Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings

  • 25MINS
  • 2HR
  • Serves 4
  • 363KCAL

This slimming-friendly stew of tender vegetables in a creamy sauce is topped with gloriously golden cheesy dumplings. Hearty and wholesome, you can never go wrong with a bowl of stew for dinner!

  • Bakes and Roasts pinchofnom.com
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Easy Peasy Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings pinchofnom.com
5

NutritionPer Serving

  • Calories363
  • Carbs46g
  • Protein17g
  • Fat10g
  • Saturates4g
  • Sugars13g

Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

For the full list of ingredients and comprehensive instructions, please see the recipe card below. Before you scroll, there’s important stuff in the blurb!

This Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings proves that you don’t need meat to create a warming, filling bowl of food. Just wait until you smell this bubbling away in the oven – it’s so hearty and wholesome, and perfect for chilly days. 

Brimming with veggie goodness, we’ve thrown in onions, leeks, butternut squash, carrots and mushrooms, as well as some cannellini beans to add protein. There’s nothing to say you can’t add in some cooked meat if you prefer (cooked bacon or ham would work well), just add it in Step 5 and don’t forget to adjust the calories. 

The herby, savoury sauce is thickened with reduced-fat cream cheese right before serving, turning it into a silky, rich gravy; you’ll want to mop up every last drop! The good news is that our recipe includes gorgeous, golden cheesy dumplings that’ll help you soak up all the delicious sauce. 

If you’d prefer to leave your stew to simmer in the slow cooker, you can find the slow cooker method for this recipe right here

What diets is this Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings suitable for?

You can make this Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings recipe suitable for vegetarians as long as you switch the Parmesan cheese for a vegetarian hard cheese.

As always, take extra care when cooking for people with allergies and be sure to use different utensils, cookware and preparation areas.

Do you need any special ingredients to make Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings?

Nope! You don’t need any special ingredients to make this recipe. 

Hints & Tips

Below we added some of our communities most common hints and tips. We hope you find them useful.

NEW TIP
Easily made Gluten Free
I used gluten free self raising flour, baking powder and stock cubes, worked perfectly.
NEW TIP
Family friendly
I easily made this recipe Gluten Free by using GF stock cubes and GF Self Raising Flour and Baking Powder for the dumplings and they came out perfect.
Used up pumpkin, swapped butternut squash
I swapped the butternut squash for a pumpkin that was left over from Halloween along with adding left over veg in the bottom of the fridge

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‘This stew is fantastic and great to have as a meat free dish, tasty, filling and warming!’

Sue p

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This large ovenproof dish with a lid is perfect for making this recipe, along with so many other soups, stews and casseroles. 

You’ll also need a large frying pan. This one from Amazon is nice and durable and will come in handy time and time again. 

How many calories are in this Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings?

There are 363 calories per portion in this Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings, which means it falls into our Everyday Light category. 

To cut down the amount of calories even more, you can simply halve the portion size and serve with a healthy accompaniment.

This Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings is perfect if you’re following a calorie controlled diet, and fits well with any one of the major diet plans such as Weight Watchers. 

As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain a healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day. Obviously, if your goal is to lose weight then you might want to adjust these slightly! You can read more about these recommendations on the NHS website.

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Spray a large frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat. Add the onion, leek and garlic and cook for 6-8 minutes until softening and golden, then transfer to a large casserole dish.

Step 1 pinchofnom.com Step 1 pinchofnom.com

Step 2

Add the butternut squash, carrots, mushrooms and cannellini beans to the casserole dish. Add the stock, mustard powder, bay leaves and thyme and stir to combine. Cover with the lid and place in the preheated oven for 1¼ – 1½ hours, stirring halfway through, until the butternut squash and carrots are tender. Some butternut squash chunks will break up to thicken the stew.

