What can I use instead of mixed vegetables for the vegetable mass in a soup, stew or roasting tray?

Root vegetables, diced (1:1 by weight, in 15 min before anything softer). Sweeter and starchier, and the soup thickens on its own as they break down at the edges. Winter squash, cubed (1:1 by weight). Goes soft in about 20 minutes and starts collapsing, so the broth turns orange and thicker than you planned. Cauliflower and broccoli florets (1:1 by weight, in for the last 10 min). Turns sulphurous over a long simmer, so add them late. They soak up more of the broth than root veg do. Canned beans, drained and rinsed (1:1 by volume, in for the last 5 min). Filling and creamy rather than fresh-tasting. They shed starch, so the pot goes cloudy and thicker.

5best2buy.com › Swaps › Mixed vegetables

What to use instead of mixed vegetables

Q: What can I use instead of mixed vegetables for frozen diced veg stirred through a fried rice or stir-fry?

Fresh carrot, peas and green beans, diced small (2 cups diced fresh per 2 cups frozen, cooked 3 to 4 min longer). Sweeter and firmer, and they release far less water, so a fried rice stays dry and the grains keep separate. Frozen peas alone (1:1 by volume). One colour and one flavour, sweeter than the mix, and done in 60 seconds. Add them last so they stay bright green. Cabbage, carrot and onion, shredded (1:1 by volume). Crunchier and more savoury. Cabbage gives off water, so keep the heat high and the pan uncrowded. Frozen edamame and sweetcorn (1:1 by volume). Firmer bite and noticeably more protein. The corn sweetness is stronger than the standard mix.

It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.

Frozen diced veg stirred through a fried rice or stir-fry

They are blanched and diced before freezing, so they need two minutes and no knife work. The job is bulk, colour and a little sweetness rather than any one flavour.

Fresh carrot, peas and green beans, diced smallRan out

2 cups diced fresh per 2 cups frozen, cooked 3 to 4 min longer

Sweeter and firmer, and they release far less water, so a fried rice stays dry and the grains keep separate.

Where to buy it →

Frozen peas aloneRan out

1:1 by volume

One colour and one flavour, sweeter than the mix, and done in 60 seconds. Add them last so they stay bright green.

Cabbage, carrot and onion, shreddedRan out

1:1 by volume

Crunchier and more savoury. Cabbage gives off water, so keep the heat high and the pan uncrowded.

Frozen edamame and sweetcornRan out

1:1 by volume

Firmer bite and noticeably more protein. The corn sweetness is stronger than the standard mix.

Where to buy it →

What doesn't work: Tipping them into a hot wok straight from the bag. The ice on them drops the pan temperature and everything steams grey. Thaw and pat dry, or add them in the final minute with the heat as high as it goes.

The vegetable mass in a soup, stew or roasting tray

They are there for bulk, sweetness and body. Which vegetables they are matters far less than when each one goes into the pot.

Root vegetables, dicedRan out

1:1 by weight, in 15 min before anything softer

Sweeter and starchier, and the soup thickens on its own as they break down at the edges.

Where to buy it →

Winter squash, cubedRan out

1:1 by weight

Goes soft in about 20 minutes and starts collapsing, so the broth turns orange and thicker than you planned.

Where to buy it →

Cauliflower and broccoli floretsRan out

1:1 by weight, in for the last 10 min

Turns sulphurous over a long simmer, so add them late. They soak up more of the broth than root veg do.

Canned beans, drained and rinsedRan out

1:1 by volume, in for the last 5 min

Filling and creamy rather than fresh-tasting. They shed starch, so the pot goes cloudy and thicker.

Where to buy it →

What doesn't work: Salad vegetables such as cucumber, lettuce or radish to bulk out a soup. They are over 90 percent water, collapse into slime inside ten minutes and thin the broth on their way down.