Vegan Jambalaya – A Louisiana inspired dish loaded with vegetables, rice, vegan sausage and big flavor! Easy to make in 1 pot.

looking down on a big pot of vegan jambalaya in cast iron pan

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Jambalaya is usually made with meat, but I’ve swapped vegan sausage for animal proteins and created a simple yet incredibly delicious recipe that the whole family will love! Comfort food made in 1 pot.

Tips for the best jambalaya

  • Fresh vegetables: For best results, use quality fresh vegetables instead of frozen.
  • Vegan Sausage: Use a vegan sausage you like. My favorite brand is Field Roast Italian Sausages. Tofurky is pretty good as well.
  • Use a quality cajun seasoning blend: This may be the most important of all, since this is where the majority of flavor will come from. I used Slap Ya Mama brand, ordered from Amazon, and I highly recommend it! The only catch is there is salt added, so if you are watching your salt intake for any reason, look for a salt free seasoning.
  • Add more water, as needed and stir your rice as it cooks. You don’t want your rice to dry out, and every pot cooks a bit differently, so add additional water as needed and stir every 5 minutes once the rice is added.

white plate with jambalaya on it, fork and blue striped towel

How to make Vegan Jambalaya

  1. Sauté sliced vegan sausage with a little olive oil and cajun seasoning. Transfer to a clean plate and set aside.
  2. Back in the pot, cook the veggies, then add the spices and stir.
  3. Now add the crushed tomatoes, rice and water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes until the rice is cooked through.
  4. Add the okra, sliced sausages and stir in.

That’s it! Serve with chopped fresh parsley and green onions and enjoy!

collage of how to make jambalaya step by step

More vegan southern style recipes

very close up of finished rice, vegetable and sausage dish

square image of pot of rice and vegetable dish
4.89 stars (35 ratings)

Vegan Jambalaya

Vegan Jambalaya - A Louisiana inspired dish loaded with vegetables, rice, vegan sausage and big flavor! Easy to make in 1 pot.
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Total: 1 hour
Servings: 6 servings
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Ingredients 
 

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 package vegan sausage (13 oz), sliced *I used Field Roast Italian
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 3 stalks celery, chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2-3 tablespoons cajun seasoning ,divided
  • 1 teaspoon salt (omit if your cajun seasoning contains salt)
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, may omit
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons vegan worcestershire sauce
  • 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice, uncooked
  • 2 3/4 cup water
  • 1 cup okra, thinly sliced, optional
  • fresh chopped parsley and green onion, for serving

Instructions 

  • In a large pot or pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and warm over medium-high heat. Add the sliced sausages and 1 tablespoon of the cajun seasoning and sauté for 3-4 minutes, until browned and warm. Transfer to a clean plate and set aside.
  • To the same pot, add the last tablespoon of olive oil and the chopped onion, bell peppers and celery. Sauté for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Now add the garlic, 1 more tablespoon cajun seasoning, salt (omit if your cajun seasoning has salt!), cayenne pepper and thyme. Stir and cook for 1 more minute.
  • Now add the crushed tomatoes, worcestershire sauce, rice and water to the pot. Stir well, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer (covered) and cook for 25-30 minutes, until the rice is cooked. Stir every 5 minutes to make sure the rice doesn't burn and stick to the bottom of the pot. Add a little more water as needed if the mixture starts to dry out.
  • Stir in the okra, if using. Add the sausage back to the pot and mix well. Taste; season with another tablespoon of cajun seasoning, if desired and add more salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
  • Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley and green onions, and enjoy!

Notes

  1. Leftover jambalaya will keep for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. It can also be frozen.
  2. I love Field Roast brand of vegan sausage, but there are a few other brands you can use. Make sure to check ingredients for eggs or milk, to ensure vegan.
  3. Gluten Free: Unfortunately, vegan sausages aren't typically gluten free, but you could sub kidney beans or even chickpeas instead of vegan sausage to make the dish gluten free.
  4. You probably could make this with brown rice instead of white, but you would need a bit more water (probably 3 cups) and it will take much longer to cook (40-45 minutes).

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 286kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 560mg | Potassium: 441mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1995IU | Vitamin C: 50mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 2mg
Course: Main
Cuisine: American
Author: Nora Taylor
Did you make this recipe?Mention @nora_cooks_vegan_ or tag #noracooks!

