Best Vegan Paella

Full of color and simple flavors, this Spanish inspired Vegan Paella is loaded with veggies and an eye-catching centerpiece for the table! No need to have a paella pan, you can use a large pot or dutch oven too.

Vegetable paella has been a part of our Christmas dinner for the last few years, and I thought it was time to share the recipe!

Vegan

This amazing vegetable filled vegan paella is loaded with tender vegetables, Spanish rice and spices and is perfect for large and small gatherings!

Vegan Paella (caribbean Paella)

My hope is to ensure that no matter what the situation you can make this vegan paella with ease. It’s very flexible and a great meal to have on the rotation!

In this recipe, a mix of vegetables are sauteed then simmered with Spanish rice and spices in broth until the rice is just tender, creating an easy vegan paella that everyone will love.

The Vegetables. This recipe calls for bell peppers, artichokes, green beans, peas and tomatoes for a colorful and easily accessible mix of veggies. You can also easily change-up some of the vegetables using asparagus, olives, capers, ets. You could even add chickpeas or sliced vegan sausage for variation.

Yotam Ottolenghi's Multi Vegetable Paella (from Our Archives)

The Rice. Paella rice should cook up al dente, not mushy. For traditional paella use a short to medium grain, round rice such as Valencia or arborio.

Saffron is what will give the rice its golden hue and unique aroma. I purchase my saffron from Trader Joe’s for a very reasonable price at $5.99 for a 0.02 ounce jar. It works well, but if you can’t find saffron for a reasonable price I suggest using turmeric in its place. Turmeric is traditionally known as ‘Indian Saffron’ and will lend a subtle peppery, warm flavor and yellow hue. It’s a great substitute for saffron when making paella.

Traditionally paella consists of a thin layer of rice with ingredients of choice over top. A paella pan has a large, round surface area and shallow slanted sides which allows the rice to spread out. After searching a few options I decided on this carbon steel paella pan from Lodge on Amazon. Carbon steel heats up quickly and cools down fast. It’s a pretty large pan with a 15 inch diameter and worked great on the burner with a little rotation.

Authentic Spanish Vegetable Paella

No, if you don’t have a paella pan you can still make a delicious paella using a large skillet, dutch oven, or pot with a diameter of at least 12 inches would be ideal. That is how my mom makes it and its excellent none the less!

Here’s a look at the steps with photos to use as reference. (Note – The full printable recipe is at the bottom of this post)

If you end up with leftover paella, there’s no reason to waste it by throwing it away. Instead, store it in the refrigerator or freezer for later, it reheats well too.

Vegetarian

Recipe For A Authentic Spanish Vegan Paella

You can eat your vegetable paella straight from the pan, as is typical, or serve alongside some leafy greens with a big squeeze of lemon over top. Here are a few more of my favorite options:

If you try this vegetable paella recipe or have a question, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.

Full of color and simple flavors, this vegan Spanish paella recipe is loaded with veggies and makes an eye catching centerpiece for the table! No need to have a paella pan, you can use a large pot or dutch oven.

Easy Vegetarian Paella Recipe

Steep saffron: In a small bowl, add the saffron threads to 3 tablespoons warm water, let set 10 minutes to steep. If using turmeric, skip this step and add turmeric with the other spices.

Saute: Heat olive oil/broth over medium heat in a large wide flat-bottomed pan or paella pan (a dutch oven or large pot would also suffice). Add onions and bell peppers, cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, green beans, tomatoes, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes and bay leaves, cook another 3 minutes stirring frequently. For softer veggies, cook another 7 minutes or so, totaling 10 minutes after adding the latter ingredients.

Best

Add rice + broth: Add in the rice, broth, saffron mixture/turmeric and salt. Gently move the vegetables around so the rice falls to the bottom of the pan as much as possible.

Authentic Vegetable Paella

Boil + simmer: Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium or medium-low and cook at a continuous gentle boil, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Do not stir the rice. If using a large paella pan (15 inches or so) you’ll want to rotate the pan over the burner every so often to help cook the rice evenly. Stay in the kitchen and clean up so you’re right there to adjust the pan when needed. If liquids seem to boil off too quickly, add a little extra warm water/broth.

Add peas and artichokes: After 15 minutes of cooking, scatter the peas and artichoke hearts on top, cook for 5 minutes more.

Cover to steam: Turn off heat and cover for 10 minutes with a kitchen towel or other cover of choice. This will allow the rice to absorb any remaining liquid as well as steam the peas and warm the artichoke hearts and any other optional ingredients added as noted below. Once done, lightly fluff the rice and serve. Discard bay leaves before eating. Season with salt, pepper or more paprika to taste.

Vegetarian Paella With Roast Peppers, Peas And Potatoes — Madeleine Shaw

Serve: Garnish with chopped parsley. Pairs perfectly with a side of leafy greens and a big squeeze of lemon over top. Enjoy straight from the pan or serve in individual bowls.

Vegetarian

Add protein: For added protein, add 1 can (15 oz.), drained and rinsed, or 1 1/2 cups cooked cannellini or great northern beans. You may also consider adding 2 sliced vegan sausages, Tofurky or Field Roast. Add the beans/sausage when adding the peas and artichoke hearts.

Pan suggestions: No need to use a paella pan, you can use a dutch oven or other large pot to cook your paella. The reason for using a paella pan is to have a thin layer of rice that hopefully crisps up a bit, with the vegetables over top. You can still achieve this with the other vessels mentioned above. I used this paella pan and found this cover to be helpful with the large-sized pan.

Easy Vegetable Paella Recipe

Go for the socarrat: If you like to get the socarrat (a caramelized layer of toasted rice at the bottom of the pan), at the end of cooking, turn the heat up for 1 -2 minutes listening for the sizzle or smell of toasted (not burnt) rice. The rice at the bottom of the pan will crispen up making for a crispy texture. It’s quite a treat!

To serve 6 – 8, use 2 cups (16 oz.) rice and 4 1/2 cups broth/water. No need to add more vegetables (but you can if you want). Note that the paella pan I used will easily accommodate this larger amount.

Updated: Vegetable Vegan Paella was originally published in January 2016. It has been updated with new photos and helpful tips in May 2020.Happy weekend, guys! Mine is going to be a busy one. On Saturday, I am attending my third day-long pottery workshop, which I am super stoked about. I am looking forward to honing my skills and also picking up the bowls I made last time. I cannot wait to see what they will look like once fired and glazed. After the workshop, I am hopping out of my clay-stained clothes and into something more presentable as we are going to a restaurant with Duncan’s family, to celebrate Duncan’s niece turning 21. Sunday will be spent doing chores of various descriptions and running so I won’t bore you with details, but you get the gist – a mixture of fun stuff and less so is on the agenda.

Vegan

Vegetable Paella Recipe

We are not planning on any entertaining this weekend, but if you are I recommend that you try this vegan paella on your guests! Despite its pretty elaborate and somewhat luxurious appearance, it is actually deceptively simple to make. It’s all about learning to cook the rice to perfection using visual cues alone. If you have a paella pan, dust it off and you are set, but if you don’t, just use a regular pan. I actually tried to get myself a paella dish, but I could not find anything suitable. I found one that was way too big for my needs and another that was coated in teflon, which I did not like, so I resorted to using my regular, stainless steel pan and it worked just fine. A pan with a tight fitting lid would be even better here as resting the rice at the end of the cooking time is key.

Once you’ve got your pan covered, make sure you have the correct type of rice to hand. If paella rice (there are quite a few varieties: senia, bomba or bahfa) isn’t available, most short-grain rice varieties will do. I used the widely available risotto rice