Vegan Bean and Dumpling Casserole is the perfect meal for cold days when you need a filling satisfying dinner but you have not been food shopping and the fridge is empty.
If you are anything like me then food shopping is not on your list of fun things to do!! Where does it all go?? When my son was a teenager he was like a bottomless pit!! He is over six foot now that took a lot of feeding!!
Cian does not live at home anymore and Teffia is at college so my food shop is small now, except when they are both home. I still cook big meals which I portion out into tinfoil containers and freeze. This means they can bring meals with them and stock up so they have dinners to hand without having to cook. Mammy food is still best!!
This Vegan Bean and Dumpling Casserole has ingredients that are simple and easy to keep on hand. This means you can make it anytime at short notice. It tastes really amazing which you would not expect from something made with humble baked beans! It has soft fluffy herb dumplings which are delicious and make it even more filling.
One of the ingredients is celery which I always found a bit of an annoying vegetable. I would buy it and use a few sticks but then when I would want it again then it would be all slimy. It was gross!!
I decided to try chopping it up and freezing it. This works perfectly so I don’t even defrost it before using it. Success!!
Now I actually have my own celery that I grew from the root end of heads I bought in the supermarket. I just planted it in my vegetable patch and kept it well watered until it grew. Now I just cut sticks as I need it so I have a permanent supply!
Something that everyone has in the back of the cupboard is a tin of baked beans, I bet you do if you look!! Baked Beans are a meal in seconds with a couple of slices of toast. If that is as much as you ever do with them then I`m about to blow your mind!!
Baked beans are one of the main ingredients in this Bean and Dumpling Casserole and they taste different than ever either celery or parsnip but they taste subtle in the final dish so I was pleasantly surprised. There is very little preparation in the dish. It cooks in 25 minutes! That`s right! A dinner in 25 minutes!!
It is great for a hearty dinner as you do not need to slave over a hot stove for hours! You do not need to tell people this though, let them be impressed with all your work!!
When I do not have parsnip I often use sweet potato instead and it is just as good. Also you can use margarine instead of the vegetable suet if you do not have any to hand.
You can serve this with either fluffy mashed potatoes or my Roast Herb Potatoes. The recipe serves four but it can be served as a very filling on its own as a meal for two if you do not want to have potatoes with it.
We eat it with potatoes after all we wouldn’t be Irish if we didn’t!
Vegan Bean and Dumpling Casserole
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 onion (sliced)
- 1 parsnip (sliced)
- 2 sticks Celery (chopped)
- 425g/ 14 oz mixed beans
- 425g/ 14 oz Baked Beans
- 450ml/ 12 fl oz vegetable stock
- 4 tablespoons chopped herbs
- 150g/ 5oz self-raising flour
- 75g/ 3 oz vegetable suet
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the celery and onion with the parsnip for 3 minutes.
- Add the mixed beans and baked beans along with the stock and 3 tablespoons of the herbs. Bring to the boil and then turn down heat to let the mixture bubble gently uncovered for 8-10 minutes until slightly thickened. Season to taste.
- Mix the flour and suet with the remaining herbs and some salt and pepper in a bowl. Add 8-9 tablespoons of cold water to make a soft dough.
- Put 8 rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough into the saucepan evenly spaces around. Cover with a lid and cook gently for 10 minutes until the dumplings are cooked. Serve straight away.
Did you make this recipe? Take a pic and share it on Instagram with the hashtag #aveggiecooks__ and tag @aveggiecooks__. I would love to see it!
