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Vegan Jambalaya

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This simple vegan jambalaya is a super tasty, satisfying and nutritious vegan recipe, and a delicious dinner dish made with beans instead of meat.

Picture of a dish with homemade vegan jambalaya topped with chopped parsley

Jambalaya is a dish from Lousiana, which has its origins in the Spanish and French cuisines, especially in the Spanish dish paella and jambalaia, a French dish from Provence.

Classic recipe is not vegan and is made with some meat or seafood, veggies, and rice, but I’ve made a plant-based version using chickpeas and beans instead of an animal-based protein.

It’s a super nutritious dish because it contains vegetables, protein (legumes), and a healthy source carbohydrates (rice), and also so tasty because of the spices I’ve used.

I used to sautée my veggies in water and then I added tahini along with the legumes, but I prefer to sautée my veggies in oil now and I also omit the tahini. Both versions are so good, so make the one you prefer!

How to make vegan jambalaya – Step by step

Step by step photos of how to make vegan jambalaya
  • Add the oil to a skillet or large pot and when it’s hot add the veggies and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes (photo 1).
  • Add the crushed tomatoes and cook another 5 minutes (photo 2).
  • Add the tamari or soy sauce and the spices and stir (photo 3).
  • Then add the rice and the water or vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Cook over medium-high heat for 15 minutes or until the rice is cooked (photo 4).
  • Add the chickpeas and beans, stir and cook 1-2 minutes more (photo 5).
  • Serve the rice (photo 6) with some chopped fresh parsley on top (optional).

Pro tips

  • Oil is optional, you can sautée the veggies in some water or vegetable stock, and then add 2 tbsp of tahini if you want when you add the legumes (step 4).
  • Use any veggies, spices or legumes you like.
  • Feel free to use fresh tomatoes instead of canned tomatoes. If the rice is too dry, add more liquid (water or vegetable stock).
  • Add salt instead of the tamari or soy sauce if you don’t eat soy.
  • The classic recipe is made with long grain rice, but I used what I had on hand. Use any type of rice you prefer.
Photo of a skilet with cooked vegan jambalaya

Do you cook rice before adding to vegan jambalaya

No, I don’t, but you could if you want or you could also use leftover rice. In that case, just omit the water or vegetable stock and add more oil or tahini if needed.

What is served with vegan jambalaya?

You could eat it by itself as it includes veggies, carbs, and protein, but here are some side dishes that pair very well with jambalaya:

Looking for more vegan rice recipes?

An overhead shot of a dish with vegan jambalaya and garnished with parsley

Did you make this vegan jambalaya recipe?

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Vegan Jambalaya

  • Author: Iosune
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 6–8 1x
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Cuisine: Vegan, American

This simple vegan jambalaya is a super tasty, satisfying and nutritious vegan recipe, and a delicious dinner dish made with beans instead of meat.

A square picture of a dish of vegan jambalaya
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Ingredients

  • 1–2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
  • 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes (400 g)
  • 2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne powder
  • 1 cup uncooked rice (200 g), I used short grain white rice
  • 3 cups water or vegetable stock (750 ml)
  • 1 cup canned or cooked chickpeas (180 g)
  • 1 cup canned or cooked kidney beans (180 g)
  • Chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  1. Add the oil to a skillet or large pot and when it’s hot add the veggies and cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
  2. Add the crushed tomatoes and cook another 5 minutes.
  3. Add the tamari or soy sauce and the spices and stir. Then add the rice and the water or vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Cook over medium-high heat for 15 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
  4. Add the chickpeas and beans, stir and cook 1 to 2 minutes more.
  5. Serve with some chopped fresh parsley on top (optional).
  6. Keepleftovers in the fridge in a sealed container for 5-7 days.

Notes

  • Oil is optional, you can sautée the veggies in some water or vegetable stock, and then add 2 tbsp of tahini if you want when you add the legumes (step 4).
  • Use any veggies, spices or legumes you like.
  • Feel free to use fresh tomatoes instead of canned tomatoes. If the rice is too dry, add more liquid (water or vegetable stock).
  • Add salt instead of the tamari or soy sauce if you don’t eat soy.
  • The classic recipe is made with long grain rice, but I used what I had on hand. Use any type of rice you prefer.
  • Nutritional info has been calculate by using 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and water instead or vegetable stock.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/8 of the recipe
  • Calories: 197
  • Sugar: 2.3 g
  • Sodium: 472 mg
  • Fat: 2.7 g
  • Saturated Fat: 0.4 g
  • Carbohydrates: 38 g
  • Fiber: 5.4 g
  • Protein: 6.5 g

Update Notes: This post was originally published in September of 2017, but was republished with new photos, step by step instructions and tips in January of 2020.

