This hearty, spicy, and flavorful vegan Gumbo recipe is so delicious! With the spices, chickpeas, tomatoes, and veggies, this dish is loaded with healthy sources of fiber, protein, and nutrients and is a great way to incorporate more vegetables into your diet. But trust me, you’ll hardly even notice that those veggies are there!
What is Gumbo?
Gumbo is a popular southern soup consisting of lots of vegetables, meat, and seafood. This dish is a traditional Cajun/Creole dish that is extremely popular in Luisiana and is filled with aromatic spices. While traditionally, Gumbo contains meat and seafood products such as shrimp and crawfish, this vegan Gumbo recipe is 100% animal product free without sacrificing any of the delicious flavor. To get some protein and some of that added meaty texture, this recipe uses cooked chickpeas, a nutritional powerhouse used in many traditional Cajun dishes.
What ingredients are used in this Vegan Gumbo Recipe?
As mentioned before, the main ingredients that pack in the flavor in this vegan gumbo recipe are vegetables such as garlic and onion as well as spices like cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika. For the paprika, make sure to use the smoked variety and not the sweet kind to give this Gumbo a nice smoky and umami flavor that is hard to replicate otherwise. And the main bulk of this soup recipe comes from the chickpeas, bell peppers, celery, tomatoes, peas, and okra, which is pictured below.
Okra is an unusual vegetable that quite frankly I didn’t even know existed until a couple months ago. But, this veggie is a staple in Cajun and Creole recipes and can be used in many different ways. In this recipe, the okra is dry-fried on a pan until it gets nice and blistered before being used to garnish the Gumbo. Okra has a slightly gummy texture that is used in many recipes as a natural way to thicken a sauce or soup, but it is also a fantastic source of antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins!
Recipe
Smoky Vegan Gumbo
Ingredients
- 2-3 bell peppers of any color
- 3 stalks celery
- 1 white onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp peanut oil (or sub with a neutral oil)
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (½ tsp for less spicy version)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ⅓ cup red wine
- 1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 15 oz can chickpeas
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 7 oz okra
- 2 jalapeños (opt)
Instructions
- To prepare the vegetables, start by thinly dicing the onion, bell peppers, and celery, and by mincing the garlic. Once finished, on a large pan over medium-high heat, allow the oil to heat up for 1-2 minutes. Add in the flour and mix together to form a roux (it should look a little bit like a paste) and allow the mixture to cook and turn a dark golden brown. Make sure to stir every couple seconds to prevent the roux from getting burnt.
- Next, add in the chopped vegetables to the roux and toss in the bay leaf, thyme leaves (removed from the stem), and stir everything together to evenly coat everything. Continue stirring every 10-20 seconds and cook the vegetables for about 10 minutes. The vegetables should start to caramelize and turn a dark golden brown color.
- Add the salt, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, and wine to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low to simmer everything together. After 3 to 5 minutes, or once the liquid has reduced by half, add in the crushed tomatoes and chickpeas, with the juice, and cover the pan. Let it simmer for another 20 minutes, and add in the frozen peas. Let it simmer another 5-7 minutes uncovered. Meanwhile, on a non-stick pan, blister the okra by cooking it for about 3-5 minutes on each side until it looks slightly charred. This step does not require any cooking oil. And, if you are using the jalapeño, dice up the jalapeño to serve along with the Gumbo. Once the Gumbo is done simmering, serve it along with white rice and top it with the blistered okra and freshly chopped jalapeño. For some extra protein, top it with some tofu as well.
Curious for more?
Check out some of my other recipes including vegan cheesy lasagna, spicy vegan tacos, lentil veggie burgers, and the best vegan chili! Or, if you’re looking for some more southern inspired plant-based recipes check out my previous post on how to make Hoppin’ John, a spicy rice and bean dish. Plus, remember to subscribe down below to get updates when new recipes are posted, and check out my new youtube channel, ecofoodstuff. I have yet to make a video for this recipe, but so far I’ve finished a video for my vegan pancake recipe and sweet potato chili which is embedded below!
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