A cosy and comforting wintery meal, this white bean stew is made with a variety of seasonal root vegetables, jarred tomatoes, and creamy gigante beans. Served over dairy-free mashed potatoes or as pictured with a potato-pumpkin mixture (from this vegan shepherd’s pie) it’s the perfect meal for colder weather.
It’s a little like a vegan eintopf made using whatever vegetables are in season. This is a good flexible stew that can be made with any mixture of root vegetables you like, and the base remains the same with the herbs, beans, and wine. It’s a little rich but still light enough to have more than one bowl.
If you’re looking for more cold weather soups and stews, try my creamy cauliflower potato soup (with white beans or chickpeas), cosy cabbage lentil soup with pasta, or winter vegetable minestrone.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Root vegetables: try to use a mix of 3-4 different types of root vegetables. Those listed are my favourite here but kohlrabi, rutabaga, and fennel are all excellent additions. If you don’t have turnip you can use an extra potato, and more carrot can be used in place of parsnip.
- Beans: these should be gigante beans, or giant white beans, either cooked or canned. If you can’t get the giant type, use the biggest white beans you can find. The very small white beans (navy beans) aren’t nearly as nice here – you want that creaminess.
- Leek: celery can be substituted for leek if necessary.
- Wine: you can use either dry white or red wine for this recipe. I prefer white for a slightly lighter flavour but if you want a richer stew, you can use red wine. If you don’t use wine, substitute 1 tablespoon tomato paste or balsamic vinegar.
- Water or broth: such a small amount of extra liquid is added that I don’t bother with vegetable broth, simply rinsing the tomato can out and adding that water. Most store-bought versions are essentially just salt and a waste of money, season your food properly and you won’t need it.
Step by Step
Step 1: cook the onion, leek, and carrot for several minutes to soften.
Step 2: add the remaining vegetables and cook for a few more minutes.
Step 3: mix in the herbs, then add the wine and deglaze the pot. Stir in the tomatoes and a little water.
Step 4: cook for another 20 minutes and serve.
Recipe Notes
I really recommend serving with something like mashed potatoes, biscuits, or bread. The stew stands on its own but is all the better for one of those additions.
If the stew is too thin, it might need to be cooked down a little longer. This recipe uses an old method for stew (simply not adding much liquid, and cooking with the lid tipped) rather than thickening it with added starch. If it still seems too thin after the 20 minutes, cook with the lid fully off for a few minutes, stirring frequently.
How to Store
Storage: keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat as usual before serving.
Freezing: transfer the cooled stew to an airtight container and freeze for up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating as usual.
Expert Tips
- Drain and rinse well: if using beans you’ve cooked yourself, that’s enough. For canned beans, I also like to give them an extra little soak in fresh water to pull out some of the excess salt before adding to the stew.
- Season to taste: the amount of salt added will depend on your personal taste, if the beans are salty, if you use broth, and so on. Consider the amount given in the recipe card to be a starting point and try the stew before serving it.
- Keep the texture: the onions are thinly sliced rather than chopped to add another textural element to the dish and it’s nice.
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Winter Vegetable White Bean Stew
Description
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil or preferred cooking oil
- 1 medium onion halved and thinly sliced
- 2 medium carrots sliced into rounds (150 grams)
- 1 leek sliced
- 2 medium potatoes roughly chopped (200 grams)
- 1 medium parsnip halved if necessary and sliced (200 grams)
- 1 medium turnip roughly chopped (150 grams)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 100 ml dry white wine
- 400 grams canned diced tomatoes
- 200 ml water fill the tomato can halfway
- 250 grams gigante beans this is equal to a 400 gram can
- 2 teaspoons dried herbs like rosemary and thyme or a blend like herbes de Provence
- ½ teaspoon sea salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over low-medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, carrots, and leek. Cook, stirring often, for 10-15 minutes, until softened and the onions are translucent.2 teaspoons olive oil, 1 medium onion, 2 medium carrots, 1 leek
- Add the potatoes, parsnip, and turnip. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.2 medium potatoes, 1 medium parsnip, 1 medium turnip, 2 cloves garlic
- Pour in the wine and stir to lift anything that has stuck to the pot. Add the tomatoes, water, beans, herbs, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.100 ml dry white wine, 400 grams canned diced tomatoes, 200 ml water, 2 teaspoons dried herbs, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 250 grams gigante beans
- Increase the heat to bring the stew to a simmer and cook, with the lid tipped to let steam escape, for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are fork-soft and the liquid has reduced by about half.
- Taste for seasoning and serve hot with your desired sides. Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for several days and freeze well.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
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