Step 2 pinchofnom.com Step 2 pinchofnom.com

Step 3

While the stew is cooking, make the dumplings. Sift the flour and baking powder into a small bowl. Add the egg yolks and mix slightly with a fork. Using your fingertips, rub in the egg yolks until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

Step 3 pinchofnom.com Step 3 pinchofnom.com Step 3 pinchofnom.com Step 3 pinchofnom.com

Step 4

Add the Parmesan, parsley, mustard powder, garlic granules and season with salt and black pepper. Stir well. Add 3-4 tbsp of cold water, a little at a time, and stir with a round bladed knife, until it comes together to form a dough. You will need a firm dough that’s not too wet, so the amount of water you will need will depend on the size of the egg yolks. Shape into four equally sized dumplings and set aside in the fridge for later.

Step 4 pinchofnom.com Step 4 pinchofnom.com Step 4 pinchofnom.com

Step 5

When the stew has been cooking for 1¼ – 1½ hours, and the vegetables are tender, remove the stew from the oven. Remove the bay leaves and discard, then stir in the spinach leaves for a minute or two until just wilted.

Step 5 pinchofnom.com Step 5 pinchofnom.com

Step 6

Put the dumplings on top of the stew and replace the lid. Return to the oven for a further 20-25 minutes, or until the dumplings have puffed up and are cooked through.

Step 6 pinchofnom.com

Stp 7

Remove the dumplings from the stew and set aside on a plate. Add the cream cheese to the stew and stir in until evenly blended. Taste and season well with salt and black pepper if needed.

Stp 7 pinchofnom.com

Step 8

Put the cooked dumplings back on top of the stew, sprinkle with a little chopped curly parsley (optional) and serve at once with an accompaniment of your choice. If you would like the dumplings to be golden, return the stew and dumplings to the oven for 5-10 minutes, then sprinkle with chopped curly parsley if using.

Step 8 pinchofnom.com

Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

What could I serve with this Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings?

We like to serve this dish with a simple side of steamed vegetables. 80g of steamed green veggies will add an additional 38 calories, taking the total to 401 per serving. You could also serve this with any of the following side dishes:

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How do you know when Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings is cooked?

You should cook this Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings until the vegetables are tender. This will take around an hour and a half. You should then add the dumplings and cook them for 20 minutes until they have puffed up and are cooked all the way through. You can put the dish back in the oven for 5-10 minutes after adding the cream cheese to the sauce if you want the dumplings to be more golden in appearance. 

Standard advice here in the UK is to cook food until it has reached 70°C and stayed at that temperature for 2 minutes. This is to keep your family safe. 

How long can you keep Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings in the fridge?

Once you’ve served this recipe, you’ll ideally need to eat it within 4 hours.

You can store any leftover Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings in the fridge for up to 2 days. Make sure that you allow it to cool completely before putting leftovers in a container with a lid and chilling in the refrigerator. 

Can I freeze Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings?

YES you can freeze this recipe! If you do, please remember to do the following:

  • Allow it to cool and then freeze as soon as it is cold enough.
  • Place in a container or bag that is suitable for freezing.
  • Add a label with the recipe name and the date you added it to the freezer.

How do I reheat Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings?

From chilled: Place in a microwavable container with a loosely fitting lid and heat for 4-7 minutes until piping hot.

From frozen: Allow to defrost overnight in the fridge and reheat from chilled. 

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Vegetable Stew with Cheesy Dumplings

This slimming-friendly stew of tender vegetables in a creamy sauce is topped with gloriously golden cheesy dumplings. Hearty and wholesome, you can never go wrong with a bowl of stew for dinner!
  • Prep Time
    25 MINS
  • Cook Time
    2 HR
  • KCals 363
  • Carbs 46G

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 large leek, trimmed and roughly chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 350 g butternut squash, peeled, seeds and membrane removed, cut into 2cm chunks
  • 200 g carrots, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
  • 250 g white mushrooms, halved
  • 400 g tin cannellini beans in water, rinsed and drained
  • 2 vegetable stock cubes, made up with 700ml boiling water
  • 2 tsp mustard powder
  • 2 dried bay leaves
  • 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, stalks removed and chopped
  • 40 g baby spinach leaves
  • 75 g reduced-fat cream cheese

For the dumplings

  • 100 g self-raising flour
  • ¼ tsp baking powder
  • 2 medium egg yolks
  • 30 g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
  • 1 tbsp curly parsley, stalks removed and finely chopped
  • ½ tsp mustard powder
  • ½ tsp garlic granules
  • 3-4 tbsp cold water
  • salt and black pepper, to taste
  • low-calorie cooking spray
  • a little chopped curly parsley, to garnish (optional)

large frying pan

large casserole dish with lid

small bowl

We use a fan assisted oven for all of our recipes. Check out our oven temperature conversion guide.

