This is the recipe for when you're craving Valencian paella but trying to eat healthier. This well-tested vegetable paella recipe cooked in a wide, shallow cast iron skillet will feed 4 people. It's a full-flavored oil-free vegan recipe that'll become a family favorite.
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Paella is a "Sunday lunch" kind of meal in Spain. One where the family gathers together.
I was taught how to make chickpea vegetable paella by a friend, Loli, over an open fire in the countryside outside Alicante, Spain.
This recipe is adapted for ingredients we can find here in the US, is cooked inside and serves four people, much less than the giant paella she made for us that served at least 12.
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🧄 Ingredient notes
- Paella rice - Bomba and redondo varieties are typically used for making paella in Spain. If you can't find paella rice (or it's too expensive), sushi rice can be used as a fine substitute. I'm using bomba paella rice for this recipe.
- Saffron - The most expensive spice in the world, a little of this intoxicatingly fragrant gem goes a long way. Recently, I've been finding saffron at Costco.
- Sweet Spanish paprika - Ñora pepper is traditional in paella, but difficult to find here. When I ran out of the ground ñora pepper paprika I bought in Spain, I started using a sweet Spanish paprika instead. Paprika is dried, ground peppers and each variety tastes different. So, finding one that is labeled "sweet" is important. If you want to impart a smoky flavor to your paella, you can use a smoked paprika instead.
- Vegan broth - If you can find a vegan no-chicken bouillon or broth, use that. If not, then use vegetable broth.
- Turmeric - Home cooks in Spain often use paella food coloring to give it a yellow hue without breaking the bank with a lot of saffron. We're using a small amount of turmeric to color the dish. Feel free to use extra saffron, if you want.
🔪 Instructions
Here are the step-by-step instructions for how to make chickpea veggie paella without using olive oil.
Make the Sofrito
- Step 1: Prepare sofrito by adding the tomato, garlic, parsley and chopped ¼ of a bell pepper to a small food processor or blender.
- Step 2: Process/blend until everything is combined and looks like the consistency of a chunky salsa/chimichurri. Set aside.
Make the paella
- Step 1: Heat pan over medium heat for 30-60 seconds. Add red bell pepper strips to pan. Dry-saute until a little charred on the edges, then transfer bell pepper to a plate or bowl and set aside.
- Step 2: Add other vegetables to pan, in order of hardness. Onions, then cauliflower, then mushrooms, asparagus and chickpeas. Saute just to brown a little (they will continue to cook with the rice later).
- Step 3: Add vegetable stock, saffron, paprika, salt and turmeric to a large heat-proof measuring bowl. Stir and microwave until hot. (You can do this on the stove instead in a small saucepan on one of the other burners.) Keep warm until ready to add to pan, but do not boil it (we don't want water to evaporate).
- Step 4: Add prepared sofrito to pan and saute for a few minutes.
- Step 5: Add rice to pan and stir to spread the rice out evenly.
- Step 6: Add hot broth to pan and gently stir.
- Step 7: Arrange the reserved bell pepper strips and the quartered artichoke hearts on top of the rice in an artful display. Use your stirring spoon to gently press them into the broth if they're resting on top. We want them to cook in the broth to soak up the flavor.
- Step 8: Turn heat down a little bit to medium-low heat and cover. Cook paella over medium-low to medium heat for 20 minutes. DO NOT STIR OR UNCOVER. If you smell it burning, turn the heat down. After 20 minutes, uncover and check on the rice in several spots to see if it's done. (If some parts are done and others are not and there is no liquid left, you can add a little more broth or water to those areas and cover and cook a few more minutes.) Once it's done, turn off the heat and keep the paella covered and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Serve with lemon wedges, garlic cashew aioli, sliced bread and green salad.
🍳 Equipment
- Paellera or wide, shallow pan - I have a 17-inch paellera (paella pan) that feeds 8. When I don't need to feed a crowd, I opt for this recipe using my 3.6 quart wide, shallow enameled cast iron Lodge pan. You'll need a wide, shallow skillet or paella pan to make this dish. It doesn't have to be cast iron. Stainless steel, carbon steel or even non-stick with work. Just make sure it has a lid.
🚦 Calorie density score
🟢 This recipe gets a green light on the calorie density chart. All of the ingredients in the main recipe are lower than 600 calories per pound, so eating meals like this regularly may help you lose body fat.
Omitting the traditional olive oil (which is 4,000 calories per pound!) reduces the overall calorie density. Skip the bread and garlic aioli (or make it with silken tofu instead of cashews) to keep your meal low in calories. Learn more about calorie density from Jeff Novick, MS, RDN.
