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–+ servings
Overhead shot of vegan paella in a paella pan.

VEGAN PAELLA

Plant-Based Passport
Our Vegan Paella is definitely a weekend labor of love, but its deep, rich flavors will be worth your efforts!
5 from 8 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Course paella, rice dish, Spanish cuisine, Spanish food, weekend project
Cuisine European, Spanish
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

For the sofrito:

  • 4 Roma tomatoes
  • 1 onion sliced thinly
  • ⅓ teaspoon organic granulated sugar
  • ⅓ teaspoon salt
  • ⅓ teaspoon sweet paprika
  • ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 bay leaf

For the paella:

  • ⅓ cup homemade sofrito see recipe above, or substitutions in recipe notes below.
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 5 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 ¼ cup mushrooms (4 ounces), sliced
  • ¼ cup roasted red bell pepper (jarred), sliced into 1-inch strips
  • ½ cup canned artichoke hearts drained and sliced
  • 1 15-oz can cannellini beans drained
  • ¼ cup green peas
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon saffron crushed
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 vegan chicken bouillon cube or substitute 1 teaspoon vegan chicken bouillon paste
  • 1 cup dry white wine vegan friendly
  • 1 cup bomba rice or substitute calasparra rice
  • salt to taste
  • freshly cracked black pepper

To garnish:

  • lemon wedges
  • ¼ cup roasted red bell pepper sliced into 1-inch strips
  • parsley
  • 1 Tablespoon black olives pitted and sliced

Instructions
 

Make the Sofrito: 

  • Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onions, sugar, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and golden brown—about 45 minutes. 
  • While the onions are cooking, prepare the tomatoes. Slice them in half, then grate the sides of the tomatoes in a food processor or with a box grater. Discard the skins.
  • When the onions are caramelized, stir in the tomato purée, paprika, and bay leaf and cook for another 20 minutes over medium heat. The sofrito is ready when the tomatoes are completely broken down and have turned an almost rust color, and the oil has separated. Remove from the heat and discard the bay leaf. (Note: This recipe makes 1 ⅓ cups of sofrito, which is enough for 4 batches of paella. You'll need only ⅓ cup for each batch, so freeze the remainder for future paella parties :)

Make the Paella:

  • In a wide-bottomed pan or paella pan, heat ¼ cup of olive oil on medium-high heat. Cook the onion, garlic and mushrooms until the mushrooms have released their juices and turn golden brown. Add ¼ cup roasted red bell pepper and artichokes, and cook 1 minute. 
  • Add sofrito and cook 1 minute. Then add white wine and reduce the mixture by half. 
  • Add bomba rice, cannelloni beans and green peas peas. Season with salt & pepper, to taste. Stir to combine.  Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Do not stir the rice.
  • Add saffron, paprika, smoked paprika, cayenne, vegan chicken bouillon cube, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and let boil for 2-3 minutes. 
  • Then reduce heat to low and cook an additional 12 to 15 minutes. At 12 minutes, move some of the rice aside to see if the liquid has been absorbed. When it has, crank the heat to high and cook for 1-2 more minutes to get the crunchy socarrat at the bottom of the pan. Then remove the pan from the heat. 
  • Let the paella set for 5 minutes before serving. During this time, decorate with the vegetable garnishes, top with parsley, and serve with lemon wedges. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

  • Substitutions for homemade sofrito: If you're short on time, you can substitute a pre-made jarred sofrito in this recipe instead of making it from scratch. Pre-made sofritos aren't quite the flavor bomb that homemade sofrito is, but they work in a pinch. You can buy them in the international section of your grocery store or on Amazon. If you can’t find pre-made sofrito, you can use canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes instead. Substitute ⅓ cup of pre-made sofrito or fire-roasted diced tomatoes for the homemade sofrito.
  • Use any vegetables you like: We love to use asparagus, carrots, bell peppers, and peas in our paella. But you can substitute any vegetables you like. For example, we've made an autumnal paella using veggies like leeks and Swiss chard.
  • Use any wide-bottomed pan: You don’t need a paella pan to make paella!  You can use any wide-bottomed pan in your arsenal.
Keyword paella, plant-based paella, rice dish, Spanish cuisine, Spanish food, vegan paella, vegan spanish food, vegetarian paella
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