I’ve seen a lot of chorizo paella recipes on Pinterest, but you won’t find this kind of paella if you come to Spain because paella is not made with chorizo. We use this ingredient to make other delicious recipes like rice with chorizo (arroz con chorizo in Spanish) or a Spanish chorizo scramble I’ll share soon.
Vegan chorizo tastes amazing, I can’t notice any difference and I used to loved chorizo when I wasn’t vegan. If you can’t find it, use vegan sausages, tofu, tempeh or just veggies. Use seasonal produce and if you can afford it, buy organic food, it’s better for the environment and for your health.
The rice has a beautiful color because of the chorizo and the chopped tomatoes, but if you want a more intense color, you can also add tomato paste, sweet or hot paprika, turmeric powder or a little bit of saffron, but avoid artificial dyes, they’re really unhealthy, especially for kids.
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I’ve never tried brown Basmati rice before and I love it! It tastes amazing and is healthier. Brown Basmati rice usually requires 40 to 50 minutes of cooking, unlike white Basmati which requires less than 15 minutes. If you use brown rice, you will need to add more vegetable broth or water.
I prefer to cook rice in vegetable broth instead of water because it adds more flavor, but some store bought broths are full of unhealthy ingredients like monosodium glutamate, so if you can’t find a healthy alternative, use homemade vegetable broth or water.
I buy vegan chorizo in vegan stores here in Spain, but I don’t know where you can find it in your country. This chorizo is made with gluten, but there are others that are made with soy. There are also lots of vegan chorizo recipes you can find on Google and I hope to share one with you in the future.
I use a “paellera” to cook this recipe. It’s a pan, traditionally round, shallow and made of polished steel with two handles, but you can use a regular pan or even a pot. When you cook paella or some Spanish rice recipes you don’t have to stir the rice unlike risotto, but sometimes I do if rice sticks to the bottom of the pan.
Don’t be afraid to eat carbs like pasta or rice, Asians eat rice all day long and they’re so lean, skinny and healthy, just eat healthy recipes. Vegan chorizo is a great choice because it has less fat and also tastes really good.
Don’t forget to leave a comment or tag a picture #simpleveganblog on Instagram or any other social network if you make this simple vegan Spanish rice with chorizo!
Simple Vegan Spanish Rice with Chorizo
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main dish
- Cuisine: Vegan, Spanish
This simple vegan Spanish rice with chorizo is similar to paella and it tastes so good. You can use white or brown rice.
Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ cup vegan chorizo (270 g)
- 4 cloves of garlic
- ½ onion
- ⅓ cup green bell pepper (50 g)
- ⅓ cup red bell pepper (50 g)
- ⅓ cup frozen peas (50 g)
- 1 ⅔ cup chopped tomatoes (410 g)
- 1 ¼ cup white Basmati rice (240 g) or brown Basmati rice (270 g)
- Vegetable broth or water: 4 cups (1 l) if you use white Basmati rice or 6 cups (1.5 l) if you use brown Basmati rice
- 2 tbsp thyme
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a little bit of extra virgin olive oil in a paellera or a pan over medium heat and when it’s hot, cook the vegan chorizo (chopped) until it starts to golden brown. Set aside.
- Add the garlic, onion, green and red pepper (chopped) and cook until golden brown.
- Add the frozen peas and chopped tomatoes and cook for another 5 or 10 minutes.
- Add the rice and the chorizo and cook until it begins to be translucent. Pour the vegetable broth/water (hot), add the thyme and salt and black pepper to taste.
- Stir the rice until all the ingredients are mixed and cook over medium or medium high heat for 15 or 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Add more vegetable broth/water if the rice is hard and dry. Brown Basmati rice requires 40 to 50 minutes of cooking.
- Let stand the rice (covered) for at least 5 or 10 minutes.
Wow! This looks delicious. I had no idea you can find chorizo without soy! I’m going to be looking for this on my local shelves. I also share your sadness about vegetable broth having MSG and other things. It bothers me when they add tomatoes too! What if I don’t want a tomato base? Homemade is the way to go! You know what’s in there and it’s a great way to use up older veggies. Thanks for the great recipe!
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Hi Michaell! Here in Spain is hard to find chorizo made with soy 🙂 Thanks a lot for your comment!
I bought a paella pan and seasoning from Valencia! Bookmarking this!
I hope you like the rice!! 😀
Made this tonight. I used Tofurky Chorizo style (soy based). This is the first vegan chorizo recipe I have tried and it is a keeper.
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Hi Lisa!!! I’m glad you liked it! I’d love to try a soy based chorizo!!!
Wow this looks so delicious! I’ve been on a Spanish rice kick lately, I’ll have to try this recipe! I wonder if I could find gluten-free chorizo!
Hi Karissa! Thank you so much 😀
When do you add the chorizo back in? after the rice has finished cooking?
Thanks!
Hi Krista! I’m so sorry, I totally forget 😛 I add the chorizo with the rice 😉 Hope you like it!
New to vegan lifestyle. Made this recipe tonight for dinner. Very delicious. I’ll be making this on a regular basis.
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Hi Dolores! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 Have a nice week!
Would you be able to clarify step 4 for me please 🙂
Hi Eli! You need to add the rice and the chorizo and when the rice is translucent, add the broth, thyme, salt and pepper 🙂
thanks!
You’re welcome 🙂
Awesome recipe, but so much food! I’d like the keep the same amount of add-ins, but if I half the amount of rice, should I half the amount of thyme too?
Hi Eli! Thanks a lot 😀 Add half the amount of thyme, try the rice and add more if needed. Have a nice day!
Hi there,
Where do you get your vegan chorizo? I just moved to Barcelona and I’m still trying to source my vegan ingredients 🙂
Thanks so much for your time!
Hi Jacquelyn! I usually buy it at some vegan or health stores, you could find them at https://www.happycow.net/ Hope it works!
What makes rthe rice so very golden in color? Mine didn’t go that!
Hi Paula! The chorizo 🙂 I live in Spain, so our chorizo was made with lots of pimentón de la vera (Spanish paprika). Have a nice day!
Excellent!! I made this with my own modifications
(Spice blend- 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1tsp thyme, 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp dried cilantro ) which I added to the sauteed onion and garlic, peppers, and a cup of frozen miripox. I used a 14 ox tin of tomatoes (with peppers and celery ). I used a half pack of vegan chorizo (tofurky) , and used Jasmine rice.
It turned out wonderfully, and I would make again
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Hi Anne! Sounds great 🙂 So glad you liked it!