Etouffee with crawfish or shrimp is a common dish in many Cajun homes. However, it wasn’t one that we had often growing up for some reason. So unlike many of the recipes I picked up from my mom or grandma (looking at you Sweet Dough Pie), etouffee was introduced to me by my husband. I had to take a plant-based spin on it of course. And voila – okra etouffee was born!
My husband bases his recipe on the one published in a popular Louisiana cookbook River Road Recipes. So that was my jumping off point. With a few replacements, a vegan version is fairly simple.
Subbing okra for crawfish, replacing margarine for butter, and using a few key spices for flavor & color make this recipe a vegan etouffee dream.
I hope you give this recipe a try and that it fills your belly with that Louisiana flavor you’re looking for.
Ingredients
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
- 2 Celery Stalks, chopped
- 1/4 cup Vegan Butter (I used Earth Balance)
- 1/8 cup All Purpose Flour
- 2 cups Okra, sliced into disks
- 1 1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
- 3/4 tsp Cajun Seasoning (I used Purely Cajun)
- 1/2 tsp Paprika
- 1 1/2 cups Vegetable Broth
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- Cooked White or Brown Rice (for serving)
- Green Onions, chopped (for garnish)
- Parsley, chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
- Begin by cooking down the chopped onion, bell pepper, & celery in the vegan butter for 15 minutes. You want them extremely soft – softer than your normal goal of just getting the onions translucent.
- Push the cooked veggies to one side of the pot and tilt the pot so that you have a pool of melted butter on the opposite side. Whisk the flour into the butter and cook it for 4-5 minutes. It will be like a thick paste.
- After cooking the paste for 4-5 minutes, combine it with the cooked veggies and add in your okra disks, Old Bay Seasoning, Cajun Seasoning, & Paprika. Cook this down for about 8-10 minutes.
- Once the okra is well-cooked and getting soft, you can add in the vegetable broth. Scrape down the sides & bottom of your pot to grab all that flavor and let it come together with the broth.
- Taste and add salt and/or pepper as needed.
- Serve over rice. Garnish with chopped green onions & parsley.
