Vegan Black Bean Gumbo

Nowadays, as I’ve been trying on a vegan diet, I’ve been making all of my childhood favs vegan style. It’s lots of trial and error. But I’m having fun and learning a lot about the properties of food as I figure out good substitutions.

I had a delicious vegan gumbo from Sevananda, and it inspired me to give vegan gumbo a try. My dad was from Cotton Valley, LA and I have fond memories of him teaching me to make a traditional style Louisiana gumbo, so I had a lot of fun reimagining this recipe. I start this with a roux, add vegetable stock, veggies, vegan meat substitute, and seasoning.
 

1-2 Bunch Celery

1 Red Onion

1 Red Bell Pepper

1 Yellow Bell Pepper

1 Habanero Pepper

1 Bag Fresh Okra

2 Cups Dry Black Beans

3/4 C Olive Oil

2 Containers Vegetable Stock

Seasoning

Season to taste. This will come out pretty spicy.

2-3 T Old Bay Seasoning

1 T Turmeric
 1 T Gumbo File

1 t Lemon Pepper

1 t Cayenne Pepper

1 t Paprika

1 t Cumin

Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Flour -> Chickpea Flour

Meat -> Vegan Chorizo

Chicken Stock -> Vegetable Stock

Roux

I substituted chickpea flour for regular flour, but you can use any type of flour you want.

Mix the flour with oil in the skillet on low/medium for 30-40 minutes until its brown. Not light brown. Let it cook long enough to get dark. Stir regularly.

Pre-Cooking (optional)

I chose to partially cook the black beans for about 30 minutes before adding them to the mixture. If you do this, add the beans and the delicious black liquid to the gumbo. I also let the okra sweat before adding. I saw one recipe online giving instructions for removing the slime from the okra. Please do not do this. The slime adds to the texture of the gumbo.

Mix Everything In

Add vegetable stock to the roux and stir. Then add the rest of the vegetables and any type of meat substitute you want. Season well. Let simmer for about an hour.

Serve alone or over quinoa or rice.