This vegan jambalaya recipe is super easy to make with basic pantry staples. Tomato-y rice flavoured with loads of herbs and spices and bulked up with celery, peppers and a selection of mixed beans make a hearty, warming and filling quick weeknight lunch or dinner.
It’s hard to beat rice dishes that can be cooked up with minimal effort and anything goes. Vegan fried rice, for example, can be made in a hundred and one different ways with whichever vegetables and seasonings you have on hand.
Such is also the case with this vegan jambalaya. You’ll need the basic inarguable Creole combination of onion, celery and bell pepper, but after that I’d say you can get pretty creative. Since we’re making this jambalaya recipe vegetarian and taking out all the meat, you can replace it with anything you want.
I’ve chosen to keep it simple and use a three-bean mix but I’ve seen lot of other vegan recipes that use fake sausage meat products. Be careful, though, just because it’s not real meat doesn’t mean that it’s healthy.
Those meat analogue products are still processed products and full of salt. Tofu marinated like this smoky tofu bacon or these smoky marinated mushrooms would also be great in this jambalaya recipe.
Why not add some more veggie power with some chopped broccoli, kale or butternut squash? And don’t feel limited by the rice either.
While rice is traditional, jambalaya is just as tasty with other grains like quinoa or barley. See? It turns out that jambalaya is super versatile!
This vegan jambalaya recipe is great served on its own or alongside other southern-inspired dishes like vegan red beans and rice these smoky Cajun-style black-eyed peas or this vegan gumbo.
This recipe makes a big pan-full of jambalaya enough to feed at least four, but if you’ve got any leftovers, jambalaya makes a great rice base for this grilled veggie burrito bowl.
Wanna see how easy vegan jambalaya is? Watch the video!
Vegan Jambalaya
This vegan jambalaya recipe is super easy to make with basic pantry staples. Tomato-y rice flavoured with loads of herbs and spices and bulked up with celery, peppers and a selection of mixed beans make a hearty, warming and filling quick weeknight lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- Half a green pepper, diced
- Half a red pepper, diced
- 1 can (400 grams / 14 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups (1 litre) vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon smoky paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried cayenne pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons Tabasco sauce (adjust to taste)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- Pepper, to taste
- 2 cups (400 grams) uncooked brown rice
- 3 cups (500 grams) mixed beans (I used chickpeas, white beans and kidney beans)
- 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ cup (7 grams) fresh chopped parsley
- 1 green onion, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add a splash of water or a tablespoon of oil. Add the onion, and garlic and sauté until soft. Add the celery and peppers, and another splash of water if necessary, and sauté until just beginning to soften.
- Add the crushed tomato, vegetable stock, herbs, spices and sauces (except the salt) and rice. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. Simmer gently until the rice is cooked and the liquid is absorbed – 30 to 40 minutes. Keep an eye on it near the end of the cooking time and stir from time to time to prevent the rice from sticking.
- Once the rice is tender, stir in the beans and taste. Add salt if necessary. Give it a minute for the beans to heat then serve the jambalaya with fresh chopped parsley and green onion sprinkled on top and more Tabasco sauce on the side for those who like it really spicy.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 641Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 3090mgCarbohydrates: 124gFiber: 28gSugar: 29gProtein: 33g
This post contains affiliate links which help to offset the cost of running the blog with no additional cost to you.
If you like this vegan jambalaya recipe, be sure to check out my delicious vegan gumbo recipe!
juliana says
This jambalaya is really yummy. Thanks for the recipe!
Melissa says
Thank you!
Natasha says
Great recipe. I made for lunch today and my husband and I loved it.
Thank you!
Karina says
Do you cook the rice and the veggies together or separately?
Ariel says
Hey do you cook the beans prior to adding them in ?
Melissa says
Yes, the beans are cooked.
Holly says
It would be nice if you had said medium-low because the rice has been cooking for an hour now. Also If you could change the cook time, because it not truly 40 minutes of cook time unless your onions or bell peppers are softened in 30 seconds
Melissa says
For me, the rice cooked in 30 minutes, covered, over low heat. Of course other brands of rice will cook differently and everyone's stove is different too. You can always check on the rice as it cooks and adjust the heat according to how your rice and stove cook.
Sue says
This absolutely hit the spot!! Very good flavor!!! Definitely making it again. I did substitute Franks.
