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Bowl of Rustic Vegan “Cheeseburger” Stew

Rustic Vegan “Cheeseburger” Stew

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  • Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
  • Prep Time: 10 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 14 Minutes
  • Total Time: 24 Minutes (+Rest)
  • Yield: 4-5 Servings 1x
  • Category: Stew
  • Method: Instant Pot/Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

Oh-so-creamy and packed with deliciousness, this Rustic Vegan “Cheeseburger” Stew gives you all the feels of a truly decadent soup with a healthy twist.

Ingredients

Scale

Base Ingredients:

  • 1 cup yellow onion, fine dice
  • 3 medium carrots, 1-left whole, 2-rough chop *
  • 2 medium celery ribs, rough chop
  • 2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, 1.5 inch dice, 1-sliced in half *
  • 2 Tablespoons minced garlic
  • 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 Tablespoon hot sauce *
  • ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon organic maple syrup
  • 1 ½ cups low sodium vegetable broth *
  • 1 ½ cups water (or broth) *
  • 1 Tablespoon reduced sodium tamari *
  • 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
  • 2/3 cup dry lentils, sorted & rinsed *
  • ¼ cup nutritional yeast

Spice/Herb Ingredients:

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 2 Tablespoons dried minced onions
  • ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon dried ground mustard powder
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
  • 1 bay leaf

Optional Toppings:

  • Chopped parsley

Instructions

Instant Pot Instructions

  1. Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients (except the bay leaf) in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
  2. Add all the Base Ingredients and Spice/Herb Mix, stir well to combine, then tuck the bay leaf into the mixture. Set the Instant Pot to Manual Pressure High for 14 minutes.  When finished, press Cancel and allow to sit for 4 minutes, then do a Quick Release.  Unplug the Instant Pot.
  3. Once all the pressure is released, carefully remove the lid. Remove and discard the bay leaf.  Locate and remove the whole carrot and the potato which was cut in half and place them into a high-speed blender with ½ cup of hot water (hot tap water).  Blend on high until smooth, thick, and creamy, then gently stir the mixture into the stew until the whole stew is thick and creamy.

Stove Top Instructions

  1. Place the Spice/Herb Ingredients (except the bay leaf) in a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
  2. Add all the Base Ingredients and Spice/Herb Mix, stir well to combine, then tuck the bay leaves into the mixture. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cover with a tight-fitting lid.  Simmer for 40 to 50 minutes or until the lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.
  3. Once the lentils and potatoes are tender, remove and discard the bay leaf.  Locate and remove the whole carrot and the potato which was cut in half and place them into a high-speed blender with ½ cup of hot water (hot tap water).  Blend on high until smooth, thick, and creamy, then gently stir the mixture into the stew until the whole stew is thick and creamy.

Notes

*TIPS for Success:

  • Instant Pot: If using an Instant Pot, make sure you really stir the mixture well before putting the lid on to cook. Also, stir well after adding the buzzed carrot and potato mixture back into the stew to make sure the creamy mixture gets distributed all throughout.
  • Liquids: FYI:  If using an Instant Pot (or stove top), when you remove the lid after the Quick Release, the soup will look very watery.
  • Bay Leaf: Do not forget to pull out and discard the bay leaves before emulsifying the stew.
  • Stove Top Cooking: Largely dependent upon the size of the potatoes and the lentils selected will determine when you add the potatoes to this stove top pot.  Lentils can vary greatly in cooking times.  The key is that you want to time and coordinate the tenderness of the lentils with the tenderness of the potatoes, so they are both done at the same time.  If unsure, dice the potatoes on the larger side as lentils generally take between 40 to 50 minutes to get tender and you don’t want your potatoes to turn to complete mush.  It is definitely more challenging to coordinate this way. We highly recommend using an Instant Pot if you have one.

*Notes Continued:

*Carrot/Potato:  The reason you are leaving one carrot whole and slicing the largest potato in half is for easy identification and removal.  Both the whole carrot and the sliced large potato will be fished out in the end and placed in a high-speed blender with ½ cup of hot water.  The speed of the blender creates a highly homogenous mixture by overworking the starches which in turn will create a very creamy stew when added back into the pot.  

*Vegetable Stock:   We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.

*Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce, Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium.  You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos.

*Lentils:  We used Palouse Brand Small Brown Lentils (also known as Pardina or Spanish Browns).  We love them because they taste awesome and hold their shape well.

*Water: There is 1 1/2 cups of water in the base ingredients. There is 1/2 cup of hot tap water that is used to blend the potatoes and carrots. This recipe has a total of 2 cups of water.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Serving:  4

*Storage:  Refrigerate and use within 5 days

Find it online: https://monkeyandmekitchenadventures.com/rustic-vegan-cheeseburger-stew/