Etoufee is one of my favorite comfort food dishes. It occurred to me not long ago, that the only ingredient keeping my favorite etouffee from being vegan was the seafood. Therefore, I decided to try vegan okra etouffee as a plant based version!
I chose to use okra to replace the seafood because it is traditional in Cajun cuisine. I have seen variations that use chickpeas, but they don’t match the flavor and texture of the original dish, in my opinion.
The roux, which is a browned flour and oil mixture, adds so much flavor to this dish. It is an absolute must to making a great etouffee. If you think you can skip it, you will be disappointed.
Finally, the salt and spice balance this dish and load it with flavor. I use old bay seasoning and Louisiana hot sauce for authenticity, and a bit of acidity (in the hot sauce.)
Variations to the Vegan Okra Etouffee recipe:
- Serve over quinoa insead of brown rice to increase the protein content.
- Make the etoufee chunky or smooth. Leave the peppers, onion, and celery in large chunks, or you could even puree them in a food processor to make the sauce very smooth. The photos are taken with a medium dice.
- Increase or decrease the heat by changing the amount of cayenne pepper you use. If you want it mild, omit it completely, and use lemon juice in place of the Louisiana sauce.
- Gluten free swap: Try using brown rice flour instead of all purpose. I have not tried it, but I have read that it’s the best option.
- 1½ cups brown rice
- ⅓ cup nuetral flavored oil (such as canola)
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 small green pepper, diced
- 2-3 stalks celery, diced
- 15 oz can no salt added diced tomatoes
- 2 TBS old bay seasoning
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2½ cups sliced fresh okra (about 8 large)
- 1 TBS Louisiana Style hot sauce
- Cook brown rice according to package directions.
- To make the roux, in a large skillet combine oil and flour. Whisk constentatly over medium high heat for 10 minutes, or until the flour is peanut butter brown. If it burns for whatever reason, start over.
- Add onion, pepper and celery to the roux and stir to coat. Let this saute for 5 minutes, covered. Mix in tomatoes, old bay, cayenne, vegetable broth, and fresh okra. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered.
- Mix in Louisiana hot sauce and serve over brown rice.
