Classic Cajun Vegan Gumbo

At the first sign of cooler weather, we bust out the cast-iron pot to make a vegan gumbo. Mind you, I say “cooler” weather because we are way too impatient to wait around for “cold” weather. It is Louisiana after all – we may very well be in shorts by Christmas. Don’t laugh — it’s happened.

Cold weather or not, my mom always makes a big gumbo for our Christmas Eve party– and a small vegan-approved gumbo on the side of that big gumbo. Over the years, I have played around with the recipe and made plenty of roux troubleshooting calls to mom. In most cases, the issue was the aforementioned impatience. But I did learn a lot from my mistakes (and mom) & now have a tried & true recipe to share! Read on for my tips, tricks, and recipe for a slamming Cajun Vegan Gumbo.

Roux Tips:

Gumbo is all about the roux. And a good roux is all about patience. I like think of it in a few stages. There’s the initial cream color when you first integrate equal amounts of the oil and the flour. Then it becomes the color of peanut butter, then milk chocolate, and finally dark chocolate.

Basically, you are slowly burning the flour until the mixture is a thick, dark brown.

What’s the Cajun Trinity?

The next step in your vegan gumbo is the addition of the Cajun Trinity. Sounds like some kind of vegan VooDoo, but it’s simply onion + bell pepper + celery. It’s the basis for many Cajun dishes. Silly Cajuns think their flavor comes from meat, but in actuality these 3 veggies are the backbone of just about every meal.

Cajun Trinity (Onion, Bell Pepper, & Celery) added to the Roux

This vegan gumbo includes vegan sausage, mushrooms, & okra. Not into faux meats (or you just don’t want to fork over the dough at Whole Foods)? Eggplant or potatoes are good alternatives. Although a gumbo over rice with potatoes is kind of carb-overload. Delicious, but nap-inducing to say the least.

So now you have your roux, Cajun Trinity, & proteins — your vegan gumbo is all set! A good gumbo over a bed of white or brown rice will warm you up from the inside out & make you feel like a legit Louisiana native. Scoop a dollop of vegan potato salad on top if you’re feeling extra Cajun.

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 small to medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 vegan chicken bouillon cube
2 tsp Cajun seasoning, or more if you like spice
2 cups okra, cut into disks
5 cremini mushrooms, sliced **See note
3-4 links vegan sausage, store-bought or homemade (recipe here)
2-3 tsp liquid smoke
5 cups water
2 green onions, chopped
1 tsp gumbo file
Salt & Pepper
White or Brown Rice, cooked (for serving)
Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Instructions

Prep your veggies by chopping up the Cajun Trinity (onion, bell peppers, celery). Slice the mushrooms & okra to desired thickness.
Make the roux: Heat up 1/2 cup of canola or vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Whisk in the 1/2 cup of flour until fully incorporated. Continue to let the mixture cook at medium-low heat, scraping the mixture with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking. Repeat until the roux has turned a dark brown. It should be noticeably thicker than when you started. This could take upwards of 20 minutes, so be patient. **See note.
Once the roux is the desired color & thickness, drop in the chopped Cajun Trinity veggies and cook down for a few minutes until the onions are translucent.
Add in the liquid smoke, vegan chicken bouillon cube, garlic, Cajun seasoning, and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil.
Prep your sausage while the base boils. Slice into disks and cook in a skillet on medium heat until fully cooked. **See note.
Add the mushrooms, & sausage to the pot. Simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Add the okra in the last 10 minutes of boiling. Do not add the okra early as it will disintegrate if boiled too long.
Sprinkle in the gumbo file seasoning and chopped green onions a few minutes before serving.
Taste and add salt, pepper, and any additional Cajun seasoning if necessary.
Serve over rice. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top. Try it out with a dollop of potato salad.

Notes:

If your roux is not thickening up, it could be either you are stirring too often or that the heat is too high.
Vegan sausage is not usually super firm in its uncooked form, so I recommend cooking it in a skillet and then transferring to the gumbo pot. If you have faith in your sausage integrity, fell free to boil it from the jump. Let me know how it works out!
If you are not a fan of boiled mushrooms, you can roast your sliced mushroom in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with olive oil and 1 tsp liquid smoke before roasting. Add to the pot when you add the okra.