RLSCM says
Thank you for this great recipe. Jambalaya is one of DH's favorite dishes and he said the flavour and texture of this recipe was bang on. Although he and our boys agreed with one another that they would really like it with the traditional sausage and shrimp, they all enjoyed the vegan version and had second helpings. The rice took almost twice the time indicated to absorb all the liquid, but maybe that is due to the sprouted brown rice I used. I love how easy this recipe was to prepare. I will be making this again for sure.
Melissa says
Great! So glad you enjoyed it and thanks for taking the time to come back and leave your review!
Anna says
This sounds lovely, am going to try it today, wish me luck.
Melissa says
Good luck! Let me know how it goes!
Michelle says
This was delicious! I've made it twice now. The flavor of the spices is perfect. The brown rice does take longer to cook but that's true for any recipe.
Katie says
Flavor is AMAZING! It did take extra liquid and much more time for the rice to get done, like other reviewers said. Definitely worth the wait though! Thanks for a delicious recipe!
Kim says
LOVED this! I did add more veg and spice to it and it still tasted amazing! Kids woofed it all down.
Thank you!
Dawn says
Cooked this last night, we really enjoyed it (I'm vegan my boyfriend is full meat eater) I just used whatever veg I had in the fridge (courgette, aubergine, peppers, asparagus) and used smokey paprika and spicy paprika we like hot so I also added chilli powder. Served with pan fried olive tofu which went nicely. It makes a ton so having it again tonight. So easy to prepare and great for using up store cupboard and fridge items.
Thank you! Ps does it freeze? Xx
Melissa says
Great, so glad you both enjoyed it! I haven't tried freezing it because we usually eat it all pretty quickly but I wouldn't imagine a problem with freezing it.
Maureen says
I made this last night. I thought that two tablespoons of Tabasco sauce and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper sound a lot. I put in 1/4 teaspoon of each instead and it was still too hot for me but very tasty.
Melissa says
Sure, everyone has different heat preferences (I like it spicy!)
Lindsay says
How many servings?
Melissa says
4
Debbie says
We recently started trying out Vegan meals, this is by far one of our favorites! Very easy to put together and great flavor. Hearty enough for my once meat and potatoes hubby. We'll be trying more of your recipes for sure.
Denise says
Can this be made a day or two in advance and heated up?
Melissa says
Yes but it will thicken
Reece says
A-Mazing!!!! My husband loved it!! Thank you!
Aida says
Do the beans have to be drained?
Melissa says
I drained them, yes
Alexis says
I’m a long time vegetarian and this is the best vegan recipe I’ve ever tried.. and I’ve tried a lot.
Jeni says
This is amazing, makes up about 8 servings so plenty to freeze for another day. Served it with corn on the cob and vegan butter, another ine for my go to list. Thanks so much.
Melissa says
Thank you!
Michelle says
This recipe was wonderful!! It’s a keeper!!
Shari says
Going to give this a whirl tonight! From the picture it looks like okra is an ingredient but I don't see it listed in ingredients. I'm going to add less spices since I'm not a fan of too hot. Thanks for recipe. It looks delicious!
Melissa says
Nope, this one doesn't have okra in it but the vegan gumbo does.
cg says
WOW! This is absolutely delicious, and so easy to make. At the end of cooking, I added about a cup of leftover Mushroom Ragout, which had been seasoned with some of the same spices. Not necessary, but it was a great way to use up the leftovers!
Ann says
So I currently have this on low in my crockpot at home. I'm really excited for it. It was super easy to make.
shelley says
Did it work in slow cooker? Did you cook rice ahead of time?
Marie says
I'm trying to make something new for dinner since my boyfriend is vegetarian and I love me some meat. Since i'm not an experienced cook, I need to ask this question. The chickpeas, do they come in a can already precooked or is it the ones in a bag? I've only seen the ones that are in a bag, so if i need to look for something specific, please let me know.
Melissa says
For this recipe I used canned/jarred chickpeas. If you have a lot of time and can only get dried chickpeas, you can soak them overnight then simmer them for an hour or an hour and a half until tender.
Kylie says
Just finished making this and it is delicious!
LaShone Smith says
My family loved it. Thank you
Casey says
This was officially the 1st successful vegan meal for my skeptical family. Truly says a lot of the quality. I had my husband, boys: 13, 11, 8 and girls: 2, 4 all clean their plates and the boys had seconds. This meal was a big success! New staple thank you so much
YVETTE says
I made this recipe for Sunday dinner and brought some in on Monday to share it with my co-workers and they LOVED IT! Even though I am not a vegetarian, I have cut back my meat intake and dishes like this makes it possible to eliminate meat and still feel fulfilled with a great meal. Thank you so much Melissa for sharing this enjoyable recipe. The only thing that I modified was the cayenne pepper and tabasco sauce. I used 1/2 of what the recipe called because my tummy can't take spicy but it still had the perfect amount of heat. I have already shared this recipe with (2) friends and intend on sharing it with more. EXCELLENT FLAVOR, TEXTURE, and BEAUTIFUL COLORS!
