Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
This easy vegan paella is packed with the rich flavours of saffron, smoked paprika and marinated vegetables. Ready in 35 minutes!
Paella is no stranger to most of you, if not all. Are you a fan? My family certainly is; we probably haven’t met a paella we didn’t fall in love with!
What is Paella?
The word paella is a Catalan word that comes from the Old French word paelle for pan, and which in turn comes from the Latin word patella, also meaning pan.
Valencians use the word paella for all pans, including the specialized shallow pan used for cooking paellas. However, in most other parts of Spain and throughout Latin America, the term paellera is more commonly used for this pan, though both terms are correct, as stated by the Royal Spanish Academy, the body responsible for regulating the Spanish language in Spain.[13][14] Paelleras are traditionally round, shallow and made of polished steel with two handles.
Wikipedia
So now you know! Click on the Wiki link above to read more; it really is fascinating.
Vegan Paella Recipe
Is super easy. Just lose the meat, and use vegetable stock, and you are all set. Let’s look at some of the ingredients and how to cook paella at home.
Paella Rice
Be sure to use a good quality paella rice like Bomba, the most easily available, or as I’m using here, Calasparra.
Paella rice absorbs more liquid than your usual grain of rice, and once cooked, retains its integrity, while still being creamy. So be sure to use paella rice meant for making Spanish rice dishes. It’ll absorb all those flavours you throw at it.
Paella Stock
A good stock is crucial. Homemade is great, but that’s not always viable, so the alternative is a good shop bought one, which these days, is very, very easy to find.
The stock is yet another layer of flavour to your paella, so is very, very important. Find one with no added flavours, colours and whatever. Just good old vegetables and aromatics.
Fancy an easy homemade vegetable stock recipe? Just click here.
Vegan Paella Vegetables
What vegetables you use in your vegan paella, is, to some extent a matter of taste. Let’s take a look at the vegetables we are using in the vegan paella.
As mentioned in the title, we are using marinated vegetables in our paella, with the exception of the courgette (zucchini). I am a huge fan of marinated vegetables, preferably roasted or grilled, because they have a deeper flavour than their fresh counterparts, with a hint of smoke. You’ll find them sold in jars in the Italian antipasto aisle or at many delis.
This is what I’m using, you can add more variety if you like:
Capsicum (bell peppers)
If you can get your hands on piquillo peppers in a jar, that would be perfect. Piquillo peppers are from the around the town of Lodosa is Spain, and have Designated Origin status. They are sweet and a touch tangy and are so incredibly delicious.
Failing that, any good quality, grilled or roasted peppers is a jar will make a good enough substitute, like these ones. You can also use a jar of mixed peppers if you like.
Marinated Artichokes
I am using homemade ones (as above), because I happen to have some. However, you will also find these easily at most supermarkets and delis. If you fancy your hand at making them form scratch, just click here.
Besides the peppers and artichokes, I’ve only used some fresh courgettes. I have frozen grilled ones at home, but didn’t bother to use them this time. But they are always good too.
You can add any other vegetables you fancy. Peas, added right at the end are always a nice splash of colour and flavour. Olives are also great.
Basically, this is a very user-friendly vegan paella recipe!
The Paella Pan
We all know that paella is cooked in a paella (pan), see Wiki link above. The idea behind the shape of the pan and its width is that as much rice hits the bottom of the pan as possible to get maximum, almost caramelised flavour and to ensure that the rice cooks in an even thin layer.
If you cannot get a paella pan, go for a large frying pan that’s about 7.5cm (3″) deep. Just remember, the bigger the pan, the larger your flame source has to be too!
Right then, that’s all there is to it. easy, right?
Shall we get our aprons on?
More Vegan Recipes on LinsFood
Imam Bayildi (Turkish Stuffed Aubergines) 
Vegan Coconut Curry 
Vegan Tagine of Okra, Tomatoes and Onions
More Rice Recipes on LinsFood
Zereshk Polo Morgh, Persian Barberry Rice with Chicken 
Kedgeree, an Anglo Indian Rice Dish 
Malaysian Nasi Ulam (Rice Herbed Salad) 
Me, after teaching a paella class in Spain
If you like the recipe, don’t forget to leave me a comment and that all important, 5-star rating! Gracias!
