This Vegan/Vegetarian Spanish rice recipe called Paella is a wholesome dish that you will love! You can easily make Paella in the Instant Pot or on the stovetop. The caramelized crust, distinctive aroma, and deep flavors make this an irresistible meal! It's the perfect meal to enjoy with your loved ones.
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What is Paella
It's a traditional Spanish rice-based dish that's mostly prepared on the grill or open fire. This rice dish is made with chicken, rice, spices, and plenty of seafood. A good authentic paella does take a bit of time, but it is a labor of love and the results could not be tastier! Paella is pronounced like “pai-ei-uh”. Fun fact - Paella is a Valencian word that means frying pan, from which the dish gets its name.
Vegan Paella Recipe
There are many versions of Paella and my version is meatless, loaded with veggies and protein. But I have tried to keep the authenticity of the recipe intact by using the same spices. This indulgent vegan Paella recipe has a mildly sweet, spicy, and salty flavor. It is hearty, aromatic, and full of addictive flavors. It is very similar to Risotto.
Why make this
- It's a vegan and gluten-free Spanish rice recipe
- Paella can easily be made in the Instant Pot
- Extremely flavorful
- One-pot meal
- Very easy to make
- Needs basic pantry essentials
- A hearty rice meal
Ingredients needed 🧾
Rice - To make paella you need any short grain rice, such as Valencian, Calasparra, Senia, Bahia, or Bomba. Aborio rice will also work.
This type of rice is going to do the best job of absorbing liquid (flavor) from the dish.
Tomatoes - You need a can of Tuttorosso® Petite Diced Tomatoes for this recipe. Instant Pot Italian Chili, Tomato Cheddar Scones, and Instant Pot Minestrone Soup are some other recipes where I have used Tuttorosso.
Veggies and beans - onions, bell pepper, garlic, mushrooms, and chickpeas are what I have used. This will make the vegan paella more hearty and filling.
Spices and herbs - oregano, turmeric, smoked paprika, black pepper, and parsley are some of the basic spices you need to make this paella delicious.
Saffron is one of the key ingredients in this vegan rice recipe. Use good quality saffron. Freshly squeezed lemon juice is also added to finish the dish.
What pan to use
Traditional Spanish paella is made on a grill using a paella pan that is a wide, round, and shallow dish with handles on two sides.
No worries if you don't have one, you can also use the Our place pan or the Le Creuset Pan to make this vegan Spanish rice. Basically, it needs to be a large, shallow pan.
Another great alternative is to make this vegan/vegetarian Paella recipe in an Instant Pot.
How to make it 🔪
Stovetop method
- Warm vegetable stock in a saucepan. Add saffron too. Take it off the flame just before the stock comes to a boil.
- Mix rice, smoked paprika, turmeric, oregano, salt, and pepper in a small mixing bowl. Set it aside.
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- In a pan, add olive oil. Fry garlic and onions. Cook for 1-2 minutes or till the onions turn translucent.
- Then add mushrooms and cook for another 3-4 minutes or till the veggies are done.
- Add bell pepper, drained, and rinsed chickpeas. Cook for 2-3 more minutes.
- Add the Tuttorosso Petite Diced Tomatoes along with the juice in the can and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture thickens slightly (around 5-6 minutes).
- To the center of the pan add the rice mixture. Stir the rice to coat, for about 1 minute.
- Pour the warm vegetable stock over the rice. Make sure all of the rice is submerged, use the back of a spoon if necessary to push it down into the liquid.
- Bring to a simmer without stirring. Lower the flame to medium.
- Close the lid and cook until the rice is almost cooked 15-18 minutes. If you feel the liquid is boiling away too quickly you may add about a ½ cup of the warm stock as needed.
- Remove the lid and continue cooking, checking the bottom of the rice with a metal spoon or spatula until the rice forms a golden crust (socarrat).
- This will take anywhere from 10-15 minutes depending upon the heat.
- Do not move too much of the rice, just a small amount to check. You may hear the crackling or sizzling of the rice, that is what you want. Just make sure it doesn't burn.
- Remove the pan from the flame and let the paella rest covered for 10 minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with lemon juice/wedges/slices.
Instant Pot method
- Turn on the Instant Pot in Saute mode. Add minced garlic and chopped onions to the pot. Saute till the onions turn translucent. Add a splash of water when it starts to stick.
- Then add the mushrooms and drained chickpeas to the pot. Mix and cook for 1-2 minutes or till the mushrooms are done.
- Cancel the Saute mode, then add the rice, smoked paprika, turmeric, salt, black pepper, and oregano. Stir well.
- Add a can of Tuttoroso Petite Diced Tomatoes and mix again.
- Pour in the broth along with saffron and stir well to combine.
- Close the pot with the lid. Keep the valve in a sealing position. Cook on high pressure for 23 minutes on manual mode. Release the pressure naturally and then open the lid.
- Add the bell pepper. Close the pot with the lid again. Cook on high pressure for a minute on manual mode. Release pressure naturally.
- Garnish with parsley and lemon juice. Instant Pot Paella is ready to be served.
