This vegan paella is amazing! It’s bursting with flavor, fresh veggies and spices and so delicious that no one will miss the seafood!
A friend of ours who has spent a LOT of time in Spain tasted this vegan paella and said yep, this is really good paella and the flavors are spot on. She said you would barely even notice there’s no seafood in it. So that’s a win!
To me this is just a really tasty dish that is also surprisingly easy. So bring it on.
And if you love super tasty rice dishes, check out our vegan fried rice too. And for more vegan seafood-y recipes try our vegan shrimp and vegan scallops.
How To Make Vegan Paella
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Start off by heating some vegetable stock in a saucepan. While it’s heating break up saffron threads by crumbling it into the stock with your fingers.
- When the stock begins to simmer let it simmer for one minute and then turn the heat way down and just keep it warm while you continue with the rest of the recipe.
- Add olive oil to a paella pan along with chopped onion and red bell pepper. Sauté until softened.
- Add sliced portobello mushrooms and sliced marinated artichokes and sauté until softened.
- Then add chopped tomato, capers, crushed garlic, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, dried thyme and cayenne pepper and sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Now add Spanish paella rice and a little more olive oil to the pan. Stir to mix everything together so that the rice is well coated. Cook for 1 minute to lightly toast the rice, stirring it occasionally to spread the rice evenly across the pan.
- Add in the prepared vegetable stock with saffron threads and add some salt and pepper. Don’t stir now as this will make the rice release starch and become creamy and we don’t want that in a paella.
- Bring the pan to a simmer and let it simmer for two minutes. Then turn down the heat to a mild simmer for around 20 minute until the rice is cooked. You will see the stock reducing in the pan. Keep an eye on the rice as the stock reduces.
- When the stock has cooked off use a spoon to gently check to see that there is no liquid at the bottom of the pan. The rice should be soft but firm. There may be rice at the edges of the pan that is a little undercooked but this is okay.
- Remove the pan from the heat. Add thawed frozen peas to the top of the rice, don’t mix them in.
- Cover the pan with foil and let the paella rest for 10 minutes.
- Remove the foil and top with fresh chopped parsley and lemon wedges and serve!
Recipe Q&A
What kind of rice is best for paella? The best kind of rice for paella is a Spanish rice called Bomba Rice. It can also sometimes be called Calasparra Rice (so named because of the region of Spain that it is grown). You can purchase bomba rice on Amazon.
If you can’t get bomba rice then you can use risotto rice (arborio rice) in a pinch as it’s the next best thing as a substitute.
Do you have to have a paella pan to make vegan paella? A paella pan is handy to have if you think you’ll be making paella often, but you can also just use a large skillet/frying pan.
The trick to it is making sure that your pan is large and wide enough so that the rice can spread out evenly and it all cooks evenly. Our paella pan is 12-inches wide so if you’re using a regular skillet/frying pan just make sure that it is a similar width.
Chef’s Tips
Vegetable stock with saffron threads. Your paella cooks in vegetable stock with saffron threads and this is where it gets a lot of flavor. Vegetable stock and vegetable broth are interchangeable. The saffron threads also give your paella that gorgeous yellow color! We were able to find our saffron threads easily but if you have any trouble, you can also get saffron threads on Amazon. If you really can’t get it, you can substitute turmeric but it won’t have the same flavor.
Don’t stir your paella. This is really one of the most crucial tips. Paella is very unlike risotto in that you don’t want it to be creamy. Once the vegetable stock goes in you must not stir it at all. You want the paella to develop a bit of a crust on the bottom, this is called the soccarat and it’s really delicious.
Storing and Freezing
Store your leftover paella in the fridge where it stays good for 4-5 days.
You can freeze it but it is possible that the rice could get a little mushy once thawed after freezing. However, it’s not a big problem so if you do want to freeze it you can do so.