*Recipe inspired by Cooking Classy.

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Comments

  1. I followed the recipe to a tee except added in kidney beans. I found it was way too overpowered by tomato sauce so I had to make more rice separately and mix it in to dilute the tomato flavour. The rice was also too mushy. I would definitely need to adjust the crushed tomato to rice ratio next time!

    Reply

  2. This was so simple and delicious! I am the only vegan in my family, but I do eat a little bit of chicken once a week. I made this with chopped rotisserie chicken instead of the vegan sausage, and my whole family enjoyed it! I can’t wait to try it with the vegan sausage. Thanks for a great recipe!

    Reply

    2. Chicken? You’re not even a vegetarian at this point, let alone vegan. 🤣🤣 It’s a journey though. No judgement. This was just funny. 😃

      Reply

  4. Cajun vegan here.
    You did a pretty good job.
    Couple minor things;
    You dont really need Cajun seasoning if you already have onions garlic and cayenne. Thats all most of those are anyway, just dehydrated onions and garlic powder with cayenne food starch and salt.
    Red bells are kind of tinny tasting when you cook them like this. They aren’t illegal in Cajun food but I never saw one till I moved away from Louisiana.
    Jambalaya isnt just sausage rice. When I was growing up it was usually a mix of leftover things and whatever was on sale. So it frequently had shrimp, chicken and sausage.
    Vegan-wise you could go crazy with the fake meats. Or just use tofu and tempeh to make it less monotonous. Or mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini etc.
    If I’m going to add vegetables like that I cook them seperate and fold them in after the jambo is pretty much done.
    Oh yeah and this should always be served with french bread and (vegan)butter.

    Reply

  5. The taste of this recipe was delicious! I used field roast chipotle sausage which I felt like matched more with the recipe than Italian sausage, 2 tablespoons of oil instead of 3 tablespoons, 1 tb of cajun seasoning because 2 tablespoons had over 8,000 mg of sodium which I felt like was a lot, and I don’t have vegan Worcestershire sauce so I used Trader Joe’s umami seasoning + a pinch of msg to replace it. I added half a can of kidney beans as well to boost the fiber just a little without being too bean forward.

    I’m giving the recipe 4 stars though because there’s way too much water in it. My rice, especially the day after is total mush. That’s no exaggeration, it’s practically paste. I do plan on making it again someday but with significantly less water.

    Reply

  6. I’ve made this a couple of times now and it is flavorful, delicious and very satisfying. One pot makes enough to eat for lunch for the week and the leftovers hold up well. Excellent comfort food meal.

    Reply

    1. Hi Jenn. I’m glad the jambalaya is delicious and comforting to you! Thanks so much for taking your time to share your comments and wonderful review!

      Reply

  9. I left some ingredients out because some my family do not like. Cooked it yesterday and it’s gone. Tasted really good definitely keeping this recipe around.

    Reply

  10. This was delicious. My husband loved it and he’s hard to please, especially as I try to find more vegetarian recipes. I used Beyond Vegan Sausage. He has an allergy to bell peppers, so I used the traditional mirepoix combo of carrot/celery/onion combo instead of the bell peppers. I also used diced green beans instead of okra as i had it on hand.

    Question– sometimes i have leftover cooked rice. In that case, would i just omit the water and use cooked rice?

    Also, a tip. When we took a cajun cooking class in New Orleans last year, we bought a few jars of their garlic sauce and HIGHLY recommend it for this and similar recipes.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for the tip! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe. I’ve never tried it using cooked rice, so I’m not sure how that would work. Maybe, in a pinch.

      Reply

  11. I didn’t have Cajun seasoning, so I just used a mixture of spices. I also added a half cup of quinoa and did cilantro of parsley and soy sauce instead of Worcestershire 🙂 

    Reply

  12. Loved! Husband wasn’t too keen when I told him jambalaya was for dinner but afterwards he said the recipe was definitely a keeper. I used Beyond Meats Italian Sausage

    Reply

  13. Thank you Nora for another delicious recipe!!!

    I always Google you first when cooking a new vegan meal.  

    Please write a cookbook! ?

    Reply

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