Wherever you’re from, you can borrow from the world’s culinary melting pot to infuse your plate with a bold essence. New Orleans’ Creole and Cajun flavors—steeped in a rich tradition of cultures, including African, Caribbean, and New World—are among my favorites. You might be surprised to discover that many of these traditional dishes, like jambalaya, are based on plant foods: beans and rice. Learn how to make jambalaya with this easy recipe for Vegan Jambalaya with Red Beans and Okra that’s bursting with flavor. You can also make Instant Pot Jambalaya with this recipe.
What is Jambalaya?
Jambalaya is a traditional Cajun dish that has roots in Spain, West Africa and France – particularly Provence. You can see shades of Spanish paella in this recipe, as well as a traditional Provençal rice dish called jambalaya. Jambalaya usually has sausage and shrimp, but I skipped those and focused on the classic red bean, which is part of this food culture. You’ll see the holy trinity of onions, peppers, and celery featured in this recipe—a traditional staple of ingredients used in Cajun cuisine. While I’ve spent a fair amount of time in New Orleans and love the Cajun and Creole foodways, I’m no true expert. Check out Emily’s amazing work at Cajun Vegan Eats for more inspiration.
What to Serve with Jambalaya?
I like to serve this casserole meal with a crusty whole wheat baguette and a crunchy salad, like my Kale Cesar Salad. And the leftovers are great the next day too! Try this meal prep recipe as a healthy weeknight meal.
Imprint
Description
Learn how to make jambalaya the healthy way with this recipe for Vegan Jambalaya with Red Beans and Okra, which is full of Cajun flavors. This healthy and satisfying, budget-friendly recipe is a meal-in-one.
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onioninto cubes
- 3 medium garlic cloves, minced meat
- 2 medium peppers (red, orange, green or yellow), diced
- 2 medium carrotsin slices
- 2 stalks of celery, sliced
- 2 fl (200 gr) okra fresh or frozen chopped
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt celery
- Hot sauceas desired (optional)
- 1 cup (200 gr) uncooked short grain brown rice
- 1 (14.5 oz.) can be grilled diced tomatoeswith juice
- 1 (15-ounce) can red beans (ie. pinto beans, beanscranberry beans), with liquid (or 1 ¾ fl cooked, with 2∕3 fl water)
- 2 fl (474ml) vegetable stock
- ½ cup (119 ml) of water
- ¼ cup (15 g) chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tablespoon dried parsley)
- Heat the olive oil on high pot on medium heat.
- Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, peppers, carrots, celery and okra and sauté for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add cayenne, paprika, cumin, chili powder, celery salt, hot sauce (if desired) and rice, sauté for another 2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, red beans, stock and water. Mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for about 1 hour, until the rice is tender, stirring frequently. Add additional water as needed to compensate for moisture lost to evaporation, but avoid thinning the consistency too much (it should be a thick stew-like consistency).
- Remove from heat and sprinkle with parsley immediately before serving.
- Makes 6 servings (about 1 1/2 cups each).
Notes
Variation: Replace the red beans with any other type of bean (such as black beans, chickpeas, or heirloom varieties).
Instant Pot Directions: Follow steps 1-5 using the Sauté setting, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Then tap the Rice setting. Use Quick Release when you’re done cooking.
Recipe adapted from Plant-Based Nutrition for Life: Eat Your Way to Lasting Health in 52 Simple Steps and 125 Delicious Recipes©Sharon Palmer 2014. Reprinted with permission from the publisher, The Experiment.
- Preparation time: 15 minutes
- Cooking time: 1 hour 12 minutes
- Category: Entry
- Kitchen: Cajun
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ½ cups
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 7 gr
- Sodium: 424 mg
- Fat: 3 gr
- Saturated Fat: 1 gr
- Carbohydrates: 56 gr
- Fiber: 12 gr
- Protein: 10 gr
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
For more vegan meals, check out some of my favorites:
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