Savory vegetarian Irish Stew, loaded with mushrooms, potatoes, cabbage, carrots and celery, and a lighter beer than the traditional Guinness.
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Figuring out side dishes for a vegetarian Irish dinner for Saint Patrick's is pretty easy, like colcannon, an Irish mashed potato dish, but main dishes take a little more work in the imagination category. Traditional Irish main dishes for St. Patrick's tend to be very meat-centric. I've made vegetarian Cornish pasties, and a vegetarian lentil shepherd's pie, but this year, with all the snow and cold weather we've been having, what I really want to make is a vegetarian Irish stew.
Check out this post for more vegetarian Irish recipes for a St. Patrick's Day dinner.
🤷♀️ What is an Irish Stew?
Irish stew is often referred to as an Irish Guinness stew, since (duh) it includes a bottle of Guinness lager along with the broth. It always has potatoes, carrots, celery and onion, and some kind of hearty meat, such as mutton. The sturdy meat flavors meld very well with Guinness.
However, if you use Guinness with a vegetarian stew, it can be a little bitter. Usually sugar is added to the recipe to counter that. But for some, then it's just a bitter stew that's a little sweet. So I opted for a lighter beer that still gives the stew a beer flavor, without overwhelming the sauce and veggies.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Even though there's no meat in this recipe, there's a lot of umami, so you won't miss the meat. I promise. Bouillon, soy sauce and tomato paste all add some fabulous umami flavor, as do the mushrooms.
- I even added a bit of marmite for umami, but it's totally optional.
- I use 2 kinds of mushrooms in this recipe for a greater depth of flavor, since the mushroom act as the replacement for the meat.
- A lighter beer contributes the beer-y earthy flavor without overwhelming the vegetarian stew, like a Guinness could.
- This recipe is very make-ahead friendly. In fact the flavors continue to meld with an overnight stay in the refrigerator.
- If you have colcannon, or other mashed potatoes, on the menu, they can be served in the same bowl.
- A crusty hunk of bread is all you need to finish the meal.
🧅 Main Ingredients + Notes
The secret to faster and easier meals often lies in the ingredients. For example, store-bought items and ingredients you make ahead and store in the refrigerator (or freezer) can turn a 60-minute recipe into a 30-minutes meal or less.
For the all of the ingredients, measurements and directions, go to the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.
- Mushrooms - I recommend using 2 types of mushrooms for a greater depth of flavor and texture since the mushroom replace the meat. I used baby bella and shiitake mushrooms.
- Yellow onion
- Carrots
- Celery
- Garlic
- Unsalted butter
- All-purpose flour
- Beer - I used Corona, but an amber beer such as Negro Modelo would work too. Don't use a beer you wouldn't enjoy drinking on its own.
- Vegetable broth - or Better than Bouillon
- Marmite - optional, if you don't use Better than Bouillon for your vegetable broth.
- Green cabbage
- Russet potatoes - Yukon gold or red potatoes are also fine in this recipe.
- Soy sauce - or Tamari
- Tomato paste
- Fresh thyme
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🔪 Recommended Equipment
- Chef's knife
- Dutch oven or other heavy bottomed pot
- Vegetable peeler
📝 Instructions Overview
Detailed instructions for making this vegetarian Irish stew are in the recipe card below, but here's a general overview!
Step 1
Prep the veggies. I recommend prepping everything before heating up the Dutch oven. This frees you up to just cook the stew. I've even prepped the mushrooms, onion, celery, carrot, garlic and cabbage the day before, and store the in the refrigerator.
Step 2
Sear. Sear the mushrooms for a few minutes, and remove from the pot. Set aside until the very end of the recipe.
Step 3
Sauté. Sauté the onion, celery and carrots until the onion is translucent, and starting to brown a little on the bottom of the pot. Melt the butter in the pot and add the flour. Toss to coat and cook until the raw flour scent is gone.
Step 4
Made the stew. Make a roux by adding the beer. Add the vegetable broth, cabbage, potatoes, soy sauce and tomato paste. Season with salt, pepper and fresh thyme. Simmer for 30 - 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
Add the mushrooms back into the pot, and simmer another 10 minutes before serving.
⏰ Tips to Simplify and Save Time
- Prep the mushrooms, onion, carrot, celery, garlic and cabbage ahead of time. I've even done this the day before making this stew, storing them in bowls covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator overnight.
👩🍳 Preparation Tips
The flavor of this stew is deepened by creating a fond, or cooked food coating at the bottom of the pot. The best way to get this fond to develop is to allow veggies to stick to the bottom of the pot a bit.
This means don't move the mushrooms around a great deal when searing them. Only toss them around every 30 seconds. After you replace them in the pot with the onions, celery and carrots, do the same. Let the veggies sit still while they cook, and only nudge them around the pot once you see them starting to brown on the bottom of the pot.
When the beer is added, use a wooded spoon to start to scrape up the cooked fond coating. It will continue to release while the stew simmer.
