A vibrant and healthy one-pot Vegan Jambalaya packed with bell peppers of all colors, mushrooms, and kidney beans. A gluten-free, nut-free meal.
Bring the flavors of New Orleans into your home with this Vegan Jambalaya, a dish so vibrant and colorful and delicious, it’s like Mardi Gras in a pot. And just one pot, at that.
One of the reasons I love this jambalaya so much is that it is so gorgeous to look at. I throw in bell peppers of all hues to make it especially colorful. But this is not just eye candy. There’s nothing in this recipe that’s not super good for you. Veggies, beans, rice…it doesn’t get any better.
It is said that in Louisiana, there are as many recipes for Jambalaya as there are cooks, but one common denominator in all Jambalaya recipes, besides the rice, is meat of some kind, usually ham or pork. And since it is Louisiana, there’s often fish in there too, like shrimp.
When veganizing recipes that contain meat, it’s important to not just toss in vegetables to substitute for the meat and fish and forget about it. Because meat and fish tend to be strong flavors by themselves, it is really important to find ways to add in more flavor into your plant-based dish. Otherwise you’ll have something bland on your hands, and with a Jambalaya, that would simply be a crime.
I get around this conundrum by making a liberal use of ingredients that add umami, like dry mushrooms, tomato paste, and tamari into my recipe. You could skip the tamari if you want to be soy-free, but if there’s no pressing reason to, don’t.
This recipe makes 10 servings, so you’ll have plenty of food to go around for a party. And even if you make it just for yourself, this Vegan Jambalaya will be a party for your mouth!
A vibrant and healthy one-pot Vegan Jambalaya packed with bell peppers of all colors, mushrooms, and kidney beans. A gluten-free, nut-free meal.
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 large onion finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 3 bell peppers, any color (I used orange, red and yellow peppers)
- 1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 heaping tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup dry sliced mushrooms, like shiitake, soaked in three cups of water for 30 minutes
- 2 cups crimini or button mushrooms, sliced
- 1 15-oz can red kidney beans, drained
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp dry oregano
- 1 tsp creole seasoning (optional)
- 2 tbsp tamari (can sub liquid aminos or soy sauce)
- 1 tsp dry thyme
- 2 cups long-grain rice
- Parsley or green onions for garnish
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Heat the oil and add the onions, garlic, celery and bell peppers along with some salt and ground black pepper. Saute a couple of minutes until the onions start to soften.
Add the tomatoes and tomato paste along with the paprika and continue to saute for a couple more minutes.
Add the kidney beans to the pot along with the tamari or soy sauce, oregano, thyme, creole seasoning if using, fresh mushrooms, and dry mushrooms with the stock they were soaked in. Stir to mix and bring the stock to a boil.
Add in the rice, stir, and check the salt. The stock should taste saltier than you'd like your jambalaya to be, otherwise, once cooked, your rice will be bland.
Once the water boils again, cover the pot with a tight lid, lower flame to medium-low, and cook for 20 minutes, without opening the lid.
Turn off the heat and let the rice stand, undisturbed, for another 10 minutes before opening the lid. Fluff the rice with a fork, stir in the parsley or green onions, and serve hot.
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This looks delicious, and so colorful! I love your blog!
Awesome. Sounds perfect for a Fat Tuesday Feast!
This looks so delicious! Can’t wait to test it out. I love these one pot recipes, can’t get much easier than that!
I would love to try this. We are not fans of mushroom. Can I replace it with something else or just plain skip it?
That’s fine to skip it!
Loved this! It’s a HUGE recipe, so I actually made and kept the rice separate putting the jamabalya on top. OMG but the spices are so perfectly blended! I could not stop eating this! One note: paprika is listed twice in the steps. I just put it in the second mention with all the other spices – ? I also have to say that SMOKED paprika makes a difference. It adds a depth of flavor. Thank you for another fantastic recipe. I see now the gumbo recipe and being an okra fan, I’ll be trying that one out next!
Just made the jambalaya tonight. It turned out so great! I doubled it so we would have lunch for the week, and I wanted to say thank you for the delicious recipe!
All your recipes look so delicious. There are a few I’m planning on making. I am starting off with the vegan jambalaya. However, I could not find the dry shiitake mushrooms. Therefore, may I replace them with fresh ones? Additionally, do you have a gluten free vegan bread? Your ciabatta bread looks amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your recipes.