One-Pot Vegan Jambalaya with Kidney Beans and Smoky Mushrooms
One pot vegan jambalaya with seared smoky mushrooms, kidney beans, the Cajun holy trinity and tender rice, all simmered in one pot in about 45 minutes.
- Prep
- 12 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Rest
- 5 min
- Serves
- 4
One-Pot Vegan Jambalaya with Kidney Beans and Smoky Mushrooms is a vegan dinner recipe made with olive oil, cremini mushrooms, soy sauce or tamari. It takes 47 minutes of hands-on time, plus 5 minutes resting, serves 4, and each serving has 465 calories, 15 g of protein and 10 g of fiber.
Searing the mushrooms hard before anything else goes in the pot gives them browned, meaty edges, and a splash of soy sauce with smoked paprika stands in for the andouille. The raw rice cooks right in the tomato-broth base, so it soaks up all the seasoning while it softens. Canned kidney beans go in at the end so they hold their shape instead of turning mushy.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp27 golive oil, divided
- 8 oz227 gcremini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tbsp16 gsoy sauce or tamari
- 1 medium110 gyellow onion, diced
- 1 large155 ggreen bell pepper, diced
- 2 80 gcelery ribs, diced
- 4 cloves12 ggarlic, minced
- 1 tbsp16 gtomato paste
- 2 tsp4.6 gsmoked paprika
- 1 tsp1 gdried oregano
- 1 tsp1.4 gdried thyme
- ¼ tsp0.5 gcayenne pepper (use 1/2 tsp for more heat)
- ¼ tsp0.6 gblack pepper
- ½ tsp3 gsalt, plus more to taste
- 1½ cups278 glong-grain white rice, rinsed and drained
- 1 can411 gdiced tomatoes with their juice (14.5 oz)
- 2½ cups600 gvegetable broth, plus extra as needed
- 1 0.2 gbay leaf
- 1 can240 gcanned red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (15 oz)
- 3 45 ggreen onions, thinly sliced (optional)
- 2 tbsp7.6 gfresh parsley, chopped (optional)
- 1 tsp5 gLouisiana-style hot sauce, for serving (optional)
Kit: large Dutch oven or heavy pot with lid (5–6 qt), fine-mesh strainer
Tips
- Rinse the rice until the water runs mostly clear. Getting rid of the surface starch helps the grains stay separate instead of turning gummy.
- Don't crowd the mushrooms or stir them too soon. Leaving them alone in a hot pot is what gives them their browned, meaty flavor.
- Tomato acidity slows rice down, so cooking times vary by brand. Go by how the grains taste rather than the clock.
- Heavy-bottomed pots hold heat best. If yours is thin, put it on your smallest burner for the simmer so the bottom doesn't scorch.
Swap ideas
- Use black-eyed peas or pinto beans instead of kidney beans
- Black-eyed peas are softer and earthier. Pintos are creamier. The timing stays the same.
- Use 2 tsp Cajun seasoning instead of the paprika, oregano, thyme and cayenne
- It's faster to measure, but many blends are salty, so skip the added salt and season at the end.
- Add 1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce with the broth
- It adds a deeper savory, slightly tangy flavor that goes well with the smoky mushrooms.
- Stir in 1 cup sliced okra with the trinity
- It's a classic Creole addition and makes the rice a little thicker and silkier.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
465kcal per serving
Everything else · 4 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 1.3 g 7%
- Sugars
- 8.4 g
- Sodium
- 1103 mg 48%
- Potassium
- 1081 mg 23%
- Calcium
- 125 mg 10%
- Iron
- 7 mg 39%
- Vitamin C
- 68 mg 76%
- Vitamin B12
- 0.06 µg 3%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Oil, olive, salad or cooking, Mushrooms, brown, italian, or crimini, raw, Soy sauce made from soy and wheat (shoyu), Onions, raw, Peppers, sweet, red, raw, Celery, raw, Garlic, raw, Tomato products, canned, paste, without salt added (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), Spices, paprika, Spices, oregano, dried, Spices, thyme, dried, Spices, pepper, red or cayenne, Spices, pepper, black, Salt, table, Rice, white, long-grain, regular, raw, enriched, Tomatoes, red, ripe, canned, packed in tomato juice, Soup, vegetable broth, ready to serve, Spices, bay leaf, Beans, kidney, red, mature seeds, cooked, boiled, without salt
Method
Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Spread the mushrooms in one layer and cook without stirring for 3 minutes. Then stir and keep cooking until they're deep golden and any liquid has cooked off, 3–4 minutes more. Add the soy sauce and stir until it's absorbed, about 30 seconds. Move the mushrooms to a plate.
Lower the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 tbsp oil, then the onion, bell pepper, celery and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring now and then, until soft and the onion is translucent, 5–6 minutes.
Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, smoked paprika, oregano, thyme, cayenne, black pepper and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until it smells fragrant and the paste turns brick red, about 1 minute.
Add the rinsed rice and stir for 1 minute to coat the grains in the spiced oil. Pour in the diced tomatoes with their juice and the broth, add the bay leaf and the mushrooms, and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
Bring to a boil. Stir once, cover, turn the heat to low and simmer undisturbed for 18–20 minutes, until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid and the grains are nearly tender.
Uncover and taste a few grains. If the rice is still firm and the pot looks dry, add 1/4 cup more broth, cover and cook 3–5 minutes more. If it's soupy, simmer uncovered for a few minutes until thick.
Gently fold in the kidney beans. Take the pot off the heat, cover, and let it sit for 5 minutes so the beans warm through and the rice finishes steaming.
Remove the bay leaf, fluff with a fork and season with salt to taste. Serve topped with green onions and parsley, with hot sauce on the side.
Storage: Cool it within 1 hour and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. To reheat, add a splash of broth or water, cover, and warm on the stovetop or in the microwave until steaming hot all the way through. It freezes for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Questions
- How much protein is in one-pot vegan jambalaya with kidney beans and smoky mushrooms?
- Each of the 4 servings has 15 g of protein, 10 g of fiber and 465 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is one-pot vegan jambalaya with kidney beans and smoky mushrooms vegan?
- Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
- How long does one-pot vegan jambalaya with kidney beans and smoky mushrooms take to make?
- 12 minutes of prep and 35 minutes of cooking, so 47 minutes of hands-on time, plus 5 minutes of unattended resting.
- Can you make one-pot vegan jambalaya with kidney beans and smoky mushrooms ahead?
- Cool it within 1 hour and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. To reheat, add a splash of broth or water, cover, and warm on the stovetop or in the microwave until steaming hot all the way through. It freezes for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge before reheating.
- What can I substitute in one-pot vegan jambalaya with kidney beans and smoky mushrooms?
- Use black-eyed peas or pinto beans instead of kidney beans — black-eyed peas are softer and earthier. pintos are creamier. the timing stays the same.. Use 2 tsp Cajun seasoning instead of the paprika, oregano, thyme and cayenne — it's faster to measure, but many blends are salty, so skip the added salt and season at the end.. Add 1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce with the broth — it adds a deeper savory, slightly tangy flavor that goes well with the smoky mushrooms.. Stir in 1 cup sliced okra with the trinity — it's a classic creole addition and makes the rice a little thicker and silkier..
- Does one-pot vegan jambalaya with kidney beans and smoky mushrooms contain gluten?
- Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published October 9, 2026 ·Cajun/Creole