How To Swap The Meat For Vegetarian Goulash

If you've ever visited Hungary or sampled some of the several Hungarian dishes you need to try at least once, it's likely you know about goulash — the European country's beloved national dish. While the meaty-stew goodness that is goulash (gulyás) has been a staple since the 18th century, it is possible to transform the hearty dish into a satisfying and delicious plant-based meal by swapping the beef for filling vegetables like turnips, carrots, and potatoes, protein-rich legumes, or even soy meat substitutes like tempeh. 

Goulash recipes often already include potatoes or carrots in addition to onion and bell pepper, so substituting extra veggies is fairly intuitive. Just add an extra 1 or 2 cups of chopped root vegetables and add them to the simmering stock for the last 30 minutes or so of cooking time as you normally would. If you're looking for some added protein, swap the meat for about 15-ounces of packaged tempeh, or tofu, sautéd along with your aromatics prior to adding the broth. Make sure to use extra firm tofu that's been adequately pressed to reduce the risks of it falling apart in the cooking liquid. 

If you want to add canned kidney or butter beans to your goulash, you should reserve them for the last 10 minutes of cook time. However, if you're using raw beans or lentils, its imperative that you add them earlier on in the cooking process and also increase the amount of water or stock you use. Swapping the traditional beef broth for vegetable broth or water and adding a couple more cups of cooking liquid will ensure the finished dish has the correct consistency — just thicker than stock, but a little thinner than a heavy stew.

While hearty vegetables and buttery white beans or tempeh will bulk up vegetarian goulash, there are additional steps you can take for more flavor. Other than the beef, the beef broth, and the animal-based cooking fats, traditional goulash gets a lot of its flavor from a generous addition of bold and flavorful Hungarian paprika, as well as chopped garlic and other spices like caraway seeds. Apart from opting for flavorful vegetable oils like olive oil, you can also toss in mushrooms to add depth or opt for a vegetable broth with mushrooms for that meaty, umami flavor, along with 1 or 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. 

For best results, and the most flavorful stew, cook down the tomato base in a dutch oven or other slow-cooking method, use lots of quality paprika, and garnish the dish with fresh herbs like parsley. If you grew up in the states, you might be familiar with popular American takes on the recipe, which incorporate noodles like elbow macaroni. In the case of that style of the dish (though notably not the traditional way its served in Hungary), you can make homemade vegetarian goulash with the same veggie substitutions, or use crumbled tempeh or lentils for more of a ground beef-like textural experience. 

With such a flavorful base, it's likely you won't even miss the meat in your vegetarian goulash. If you're interested in more vegetarian Hungarian recipes, you can also try Hungarian mushroom soup.