Super Easy & Incredible Homemade Vegan Jambalaya
This vegan jambalaya is a New Orleans-style Creole dish made with brown rice, vegetables, vegan chicken, and sausage. This recipe is surprisingly easy to make, on the healthier side, and of course, delicious! It’s packed full of flavor and very comforting, too, making it a wonderful meal to cozy up with on a chilly night.
What exactly is jambalaya?
Jambalaya is a Cajun or Creole dish of rice, vegetables, and protein- typically shrimp, chicken, and/or sausage. An authentic recipe begins with sauteing onion, celery, and bell peppers along with fresh garlic, herbs, and Cajun/Creole seasonings and spices. Then rice, stock, protein(s) of choice, and a few other delicious ingredients, are added in and slow-cooked. Jambalaya is an ultra, comforting dish that is packed FULL of flavor!
My number one tip for this recipe: MISE EN PLACE!
What’s mise en place, you ask? It is a French culinary phrase meaning “putting in place” or “everything in its place.” Simply put, it means to have all of your ingredients prepared BEFORE beginning to cook. This technique will make cooking this vegan jambalaya recipe a heck of a lot smoother! If you do not prepare every element beforehand, you may find yourself running around like a crazy person because the cooking side of the recipe comes together fast.
Despite the list of ingredients for this recipe being reasonably hefty, it is an easy recipe to follow. The recipe directions mainly consists of chopping ingredients and sauteing. So, do not let the lengthiness of the recipe intimidate you.
Reasons why I LOVE this vegan jambalaya so much-
It’s:
- easy to make
- extremely flavorful
- on the healthier side (yet it doesn’t taste like it!)
- a great meal prep recipe
- ultra comforting/perfect for cozying up with on a chilly night
Before heading out to the grocery store or beginning this dish, make sure to read my “tiparooskis” below the recipe for some essential tips and substitute suggestions.
If you make my vegan jambalaya recipe, please post a picture to Instagram, tag me @chefsummerstorm, and #gardengrub so I can see how you enjoyed it!
Super Easy & Incredible Homemade Vegan Jambalaya
Ingredients
- 3 tbsps olive oil, (Divided- 2 tbsps are for sauteing the vegetables and 1 tbsp is for sauteing the vegan meats.)
- 1 yellow onion, small diced
- 4 celery stalks, small diced
- 1 red bell pepper, small diced
- 1 green bell pepper, small diced
- 1 jalapeno (remove and discard seeds), minced
- 3 tbsp garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 2 tbsp cajun seasoning blend (I use Cajun's Choice blackened seasoning)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
- 3 dried bay leaves
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt (Divided- 1/4 tsp is for seasoning the entire dish and 1/2 tsp is for seasoning the vegan meats.)
- 5 cups vegetable stock
- One 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce (I use Annie's)
- 1 tbsp TABASCO original hot sauce (If you can handle the heat, add in one more tablespoon. I always do, as I love the extra spiciness and flavor!)
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked whole-grain brown rice
- 2 cups favorite vegan chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (I use one 15.5 ounce bag of Gardein's meatless chick'n strips)
- 3 vegan andouille sausages, cut into 1/2 inch thick round pieces (Read "tiparooskis" below recipe for sausage suggestions!)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- To garnish: chopped green onions
Instructions
- Place a large, deep stockpot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil into the pot, followed by the diced onions, celery, bell peppers, jalapeno, and garlic. Stir well and cook for 6 minutes. Stir frequently.
- Add in the cajun seasoning blend, garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, poultry seasoning, dried bay leaves, and the 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Now add in the vegetable stock, the entire can of crushed tomatoes, vegan Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco hot sauce, and uncooked whole-grain brown rice. Stir well and bring the mixture up to a simmer.
- Once it has come to a simmer, turn the heat down to medium-low/low, cover, and continue simmering for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- When the jambalaya has about 10-15 minutes left of cooking, place a large saute pan over medium heat. Once hot, add in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, followed by the vegan chicken and sausage pieces.
- Season the vegan meat with the other 1/2 teaspoon of salt and all of the pepper. Saute until the meat is lightly golden brown, about 8 minutes or so.
- Then, once the jambalaya has finished simmering for the 45 minutes, add the cooked vegan chicken and sausage into the pot, stir well, cover, and cook for another 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Lastly, remove the bay leaves from the pot and discard them.
- Garnish your serving of jambalaya with lots of chopped green onions and more Tabasco!
Tiparooskis
Welcome to my tip section of the vegan jambalaya recipe! Here I provide my top tips to help you perfect the recipe. Sometimes, I also give substitute suggestions that I think you may find helpful.
- If you are unable to find vegan andouille sausage, that’s okay! Use whatever vegan sausage you can find that you think would go well with the flavors of this dish. Here are a few different suggestions:
- If you use rice other than whole-grain brown rice, you may need to adjust the amount of vegetable stock you use and the cooking time. For example, I used long grain rice for this last batch (because I thought I had brown rice on hand but didn’t, ugh), and so I had to add about 2 cups more vegetable stock and ended up cooking the jambalaya for about 20 minutes less. This is because the rice that I used soaked up a lot more of the liquids and cooked much faster than whole-grain brown rice.
If you’re a fan of ONE-POT meals, check these two recipes out!
SHARE THIS RECIPE ON PINTEREST!
2 Comments
Audrey
This is my absolute favorite vegan jambalaya recipe! Perfect amount of spice and flavor. My partner and I make it once a month, we love it so much!!
garden grub
Hi Audrey, thank you so much! I am so glad to hear you love it and that you make it often! Much love! 🙂