Hungarian goulash is one of the most delicious stews we’ve ever tasted; It’s comforting, hearty, and packed with flavor—everything you need from a warming winter soup. Today we show how you can prepare goulash vegan with red kidney beans and mushrooms. Let’s jump in!
For our plant-based goulash, we made a base of red onions caramelized with paprika and cumin. Then we added potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and beans. Finally, we cooked everything with vegetable broth until soft. The result is a delicious stew with a thick, dark broth and spicy, aromatic notes.
The classic Hungarian goulash is not vegan as it is made with diced beef or mutton fried in lard. It is an ancient dish originally consumed by shepherds and stored in sheep’s stomach pouches. In our recipe we kept all the traditional ingredients, but swapped out the meat herbal alternatives. We chose red kidney beans as a source of protein and mushrooms for their “meaty” texture and flavor.
The soul of a good goulash is in the paprika. It’s earthy, peppery, and gives the soup a distinctive dark red color. You can use sweet paprika for a toned down flavor or use hot paprika for a spicier finish. Since we like our stew bold and fiery, we also added chopped Scotch Bonnets. They’re quite hot, so either remove the seeds before using them or opt for milder red chilies like Bird’s Eye or Cayenne.
To make the goulash stock thicker, we used a few tablespoons of starch. In the classic stew, the collagen from the leeks gets into the broth and slowly thickens the soup. Some vegan recipes use flour instead, but we chose starch to help preserve the goulash gluten free. You can use potato, corn, or arrowroot starch; First dissolve it in some cold water and then add it to the soup. As it cooks, the goulash will thicken quickly – easy!
A bowl of this vegan stew has less than 400 caloriesand it covers 35% RDI of proteins And 70% RDI of fibers, all with a third of the fats compared to a meat goulash. Enjoy it with toasted bread or scoop it up on a bed of small Hungarian-style egg noodles.