Get your own printable calorie density chart for your refrigerator and free ebook explaining calorie density in simple terms.
🗺 Cultural influences
This recipe is inspired by the strong cultural influences of my dear friends and experiences from Spain. I was taught how to make this dish when we visited Alicante, Spain in 2018.
Here's an authentic, traditional recipe for this dish: Murcian-Style Vegetable Paella.
See About for more information on my cultural influences and how I attribute recipes.
💜 More recipes you'll love
If you love this recipe, check out these delicious plant-based Mediterranean recipes!
Love this recipe? Please rate it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below in the recipe card. And, if you make it, please tag me on Instagram or Facebook in your posted photos! I would love to see your creations. 😄
📖 Recipe
Chickpea Vegetable Paella (oil-free vegan)
Equipment
- Wide, shallow skillet or paella pan I'm using a 3.6 quart enameled cast iron wide, shallow pan for this. A slightly larger pan would also work. A wide and shallow paella-type pan is best. Does not have to be cast iron. Stainless steel or carbon steel will also work.
Ingredients
- ½ red bell pepper cut into long strips ½ inch thick
- ½ yellow onion diced
- ¼ cauliflower about 3 cups, cut into florets
- 4 ounces button mushrooms cut into thick slices
- 5 asparagus spears tough ends removed and then cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 cup chickpeas about ½ of a 15-ounce can, drained & rinsed
- 1 ½ cups paella rice (bomba or redondo variety) 300g
- ½ can/jar quartered artichoke hearts drained
Broth
- 2 ½ cups vegan no-chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 pinch saffron threads or ¼ teaspoon ground saffron powder
- 1 teaspoons sweet Spanish paprika ñora pepper, if available
- ½ tablespoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric for color (instead you can add extra saffron)
Sofrito
- ½ large roma tomato cut
- 5 cloves garlic whole
- 5 stalks fresh parsley cut into 2-inch pieces
- ¼ red bell pepper cut
Serving
- 1 lemon cut into wedges
- garlic cashew aioli
- green salad
- sliced bread
Instructions
- If using sushi rice as a substitute for paella rice, rinse the sushi rice under cool water and set aside to dry. Spanish paella rice varieties should not be rinsed.
- Cut vegetables into small pieces or slices and set aside.
- Prepare sofrito by adding the tomato, garlic, parsley and chopped ¼ of a bell pepper to a small food processor or blender. Process/blend until everything is combined and looks like the consistency of a chunky salsa/chimichurri. Set aside.½ large roma tomato, 5 cloves garlic, 5 stalks fresh parsley, ¼ red bell pepper
- Heat pan over medium heat for 30-60 seconds.
- Add red bell pepper strips to pan. Dry-saute until a little charred on the edges, then transfer bell pepper to a plate or bowl and set aside.½ red bell pepper
- Add vegetable stock, saffron, paprika, salt and turmeric to a large heat-proof measuring bowl. Stir and microwave until hot. (You can do this on the stove instead in a small saucepan on one of the other burners.) Keep warm until ready to add to pan, but do not boil it (we don't want water to evaporate).2 ½ cups vegan no-chicken or vegetable broth, 1 pinch saffron threads, 1 teaspoons sweet Spanish paprika, ½ tablespoon sea salt, ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- Add other vegetables to pan, in order of hardness. Onions, then cauliflower, then mushrooms, asparagus and chickpeas. Saute just to brown a little (they will continue to cook with the rice later).½ yellow onion, ¼ cauliflower, 5 asparagus spears, 4 ounces button mushrooms, 1 cup chickpeas
- Add prepared sofrito to pan and saute for a few minutes.
- Add rice to pan and stir to spread the rice out evenly.1 ½ cups paella rice (bomba or redondo variety)
- Add hot broth to pan and gently stir.
- Arrange the reserved bell pepper strips and the quartered artichoke hearts on top of the rice in an artful display. Use your stirring spoon to gently press them into the broth if they're resting on top. We want them to cook in the broth to soak up the flavor.½ can/jar quartered artichoke hearts
- Turn heat down a little bit to medium-low heat and cover.
- Cook paella over medium-low to medium heat for 20 minutes. DO NOT STIR OR UNCOVER. If you smell it burning, turn the heat down.
- After 20 minutes, uncover and check on the rice in several spots to see if it's done. (If some parts are done and others are not and there is no liquid left, you can add a little more broth or water to those areas and cover and cook a few more minutes.)
- Once it's done, turn off the heat and keep the paella covered and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve with lemon wedges, garlic cashew aioli, sliced bread and green salad.1 lemon, green salad, sliced bread, garlic cashew aioli
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