More Delicious Vegan Dinner Recipes
- Vegan Fried Rice
- Vegan Mushroom Risotto
- Vegan Stuffed Peppers
- Vegan Minestrone Soup
- Vegan Buddha Bowls
- Vegan Jambalaya
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Paella
Ingredients
- 4 cups Vegetable Stock (960ml)
- 1 teaspoon Saffron Threads Crumbled
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil Divided
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 1 Medium Red Bell Pepper Chopped
- 2 Large Portobello Mushrooms Sliced
- ⅔ cup Marinated Artichoke Hearts (165g) Quartered
- 1 Large Tomato Diced
- 2 Tablespoons Capers
- 2 Tablespoons Crushed Garlic
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Sweet Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1 ½ cups Spanish Bomba Rice (300g) Uncooked
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt
- ½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1 cup Frozen Peas (134g) Thawed
For Serving:
- Lemon Wedges
- Chopped Parsley
Instructions
- Add the vegetable stock to a saucepan and heat. While it’s heating break up the saffron threads by crumbling it into the stock with your fingers. When the stock begins to simmer let it simmer for one minute and then turn the heat way down and just keep it warm while you continue with the recipe.
- Add 2 Tablespoons of olive oil to a paella pan* along with the chopped onion and red bell pepper. Sauté until softened.
- Add in the sliced portobello mushrooms and marinated artichokes and sauté until softened.
- Add in the tomato, capers, crushed garlic, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, dried thyme and cayenne pepper and sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Add the Spanish rice and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Stir to mix everything together so that the rice is well coated. Cook for 1 minute to lightly toast the rice, stirring it occasionally to spread the rice evenly across the pan.
- Add in the prepared vegetable stock with saffron threads and the salt and pepper. Don’t stir it now.
- Bring the pan to a simmer and let it simmer for two minutes.
- Now turn down the heat to a mild simmer for around 20 minutes until the rice is cooked. You will see the stock reducing in the pan. Keep an eye on the rice as the stock reduces.
- When the stock has cooked off use a spoon to gently check to see that there is no liquid at the bottom of the pan. The rice should be soft but firm. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Add the thawed frozen peas to the top of the rice, don’t mix them in.
- Cover the pan with foil and let the paella rest for 10 minutes.
- Remove the foil and top with fresh chopped parsley and lemon wedges and serve!
Notes
- If you don’t have a paella pan then you can use a regular skillet or frying pan, just make sure that it is wide enough so that the paella rice can cook evenly. Our paella pan is 12-inches round.
- Keep leftover paella covered in the fridge where it will stay good for 4-5 days.
I haven’t tried paella before and I just happened to buy some saffron last year so I stocked up and got everything together for this recipe. That said, it took 2 hours from start to finish and well worth the time. The flavors in this are fantastic! When I cook sometimes my taste-buds talk to me and this is one of those flavors to add to my arsenal! I did not deviate from the recipe. However, I did not buy the Bomba rice from Amazon so I replaced the short grain rice with President’s Choice organic arborio rice. I really wanted to stir the rice but didn’t and it worked out perfectly! One meal in a pan, woo hoo! The 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper was a surprising heat but I love heat. So if you don’t like a pepper hot dish then omit or reduce the amount. Just don’t skimp out on the parsley and lemon! The citrus is perfect for this savory dish. Yes it does serve six, but there’s only 2 of us so I froze the leftovers. This recipe made my day!
Yay! Thanks for the wonderful comment Julie! So happy to hear you enjoyed it. 🙂
The spices and overall flavor profile are perfect! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the spices you use! I had trouble with rice to broth ratio. Are we supposed to add water as needed while rice cooks?
Awesome Holly! So happy you enjoyed the flavors! It’s supposed to cook at a low simmer but it is good to keep an eye on the stock levels as it cooks, if it cooks off too fast then the heat is likely too high, but you can add extra stock if it’s cooked off too fast and the rice isn’t cooked yet.
That was fantastic even though I made it a bit watery by forgetting the lid on for first 10 mins. The flavour is absolutely brilliant!
I am doing Orthodox Lent this year which entails a vegan diet for 6 weeks and I am total vegan newbie. This, however, I will be making again and again 🙂 Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the great review!