This healthy Vegan Paella made with chickpeas and veggie sausage is a simple one-pan meal that is packed with protein, veggies, and healthy fats!
There are so many reasons to cook at home. Don’t get me wrong, I love take-out and going to restaurants but sometimes that just isn’t possible. I have spent the past 5 months getting really creative in the kitchen, trying to recreate some of my go-to restaurant meals.
One of my favourites is paella, and while I obviously don’t have a massive outdoor paella pan I figured I could make a homemade healthy vegan paella on the stove at home and make it just (okay, almost) as good.
Traditionally, paella is a rice-based dish that originated in Valencia, Spain. The word paella actually means frying pan so it essentially is a one-pan rice dish cooked with vegetables, aromatics, and either seafood or meat. This vegan paella is my at-home take on the dish. You can check out this post from The Guardian for information about traditional paella.
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works
While not traditional, this homemade vegan paella is pretty darn tasty. Here are some reasons why you need to make this recipe this week:
- It’s weeknight friendly.
- It’s budget friendly.
- Made in one single pan for easy clean up.
- The whole family will love it.
- It’s protein-packed.
Key Ingredients
Vegan Sausage — You can use the “precooked” vegan sausages or ones that require cooking (like Beyond Meat), just make sure they’re browned before you move to the next step.
Saffron — This is what gives paella rice that amazing yellow colour, but if you don’t have this on hand (and it’s pricey so feel free to skip), just add a few pinches of turmeric for an easy hack. If you’ve got both, add both!
Whole Grain Parboiled Brown Rice — You can use any other kind of rice but it will change the cooking time and possibly the liquid as well. If you’re switching things up, keep an eye on the pan to make sure it doesn’t get too dry, and if it does, before the rice is cooked, you can add some more broth.
Chickpeas — This is another great way to add some extra fibre and protein, but you could also omit these or use a different canned bean.
Veggies — Since this is a one pan dish, I like to try to throw in whatever veg I have on hand, and bell peppers, spinach, peas, and sundried tomatoes are super delish in this paella. Feel free to add your own touch to it.
Olives — This gives an automatic Spanish feel, and I LOVE the salty kick. My son is also totally obsessed with olives so it makes this dish a winner every time.
How to Make This Recipe
Step 1: Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to a large cast iron skillet. Add the vegan sausages and cook on both sides until browned.
Step 2: Add another teaspoon of olive oil, along with the onion and garlic, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 3: Add in the cayenne, smoked paprika, and rice and toss in the olive oil.
Step 4: Add broth, saffron, and sundried tomatoes into the saucepan and bring to a boil. Put the lid on, and simmer for 30 min, or until almost all of the broth is absorbed.
Step 5: Remove the lid and add in the chickpeas, bell peppers, spinach, peas, olives, lemon juice and salt and pepper.
Step 6: Cook until the peas have thawed and the spinach is wilted. Top off with parsley, green onions, and lemon wedges.
Expert Tips
The peas can go into the pan frozen, it will cook through in next to no time so there’s no need to thaw them.
If you don’t have smoked paprika, use sweet or regular paprika.
Use the largest pan or skillet you have to make this if you do not have a paella pan. A large pan will allow the rice to cook more evenly.
Make sure all the veggies are chopped relatively evenly with each other. This helps them all cook evenly and you’ll be able to have a bit of everything with every spoonful.
Recipe FAQs
Paella is a very versatile recipe so feel free to use this recipe and add whatever you have on hand. You could do shrimp or other shellfish, regular sausage or chicken thighs if you’re not vegan. You can also add kidney beans or tofu for other sources of protein. Veggies that work great include asparagus, cauliflower, zucchini, squash, sweet potato or snap peas.
You can use whatever you prefer (even regular sausage if you’re not vegan), but when I made this I used Beyond Meat sausages. I have also made this with Yves (cooked) sausage.
It does depend on the sausage you use so use mild sausage if you don’t like heat. It also depends on how much cayenne you add. But generally, by my standards, it’s not really that “spicy”.
Well, my kiddo loves rice and olives so I would say yes, it is definitely kid-friendly. If your kid is very sensitive to spices, then you can dial back on the cayenne.
This recipe makes an amazing batch prepped meal since you can cook it all in one pan (YAY minimal cleanup!) and then divvy it up into containers for the week.
You can make a big batch of this paella and transfer it into freezer containers to be reheated throughout the week. Let the paella cool to almost room temperature, then freeze it immediately. When ready to eat, allow it to thaw in the fridge for an hour just so you can break it up a bit. Then you can reheat it in the microwave or stovetop.
Rice is naturally gluten free so yes, this is not only vegan but also gluten free and dairy free.
More Recipes You Might Like
Want more rice-based recipes like this easy vegan paella for weeknight dinners? Try these ones:
What are some of your favourite ways to use rice? Leave me a comment below if you have tried this veg paella.
Vegan Paella with Chickpeas & Veggie Sausage
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 350-400 g pack of vegan sausage cut into coins
- 1 small Spanish onion finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or more to taste
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- Pinch saffron or 1 tsp turmeric or optionally both
- 1 ½ cups of whole grain parboiled brown rice
- 4 1/4 cups reduced sodium vegetable broth
- 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes
- 1 can 19 oz chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 red pepper finely diced
- 1 cup spinach sliced and lightly packed
- 1 cup peas frozen
- ½ c pimento olives
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
To serve:
- Parsley minced
- Green onions minced
- Lemon wedges
Instructions
- Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to a large cast iron skillet. Add the vegan sausages and cook on both sides until browned.
- Add another teaspoon of olive oil, along with the onion and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the cayenne, smoked paprika, and rice and toss in the olive oil.
- Add broth, saffron, and sundried tomatoes into the saucepan and bring to a boil. Put the lid on, and simmer for 30 min, or until almost all of the broth is absorbed.
- Remove the lid and add in the chickpeas, bell peppers, spinach, peas, olives, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Cook until the peas have thawed and the spinach is wilted.
- Top off with parsley, green onions and lemon wedges.
Notes
- The peas can go into the pan frozen, it will cook through in next to no time so there’s no need to thaw them.
- If you don’t have smoked paprika, use sweet or regular paprika.
- Use the largest pan or skillet you have to make this if you do not have a paella pan. A large pan will allow the rice to cook more evenly.
- Make sure all the veggies are chopped relatively evenly with each other. This helps them all cook evenly and you’ll be able to have a bit of everything with every spoonful.
Nutrition
Abbey Sharp is a Registered Dietitian (RD), regulated by the Ontario College of Dietitians. She is a mom, YouTuber, Blogger, award winning cookbook author, media coach specializing in food and nutrition influencers, and a frequent contributor to national publications like Healthline and on national broadcast TV shows.
Joe Filler says
Easy enough to make very tasty. First attempt at vegan paella. Thx
Claudia says
I made this paella for our family’s dinner last night. The only thing that I changed is that I used regular sausages and chicken broth, because I was out of vegetable broth and did not have vegan sausages. Everyone LOVED it, including me. It is easy to make, nutritious and tasty. I’ll definitively make it again!