Melissa says
Great comment! Thanks so much for taking the time to give your feedback and I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Kait says
Very tasty! It would be helpful if the nutrition information would be posted for your recipes though. I searched your blog and nothing showed up 🙁
Melissa says
I'm not a registered dietitian or nutritionist so I am not qualified to give nutritional information. Other blogs that provide it simply plug their recipes into one of those online calculators or use a wordpress plugin. You can try copying and pasting any recipe into a calculator if you trust them to tell you the truth 🙂 .
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! How would you rate the spiciness?
Chris says
What is the nutritional information?
Melissa says
No idea, you can check it in one of those online calculators.
Sandra K says
I made this dish tonight and really liked it. My dish probably took 50 mins to cook but I believe it’s due to the brown rice. I only used a small amount of Tabasco but it still was great.
Susan says
This is a great recipe. I made it in the instant pot for 10 minutes. Used quinoa instead of rice. Turned out very tasty. I will make this again.
Elaine says
I just printed off this recipe very excited to try it out . We are new vegans 2 months in changed for health reasons. I’ve never tried southern cooking before but here goes nothing!!!
Beth says
How large is a serving?? This pot is HUGE, 4 servings would make each portion gigantic
Brandt says
The recipe turned out really well! Halved the tobasco and added a half a teaspoon of liquid smoke instead of smoked paprika. Wow, loved this recipe!
Jodi Smith says
This recipe is delicious - amazing flavor and texture! But... no way it takes 5 minutes to prep. It took me 5 minutes to cut the onion! Anyway - definitely worth making, just allot a little more time. 🙂 Thank you!
My Early Retirement Journey says
Wow yum. Loved the ebook site... so light and colorful!
Dominique says
Hi. Can this recipe be made with an instant pot ?
Melissa says
Probably. I don´t have one so I can´t give you instructions but it´d be like cooking any other kind of seasoned rice.
marge201 says
Re the IP, which I use & love, I think I'll do the saute on the stove in a huge pan and use the IP to cook the soaked beans and to make the 2C barley or oat groats, or farro which I'll use instead of the brown rice. So the IP will be very useful. Great recipe, Melissa!
Lauriejoke says
Really good basic recipe! I made a couple of small changes - swapped Crystal (Louisiana's Pure Hot Sauce) for the Tabasco, and left out soy sauce since it's not gluten free and added a few drops of Liquid Smoke just for kicks...also doubled up on the chopped peppers since I had a bunch in the fridge - success!
Melissa says
Liquid smoke makes everything better!
Jen says
Can you post the nutritional facts?
Melissa says
Hi Jen, unfortunately I'm not a nutritionist and unable to calculate the nutritional information myself. There are not yet any accurate automatic nutrition calculators available for blogs so I'd rather give no information than false information.
Jessica says
I just want to thank you for this recipe it has the most amazing flavors. I have been on a diet to lower my cholesterol for about a year now and this is one of my favorite things to make. It’s so easy and it’s enough to last for days, even my son who doesn’t normally like my food steals some for himself
Karey says
I used half the Tabasco, thinking 1/2 tablespoon per serving would be a LOT, otherwise followed the directions exactly. It made five and a half pints! That seems like 11 servings! Next time I'll cut the recipe in half and use that correct proportion of Tabasco, as it needs a little something now. It would be great to read suggestions (at the end of the recipe rather than in the comments) about storing in the refrigerator and freezer. Thanks@
Jessica says
HI, I don't see how much rice to add?
Thank you!
Melissa says
2 cups (400 grams) uncooked brown rice.
Gale Heinemann says
Do you really use 2 Stalks of celery? Isn’t that a lot for this recipe? I would use 1 stalk.
Melissa says
Sure, if your stalks are big just use one!
Isobel says
Absolutely love this recipe. I've cooked it three times now and it's always a hit, even with the most carnivorous of guests! The flavours are great. I usually add more peppers just to up the veggie content, and we prefer white rice (basmati or long grain) to brown rice. The recipe is really adaptable and I like trying with different beans/pulses each time. Definitely a favourite in our house!
Stefanie Bowers says
This was really good. We used white rice because we were worried about having to cook longer. Turned out great!