This spicy vegan jambalaya is packed with healthy vegetables, and vegan sausage, and seasoned with spicy cajun seasoning. It makes an easy one-pot meal for busy weeknights, yet it's so good, that you may want to serve it at your next dinner party or get-together.
You can use Beyond sausages, Tofurky sausages, or even make your own seitan sausages for a protein-packed meal.
My mother-in-law always made a big pot of this meatless jambalaya for family events and it was always a hit with both vegans and non-vegans. It's a great one-pot meal that you can just keep warm on the stove or in the crockpot for potlucks and parties.
Jump to:
- ❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- 🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- 🔪 Helpful tools
- 🥄 How to make vegan jambalaya
- 🥘 What to serve with jambalaya
- 👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- ❓ What is the difference between creole and cajun jambalaya?
- 🌾 How to make vegan gluten-free jambalaya?
- 🌟 Variations
- 🥘 How to make vegan jambalaya in a slow cooker
- 🥡 Storage and reheating
- 🌟 More easy rice dishes
- 📋Vegan Jambalaya Recipe
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
This Creole jambalaya is healthy, filling, and full of flavor. You can make it in 1 pot in about 45 minutes or even use your instant pot or slow cooker to make it even easier.
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Vegan Sausage - I love the flavor of the Beyond sausage in this dish, but you can also use any other vegan sausage that you like. I also like to use my homemade vegan Italian sausage too. If you don't want to use faux meat in your vegetarian jambalaya, you can use 2 cans of kidney beans instead.
- For additional protein and to make this a heartier meal, you can also add vegan chicken along with the sausage. You can use a bag of chicken strips or my seitan chicken.
- Vegan Shrimp (optional) - If you want traditional Cajun jambalaya with shrimp, toss in some of my homemade vegan shrimp at the end of the cooking.
- Light Olive Oil - or other neutral-flavored oil.
- Onion - for flavor. White or yellow onion works well. You can also use 1/2 tsp of onion powder.
- Garlic - a few cloves of fresh garlic adds a lot of flavor, but you can also use 1/2 tsp of garlic powder.
- Bell Peppers - I like to use a red bell pepper, but you can also use a green bell pepper.
- Celery - for a nice texture.
- Mushrooms - white or crimini mushrooms work best.
- Okra - You can use fresh if you can find it. I usually can't find fresh, but it's easy to find it in the frozen vegetable section.
- Creole Seasoning - or cajun spices. You can also make your own creole seasoning. If you can't find a Creole seasoning mix you can also use Tony Chachere's cajun seasoning mix, but be aware that it contains a lot of salt, so you will want to use a low sodium broth and no additional salt.
- Cayenne Pepper - optional for a spicer jambalaya. (optional)
- Diced Tomatoes - you can cut up fresh tomatoes or use a can of diced tomatoes.
- Vegetable Broth - you can use any vegan broth that you like, or simply use water if you don't have vegetable stock. You just need the right amount of liquid to cook the rice.
- Rice - I like to use white rice like Basmati, but you can also use long-grain brown rice, it will just need to simmer longer to fully cook.
- Fresh Parsley - fresh chopped green onions or thyme also work well.
🔪 Helpful tools
- A large pot or dutch oven.
🥄 How to make vegan jambalaya
Step 1 - Saute sliced vegan sausage in 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot.
- Beyond Sausage Method - (If you are using Beyond sausage, reduce the oil to only 1/2 tablespoon since there is a lot of oil in the sausage itself. You will need to keep the Beyond sausages whole while cooking to firm them up, and then remove them from the pot and slice them. )
Step 2 - Add diced onion to the oil from the sausage and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes.
Step 3 - Add the diced bell peppers, chopped celery, sliced mushrooms, and okra (optional) to the onions. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons Creole Seasoning and turn up the heat to medium and saute for another 5 minutes.
Step 4 - Slice up the vegan sausage and add it back into the pot along with a can of diced tomatoes and 1 1/4 cups of rinsed uncooked rice and stir well.
Step 5 - Pour in 5 cups of vegan broth (or water) and stir well again and cook over medium-high heat.
Step 6 - Bring to a slow boil, then turn down the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Step 7 - Stir in 1/3 cup of fresh chopped parsley or green onions and serve hot.
🥘 What to serve with jambalaya
Serve your jambalaya with vegan cornbread, jalapeno cornbread, vegan garlic knots, focaccia bread, or vegan drop biscuits.
For extra spicy jambalaya, you can also add a few dashes of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes. You can also serve the dish with hot sauce on the side.
👩🏻🍳 Pro Tips
- If you are using Beyond Sausage, saute them whole until cooked before trying to slice them. (They firm up when cooked and will keep their form this way.)
- Be sure to rinse your rice in a wire mesh strainer until the water runs clear before adding it to the jambalaya. This washes the starch off the rice and will make your dish less sticky.
- I usually use Tony Chachere's creole seasoning in this dish. It contains a lot of salt in the seasoning mix, so I don't add additional salt. If you use a seasoning mix without salt, you may want to add additional salt to your dish.
