This Post Contains Affiliate Links. Click Here To Read Our Full Disclosure.
Vegetable Stew With Dumplings. How to make a hearty and flavoursome vegetable stew using delicious root vegetables and homemade herby dumplings. The perfect combination for the cold winter months.
You will also love how this slow cooker vegetable stew uses up leftovers and is a favourite for saving money on groceries and avoiding food waste.
Also, all the ingredients sourced in this homemade vegetable stew are from Aldi UK.
Table of Contents
- Vegetable Stew With Dumplings
- Easy Vegetable Stew
- Is This Vegetable Stew Vegan?
- What Are The Best Vegetables For Stew?
- What Herbs For Vegetable Stew?
- Vegetable Stew & Dumplings
- Vegetable Stew Ingredients
- How To Make Vegetable Stew?
- Can You Freeze Vegetable Stew?
- What Goes With Vegetable Stew?
- Slow Cooker Vegetable Stew With Dumplings Recipe
- Can’t make it now? Then pin it for later!
Vegetable Stew With Dumplings
As a child I consumed a lot of hearty vegetable stews, either with or without dumplings. My grandad would make them for me and with little money to spend on groceries it would often be meatless, and the root vegetables would come directly from his allotment.
He was very good at growing his own vegetables and then turning them into delicious one pot meals.
I used to watch him and admire the way he could make these root vegetables come to life and become something simple but spectacular.
We were in the middle of a challenge we had set ourselves to shop exclusively at Aldi for a month and reduce our grocery bill.
I had in my kitchen a pan of leftover homemade tomato sauce (like our soup maker tomato sauce) as well as lots of leeks and other root vegetables.
I decided to do it my grandad’s way and transform them into a hearty slow cooker meal of vegetable stew and dumplings for you to also enjoy in your kitchen.
Easy Vegetable Stew
When I make a vegetable stew, I want it to be an easy vegetable stew. I don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen making it, I want it to be for lazy rainy days, when I can’t be bothered to cook.
On the day we made our hearty vegetable stew it was a rainy Monday, and we want to snuggle with a warm bowl of stew in our hands.
Therefore, we have gone with vegetable stew ingredients that are easy to prep and then you can just leave them in your slow cooker for later.
Is This Vegetable Stew Vegan?
Yes, it is. This vegetable stew recipe is 100% vegan. You have delicious vegetables, a homemade tomato sauce and delicious seasonings that give it the X Factor.
But the homemade dumplings are not vegan.
What Are The Best Vegetables For Stew?
The best vegetables for stew are the root vegetables that you would avoid if you follow a low carb lifestyle and are more aimed at hearty home cooking.
The reason for this is that the best vegetables for stew, are the ones that are going to last and not turn to mush when cooked in the slow cooker for 3-4 hours.
Forget your broccoli, cauliflower, and courgette.
Instead focus on creating a root vegetable stew. Potatoes, parsnips, swede (aka rutabaga), carrots and leeks are all ideal for using in a stew. Plus, because you don’t have any meat, they fill you up.
What Herbs For Vegetable Stew?
When planning the best vegetable stew, you want the best herbs that compliment it. This can also differ, depending on the ingredients you are using and the flavour you want to achieve.
I love to have my winter vegetable stew with rosemary, mixed herbs, and oregano, along with salt and pepper.
But I also have a husband that is allergic to both tarragon and sage. If he wasn’t, I am sure sage would be getting a sprinkling too!
Vegetable Stew & Dumplings
I am sure you want to know more about the combination of vegetable stew and dumplings.
Well, my husband who loves his meat and unless huge amounts of cheese is involved, will often complain that in a vegetarian or vegan recipe, that the meat is missing. Like there is that little thing, that should be there that isn’t.
But add dumplings to your vegetable stew and it suddenly feels like you are having something amazing, and even your veggie hating kids will love it. Even dished up the dumplings, version looks 10 times better.
For the best root vegetable stew and dumplings, I am using my cheesy loaded no suet dumplings recipe. Then I will half cook the dumplings, load into the stew when its just got an hour left and the dumplings sink into the veggies.
You may wonder why half cook them? Well, the air fryer can add an amazing crisp to them, that once cooked in the slow cooker have a much better texture and you will feel like they have been baked in the oven, rather than in the slow cooker.
Vegetable Stew Ingredients
Roots – Let’s start with the root vegetables as they are the true hero of this recipe. You can use any combo of your favourite ones, or use this vegetable stew recipe as an excuse for a clear out of your vegetable drawer.
Sauce – I am combining root vegetables with our homemade tomato sauce. This will become the creamy sauce of your veggie stew.
Dumplings – We are decorating the top of our veg stew with homemade cheesy dumplings and you will wish that you made yourself more dumplings!
Extras – To make this vegetable stew slow cooker recipe stretch further, I recommend adding in extras such as chickpeas, beans, or peas. You will then be able to feed more mouths or have leftovers the next day.
Seasoning – I love my veg stew with mixed herbs, rosemary and oregano. You can use the same or mix and match.
Then for the kitchen gadgets that we have used in this slow cooker vegetable stew, it has just been our Crockpot. We have this one and it does an amazing job and is also ideal for sauteing too.
How To Make Vegetable Stew?
- Prep. The first step is to peel and dice your vegetables, toss in the seasoning and load into the slow cooker. Then add in stock, extra tinned tomatoes, tomato sauce and stir.
- Cook. Next the slow cooker does its magic and cooks your hearty vegetable stew. Then whilst it is cooking you can prep and partly cook your cheesy dumplings.
- Load. Next when the slow cooker is heading into its last hour, you can stir in any extras such as beans, and then load the partly cooked dumplings on top.
- Finish. Once it has done its last hour, load into bowls and enjoy!
Can You Freeze Vegetable Stew?
Yes, you can. Vegetable stew freezes perfectly. Just make sure that your vegetable stew is cold before loading into the freezer. Plus, place in airtight freezer containers and freeze the dumplings separately to stop it from going too soggy.
Then when you want to reheat the vegetable stew, you can load back into the slow cooker once thawed and reheat on high for about 45 minutes.
What Goes With Vegetable Stew?
The best way to enjoy vegetable stew is of course with carbs. If you want more to eat with your vegetable stew than the dumplings, I recommend any of the following:
- Air Fryer Pull Apart Bread
- Air Fryer Homemade Garlic Bread
- Instant Pot No Drain Mashed Potatoes
- Instant Pot Brown Rice
Slow Cooker Vegetable Stew With Dumplings
Ingredients
Kitchen Gadgets:
Vegetable Stew Ingredients:
- 400 g Batch Dumplings Without Suet
- 500 ml Leftover Tomato Sauce
- 3 Medium Carrots
- 3 Medium Leeks
- 2 Large Potatoes
- 1 Medium Swede/Rutabaga
- 1 Medium Parsnip
- 468 ml 1 Can Tinned Tomatoes
- 250 ml Vegetable Stock
- 2 Tbsp Mixed Herbs
- 2 Tbsp Oregano
- 2 Tbsp Rosemary
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Peel and dice your root vegetables and potatoes. Load into the slow cooker, along with seasoning, tomato sauce, tinned tomatoes, and vegetable stock. Stir and place the slow cooker on high for 4 hours.
- Whilst the slow cooker is cooking your vegetable stew make a batch of homemade dumplings. Cook the dumplings for 4 minutes in an air fryer at 180c/360f.
- When the slow cooker has just an hour left, stir the vegetable stew, and add in any extras such as drained white beans, chickpeas, peas etc.
- Next place the dumplings on top and cook for a further hour before loading into bowls and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Can’t make it now? Then pin it for later!
