A vegan Irish Lamb Stew that’s hearty, delicious, and will please even an omnivore. The gravy is smooth and fragrant with spices, and packed with healthful vegetables like carrots, celery and potatoes. A touch of Guinness adds even more authentic flavor, while TVP chunks or soy curls add chewiness and texture. A vegan, gluten-free dish, updated from a recipe I originally posted in 2014.
Stir up the pot this St. Patrick’s Day with my delicious and meatless vegan Irish Lamb Stew.
After becoming vegan I have created meatless versions of many favorite lamb recipes that I grew up eating in my Indian home, replicating the same spices and herbs and other seasonings used in the originals, to create authentic-tasting dishes, like My Dad’s ‘Not-Mutton’ Mushroom Curry or my Lamb and Cauliflower Curry.
For this Irish Lamb Stew made without lamb (honestly, wouldn’t you rather just cuddle one?), I used TVP chunks or soy nuggets which I browned first, just as you would brown meat, to add deep and rich flavor. Browning the TVP first makes the nuggets chewier, giving them a very meat-like texture that’s often hard to replicate in vegan substitutes. Be sure to add some Guinness for authenticity– it’s vegan now!
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Try these recipes for St. Patrick’s Day:
Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread
Irish Cream Cupcakes
Individual Shepherd’s Pies with Sweet Potato Topping
Vegan Irish Hand Pies
Vegan Mini Shepherd’s Pies
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Try these vegan stews next:
Vegan Cassoulet
African Peanut Stew with Eggplant and Okra
Tuscan White Bean Stew
Vegan Moroccan Chickpea Stew
Vegan Jamaican Mango Stew
20 Belly Warming Vegan Stews
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The TVP also gives the stew a big protein boost, making it pretty much a meal in itself, what with all the veggies in there– the comforting kind, like potatoes and carrots and mushrooms. You can serve it with some crusty bread or some rice or, in true Irish style, with a side of potatoes and cabbage.
Have a great weekend, all, and a happy St. Paddy’s Day!
- 1 cup TVP chunks or soy chunks or soy curls
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour. You can use whole wheat or even a gluten-free flour like rice flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups button or crimini mushrooms, halved or quartered if large
- 3 sticks celery, chopped
- 2 medium carrots, cut into rounds about 1/6th of an inch thick
- 3 potatoes, cut in a chunky dice
- 1/2 bottle of Guinness (can sub another beer)
- 3-5 cups vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme, minced (substitute with 1 tsp dry)
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced (substitute with 1 tsp dry)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Soak the TVP or soy chunks or curls in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain.
- Mix the flour with some salt and pepper and dredge the TVP chunks in the flour. Shake off any excess flour.
- Heat all but 1 tsp of the vegetable oil in a dutch oven or a large, heavy-bottomed pot.
- Place the TVP chunks in the dutch oven in a single layer, being careful not to crowd them. Brown the chunks on all sides over medium heat.
- Remove to a dish lined with a paper towel and set aside. Also reserve any flour remaining from dredging the TVP because we'll use that to thicken the sauce.
- Add the remaining teaspoon of oil to the dutch oven and add the onions and garlic. Season with some salt and pepper. Saute, stirring frequently, over medium heat until the onions are softened and translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the thyme, rosemary, carrots, mushrooms, potatoes and celery and saute until the vegetables are all well mixed together.
- Add the remaining flour and stir well to mix, about two minutes.
- Add the beer and 4 cups of the vegetable stock along with the reserved TVP chunks.
- Bring to a boil, turn the heat to a simmer, cover with a lid, and cook for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are all tender and the flavors have melded together. Add more stock or water if the stew looks too dry. I made my stew rather thick because that's how we like it, but you can definitely make it soupier.
- Add salt and ground black pepper to taste.
- Serve hot. Stew always tastes best when it has had some time to stand and the flavors have mixed together, so this is a great dish to make the day before you want to serve it.
- Enjoy!
I want to try this! Then again, I want to try all your recipes! So little time….and budget… ;-P
Making this for dinner tonight, St Patrick’s Day! It smells so good, can’t wait to eat it.
Heidi, how lovely! So happy you are trying it, and I hope you will love it as much as we did. A very happy St. Patrick’s Day to you!
Just a heads up for UK/Ireland people that our Guinness isn’t vegan. Might be different in the US and elsewhere.