❓ What is the difference between creole and cajun jambalaya?
Creole jambalaya is typically a saucier dish made with more broth and always tomatoes. Cajun jambalaya is a dryer rice dish that doesn't have tomatoes. Creole jambalaya is red in color and more like a thick soup and Cajun jambalaya is usually brown and dryer. You can read more about the difference between the two here.
🌾 How to make vegan gluten-free jambalaya?
To make this vegan jambalaya recipe gluten-free, simply be sure to use a gluten-free vegan sausage. Beyond sausage is a good choice since it's gluten-free and full of flavor. You can also use my homemade vegan sausage crumbles made with TVP or swap the TVP out for soy curls in this recipe for bigger chunks of "sausage."
🌟 Variations
Cajun Jambalaya - To turn this Creole jambalaya into cajun jambalaya omit the tomatoes and reduce the broth to 4 cups instead of 5. Traditionally cajun jambalaya usually has shrimp too, so be sure to add some vegan shrimp for a truly traditional jambalaya.
Smoky Jambalaya - To give your dish a smoky flavor, add 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika along with the cajun seasoning.
🥘 How to make vegan jambalaya in a slow cooker
- Put the vegan sausage (Leave the sausages whole), chopped veggies, spices, tomatoes, and broth (plus an additional 1 cup of water or broth) into your slow cooker. (Don't add the rice or fresh herbs yet.)
- Turn on your slow cooker to high and allow it to cook for 3 hours until the broth is slowly boiling.
- Take the sausages out of the crockpot and slice them into bite-sized pieces and add them back to the pot.
- Measure and rinse the rice, then add it to the slow cooker. Stir well, cover, and let cook for 1 1/2 more hours or until rice is tender. Add fresh herbs before serving. (I use white basmati rice. Other types of rice will have a different cook time.)
🥡 Storage and reheating
Refrigerate: This vegan jambalaya will keep well in the fridge for 3 - 5 days in a sealed container.
Freeze: Jambalaya freezes well and can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Reheating: Reheat it in the microwave for about 3 minutes per serving or add additional 2-3 tablespoons of water and simmer it in a pot until warm.
This simple vegan jambalaya recipe is sure to be a hit at your house and go into your weekly dinner rotation!
🌟 More easy rice dishes
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋Vegan Jambalaya Recipe
Vegan Jambalaya
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 vegan sausage links (about 4 cups sliced)
- 3 tablespoons light olive oil (or any other neutral-flavored oil) or just 1/2 TBSP of oil if using Beyond sausage
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup chopped bell peppers (red or green)
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup okra (fresh or frozen)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 teaspoons Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning (or cajun seasoning mix)
- 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes (caned or fresh)
- 1 1/4 cup rice (basmati or any rice you want)
- 5 cups low sodium broth (or water)
Instructions
- Saute sliced vegan sausage in 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot. (Note - If you are using Beyond sausage, reduce the oil to only 1/2 tablespoon since there is a lot of oil in the sausage itself. You will need to keep the Beyond sausages whole while cooking to firm them up, and then remove them from the pot and slice them. )
- Add diced onion to the oil from the sausage and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes.
- Add the diced bell peppers, chopped celery, sliced mushrooms, okra (optional), and garlic to the onions. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons Creole Seasoning and turn up the heat to medium and saute for another 5 minutes.
- Slice up the vegan sausage and add it back into the pot along with a can of diced tomatoes and 1 1/4 cup of rinsed uncooked rice and stir well.
- Pour in 5 cups of low sodium vegan broth (or water) and stir well again.
- Bring to a slow boil, then turn down the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Stir in 1/3 cup of fresh chopped parsley or green onions and serve hot.
Notes
- If you are using Beyond Sausage, saute them whole until cooked before trying to slice them. (They firm up when cooked and will keep their form this way.)
- Be sure to rinse your rice in a wire mesh strainer until the water runs clear before adding it to the jambalaya. This washes the starch off the rice and will make your dish less sticky.
- I usually use Tony Chachere's creole seasoning in this dish. It contains a lot of salt in the seasoning mix, so I don't add additional salt. If you use a seasoning mix without salt, you may want to add additional salt to your dish.
Nutrition
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the stars above or leave a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
Hi Monica, I made the jambalaya dish in my insta pot and the rice came out very mushy. I used the 5 cups of liquid as directed. The flavor was great. I would like to try the recipe again should I reduce the liquid amount to 2cups for the insta-pot?
Jambalaya is supposed to be wetter than rice, it's almost like a very thick soup. If you want it more like rice pilaf, then I would reduce the water by a cup or two depending on how fluffy you want the rice.
Thank you, this sounds delicious so I'll try this soon. Step 6 is a bit strange though....I'll skip that step, or maybe you can clarify it?
Sorry, step 6 was an oversite from copying my instructions and pasting them into the recipe card. I deleted it now, hit refresh and it will be good to go. Sorry about that. Hope that you enjoy the recipe.
I will definetly try this thankyou so much 4 this recepies il try the others vegan Thai Red curry as well
You're very welcome! I hope that you enjoy the recipes! 🙂