This easy vegan black bean stew is the perfect fall and winter comfort food dish. Simple, filling, and full of plant based nutrients!
This simple and easy vegan black bean stew is packed full of flavor and makes you feel like you have a warm hug with every single bite.
Often times people feel like they can’t have both a flavorful meal and a healthy one, but we are here to show you that you can!
This completely homemade black bean stew with sweet potatoes is made in just one pot.
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Why You’ll Love Vegan Black Bean Stew
Easy
While this dish does take a bit of time to cook, the recipe itself is super easy to make and the waiting for the flavors to come together and the sweet potatoes to cook will be the hardest part of the whole dish.
One Pot
We all love a one pot meal. Not only is the vegan stew recipe easy, but it’s completely made in one pot so you don’t even have a big mess to clean up at the end either! It’s a win win!
Versatile
One of our favorite parts about the whole dish is that it’s super versatile.
You can replace the sweet potatoes with another hearty vegetables like butternut squash or pumpkin. You can also switch out the black beans for another protein like chickpeas, black eyed peas, or lentils!
You can also add even more nutrients by add in some greens like kale or spinach towards the end of the dish.
Vegan Black Bean Stew Ingredients:
Gather your ingredients!
Below are notes about the ingredients before we get into the full recipe located lower in this post on how to make vegan stew:
- onions and garlic – These are our aromatics and the base to our dish. We start the flavor right away by adding these at the beginning. We are using a red onion in the photo; however, you can use any color onion for this particular dish
- black beans – our protein of choice is black beans for the stew. They are packed full of nutrients and the texture is delicious when cooked in with these flavors
- sweet potatoes – are great at adding a filling component to the dish but also a different texture when combined with all the other ingredients
- coconut milk – we are making this stew with coconut milk in order to provide a creamy element to the dish instead of just stock or water. We are using full fat canned coconut milk to almost mimic a heavy cream consistency
- vegetable stock – We need a bit more liquid to the dish and a low sodium vegetable stock works great to add some flavor and that liquid we need
- spices – we are choosing salt, fresh thyme, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, onion powder to add more flavor to the dish and really bring it all together
- sriracha – for a bit of a spicy element to the dish, we are adding some sriracha, but it is optional
Substitutions and Variations:
- black beans – if you wanted to switch it up, try pinto or kidney beans, but you could also do chickpeas or white beans or even lentils. Lentils could also be used as an addition with the black beans instead of just a replacement too
- sweet potatoes – you can replace sweet potatoes in this stew with something like butternut squash or cubed pumpkin chunks as well.
- coconut milk – you can use another carton non-dairy milk that is creamier like soy milk or extra creamy oat milk. Be mindful that you could alter the flavor some and that with carton milks, you’ll need to reduce a bit longer
- vegetable stock – you could use water, but you will take away from some of the flavor
- spices – we wouldn’t recommend too many changes to this dish, but if you don’t have smoked paprika, you can use regular. It does add a smoky component to the dish though so if you still want that you could try a bit of liquid smoke.
- sriracha – you could also do some hot sauce instead
Step by Step Instructions:
To start, you’ll want to heat up some oil in a high walled large pot or skillet. Once heated, add in your onions and salt and stir with a wooden spoon often until translucent and lightly caramelized. This will take you about 6 to 8 minutes. Then add in garlic and thyme and cook for another minute.
Then, add in your black beans, sweet potatoes, and spices. And stir that together well.
Next, you’re going to add in coconut milk, vegetable stock and sriracha (if adding). Work to scrape off any browning at the bottom of your pot so all of those flavors get incorporated into the dish.
Without adjusting the heat, let mixture come to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook until sweet potatoes are fork tender, stirring every few minutes. This will take about 30 to 35 minutes.
Serve warm with fresh herbs sprinkled over with rice or quinoa, with mashed potatoes, or just bread on the side. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions:
The only ingredient that is an allergen is coconut milk. You can replace that with another thick non-dairy milk like soy or extra creamy oat milk. You’ll want to make a slurry if you do this which is explained in the recipe card below.
Yes. Once cooled completely, you can store in an air tight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Yes. As long as you have a big enough skillet, you can just double all the ingredients as instructed.
Sort of. Potatoes that are frozen, then thawed and reheated will most often fall apart and give the dish a grainy consistency once heated throughout again.
If you do want to freeze the dish, you can either make without the sweet potatoes, then add them when reheated until cooked through or you can stop the recipe once combined before cooking the potatoes until fork tender, the cool and freeze. When thawed, finish the recipe as instructed.
You can reheat in the microwave or on the stove in a small pot until heated through. You may need to add some stock or non-dairy milk to get the saucy texture back.
What other vegan fall meal ideas could I make?
If you love this easy vegan dinner recipe, you may love even more:
- Vegan Chili Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Instant Pot Tex-Mex Rice
- Vegan Cheesy Hamburger Helper
- Vegan Swedish Meatballs
- One Pot Creamy Vegan Garlic Parmesan Pasta
Pin this vegan black bean stew for later!
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Did you make and love this recipe?