About Iosune

Hey, I’m Iosune! I am a recipe developer, writer, and author of Simple Vegan Meals and Simple Vegan Smoothies CookBooks.

Find me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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  1. Jo says

    Oh man, so good! I noticed a comment about the amount of liquid so I only used two thirds of the broth and I think next time I’d cut it back even more, but it was excellent regardless. Definitely double the recipe so you can use whole peppers and cans of beans — we got so many meals out of this!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  2. Jalyn Burns says

    Hi! I just wanted to say thank you for this recipe. My culinary program at Goochland High School entered this recipe for a NASA contest and we are on to the next round. We did adjust it a little, but it was still amazing! Thank you again.

    Reply

  3. Julie Freudenthal says

    Whoa! It was delicious! This is going to be one of my new staples without a doubt. I didn’t make any major changes – maybe more spices because I didn’t bother measuring:)

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  4. Paige says

    I love this recipe so much. Very easy to make! I make this for a meal prep every week. I add celery, corn, and jalapeño to make it my own !

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  5. Theo says

    This is pretty good! I followed the recipe except for adding some celery, and sauteeing the vegetables in the first step. I agree with Sierra that even though the chick peas are cooked, they still tasted conspicuously dry (i rinsed a tin of chickpeas for the dish, and added them for the last 3 mins of cooking). This was also much less spicy than most jambalaya I’m familiar with (especially lacking pockets of spice through chorizo), but my gut can’t cope with much heat so I’m happy with this recipe. I also used long grain rice, and the cooking time was just right. Overall it tastes good and I’m happy to have a huge batch of it to eat as leftovers all week 🙂 Worth trying out and experimenting with, I’m going to add chickpeas in with the rice so that they aren’t as dry in the end next time, and tweak the herbs and spices (more onion and less oregano would suit my taste better in the next batch).

    ★★★★

    Reply

  10. Sierra G says

    It was okay. I followed the instructions and the rice, beans and chickpeas were not cooked. Had to add extra cumin, cayenne pepper and soy sauce. Added black pepper too.. cooked it longer and it was pretty dang good.

    ★★★

    Reply

    • Iosune says

      Hi Sierra! Did you use canned beans and chickpeas? They’re already cooked and the time may vary depending on the type of rice you’re using.

      Reply

  13. Linda says

    This was a great lunch. I added a couple stalks of celery and got so excited i forgot to put in the beans at the end. It spice is perfect. It is now in my do it again file.

    Reply

  14. rlg1017 says

    I was invited to a vegan dinner party last night. Since I’m not vegan, I turned to the internet for ideas and found this recipe. I’ve always wanted to try Jambalaya, but don’t like shellfish or sausage, so stayed away. Not only was this easy to make, it was delicious. I made it early in the day with Jasmine rice and it looked a little dry when I went to reheat it before the party, so I added between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of extra vegetable broth, which worked great! Will definitely make this again!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  15. Jennifer says

    One of my faviourite ever recipes and so healthy! Everything goes in the one pot. I add extra peppers and onion. I also use wholegrain rice and just cook for longer. This does take up to 40 minutes sometimes to cook fully, but it is delicious and even more healthy this way. Me and my partner eat this regularly.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  16. Ameetav Nangrani says

    This recipe is amazing and really simple to make. We love this recipe and infact just cooked it again with black rice.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  18. Anders Fischer says

    I have made this recipe almost every week for at least half a year, and it’s absolutely one of our favorites. We make it with brown rice and cook it for a little longer than this recipe says, but the results are amazing. Doubling the ingredients is genius as it yields food for three days or more if we’re in a hurry at home. I’d recommend this recipe to anyone (and I do!). Also, the tahini really takes it to a different level!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  19. Hunter says

    I just made this recipe! It was super delicious, the only thing I changed was that I added some spinach and I left out some of the spices we didn’t have. I will definitely be making it again!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  20. Ms. Karen Chin says

    Everyone loved it! I can’t wait to make it again! Not everyone in my family can eat bell peppers so we substituted yellow and green Zucchini. We used celery instead of carrots. And I tossed in a package of soy chorizo (Trader Joe’s) to give it more of a jambalaya feel. The flavors just all work well together and loved how I tossed in what I had on hand and it still worked!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  21. Simon says

    How the hell do you people make this recipe? I tried it 3 times now and everytime i get essentially a Soup.
    Which is obvious since it has WAY too much Liquid to absorb, what are you people doing to say its successfull ?

    Reply

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