I've captured all the outstanding flavors of a classic Louisiana gumbo in my meat-free, seafood-free and very vegan gumbo. The flavors stack up with a chocolate-hued roux of flour roasted in oil, the "holy trinity" of onions, bell peppers and celery, and umami-rich mushroom broth and tomatoes. Traditional gumbo ingredients like okra and thyme add more classic flavor, while kidney beans and vegan sausage add plant-based protein. The recipe is gluten-free and you have the option of making it without added fat.
Gumbo, and how to make a classic vegan gumbo
A gumbo is a classic Louisiana stew that is made variously with combinations of seafood, pork sausage and chicken. It also contains vegetables, including the holy trinity of Louisiana cuisine - onions, celery and bell peppers - and, famously and perhaps notoriously, okra, the veggie so many love to hate.
Gumbo is special because it distils into a single bowl a host of cultural influences. Its roots are West African, but other cultures in Louisiana - Spanish, French, Caribbean and Native American - have each, over time, sprinkled their own culinary magic into the dish we know today.
Like most Americans, I have a deep love for the food of Louisiana; a love I have shared with you through my recipes for vegan jambalaya, vegan dirty rice, vegan meatball fricassee, vegan étouffée, and so many more. The first veganized Louisiana recipe I shared, in 2014, was this vegan gumbo. I know many readers continue to love that recipe as it was. But over the years I've made some tweaks to this gumbo in my kitchen that I think make it even more delicious and I want to share those with you.
My vegan gumbo recipe substitutes the seafood and the meat with kidney beans, so delicious in Louisianan recipes like red beans and rice, and the pork sausage with vegan sausage. I didn't use sausage in my old gumbo recipe and you can leave it out if you want to, but I like the added protein. My old recipe was oil-free and this time I did add some oil to brown the flour for the roux because it adds more flavor. If you want to keep the recipe oil-free, just brown the roux in a dry pan. The last, small adjustment I've made to the old recipe is to use tomato paste in addition to tomatoes for richness.
The recipe has okra, of course, because it's divinely vegan, and I love it. Besides, why would you make a gumbo without okra? According to people who know more about this than I do, the very name, gumbo, comes from the West African word for okra. So even if you're an okra hater, sorry, you simply can't skip the okra in this recipe. The okra cooks up deliciously tender and the notorious okra slime helps thicken the gumbo. You won't even notice it, all you will taste is the deliciousness. I also add some carrots and mushrooms to the recipe for more veggie power.
Making a gumbo right does take some time, and most of that time is for browning the flour. The roux needs to get to a point where it's a deep brown - a task that takes me nearly 45 minutes of stirring over medium-low heat. But the payback in flavor is well worth it. The rest of the recipe is as easy as it gets - just toss in the ingredients and let them cook together. The recipe is one-pot if you remember to brown the sausages first in the Dutch oven before you start the roux. I forgot this time, so I had to take some help from my small cast iron skillet.
Like my old gumbo recipe, this one is gluten-free because I use rice flour. It does use tamari so it's not soy-free, but you can easily skip the tamari or use a soy-free soy sauce. Some readers have also used liquid smoke (not soy-free) and reported great results.
It actually took less labor than regular gumbo, was healthier, and JUST as delicious. This was one of those recipes - if I didn't know it was vegan, I wouldn't know it was vegan. My skeptical daughter tasted it - she said, "Wow! The flavor is definitely there!" I doubled the chipotles just cuz I like my gumbo spicy. I could eat it every day, and it feels sinful, but as healthy as it is, I can eat as much as I want! - Susan
Recipe card
Vegan Gumbo
Ingredients
- 14 oz vegan sausage (optional)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus more to brown sausages)
- 3 tablespoon rice flour (white or brown rice flour)
- 1 large onion (finely diced)
- 2 bell peppers (finely chopped)
- 2 carrots (finely chopped)
- 3 stalks celery (finely chopped)
- 6 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 cup pureed tomatoes (about three medium tomatoes)
- 2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms or button mushrooms (sliced)
- 2 cups okra (cut into rings)
- 3 cups canned or cooked kidney beans (If using dry beans, start with 1 cup of beans. Drain out all water from the beans.)
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon dried sage
- 2 heaping tablespoons Cajun seasoning (add more if needed after tasting.)
- 1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce (minced, with 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce)*
- 2 tablespoons tamari
- 3 cups mushroom stock (or vegetable stock, or water, plus more as needed)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Brown the vegan sausage (optional)
- Spray some oil in a Dutch oven or large pot and turn on the heat to medium. Once the pot heats up, add the sausage links and brown the sausage, turning them around every couple of minutes to brown them evenly. Slice the sausage into rounds and set aside.