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Vegan Black Bean Stew
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced (any color works)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cloves garlic
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 15.5oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed (880g)
- 3 cups sweet potatoes, cubed (400g)
- 1 ½ tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 13.5oz can full fat coconut milk (400mL)
- ½ cup vegetable stock (110mL)
- 2 tablespoon sriracha, more or less to taste
Side Options
- cooked brown rice or quinoa
- mashed potatoes
- baguette
Instructions
- In a large skillet or pot with high walls over medium heat, add oil to heat up. Add onions and stir with a wooden spoon. Then sprinkle salt over onions and stir every few minutes. Allow onions to cook until translucent, browning and lightly caramelized. About 6 – 8 mins. Then stir in garlic and thyme and cook for and additional minute.
- Next add in black beans, sweet potatoes, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder and onion powder. Stir together well, then add coconut milk, stock and sriracha (if adding). Scrape any browning and seasoning at the bottom to incorporate the flavors into the dish.
- Without adjusting the heat, let mixture come to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook until sweet potatoes are fork tender, stirring periodically (about 30 – 35 minutes).
- Serve warm with fresh herbs sprinkled over with rice, mashed potatoes, etc. on the side. Enjoy!
Rainbow Vegan 17
So good as a winter meal!
LarishaBernard
Agree! Thanks for trying
Molly
This recipe was absolutely delicious! It will be one that I make again, for sure! I love that it was so easy to make. I love the thyme in there too. Next time I might add some spinach in there for some greens. Overall, great recipe!!!
LarishaBernard
Really glad you enjoyed it!
Juliane
Made this for the second time last night and what can I say? It’s amazing and so delicious – love it! One of my favorite stews. Thanks!!
LarishaBernard
So happy to hear that you’re loving it Juliane!
Brian
😋😋 .. Made this recipe around Halloween. So, so good!!! Made this part of my Thanksgiving menu for my veg guests as well. This one is a winner. 🏆✌🏽
LarishaBernard
So glad you’re enjoying it!
Surae
I made this tonight and it was delish! I had a side of collard greens and thought about cornbread but I was too hungry…lol. I also did not have fresh thyme so used about a tsp of dried thyme, not sure how much it impacted flavor.
LarishaBernard
So glad you loved it
Frannya
Yum, yum, yum. This is wonderful. Thanks for the beautifully put together recipe. Quick, easy, and delicious.
LarishaBernard
So glad you liked it!
Tammy G
Thank you for this receipe! It is very good. I followed it exactly (except for Sriracha that I didn’t have). I paired it with quinoa. Wonderful flavor and very satisfying.
LarishaBernard
Awesome, so glad you enjoyed
Tracy
This stew was so good, and so easy! Even my (slightly) picky parents liked it. I added a red bell pepper because it needed to be used. Next time I may reduce the amount of coconut milk.
LarishaBernard
So glad it was a hit with everyone
Estee
I made this tonight. the only change I made was I used less of the coconut milk and I cooked it in the IP for 5 min. it was very creamy and had great flavor. I’ll definitely cook this again soon!
LarishaBernard
So glad you enjoyed it!
Kelley
First off the aroma while this is cooking, amazing! This stew is so flavorful and mood altering. Perfect for a chilly Fall night! Definitely a keeper. Thank you for sharing your amazing recipe.
LarishaBernard
So glad you enjoyed!
Mike
Oh man. This dish has no business going this hard. So good, so easy, so filling, so flavorful. Thanks you two!
LarishaBernard
HAHA, love it!
Lindzey
Absolutely delicious. I’m so happy to have a new staple recipe for fall and winter. I added a little extra sriracha because I like spicy food and it tasted amazing. It’s a great way to enjoy sweet potatoes without waiting to make candied yams for Thanksgiving. Love it.
LarishaBernard
so glad that you enjoyed it so much
Michael
Going on 3 weeks being vegan. All I have cooked has been y’all recipes. This recipe is really good I was doubting the spices, but it really came all together quite nice. Definitely will be making this again.
LarishaBernard
So happy that you enjoyed it so much
Leah
This recipe was quick, easy, and delicious. Thank you!
Leah
Oops, Adding 5 stars!
LarishaBernard
haha, thank you so much
Floki
This was divine! I’m impressed with the flavours you’ve put together here, and the way they complement each other perfectly. Just discovered you on you tube, and I’m so glad I did! Can’t wait to try your other recipes. Thank you 😊
LarishaBernard
So happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing
Monica
so yes . just yes. my non vegan husband ate it and loved it . he thought it was beef stew haha. u barely got to eat any so making it again tonight. DOUBLE BATCH! great job on this
LarishaBernard
HAHHA, I love that so much!
LarishaBernard
So glad!
Lori
This was delicious! I can’t eat much of any spice these days, so I subbed tomato paste for sriracha- loved it!
LarishaBernard
Wow, you’re quick! So happy to hear that you loved it!
Nessa V
1.5 Tablespoons of smoked paprika??
LarishaBernard
Yes!
Bad Apple
holy cow this recipe is amazing. was planning to eat leftovers all week but there won’t be any! thank you!!
LarishaBernard
Wonderful!
BJ
Loved it and my picky 9 year old nephew enjoyed it as well. We will be making this again. Also I made no changes to the recipe.
LarishaBernard
Amazing!