Cozy vegan beef stew with tender carrots and potatoes is super simple to make in the Instant Pot or on the stove. This beefless stew is a quick, easy, one-pot vegan dinner that you are going to love!
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When I was a kid, my dad would make beef stew any time the weather cooled down. He'd simmer that stew on the stove all day long, and it made the whole house smell amazing.
By the time dinnertime arrived, we could barely wait to shovel it into our faces. This vegan beef stew recipe is my simplified, veganized version of that childhood food memory.
The thing is, y'all, I don't have all day to simmer supper on the stove. Honestly, I don't know how dad found the time. Instead, my beefless stew takes about half an hour to make, from chop to finish.
I adapted this recipe from my vegan chicken stew, and it's just as easy to make and delicious as that one is!
What the heck is vegan beef?
This recipe is pretty straightforward, ingredients-wise, but we do need to talk about the vegan beef situation. My preferred beef substitutes are Gardein Beefless Tips or Beyond Steak Tips. They're easy to find, and I think the texture and flavor are great.
If you want another delicious way to use vegan beef, also check out my super delicious, 1-pot vegan pot roast! It's perfect for the holidays but easy enough to make any ol' night of the week, too.
If you can't find the those (or don't want to use them), you can use beef-style seitan or any vegan beef that comes in chunks (rather than grounds).
If you super don't want to use meat substitutes, I'd recommend making this recipe with two cups of portobello mushrooms, cut into 1" pieces. I wouldn't call it vegan beef stew at that point, but I would still call it hearty and delicious!
The other key to this recipe's beefy-yet-beefless vibe is choosing a good vegan beef broth. I love using the Not-Beef Bouillon Cubes from Edward & Sons (not a sponsor). For this option, you use one cube per cup of water. I tend to round up, so if I am using 1 ½ cups of water, I use two broth cubes.
Better than Bouillon (nope, not a sponsor) also makes a great beefless bouillon option, which comes as a paste, rather than cubes. Just use one teaspoon of their paste per cup of water.
Ingredients and substitutions
- olive oil - To sauté. You can water or broth fry instead, if needed.
- vegan beef tips - Gardein or Beyond Beef Tips both work well. You can also use mushrooms or beef style seitan instead of the packaged vegan beef.
- onion - Sweet onion or red onion work best.
- carrots - Carrots and beef stew go hand in hand! Cut them into nice, thick rounds.
- potato - I like thin skinned potatoes, like red or yellow potatoes, because they're just so creamy!
- dried spices - Garlic powder, ground sage, ground thyme, and bay leaves give this vegan beef stew an amazing flavor!
- vegan beef bouillon - You can use mushroom or veggie bouillon instead, if needed, but beef-style bouillon will give your finished stew the beefiest flavor.
How to make vegan beef stew
Instant Pot Directions
Set your Instant Pot to saute, and add the olive oil, vegan beef, and onion. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, until the onions soften.
Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, cover, and lock the lid. Cook at high pressure for five minutes, then do a 10 minute natural release.
Stove Top Directions
In a soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the Beefless Tips and onion. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, until the onions soften.
Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can add up to one cup of extra water, as needed.
Helpful tips
- If you can't find the vegan beef tips (or don't want to use them), you can use 1 ½ cups of beef-style seitan or any vegan beef that comes in chunks (rather than slices or grounds). You can also use 2 cups of portobello mushrooms cut into big chunks, if you prefer. Follow the same directions using any of these substitutes.
- If you can't find Edward & Sons Not-Beef cubes, Better than Bouillon also makes a great beefless bouillon option. It comes as a paste, rather than cubes. Use one teaspoon of their paste per cup of water. Mushroom bouillon would also work well. In a pinch, you can use vegetable bouillon, but it won't have as "beefy" a flavor that way.
Serving and storage directions
Leftovers will keep for three to five days in the fridge. You can also freeze vegan beef stew for up to six months.
If it's frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator or for a few hours on the kitchen counter. Then, reheat in a saucepan or in the microwave.
Frequently asked questions
In this recipe, I'm using vegan beef tips. There are a couple of brands that make this. Otherwise, you can use mushrooms or beef style seitan to replace the beef in stew.
More Instant Pot soups and stews
📖 Recipe
Vegan Beef Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil optional - you can water-fry, if you prefer
- 1 9 ounce package vegan beef tips still frozen is fine
- 1 cup diced sweet onion
- 2 cups sliced carrots think ½" rounds
- 3 medium red potatoes cut into 1" cubes, about 3 cups
- 1 ½ cups water Use 2 ½ cups water for the stovetop.
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground sage or 2 teaspoons dried sage
- 1 teaspoon ground thyme or 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 Not-Beef Bouillon Cubes Use 3 cubes for the stovetop - see note.
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
Instant Pot directions
- Set your Instant Pot to saute, and add the olive oil, vegan beef, and onion. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, until the onions soften.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, cover, and lock the lid. Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes, then do a 10 minute natural release.
