Cozy up with a bowl of this flavorful, hearty vegan coq au vin made with mushrooms and lentils! Served over creamy mashed potatoes, it's the perfect vegan comfort food dinner.
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Why we love this recipe
- Hearty and comforting: the perfect cold weather comfort food.
- Rich and flavorful: so much flavor in just one pot! The rich red wine and brandy sauce packs a punch with every bite.
- You won't miss the meat! We're all about taking classic recipes and giving them a vegan makeover, without sacrificing flavor. This vegan coq au vin is just as good as the original, and you won't miss the chicken!
- Perfect for any occasion. I love this vegan coq au vin as a cozy weeknight dinner, but it's also the perfect dish to serve for a dinner party or even holiday! Also great for date night at home.
What is coq au vin?
Traditional coq au vin is a French braised chicken dish in a rich, flavorful red wine and brandy sauce with bacon, mushrooms and pearl onions. It's classic, hearty, delicious comfort food.
Our vegan version has the same rich flavor profile, but we use French green lentils, extra mushrooms and carrots as the base.
Coq au vin is SO delicious and perfect served with crusty French bread and/or mashed potatoes. It's ideal for a cold winter night!
Ingredients
Here are a few of the key ingredients you'll need to make this recipe:
- French green lentils
- Mushrooms
- Carrots
- Pearl onions
- Red wine and brandy
- Vegetable broth
- Tomato paste
- Herbs: fresh thyme and parsley, bay leaves, Herbes de Provence
Ingredient Notes
- Lentils: we use French green lentils in this recipe. They're smaller and firmer than regular green lentils, and they hold up really well when cooked for a long period of time. Traditional brown and green lentils tend to get pretty mushy, so French green lentils are really the best option here. You could also use black lentils.
- Red wine: opt for a dry, fruit-forward wine. A few of our favorites include Beaujolais, Shiraz, Zinfandel or Pinot Noir. Always opt for a wine you would actually drink on its own – NOT low-quality cooking wine.
- Brandy or Cognac add a slightly sweet, extra rich flavor to the sauce. As usual, the better the quality, the better this will taste.
- Mushrooms: we use button mushrooms in this recipe because they're cost effective and easy to find. You can also substitute with cremini mushrooms or more flavorful wild mushrooms.
- Pearl onions: it's pretty much impossible to find fresh pearl onions (at least where we live), so look for them in the frozen vegetable section at your grocery store.
- Herbes de Provence: a French herb blend typically containing thyme, basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, tarragon and lavender. If you don't have any, you can substitute with the same quantity of a variety of similar herbs (thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano).
Step-by-step instructions
Heat olive oil in a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat.
Add the garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms and stir well. Cook until mushrooms reduce and soften, about 8-10 minutes.
Stir in onions, carrots and tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes.
Pour in the broth, red wine, brandy, lentils, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, Herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper.
Stir well and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes, stirring once every 10 minutes or so.
After 45 minutes, heat a small saucepan over low. Add butter, let it melt, then whisk in flour to make a roux. Whisk until there are no lumps and allow to cook for a minute or two.
Stir roux into the coq au vin. Simmer uncovered for an additional 15 minutes until thick and creamy.
Enjoy!
Expert Tips and FAQs
- If it turns out too thick, add extra vegetable broth until it reaches desired consistency. NOTE: if you're adding more than ¼ cup, taste and adjust seasoning before serving.
- If it turns out too thin, you can either simmer for longer to reduce further, or add an extra ½ tablespoon of flour to the roux.
- Storage: store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or over low heat on the stovetop.
- We love using our Staub 7-qt Oval Dutch Oven* for heavy stews like this one. Its cast iron enameled surface is perfect for slow cooking and makes for easy clean up! We love this gorgeous White Truffle color (pictured in this post). (*affiliate link)
I personally prefer serving this over creamy mashed potatoes (or a cauliflower/potato mixture). It's also delicious over polenta or pasta! Plus a side of crusty, warm French bread for soaking up all of that delicious sauce.
To be completely honest, no. It just won't be the same dish without the richness and complexity of the wine. If you don't have brandy, you can leave that out (or sub with more wine), but we don't suggest making this recipe alcohol-free.
If you're worried about the alcohol content, don't! All of the alcohol boils out, so you're just left with the flavor.
Yes! Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then gently heat over low in a pot until warmed through.
