Rich with flavor and brimming with creamy potatoes, mushrooms, and tender pearl onions, classic French beef bourguignon is made vegan by using tempeh instead of beef. An umami-rich stock coats the ingredients and a heavenly aroma is the result. Serve it in warmed bowls with crusty rustic bread for the perfect comfort meal.
Tempeh is available in both soy and soy-free versions. And it’s incredibly nutritious, too.
Here are a few other great ways to use tempeh:
Tempeh Bourguignon
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 4-6 servings
A classic French recipe made vegan with tempeh and vegetable stock.
Ingredients
- 4 cups rich vegetable stock (see Notes)
- 8 ounces pearl onions (see Notes)
- 1 1/4 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 lb. fresh crimini or baby bella mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced into quarters.
- 3 large carrots, sliced thick
- 8 ounces tempeh, diced into 1/2" cubes
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups dry red wine
- 1/2 cup parsley, finely minced
- 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- 2 teaspoons vegan Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Put 3 cups of the stock into a large Dutch oven or soup pot with a lid (save 1 cup for thickening the dish at the end). Add the wine, onions, potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, tempeh, garlic, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir well, raise the heat to medium-low and cook for 1 hour, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Don't let it boil, but cook it at a lively simmer.
Add the corn starch to the remaining 1 cup of stock and stir well until completely dissolved. Add it to the pot and stir well. Cover the pot and let it sit on very low heat for at least 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in heated bowls garnished with chopped parsley.
Notes
For rich vegetable stock, use a stock that has a mushroom base. Better Than Bouillon low sodium vegetable base is very good for this recipe, or add a tablespoon or two to strengthen regular vegetable stock. If you are making your own stock, make one that includes lots of mushrooms, carrots, and onions.
Pearl onions make this dish special, but in a pinch you can use regular onions cut into bite-sized chunks. Pearl onions need to be blanched to get their skins off. Drop them into a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain them in a colander and when they are cool enough to handle, slice off the root end of each onion. Push down gently on the onion and it will pop out of its skin.
Courses main dish
8
I planned on making a version of this tonight to serve over mashed potatoes. Suggestions on adjusting the recipe when omitting the potatoes?
You won’t have to make any adjustments, that sounds like a great idea. It will be stew-like, so maybe it will work best served alongside the potatoes. The sauce will act like a gravy for the potatoes. Let me know how it works out!