Thanks for that information — you are right, most Guinness is not, although here in the US we do get one or two vegan Guinness brands. Any regular vegan beer would also be fine here.
Guinness is vegan now.
Hi Vaishali,
I’ve been hunting for TVP or soy chunks at different grocery stores but I’ve come up blank. Could I substitute tofu or something else in this?
Thanks,
Krithika
Hi Krithika, you can try this with tempeh, which would be firmer than tofu. You can use tofu but it won’t be chewy and you will be better off adding it toward the end of the recipe. Another option is to go with beans — any white bean like cannellini beans or navy beans would work well here and you’d get the protein as well.
hi can I leave out the TVP chunks or soy chunks ? x
Kirsty you can, but it will be more of a vegetable stew then.
Perfect. I used fresh Thyme and Sage instead of rosemary, and white beans instead of TVP. It was quick, easy, hearty, and my non-veggie boyfriend and cousin gobbled it all up with some cast iron skillet baked cornbread. Delish!
This recipe was excellent! Just substituted Gardein Homestyle beefless tips for the TVP and it turned out great like a real stew. Very good.
Hi Vicki,
Did you leave the chunks in the whole time or add at the end frozen?
As others have mentioned, Guiness is not vegan but there is a handy website you can use to find a vegan stout. Here is the link with the keyword “stout” already entered: http://www.barnivore.com/search?keyword=Stout
This is what I have used to find some awesome substitutes. And I can NOT wait to try this recipe!!
This is my go to vegan Irish stew recipe now. Everyone loves it! even my 2 year old! And i was brought up in Irish farming community so this is high praise indeed! 😀 Thank you
Katajam, that’s high praise indeed, so thank you! So kind of you, and happy your family enjoyed it. 🙂
Hi there- I know this is an old thread so I am not sure I will get a reply but- has anyone made this two days in advance? I have a lot to cook and don’t want to leave everything for tomorrow and Thursday !
Hi Leslie, yes, you can certainly make this ahead and refrigerate for a couple of days. In fact, it should taste even better when the flavors have had some time to sit together and merge. 🙂
If we can’t find vegan beer and want to keep it gluten free, is there something you can sub in? Thanks again!
You do need the beer. Wine could substitute at a pinch– will change the flavor slightly, though. Use 1/2 cup of wine.
This sounded so good, So we made it the other night. And was absolutely delicious. Thanks do much for sharing. Simon
Thanks for the feedback, Simon, so glad you liked it!
I was looking for some nice vegan stew recipes to try, now that the weather is getting colder and my search led me to your website and your “20 belly warming vegan stews” post – and wow am I glad it did!
So many yummy recipes! choosing one was quite hard, they all sound (and look!) super delicious, so I finally decided to just start at the top.
It turned out great and everybody loved it!
I might be a bit late, but thank you so much for sharing your recipes, I’m looking forward to trying out many more. 🙂
Hi Vaishali, when you say 1/2 bottle of bear, how much is that in ml? I know some bottles are bigger than others so I want to get specifics so I don’t mess up the recipe. 🙂
Hi Rachel, use around 150 mils of beer. Cheers!
Great, I’ll do that! Thanks Vaishali. 🙂
I made this yesterday with one full can of Guinness, 4 potatoes and added additional King oyster mushrooms, I let it sit in the fridge overnight and served it to my fam-squad today! It was a huge success!! I’ve been told I can keep making vegan recipes! (I’m still weaning them off the meat products and this recipe helped me a lot with that!!) Thank you!!!
Made this last weekend for an early Start. Patrick’s day dinner w family. I’m soy and gluten sensitive. Used gluten free all purpose flour. Left the soy out. Fabulous!!!
Great recipe and I will try to replicate for St. Patty’s day – thank you!!
The link you posted about Guinness actually only states that kegs are vegan. But I checked on barnivore.com and actually kegs, bottles and cans of Guinness Original, Guinness Stout & Guinness Foreign Extra Stout ARE VEGAN!! Woot woot!
http://www.barnivore.com/products/34727-guinness
OMG…this is delish after only 1/2 hour simmer. I can’t imagine the treat I am in for after it sits in the fridge over night. Great recipe. Thank you. Now what shall I try next…
I do not drink alcohol and I see that the beer is essential. Is it that I will not be able to enjoy this and other recipes of yours? I eat only fish as my meat intake and I love lamb😟
You can leave out the beer although the alcohol evaporates during cooking.