If you use a boxed or canned vegetable broth, instead of Better Than Bouillon, you may want to add 2 teaspoons of marmite to the stew for a burst of umami flavor.
💡Ideas for Possible Variations
Swap one of the potatoes for a turnip or parsnip.
🥩 For the Meat Eaters at the Table
Serve with a steak, so that the meat eaters get some beef with their stew.
🍽 Side Dish Ideas
I serve this with colcannon Irish mashed potatoes in the same bowl.
Freshly baked bread is always a hit. Soda bread keeps the meal Irish, or make these easy sweet potato biscuits. But if you're interested in making a yeasted bread, these Parmesan and Garlic Rolls are irresistible, as is this Aglio e Olio Pizza Bread. Or make this Cheesy Beer Bread with Quinoa, Millet and Jalapeño Peppers.
Don't have time to run to the grocery store? Order the ingredients for this recipe using Instacart (affiliate link). Just click on the Instacart button in the recipe card below, and the ingredients will all be organized for you on their site. Plug in your zip code, choose the store you prefer, and select the ingredients you want delivered to your home.
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Vegetarian Irish Stew
Ingredients
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms quartered
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms sliced in half
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion about 2 cups
- 3 large carrots peeled and sliced into rounds
- 3 celery stalks, including the leaves diced
- 3 cloves garlic smashed and minced
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 12 ounces beer I used Corona beer, see the ingredient notes
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 4 large russet potatoes
- ¼ head green cabbage
- ¼ cup soy sauce, or tamari
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt or 1 ½ teaspoons of sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 large sprigs of thyme left intact
Instructions
- Prep the mushrooms, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic.
- Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven, or other heavy bottomed pot, over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the mushrooms all at once. They should sizzle. Sear for 5 minutes, or until starting to brown. Pro-tip: Don't move them around more often than once every 30 seconds, to allow a fond to develop on the base of the pot.
- Remove the mushrooms and set aside. Reduce the heat to medium heat, and add the onions, carrots and celery to the pot. Add a little extra olive oil if needed. Toss to coat and cook until the onions are translucent, and starting to brown on the bottom of the pot.Pro-tip: Don't move them around more often than once every 60 seconds, to allow a fond to develop on the base of the pot.
- Melt the butter in the pot, stir with the veggies, and add the flour. Using a wooden spoon, move the veggies around in the flour to coat them. Cook for a few minutes until the raw flour scent is gone. Nudge them around the pot every 15 seconds to make sure the flour is cooked.
- Slowly add the beer, while constantly stirring the veggies. A thick, paste-like gravy will develop. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the brown fond on the bottom of the pot. If it doesn't all come up, no worries. It will continue to release while the stew simmers.
- Add the vegetable broth, potatoes, cabbage, soy sauce, tomato paste, salt, pepper and thyme sprigs. Cover and simmer on low for 30 - 35 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.Add the mushrooms back in, and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Serve warm.
Gisela duVigneau
Thanks for this recipe. It came just in time. I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner on St. Patrick's day. I think I will buy a thick slice of corned beef at the deli counter for my husband.
The Wimpy Vegetarian
Yay!!! I hope you like it. We had it for dinner last night and it was soooo good!
Kate
So rich and delicious! The whole family, including the kids who typically don't appreciate my attempts at sumptuous vegetarian dishes, really enjoyed this. I did omit the salt after giving a quick taste test, but it's possible we didn't dilute the Better than Bouillon enough. This is going to be my new St. Patty's day go-to dish-- along with your Colcannon! Slainte!
The Wimpy Vegetarian
I'm so excited you liked it so much, and that the whole family did too! Yay team!! And big yes on the colcannon mashed potatoes. These two dishes are perfect together! Happy St. Patty's Day to you and your family!!
Jen
hi! We don't drink - can this be made without the beer? Thanks!
Susan Pridmore
Beer adds a distinctive flavor to Irish stews, however, I totally understand. My first recommendation is to use non-alcoholic beer. Heineken, I believe, makes a non-alcoholic beer that is 0% alcohol. There are others as well.
My second recommendation is to check out this article on The Spruce Eats for ways to substitute beer: https://www.thespruceeats.com/beer-substitute-1388879# I haven't made this recipe without beer, and don't want to recommend something that doesn't end up working.
Marti
Loved this!!! Great flavor!
Nonetheless, a couple of concerns/tweaking appreciated. Where and when to add the garlic? It's listed on ingredient list, not commented upon in directions. Although I am an experienced cook, I do believe that beginners would appreciate approximate weights for potatoes, carrots, onions, and exactly how to prepare the potatoes, onions, cabbage. I chunked the potatoes, chopped the cabbage, and sliced the onions in the round. Perhaps the onion, too, should have been chopped.
Susan Pridmore
Thank you so much for your feedback! I'm so happy you like the flavor and will take a look at your points and make some adjustments. Thank you!