Seasonal Vegetable Stews ♥ 10 Killer Recipes, 10 Tips & Techniques

Ten favorite vegetable stew recipes for all seasons, summer, fall, winter and year-round. These are "killer stew recipes" – tried & true, healthy, great-tasting, easy to incorporate the vegetables you love and leave out the ones you don't. Some recipes work best with a cornucopia of fresh summer vegetables from your CSA, garden or farmers market; others work beautifully with year-round supermarket vegetables.

Clean eaters, take note! All the recipes are for vegetarian stews. Most are vegan stews or easily made vegan. Every one works as a side dish or a vegetarian/vegan main dish perfect for Meatless Monday meals. Some take a little time to prep the vegetables, others are quick-quick. Two use a slow cooker!

Healthy eaters, these recipes are for you! A satisfying cup usually adds up to about 100 calories (more if the stew calls for beans). For Weight Watchers, this is usually two or three PointsPlus.

Plus ten tips and techniques for perfecting your own killer vegetable stews, creating a mélange of healthy vegetables. Ever wonder what really matters to produce a great vegetable stew? Now you'll know! So grab a sharp knife, vegetable lovers, let's get stewed!

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TEN TIPS & TECHNIQUES for COOKING KILLER VEGETABLE STEWS

Fresh vegetables matter! If there's ever a time to bypass frozen and canned vegetables, it's for vegetable stews.
Diversity matters! Aim for five to eight vegetables with different colors and textures, cut in contrasting shapes and sizes.

Size matters! Cut the vegetables into quite-large pieces in different shapes. No veggie mush, you want to be able to identify each vegetable in every bite! Know that bigger pieces take more time to cook, smaller pieces less time.
Specifics matter! Three vegetables make their way into many vegetables stews with specific purpose. Eggplant for bulk. Tomatoes for moisture. Corn for a touch of sweetness. Some vegetables to avoid, unless the stew will be consumed on the first day? Broccoli and Brussels sprouts.
Order matters! First draw out the flavors of the onion, peppers and garlic that likely start off the stew, then add the vegetables in careful order, knowing that some vegetables take longer to cook and should be fully cooked to be enjoyed (eggplant, potatoes, celery, sweet potatoes, carrots and butternut squash, for example). Let these finish cooking before adding vegetables that take less time (summer squash, green beans, for example). Then finally, right at the end, add the most tender vegetables and let them cook for just a minute or two until tender but still crisp (ripe tomatoes, okra and corn, for example).
Layers matter! When you add vegetables in careful order, you are building layers of flavor. It's impossible to build layers in a slow cooker, that's why nearly all my vegetable stew recipes are cooked on the stovetop, prep'n'add, prep'n'add, prep'n'add. Two vegetable stew recipes finish well in a slow cooker but start the cooking on the stove to build those first layers of flavor: Slow Cooker Curried Vegetable Stew and Squash & Carrot Stew.
Seasoning matters! For starters, lightly season the vegetables with salt and pepper several times. I've learned from my chef mentors to apply a little salt and pepper with the addition of each new vegetable.
Flavor matters! Vegetable stews can be quite mild. Look for recipes that call for (1) some sort of seasoning besides salt and pepper and/or (2) a finishing ingredient such as good vinegar, lemon juice, even honey or some times fresh herbs or something creamy.
Time matters! Allow time for a stew's flavors to meld. That means making the stew in the morning or a day or two before serving.
Temperature "doesn't" matter! Fooled ya, didn't I?! :-) Vegetable stews are good hot but often are also really good at room temperature, when the individual flavors of the vegetables can emerge. Some are also very good cold!

What's your favorite vegetable stew?

Do have a special way to make a killer vegetable stew? Do you follow a recipe or make it up as you go? Share your experience and ideas in a comment, I'd love to hear how you cook! Have I missed something? I welcome questions too! ~Alanna

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VEGETABLE STEW RECIPES FOR SUMMER

SUMMER VEGETABLE STEW from A Veggie Venture This Spanish stew was A Veggie Venture's very first vegetable stew recipe, made in May long before good summer vegetables were available. Frozen vegetables turned out what I called a "pretty good" stew, faint praise for sure. It wasn't until later, when I made the stew again that I realized – duh! – that a Summer Vegetable Stew should be made in summer! What a difference! Main Vegetables: Bell peppers, Eggplant, Summer Squash, Green Beans, Summer Tomatoes, Corn. Best for: Fresh summer vegetables, mild flavors, multitude of vegetables, knife skills, make-ahead.

SOUTHERN FARM STAND STEW with OKRA, TOMATOES & SWEET CORN from A Veggie Venture Quintessential Summer. That's what Southern Farm Stand Stew with Okra, Tomatoes & Sweet Corn brings to mind. It's a classic combination of southern vegetables (a southern trinity, perhaps?) but is seasoned with something that "sounds" so wrong – chili powder – but somehow deepens the flavors of the vegetables. Main Vegetables: Bell peppers, Okra, Summer Tomatoes, Corn. Best For: Vegans, fresh summer vegetables, make-ahead.

