alcohol, that cooks out and evaporates. If you really can't use it for whatever reason, then red wine works well, as does regular brown ale. You could also just replace it with a good flavourful stock but know that it won't be as flavourful.
Use any meat substitute you enjoy in this recipe. Gardein Beefless tips are a great easy choice, as are portobello mushrooms, but ready prepared and pre-cooked seitan would be great, and I haven't tried it but soy curls would be an option too. The stew is still absolutely delicious made without the "meat" or mushrooms.
Rutabaga (swede as we Brits know it), or turnips are both great in this recipe so use whichever you like best or have on hand.
If you are gluten-free, use your favourite gluten-free and vegan beer of choice, cornstarch instead of the flour, gluten-free soy sauce or tamari, and mushrooms instead of beefless tips/seitan.