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.
If you’re wondering what to make for dinner tonight, bring the flavors of New Orleans into your home with this Vegan Jambalaya. It’s 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 vegan jambalaya so much is that it is so gorgeous to look at, with all of those colorful veggies and beans in there. In fact, there’s nothing in this recipe that’s not super good for you.
So how do you make a delicious vegan jambalaya where you don’t miss the meat?
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 in my Vegan Jambalaya 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.
What ingredients do you need to make a vegan jambalaya?
Most of this list is made up of your basic pantry staples that you probably already have on hand and fresh veggies, of course:
- Onion
- Garlic
- Celery
- Bell peppers of all hues (I used orange, red and yellow peppers and they add fabulous color and nutrition)
- Tomatoes, and tomato paste
- Mushrooms, fresh and dry
- Red kidney beans (you can use pinto or black beans with equally good results)
- Paprika
- Oregano and thyme
- Creole seasoning (optional but nice)
- Tamari, soy sauce or liquid aminos
- Rice
- Parsley or green onions for garnish
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
How to cook the best vegan jambalaya:
Now that you’ve got all your ingredients together, putting your vegetarian jambalaya is going to be the easiest part. You start out with a base of onions, celery and bell peppers — a combination described as the holy trinity of Creole cuisine.
Next, stir in the tomatoes and tomato paste with the paprika, saute for a couple of minutes, then throw most of the remaining ingredients in.
The rice goes in at the end, and make sure you follow instructions accurately, because you want the rice to be perfectly cooked and the grains separate.
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!
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Looking for more vegan “seafood” recipes?
Vegan Maryland Crab Cakes
Vegan Pasta Puttanesca
Vegan Chesapeake Chowder
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Looking for more vegan rice recipes?
Vegan Dirty Rice
Vegan One Pot Mujadara with Leeks
Vegan Indo-Chinese “Egg” Fried Rice
Coconut Rice
Persian Rice with Saffron and Asparagus
Vegetable Biryani in 30 minutes
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Vegan Jambalaya, a one-pot meal
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- 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.
Nutrition
If you’re in the mood for more Louisiana-inspired food, be sure to try out my Vegan Gumbo. It’s fat-free and gluten-free and delicious. And for another fabulous rice and veggie combo, check out my Vegan Paella.
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!
Denise, so happy to hear! I corrected the paprika reference — thanks for the feedback!
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!
Thanks for letting me know, Matt– so happy you enjoyed it!
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.
Hi Kelly, thanks for your kind words. Here’s my gluten-free sandwich bread recipe: https://holycowvegan.net/gluten-free-sandwich-bread/
Has anyone converted this to instant pot? I have made regular instant pot jambalaya but i need to do vegan this time so going to try and convert using the other one and these ingredients.
Love this recipe can’t wait to make it. If I don’t like beans is there another best substitute? Soy beans? What would you recommend.
Tofu or tempeh would be good here!
Really good, easy recipe! We are a non-garlic, non-paprika househokd, but I simply used my usual substitutes& bingo!
I loved this recipe
Excellent recipe! I couldn’t find the dried shiitake mushrooms, therefore I used fresh, sliced them & still soaked them for 30 minutes in 3C H2O.
I used coconut amino liquids, and topped with vegan cheese. This will definitely be made again!
Loved the recipe even though I am not vegan but I am on a low fat diet. So tasty keep them coming
What can I use instead of celery?
Leave it out.
I made this last night and instead of mushrooms I added a green pepper. It was SO tasty! Thank you for this recipe!
Can you put corn in?
Sure, why not?
Thank you for this recipe!!! I fixed it and it is delicious!! My husband loves it he wants to eat it every night! I am going to try the Gumbo recipe next week and I am sure it is just as tasty!!!!!!
This was Absolutely Delicious!!! A Definite Do Over!
So happy to hear!
Not sure what I did, but it did not seem like there was enough liquid to cook the rice at the end. So, I added water with the rice. I did not add dry mushrooms – so no water to rehydrate the mushrooms. Perhaps that is the missing liquid? Tasted great overall.
The mushroom stock is necessary — see step 3, you need 3 cups. If you don’t use dry mushrooms you have to use 3 cups of water instead.
I don’t see any water or stock in the recipe. Isn’t it needed for the rice to cook?
See step 3, you need the 3 cups of water the mushrooms are rehydrated in. That’s enough to cook the rice.
sorry I just saw it. my mistake.