Stovetop directions
- In a soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the Beefless Tips and onion. Cook for a few minutes, stirring, until the onions soften.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You can add up to 1 cup of extra water, as needed.
Luis Chiles
Thank you for a wonderful recipe. Followed it to the letter and it came out very flavorful. I used the vegan beef chunks by Allvegetarian and it was amazing!
Becky Striepe
That's wonderful to hear, Luis! I'll have to look for that brand of vegan beef.
Damian
I’ve now made this recipe approx. 20 times and I have to say it’s a go-to comfort dinner now. Thank you so much!!
Becky Striepe
That makes me so happy to hear, Damian!
Kezia
I’ve made this often and even my nonvegan mother-in-law loved it when we had to stay with her during a home renovation. You know a recipe is good if it’s one you reach for when you’re stressed out by mothers-in-law, nonvegans, and construction.
Becky Striepe
Oh, I am so glad this is becoming a comfort food go-to for you, Kezia!
Geo
We didn't have beef and are a mostly vegetarian family. We just got over covid and I needed a hardy stew. Quick too so this worked great for instantpot. Few things seemed off as I read the recipe though so here's my suggestions. In the spice mix add about a tablespoon of corn starch and a tablespoon of curry (pick your spice level, we went with not spicy curry). I also added salt and pepper to the vegan filets I used and have the seasoning mix. I also added a clove of garlic minced to the saute.
Did everything else as shown and it came out thick and harty. We eat it with Jasmine rice.
Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!
Becky Striepe
Thank you for sharing your variations!
Jeannette
So....I did a thing, it wasn't intentional, yet turned out to be very good in the end !
Due to lack of stock on the shelves, I couldn't find any of the bullion cubes or better than bullion ( I too am a huge fan of both)
With my heart set on trying this recipe I grabbed Lipton Beefy Onion Soup (Accidentally Vegan per "Is It Vegan" app ) so I took a shot at it and made my broth out of it instead.
I did throw about a tablespoon of flour in the bag of Gardein tips so that when I sauted them them I would get a roux.
I made the soup mix @ 3 cups strength since a packet makes 4 cups, and here's the unintentional thing I did-misreading the stovetop measurements for the instant pot measurements, I added the 3 cups of the soup to my instant pot! In the end I ended up with more of a hearty beef soup !
Salt , Pepper and Nooch at serving and I was a happy girl! (I LOVE soups ,so this was actually not a fail, imo ) Ate two bowls! Wish I could share pictures! Thanks for the awesome and obviously very versatile recipe!
Becky Striepe
Oh, that sounds lovely! And thank you for the tip about the Lipton Beefy Onion Soup. I have been wondering about subs, since stores haven't been well-stocked around here lately.
Kayla Sweeten
I loved this!! So easy too! I’m new to instant pots and some recipes get too complicated but this was perfect. Saving this one for sure
Becky Striepe
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Kayla! And thank you for taking the time to rate and review - it means a lot to me whenever people do that!
kelli brandt
Finally tried my instant pot and did this as my first recipe and it was AMAZING!!!!
Becky Striepe
Oh yay! Thank you for taking the time to comment and rate. I love hearing from folks who make my recipes!
Juliana Fendez
Love this! I made a couple of substitutions: no celery, green lentils instead of brown, mixed veggies mix instead of frozen peas, and I think my daughter added an extra teaspoon of salt. It came out very flavorful and we served it with garlic bread. I’m new to the instant pot and this is my favorite recipe so far!
Becky Striepe
Oh, I am so glad to hear it!
med
I don't see that lentils are called for (green or brown) Am I missing something? Thanks for the recipe; I'm going to make it today! I am not a fan of mushrooms so I am glad that they aren't called for in this recipe.
Becky Striepe
There are no lentils in the recipe. :) Enjoy the stew - it's one of my family's faves! My son isn't into mushrooms, either, so you're in good company there.
Kathy Hester
I love this and it's perfect for fall!
Cadry
This looks so hearty & comforting. I know it won't be long until there's a serious chill in the air. I'm bookmarking this warming stew for then!
Dianne
Mmmm... I love this kind of stew! I usually make something like this with seitan, but I bet it's amazing with those Gardein beefy tips!
Becky Striepe
Ooh and you have me wanting to try it with beef-style seitan. That sounds lovely, too!
Carrie Joyce
The perfect winter stew. Simple and SOOO good. Just had it with my omnivore boyfriend and we both loved it.
Made it with about twice the onion (had a huge onion and wanted to use it all up), 4 freshly grated cloves of garlic instead of powdered, 2 large russett potatoes instead of red, and herbs de provance because we didn't have plain sage on hand. We threw some chopped celery in too. Had it with crusty french bread and Earth Balance
Becky Striepe
That sounds lovely! I'm glad you enjoyed it!