Guest Recipe: Brazilian Black Bean Stew with a Yellow Pepper and Red Tomato Salad (ve)

Name: Guest Recipe: Brazilian Black Bean Stew with a Yellow Pepper and Red Tomato Salad (ve)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Ingredients: 2 tbsp oil; 100 g mushrooms (sliced); 250 g butternut squash (peeled and cut into 1-2 cm cubes); 200 g aubergine (cut into 1-2 cm cubes); 160 g smoked/ regular tofu (drained and cut into small 2-3 cm cubes); 1 tbsp smoked paprika; ½ tsp salt; 40 g onion (finely chopped (½ medium onion)); 9 g garlic (peeled and finely chopped (3 cloves)); 500 g tinned black beans (drained and rinsed); 1 tsp salt; 600 ml water; 2 tsp smoked paprika; 2 tsp cumin powder; 400 g fresh tomatoes (diced (3-4 tomatoes)); 250 g yellow pepper (diced (1-2 peppers)); 20 g spring onions (diced (2 spring onion)); 30 g of roughly chopped green herbs (coriander/ parsley); 40 g lemon juice ((juice of 1 lemon))

A plate with brown rice, black bean and tofu stew, fresh tomato salsa, cooked kale, and two orange slices, arranged in sections on a white plate.

We're sharing this authentic school lunch recipe from the public food programme of Humane World for Animals Brazil to celebrate International School Meals Day 2026. This is a plant-based version of a traditional Brazilian dish, "feijoada" (pronounced fay-jwah-da). This recipe has been adapted to meet School Food Standards in the UK and serves 10 primary school portions.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

Servings: 10

2 tbsp

oil
100 g

mushrooms sliced
250 g

butternut squash peeled and cut into 1-2 cm cubes
200 g

aubergine cut into 1-2 cm cubes
160 g

smoked/ regular tofu drained and cut into small 2-3 cm cubes
1 tbsp

smoked paprika
½ tsp

salt
40 g

onion finely chopped (½ medium onion)
9 g

garlic peeled and finely chopped (3 cloves)
500 g

tinned black beans drained and rinsed
1 tsp

salt
600 ml

water
2 tsp

smoked paprika
2 tsp

cumin powder

Yellow Pepper and Red Tomato Salad

400 g

fresh tomatoes diced (3-4 tomatoes)
250 g

yellow pepper diced (1-2 peppers)
20 g

spring onions diced (2 spring onion)
30 g

of roughly chopped green herbs coriander/ parsley
40 g

lemon juice (juice of 1 lemon)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200℃.
Put the butternut squash, mushrooms and aubergine on an oven tray and lightly cover with ½ tbsp of oil. Mix well to make sure all the vegetables are covered. Then roast in the oven for 30 minutes until cooked. Set to one side.
Put the tofu pieces into a mixing bowl and add ½ tbsp of oil and 1 tbsp of smoked paprika. Mix to make sure the tofu is covered in the spice and oil and then put the tofu on a baking tray and put into the oven to roast for 20-30 minutes until the tofu is golden brown. Set to one side.
Put a large pot on the stove and add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil and heat. Once warm add the onion and gently sauté for 10 minutes. Next, add the garlic and lightly fry for one minute. Then add the black beans, the roasted vegetables, salt, smoked paprika, and cumin. Cover with 600ml of water and bring the stew to a gentle simmer.
Cook the stew for 30 minutes. You can lightly mash the stew with a potato masher so that the vegetable and beans break down and thicken the sauce.
You can either add the baked tofu pieces to the stew or serve on top. Serve the stew with 45g brown rice (dried weight) per child, the red tomato and yellow pepper salad and slices of fresh orange for an authentic Brazilian lunch.