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Vegan Coq au Vin
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Cozy up with a bowl of this flavorful, hearty vegan coq au vin made with mushrooms and lentils! Served over creamy mashed potatoes, it's the perfect vegan comfort food dinner.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 16 oz button mushrooms, sliced thinly
- 8 oz pearl onions
- 2 cups carrot, peeled and sliced into 1" pieces
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 ½ cups dry, fruity red wine*
- ¼ cup brandy or Cognac
- ½ cup French green lentils
- ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp fresh chopped thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp Herbes de Provence
- 1 tsp fine grain kosher salt ,plus more to taste
- ½ tsp ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour (gluten free if needed)
- For serving: mashed potatoes, polenta or pasta
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add mushrooms and stir well. Cook until mushrooms reduce and soften, about 8-10 minutes.
- Stir in onions, carrots and tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes. Pour in the broth, red wine, brandy, lentils, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, Herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper. Stir well and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes, stirring once every 10 minutes or so.
- After 45 minutes, heat a small saucepan over low. Add butter, let it melt, then whisk in flour to make a roux. Whisk until there are no lumps and allow to cook for a minute or two.
- Stir roux into the coq au vin. Simmer uncovered for an additional 15 minutes until thick and creamy. Serve over mashed potatoes, polenta or pasta, or simply with crusty French bread.
Notes
Wine: *Our favorite wines for this recipe include Beaujolais, Shiraz, Zinfandel or Pinot Noir.
French green lentils are smaller and firmer than regular green lentils, and they hold up really well when cooked for a long period of time. Traditional brown and green lentils tend to get pretty mushy, so French green lentils are really the best option here.
Pearl onions: it's pretty much impossible to find fresh pearl onions (at least where we live), so look for them in the frozen vegetable section at your grocery store.
Herbes de Provence: a French herb blend typically containing thyme, basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary, tarragon and lavender. If you don't have any, you can substitute with the same quantity of a variety of similar herbs (thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano).
Storage: store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or over low heat on the stovetop.
Nutrition: Please note that the nutrition label provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use. This information should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 264
- Sugar: 6.8 g
- Sodium: 633.4 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Carbohydrates: 25.9 g
- Fiber: 4.9 g
- Protein: 7.8 g
Keywords: vegan coq au vin
NDT
Thank you so much! This recipe is super tasty and really easy! I cooked it for 20 people (in a music venue: I cooked for a Belgian and a Romanian band and both were just showering the recipe with compliments). It'll definitely be a meal that I'll keep on cooking there. I used 2 times the amount of red wine and vegetable broth because I kept the pot on the stove for the whole night. I also added some vegan chicken pieces (and less lentils). To make the recipe a bit smokey I used BBQ spice.
★★★★★
Lexi
So glad you enjoyed, and your alterations sound fantastic!
Tom D
This is an exceptional dish. Flavors are intense! Following the recipe as written and serving over some mashed cauliflower gave me four ample servings to bring to work for lunch, though I probably could stretch it to five if I got the crusty bread to go with it as suggested. Let’s hope all the alcohol cooks out as it should or I’ll have some explaining to do at work!
★★★★★
Lexi
Haha, thank you so much, Tom! I'm so glad you enjoyed!!
Ronan
Not actually vegan because the roux is made with butter.....
Ronan
Sorry just rechecked and saw it said vegan butter .... You could use any cookable oil to make roux in reality, no?
Lexi
Yes you could use any oil
Sarah
We've made this recipe twice now, once for Valentine's Day and once for my dad's birthday. It's delicious, hearty, and feels like a hug in your stomach. The vegan, vegetarian, and meat eater all love it. It's not too much work and the leftovers are even better. We will definitely be making it again (and again).
★★★★★
Bethany
Made this for a dinner party, served over creamy polenta, everyone raved about it! great recipe!
★★★★★
KELLY
Thus might seem like a silly question but are you starting with dry lentils for this or do you cook them first? Can't wait to try it. Thanks!
Lexi
Hi! You use dry lentils. Hope you enjoy!
Cecelia
Just made this fantastic, easy, and delicious recipe again.
★★★★★
Kim
I was wondering what you were substituting for the bacon flavor? In traditional coq au vin they use bacon as well as chicken. Thanks!
Lexi
Hi Kim! So we originally tried it out using our tofu bacon bits (see this post: https://www.crowdedkitchen.com/tofu-bacon/) but it ended up being too much extra work to add to the recipe and just didn't make sense. The mushrooms do add a bit of meatiness, but unfortunately there's no easy sub for bacon in this recipe (that we've found so far!). If you wanted to make the tofu bacon, that would definitely help add the slightly smoky flavor but of course wouldn't do much in terms of adding the fat and richness, which I'm assuming is the purpose of adding to the traditional recipe. Hope that makes sense - let me know if you have any other questions!
Sharon
Hi, can’t wait to try this recipe. Looks amazing! I’m wondering if a tiny bit of liquid smoke would help with the bacony flavour, or does it not really need it?