30-Minute Vegan Beef Stew Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is a good substitute for beef in beef stew? ›

If you're like me and you love a good meat replacement, you can use a packaged vegan beef, soy curls, or chunks of seitan. As long as you use an appropriate amount of whatever you choose, the recipe should still work just fine.

Add spices such as turmeric, coriander and cumin at the early stage of cooking, when you are frying onions and garlic, to enhance the taste of the beef stew. Fresh herbs like coriander and bay leaves also contribute a distinct flavour without making the dish too spicy for the younger members of the family.

Like beef broth, chicken broth is a kitchen staple and makes a good substitute if you are all out of the meaty broth. This savory, salty liquid has a milder flavor than beef broth but is a good one-to-one replacement. Chicken broth also has a similar nutrition profile to beef broth, low in calories and high in sodium.

TVP is primarily used as a meat substitute due to its very low cost at less than a third the price of ground beef and, when cooked together, will help retain more nutrients from the meat by absorbing juices normally lost.

To replace 1 lb of ground meat: use 1/3 lb of TVP and 1 1/3 cups of boiling water or broth. Place dry TVP in a bowl and pour boiling water or broth over the granules. Stir and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Use as directed in your recipe.

When learning how to cook with TVP, you must first rehydrate it in liquid. Luckily, rehydrating textured vegetable protein is incredibly easy.

A bit of tomato paste amps up the flavor of beef stew, giving it a richness and a punch of umami that makes the stew truly memorable.

Whisk a teaspoon of flour in a little cold water to make a slurry, then stir into the stew as it's cooking. Don't add dry flour directly to the stew as it may clump. After adding the slurry, bring the stew to boil. This will cook out the flour taste and allow the starch to swell.

Do you need tomato paste for beef stew? We recommend using tomato paste for this recipe. Tomato paste adds crucial flavor and body to the stew meat when cooked with herbs, garlic and wine.

Add the wine and tomato paste to the onions and other aromatics in a pan before slow cooking. Plus, this helps to really deglaze any fond that's left. This ingredient is one that your mum and nan would probably use in their stews. It adds a bit of tang, sweetness and savoury spices that give an extra punch of flavour.

What can I add to tasteless stew? ›

Personally I would add as many aromatics and flavor enhancing substances that I like. If the stew is already finished, then you can sauté onions, garlic peppers, celery and carrots then add them to the stew. I would also add some herbs and finally salt and pepper to taste.

If were talking while it's being made; garlic, onion, various herbs, “horse chester sauce” tomato paste, stone ground mustard, or even a small splash of A1 sauce will all “rich up” the broth. So will sauteing the veggies in butter before adding to the stew.

These are the specific cuts to look for. Any of them can be used in beef stew or substituted for what your recipe calls for: Chuck, Chuck Shoulder, Chuck Roast, Chuck-Eye Roast, Top Chuck.

What Cut of Beef Is Stew Meat? Stew meat is made from cuts of beef with lots of tough connective tissue, namely chuck and/or round. When you simmer it in a liquid, the connective tissue breaks down and becomes melt-in-your-mouth tender.

You want to buy chuck roast that is well-marbled—that means it should have a good amount of white veins of fat running through it. Stay away from meat generically packaged as “stew meat,” especially if it looks lean (I can guarantee you it will not get tender, no matter how long you cook it).

Chuck is one of the leaner types of beef, making it perfect for stews because it melts into delicious pieces as it cooks. A chuck roast has a large amount of connective tissue, which allows it to retain its moisture during the cooking process.