Make the roux
- Turn heat down to medium low and mix the olive oil and flour in the pot. This is the roux. Begin cooking it over the gentle heat, and stir it frequently so it doesn't burn.
- The roux will darken gradually: it will first turn blonde, then caramel-hued, and finally it will turn a rich, chocolate-brown. This took me a total of about 45 minutes. Don't get tempted to turn the heat higher because you can burn the roux.
Make vegan gumbo
- Add onions, bell peppers, celery and carrots to the roux. Season the vegetables with salt and ground black pepper. Mix well so the vegetables absorb the roux.
- Cover the pot and let the vegetables cook over medium-low heat for five to eight minutes until they are almost tender. Stir a few times in between and add a little water or stock to the pot if they start to stick. Stir in the garlic and sauté with the veggies for a minute.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and mushrooms to the pot. Mix well.
- Stir in the sage, thyme and rosemary.
- Stir in the tamari and chipotle chili. Mix well.
- Add the okra and beans to the pot and then add three cups of mushroom stock. Mix well. Bring the gumbo to a boil, cover, and cook, stirring a few times in between, until the okra is very tender and the stew is thick. You can add more stock or water if you want to thin out the gumbo.
- Stir in the vegan sausage, check and add salt as needed, and bring back to a boil.
- Turn off heat and serve the gumbo hot.
Notes
- The chipotle chili peppers are an unusual addition to the gumbo, but they add a lovely, spicy kick. Tamari adds richness and umami.
Nutrition Information
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Vegan gumbo FAQs
Yes, just add the okra straight from the freezer, no need to thaw.
Absolutely. Use three tablespoons of all-purpose flour.
Yes, replace a teaspoon of dried herbs with a teaspoon of the fresh herb. For instance, replace a teaspoon of dried thyme with a tablespoon of fresh thyme.
Gumbo is traditionally served with rice. Use either white rice or brown rice. It's also great over other grains like quinoa, or cauliflower rice. I love slurping it up by itself.
More delicious vegan stews
First published Jan. 10, 2014. Updated and re-published on Oct. 10, 2025.
Cory Puryear says
OK, check it out. We’ve tried this two different ways the first way was with the sausage we had a little bit more chipotle. It’s a little too spicy for my taste, but I’m kind of a baby about spice.
Second time we ditched the sausage and the mushrooms and put in some potatoes instead of both times it was amazing. It’s a great recipe. Thank you so much for putting it out there. I appreciate you!
Helen says
Holy Heck! This was so good! Made such a huge batch and even after freezing and reheating it was delicious! I am in Australia and couldn't find any okra but it was still such a taste sensation. Thank you!
David says
I really like thie recipe, and have used it several times. I do use frozen okra, I find that really cuts down on the sort of slim factor. I also bake my roux in the oven, about an hour and.a half in a 350 degree oven, stirring it every half hour. This is when I do all my slicing, dicing and other porep work. It is totally easier than standing over the hot stove stirring for around 45 minutes!
Jim Fitton says
Just a great stew. Lots of chopping but well worth the effort. I substituted some pieces of fried tempeh I had in the freezer as I am not a fan of veggie sausage!
Supriya says
I’ve been making your delicious etouffe on Mardi Gras every year for years (and more often than once a year) but I’ll have to give this one a spin next. Yum yum!
ann says
do you thaw the okra if using frozen first?
Vaishali says
No need to!
Lauren says
This Vegan Gumbo is so delicious! I've made it at least three times now and I've never been disappointed. This is the only vegan soup I find myself craving and looking forward to eating! Thank you for sharing!
Vaishali Honawar says
So happy to hear, Lauren!
Mary Beth says
Tried this for my first vegan Fat Tuesday and it was great! I did sauté my veggies in a bit of olive oil and added a couple of bay leaves, but otherwise stuck to the recipe. It was fresher and crisper than traditional gumbo- can’t wait for leftovers for lunch!
Vaishali Honawar says
Sounds delicious!
Caitlin says
I'm wondering how big this recipe came out to be? If I am serving it as a thanksgiving dish should I double the recipe?
JTbay says
Superb… the flavours meld well this recipe is a keeper
Thanks
Vaishali Honawar says
Yay!!
Sarah G says
I added vegan sausage. It actually took less labor than regular gumbo, was healthier, and JUST as delicious. This was one of those recipes - if I didn't know it was vegan, I wouldn't know it was vegan. My skeptical daughter tasted it - she said, "Wow! The flavor is definitely there!" I doubled the chipotles just cuz I like my gumbo spicy. I could eat it every day, and it feels sinful, but as healthy as it is, I can eat as much as I want!
Vaishali says
So happy to hear Sarah!
Kim says
Thank you! This was fantastic! I added about a 1/2 tsp of liquid smoke to give it that Louisiana aroma and it worked out fantastic!