Red Bean Sausage Stew with Rice

Who doesn't love a delicious heartwarming stew? Well, today we are making a colourful red bean sausage stew with rice. This vegan comfort food is a dream and one of our favourite dinner recipes. You and your family will absolutely love this one. 

Before fully diving into this one, I want to first answer a question that I get asked a lot. Many people ask me about the difference between soup and stew. I could write a full post about this but to put it in simple words, the main difference is the amount of liquid we are using. 

We need much more water to make a soup than to make a stew. In a soup, the ingredients are completely submerged in plenty of water. While a stew is way heartier and thicker than a soup. We only need enough water to barely submerge the ingredients so they can simmer during the cooking process. 

This might be just in my head, but unless is super hearty, I usually feel I need more food when eating and making soups. Maybe that's why I'm such a big fan of stews. I love that I can throw all the ingredients in one single pot, let it simmer and have a full meal, then and there.

I usually make a big batch of this vegan bean stew and have it throughout the week. It makes my life so much easier, it is great to have a meal ready in the fridge and just warm it up when I get hungry. And the beauty of this recipe is that it gets better the longer it sits. 

This is a really hearty and filling dish, there is a lot going on in here. I added a few different veggies and ingredients to get a ton of flavour in there and have a nice thick texture. And, this is a full meal super loaded with nutrients to keep you fuelled all day long. 

To make it extra flavourful I pulled out of the pantry my favourite spices. I used oregano, thyme, cumin, ground paprika and chilli flakes. However, since we are leaving it to simmer for a bit, you will be able to really taste all the veggies, the red beans and the vegan sausage as well. I love stewing food because of this, all the flavours really come out when you use this cooking method.

To make this stew even heartier I added brown rice to it. If I am making a big batch to have over a few days, I leave the rice out and add it on the spot. This way we keep the texture of the rice and not end up with a soggy mess. 

I like serving this dish while it is steaming hot. Just make sure you are careful and you warn whoever you are sharing this meal with. We don't want any mouths burns. Sprinkle some fresh parsley and scallions and you are ready to stuff your face with this delicious vegan bean stew!