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Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Spray a large frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and place over a medium heat. Add the onion, leek and garlic and cook for 6-8 minutes until softening and golden, then transfer to a large casserole dish.
  2. Add the butternut squash, carrots, mushrooms and cannellini beans to the casserole dish. Add the stock, mustard powder, bay leaves and thyme and stir to combine. Cover with the lid and place in the preheated oven for 1¼ - 1½ hours, stirring halfway through, until the butternut squash and carrots are tender. Some butternut squash chunks will break up to thicken the stew.
  3. While the stew is cooking, make the dumplings. Sift the flour and baking powder into a small bowl. Add the egg yolks and mix slightly with a fork. Using your fingertips, rub in the egg yolks until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
  4. Add the Parmesan, parsley, mustard powder, garlic granules and season with salt and black pepper. Stir well. Add 3-4 tbsp of cold water, a little at a time, and stir with a round bladed knife, until it comes together to form a dough. You will need a firm dough that's not too wet, so the amount of water you will need will depend on the size of the egg yolks. Shape into four equally sized dumplings and set aside in the fridge for later.
  5. When the stew has been cooking for 1¼ - 1½ hours, and the vegetables are tender, remove the stew from the oven. Remove the bay leaves and discard, then stir in the spinach leaves for a minute or two until just wilted.
  6. Put the dumplings on top of the stew and replace the lid. Return to the oven for a further 20-25 minutes, or until the dumplings have puffed up and are cooked through.
  7. Remove the dumplings from the stew and set aside on a plate. Add the cream cheese to the stew and stir in until evenly blended. Taste and season well with salt and black pepper if needed.
  8. Put the cooked dumplings back on top of the stew, sprinkle with a little chopped curly parsley (optional) and serve at once with an accompaniment of your choice. If you would like the dumplings to be golden, return the stew and dumplings to the oven for 5-10 minutes, then sprinkle with chopped curly parsley if using.

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Recipe notes

Tip: If you would like to make this dish a little more cheesy, you can sprinkle finely grated Cheddar cheese over the dumplings and place them under the grill until melted and golden. Using 10g reduced fat Cheddar cheese per portion, will add an additional 31 calories.
Tip: If you like you can add a little cooked, diced meat to this recipe. Cooked bacon or ham would work well with the flavours in this dish. If adding cooked meat, stir into the stew with the spinach in step 5 and then proceed with the remaining steps.

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7 comments

See what others have to say

JennaWednesday 21st February 2024

Could this be done inthe slow cooker?

Reply

    HollyWednesday 21st February 2024

    Hey Jenna, we have a slow cooker version of this recipe HERE, hope that helps!

    Reply

SharonSunday 15th October 2023

What could you use instead of cannellini beans?

Reply

    SharonMonday 16th October 2023

    Hi Sharon, you can use any tinned beans of your choice, butterbeans or haricot beans would work particularly well. If you’d rather not use beans at all, you could add some cooked meat instead such as bacon or ham in step 5. Hope you enjoy the recipe!

    Reply

ChristineFriday 10th February 2023

Hi can I use grated cheddar instead of Parmesan please?

Reply

    SharonMonday 13th February 2023

    Hi Christine, yes you could use finely grated mature Cheddar cheese instead of Parmesan if you prefer. Hope you enjoy the recipe!

    Reply

      ChristineThursday 16th February 2023

      Ty Sharon, I made it tonight it was very yummy, so creamy 😋

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