Stewed Potatoes: A Cosy, plant-based Nikujaga 

This Stewed Potatoes is my plant-based take on Nikujaga — Japan’s much-loved meat and potato stew. No meat, but none of the comfort is lost. The potatoes soak up every bit of the savoury-sweet broth, the vegetables add colour and body, and green peas bring a little sweetness and plant-based protein to round things out. This is a comforting side dish that tastes even better the next day.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• ✔ A plant-based spin on a Japanese classic — all the comfort of Nikujaga, no meat needed
• ✔ One pot, 30 minutes, minimal hands-on effort
• ✔ Makes the perfect rice companion — that savoury-sweet broth was made for a bowl of steamed rice
• ✔ Tastes even better the next day — great for meal prep and bento boxes
• ✔ Simple, wholesome, and deeply familiar — the kind of home cooking that never gets old

Ingredients for 2 people

For the stew

• 4 small potatoes (waxy varieties hold their shape best)
• ½ carrot
• 1 small onion
• 2 mushrooms (any kind you have on hand works well)
• 30g green peas (frozen is fine)

For the broth

• 1 tsp granulated mushroom dashi (or a vegetable bouillon powder)
• 80g vegetable broth (or water, if you don’t have any on hand)
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar

How to Make Japanese Stewed Potatoes

Step 1: Cut the potatoes and let them sit in water

Cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces and leave them in a bowl of water while you prepare the other vegetables. This rinses off some of the surface starch and helps keep the texture clean once everything is simmering.

Step 2: Cut the rest of the vegetables

Cut the remaining vegetables into bite-sized pieces too. Quarter the mushrooms, cut the onion into chunks, and roll-cut the carrot into irregular wedges.

Step 3: Sauté the vegetables

Drain the potatoes well. Warm a little oil in a small pot and add the potatoes, sautéing for about 5 minutes.

Once the potatoes look glossy and coated, add the carrot and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.

Step 4: Add the liquid and simmer

Add the mushrooms, onion, vegetable broth (or water) and all the seasonings. Simmer gently over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring the pot occasionally — but gently.

Step 5: Finish with the peas

Once the vegetables have softened and the broth has reduced slightly, stir in the green peas and let them warm through for just a minute or two before turning off the heat.

Tips for the Stewed Potatoes

Storage

 Let the stew cool completely before transferring it to an airtight container and refrigerating. It keeps well for about 3 days, and honestly tastes even better on day two, once the vegetables have had time to soak in the broth.

Freezing isn’t recommended — the potatoes turn grainy and lose their texture once thawed.

Substitutions

• No mushroom dashi powder? A light vegetable bouillon works fine.
• No fresh green peas? Frozen peas work just as well, straight from the freezer. Edamame works well too!
• Other mushrooms — shiitake, king oyster, shimeji — are all welcome substitutes; use whatever you have.
• Not a fan of peas? Smoked tofu makes a great substitute — the smoky depth pairs beautifully with the savoury-sweet broth. I’d skip regular tofu here though; it tends to release water and lose its shape during simmering.

Serving ideas

Stewed potatoes goes well with these dishes:)

A Little Background

I’ve always loved the flavour of Nikujaga — that particular balance of soy sauce, sugar and dashi that makes the broth taste like home. But when I stopped eating meat, I found myself missing it in a very specific way. So I started making it without.

What I discovered is that you don’t actually need the meat. The potatoes go tender, the broth soaks deep into every vegetable, and the whole thing still tastes like that dish — the one that showed up on weeknight dinner tables all across Japan, mine included.

This stew is now a regular in our Berlin kitchen. It goes into bento boxes, sits alongside miso soup, and disappears quickly whenever I make it.

Frequently Asked Questions