Serving suggestions 🍽
Traditionally, Paella is eaten straight from the pan in which it's cooked with each person using their own wooden spoon to dig in. It's meant to be enjoyed together.
However, you can serve it on individual plates. Vegan Paella can be served for lunches, dinners, brunches, potlucks, parties, date nights,
What to serve it with
You can serve this veggie Paella with Air-Fried Green Beans, Cherub Tomatoes Salad, Tomato Cheddar Scones, Cucumber Lemonade, or Cherry Lemon Iced Tea.
Top recipe tips 💭
For a more juicy flavor, grill some mushrooms, bell peppers, and green peas separately and then add them as garnish.
Instead of homemade vegetable broth, you can also use water or low-sodium broth from the stores. If using store-bought stock, taste and then add salt to the Paella.
When cooking on the stovetop, it's very important to not stir paella at all once the broth has been added to the pan.
Recipe FAQs 📖
Traditional Spanish paella is made on a grill using a paella pan that is a wide, round, and shallow dish with handles on two sides.
No worries if you don't have one, you can also use the Our place pan or the Le Creuset Pan to make it. Basically, it needs to be a large, shallow pan.
Another great alternative is to make this vegan/vegetarian Paella recipe in an Instant Pot.
Instead of chickpeas, you can also add any other beans or soya chunks. You can also add more veggies like green peas, cauliflower, squash, artichokes, and green beans.
To make a vegan/vegetarian Spanish paella recipe, you need short-grain rice, such as Valencian, Calasparra, Senia, Bahia, or Bomba. Aborio rice would also work.
Short-grain rice can absorb more water before becoming mushy, which helps achieve the perfect, dry texture.
However, you can use even regular rice but that will take away from the authenticity of this vegan Spanish rice recipe. The flavoring will change.
Paella once cooled, is perfect for the freezer and reheat for later. It also stays well in the fridge for 4-5 days.
More rice recipes
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Recipe 📖
Vegan Paella Recipe
Equipment
- 1 pan
Ingredients
For the stock
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- ¼ teaspoon saffron
To prep the rice
- 1 cup Valencian rice short grain rice
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tsp oregano
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- salt
To prepare the Paella
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 8 oz mushrooms
- 1 bell pepper
- 15.5 oz can of chickpeas
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can Tuttorosso® Petite Diced Tomatoes
- ½ cup more stock or water if needed
- 2 tablespoon parsley
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
Stovetop method
- Warm vegetable stock in a saucepan. Add saffron too. Take it off the flame just before the stock comes to a boil.
- Mix rice, smoked paprika, turmeric, oregano, salt, and pepper in a small mixing bowl. Set it aside.
- In a pan, add olive oil. Fry garlic and onions. Cook for 1-2 minutes or till the onions turn translucent.
- Then add mushrooms and cook for another 3-4 minutes or till the veggies are done.
- Add bell pepper, and the chickpeas, rinsed and drained. Cook for 2-3 more minutes.
- Add the Tuttorosso Petite Diced Tomatoes along with the juice from the can and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture thickens slightly (around 5-6 minutes).
- To the center of the pan add the rice mixture. Stir the rice to coat, for about 1 minute.
- Pour the warm vegetable stock over the rice. Make sure all of the rice is submerged. Use the back of a spoon if necessary to push it down into the liquid. Bring to a simmer without stirring. Lower the flame to medium.
- Close the lid and cook until the rice is almost cooked 15-18 minutes. If you feel the liquid is boiling away too quickly you may add about a ½ cup of the warm stock as needed.
- Remove the lid and continue cooking, checking the bottom of the rice with a metal spoon or spatula until the rice forms a golden crust (socarrat). This will take anywhere from 10-15 minutes depending upon the heat.
- Do not move too much of the rice, just a small amount to check. You may hear the crackling or sizzling of the rice, that is what you want. Just make sure it doesn't burn.
- Remove the pan from the flame and let the paella rest covered for 10 minutes.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with lemon juice/wedges/slices.
Instant Pot Method
- Turn on the Instant Pot in Saute mode. Add minced garlic and chopped onions to the pot. Saute till the onions turn translucent. Add a splash of water when it starts to stick.
- Then add the mushrooms and drained chickpeas to the pot. Mix and cook for 1-2 minutes or till the mushrooms are done.
- Cancel the Saute mode, then add the rice, smoked paprika, turmeric, salt, black pepper, and oregano. Stir well.
- Add a can of Tuttoroso Petite Diced Tomatoes and mix again.
- Pour in the broth along with saffron and stir well to combine.
- Close the pot with the lid. Keep the valve in a sealing position. Cook on high pressure for 23 minutes on manual mode. Release the pressure naturally and then open the lid.
- Add the bell pepper. Close the pot with the lid again. Cook on high pressure for a minute on manual mode. Release pressure naturally.
- Garnish with parsley and lemon juice.
Want to save this recipe?
We'll email this recipe to you, so that you can look at it later!
A S RAMAKRISHNAN says
A must-try recipe! Glad to have found this recipe.
Priya says
Thank you