SUMMER VEGETABLE CURRY from A Veggie Venture This Indian vegetable stew is brightened and deepened with ginger, curry and cumin. I especially like Summer Vegetable Curry served cold. Note the dollop of yogurt-honey-cumin sauce, I'm crazy for a touch of something creamy to contrast with the earthy cooked vegetables. Main Vegetables: Eggplant, Summer Squash, Green Beans, Okra, Summer Tomatoes, Corn. Best For: Vegans, Indian-food lovers, fresh summer vegetables, make-ahead.

RATATOUILLE from Kitchen Parade Thanks to the Disney movie Ratatouille and one determined and ever-so-cute rat named Remy, we all learned how to pronounce rat-uh-TOO-ee. But if you haven't made the real thing yet, oh! you're in for a real treat. A French ratatouille is more "casserole" or "side dish" than stew but really, isn't that line a blurry one, really? Besides, Ratatouille is just too special to fuss about definitional details. Main Vegetables: Eggplant, Summer Tomatoes, Summer Squash, Mushrooms, Bell Pepper. Best For: Vegetarians, make-ahead, fresh summer vegetables.

VEGETABLE STEW RECIPES FOR FALL

FALL STEW BAKED in a WHOLE PUMPKIN from Kitchen Parade And then the days become shorter and cooler and we go crazy (well some of us!) for all things pumpkin. There's something quite rustic but elegant about a tomatillo and hominy cooked right in a small pumpkin. And yeah, you're right, a Fall Stew Baked in a Whole Pumpkin fits for Thanksgiving, too! Main Vegetables: Bell pepper, Tomatillo, Hominy, Pumpkin. Best For: Vegans, elegant fall presentation, winter supermarket vegetables.

SQUASH & CARROT STEW from Kitchen Parade “Feast with friends. Fast in solitude.” But "fasting" with healthy, spare food like a vegetable stew never tasted so good until the lovely spice-rich Squash & Carrot Stew. This recipe can be made either on the stovetop or in a slow cooker. Love your slow cooker? Main Vegetables: Butternut squash, Carrots, Tomato. Best for: Spice lovers, slow cooker fans, winter supermarket vegetables.

VEGETABLE STEW RECIPES FOR WINTER

SLOW COOKER CURRIED VEGETABLE STEW from Kitchen Parade Another stew for the slow cooker! It's full of wintry spices and mixes butternut squash with other vegetables plus black beans for a burst of protein. For Slow Cooker Curried Vegetable Stew, you'll definitely want to brush up on how to cut a butternut squash, How to Cut, Peel & Cube a Butternut Squash and Keep All Ten Fingers. Main Vegetables: Butternut squash, Tomatoes, Your choice of vegetables. Best For: Vegans, spice lovers, slow cooker fans, multitude of vegetables, winter supermarket vegetables or fresh summer vegetables.

MEDITERRANEAN EGGPLANT from Kitchen Parade A simpler stew than the other recipes, this makes up in just 45 minutes and the slicing and dicing is minimal. That's the reason why Mediterranean Eggplant has become a year-round staple in my kitchen. Main Vegetables: Eggplant, Summer Squash, Tomatoes. Best For: A quick, healthy vegetarian one-skillet supper. Either winter supermarket vegetables or fresh summer vegetables.

VEGAN CHICKPEA GUMBO from A Veggie Venture The recipe for Vegan Chickpea Gumbo started off life as chicken gumbo but was adapted by my friend Susan of Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. She shared this recipe on A Veggie Venture when her blog was just a few weeks old! It's got a lot of spice and smokey flavor. Glory good! Main Ingredients: Bell pepper, Tomatoes, Okra, Chickpeas Best For: Vegans, Mardi-Gras celebrations, spicy-food lovers, make-ahead, winter supermarket vegetables or fresh summer vegetables.

VEGETABLE STEW RECIPES FOR YEAR-ROUND

TOURLOU TOURLOU (GREEK BAKED VEGETABLES) from Kitchen Parade What a great party dish! Tourlou Tourlou is slow-cooked in the oven and uses a rainbow of vegetables. People go crazy for Tourlou Tourlou (Greek Baked Vegetables)! Main Vegetables: Your choice but my favorites are suggested! Best For: Vegans, multitude of vegetables, good knife skills, winter supermarket vegetables, summer fresh vegetables. More Year-Round Vegetable Stew Recipes (don't require summer-fresh vegetables) Squash & Carrot Stew Slow Cooker Curried Vegetable Stew Mediterranean Eggplant Vegan Chickpea Gumbo

SO THAT'S IT! A basketful of vegetable stew recipes, y'think they'll keep ya busy?! If you like this collection of vegetable stew recipes, tips and techniques, you might also like these: How to Roast Vegetables: 15 Tips & A Master Recipe from A Veggie Venture How to Make Homemade Vegetable Soup from Kitchen Parade

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