And if you make the recipe, share it on any platform and tag me @azlinbloor.
Lin xx
Vegan Paella (with Marinated Peppers and Artichokes)
Ingredients
- 1 large white/brown onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 medium courgette zucchini
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp EV olive oil
- 400 g paella rice like Calasparra or Bomba
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1 small pinch saffron
- 1 litre hot vegetables stock
- 1 jar (about 300g) grilled or roasted red peppers
- 1 jar (about 300g) marinated artichokes preferably also grilled
- juice of ½ a lemon
Garnish
- a handful fresh flat parsley chopped
- lemon wedges
- 2 handfuls black Spanish olives
Instructions
Let’s prep the vegetables
- Chop the onion and garlic up fairly finely.
- Slice the courgette (zucchini) thinly, so it'll soften and cook. About half a cm (1/4" roughly) will do.
- Chop up the tomatoes roughly (about 8 pieces to a tomato), reserving all the juices.
Let's cook our vegan paella
- Heat the olive oil in a paella pan or large frying pan that's about 7.5cm (3") deep, on medium heat.
- Fry the onions for 1 minutes, followed by the garlic for 30 seconds.
- Add the rice, stir to coat for 1 minute.
- Add the paprika and saffron, stir then add the courgettes and tomatoes in, stirring for 10 seconds.
- Pour in the hot stock, increase the heat and stir well to mix. Once it's boiling, reduce the heat right down and leave to simmer for 15 minutes, without stirring.
- At the end of 15 minutes, add the peppers and artichokes, just tucking them into the rice, without stirring. Leave to cook for 5 more minutes.
- At the end of that 5 minutes, take off the heat, and leave to rest for 5 minutes, then serve immediately with the lemon juice drizzled all over.
How to get a crust on the bottom of your paella
- At the end of cooking time, increase the heat to medium-high and leave to cook for 5 minutes, without burning. That should do it. If you start to smell burning, just reduce the heat.
- Finish off with the lemon juice before serving.
Actually my girls will prefer this version with marinated vegetables to non vegetarian paella so this delicious recipe is a keeper for me. It’s such an interesting read, especially the part about the pan. Reading about the Latin root of this word “patella”, I’m wondering if what we call in South Asia a pateela (big metal cooking pot with two handles) also is some distant cousin of paella.
Thanks Maria. That’s interesting. I’m thinking that it’s probably just a coincidence.
When do you add the tomatoes?
Hi Marjorie, in step 3, with the courgettes. My bad, I’d left that out, it’s been edited now. Let me know how it goes.
This looks very colourful and delicious. It’s something definitely worth trying. And yes, I like the recipe. Thank you.
Thank you Viano, I’m glad you like the recipe. let me know if you try it.
Um YUM! This easy vegan paella looks and sounds absolutely delicious and I can’t wait to make it!!
Thank you!
Pepper and Paella is my kind of food. Please give me some right now. That would be soo awesome!
Haha, thanks!
Wow so many recipes for Paella. I love how the dishes have turned out. I am not a big fan of anything vegetarian but this looks really tempting. Going to get these ingredients and try it over the weekend.
Thank you Nathan.
This Paella looks yummy I can’t wait to try this recipe at home!!
This looks delicious! I love this vegan version of paella. Now I can share this awesome dish with my friends who follow the vegan lifestyle. Thank you!
Wow! This recipe sounds SO good! I am a huge fan of paella, especially the crispy rice.
I really like the sound of this recipe. The ingredients are within reach for me so I will be trying it out.
Thanks Azlin, just saw this on Twitter, and glad I decided to hop over here. Pencilled it for dinner tomorrow. The only thing I need to get are the artichokes.
This sounds lovely and a perfect meal for this time of year, we love meals like this x