Healthy Recipes | Vegetarian Gumbo

This Vegetarian Gumbo recipe is easy to make, loaded up with tons of savory veggies, and tastes SO rich and delicious.

I know that I’m the girl who’s usually all about easy, breezy, speedy soup recipes.  But this time of year, I’m always happy to make an exception to spend some quality time by the stove, stirring and stirring and patiently stirring a roux some more until it reaches that perfectly dark, toasty, magical hue.  Because when it comes to a killer pot of gumbo, there are no shortcuts.  (And you don’t want them.)  Gimme the real deal gumbo…with seconds, please!

This vegan gumbo recipe is hearty, savory, filling and warming. With a mix of beans, mushrooms and okra, this vegetarian gumbo is cheap to make and full of flavour. Starting with a dark, rich roux, key herbs and spices, and a secret umami ingredient, it’s hard to believe that this vegan gumbo doesn’t have any meat in it!

With the exceptional success of my vegan jambalaya recipe, creating a vegan gumbo recipe was a no-brainer. I must have looked at about fifty recipes for gumbo and ended up more confused than I was before.

Since okra is used to thicken gumbo, whether or not to do a roux was the first decision I had to make. I decided to go ahead with a roux for the deep, nutty flavour that it would add to a meatless gumbo and sauté the okra to remove most of the slime that grosses lots of people out.

Vegetarian Gumbo

Prep time: 20 Minutes

Cook time: 40 Minutes 

Total time: 60 Minutes

Yield: 8 -10 Servings 1X

Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons Creole or Cajun seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or more/less to taste
• 1 bay leaf
• fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
• optional topping: thinly-sliced green onions
• 1 cup fresh or frozen chopped okra
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 small head of cauliflower, cored and chopped into florets
• 1 pound (16 ounces) baby bella or button mushrooms, diced
• 1 (14 ounce) can fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1/2 cup butter (or oil)
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 medium red bell peppers, cored and diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 small white onion, peeled and diced

Instructions:

1. First, Heat butter in a large heavy-bottomed pot (I used a Dutch oven) over medium-high heat until melted.  Whisk in flour until combined.  Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for about 20 minutes, or until the roux mixture reaches a dark amber-brown color.  Keep a very close eye on the roux at all times, turning the heat down a bit if it seems to be cooking too quickly or starts to faintly smell burnt.
2. Second, Once the roux is ready, immediately stir in the bell peppers, celery, onion, okra and garlic until combined.  Continue to cook, stirring every 10-15 seconds, until the vegetables have softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Next, Stir in the vegetable stock gradually until the broth is smooth.  Then add in the cauliflower, mushrooms, tomatoes, seasoning, thyme, cayenne and bay leaf.  Stir until combined, and continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and let the gumbo continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.  Taste, and season with extra salt, pepper and/or cayenne if needed.
5. Serve warm over rice, garnished with lots of green onions.  Or transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Notes:

• *If you would like your broth to be extra rich and creamy, feel free to stir an extra tablespoon or two of butter into the broth just before serving.  So good!

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