In need of easy, healthy, vegetarian comfort food? Then my Easy One Pot Vegetable Paella could be the answer! Packed full of veggies and spices, this flavourful one pot meal is quick and easy to make and a great way to remind you of summer when the weather outside is anything but!
I absolutely adore paella and already have three other versions on my website, including my ever popular Easy One Pot Chicken and Chorizo Paella, but one of my goals for this year is to make more vegetrarian versions of my most popular recipes.
Why?
Well partly it’s because you guys keep asking for them! And I do listen and do my very best to accommodate your requests 😀 In fact I’ve already begun…that’s how come I created my delicious Easy Vegetable Korma earlier this year (thank you for that request, it’s now one of my absolute favourites!) and also how come I came up with my Moroccan Spiced Roasted Vegetable Traybake.
But also for myself – my goal this year is to eat less but better when it comes to meat. Actually that’s always been my goal, but sometimes it gets a bit clouded, especially with the demands of my blog.
And also for my health…not that vegetarian food is necessarily healthier (though it often is), but because it encourages me to eat more veggies!
And this vegetable paella packs a whopping 7 different fruits and vegetables, in 4 different colours (and you could absolutely add more if you wanted to), plus lots of healthy herbs and spices and is just the thing to blast away the winter blues without reaching for the biscuit tin.
And of course, me being me, it’s super easy too! And quick. This Easy One Pot Vegetable Paella can be made in just 30 minutes and only uses one pot…so you save time on washing up too. Plus it reheats beautifully, so you can make double and eat the rest for a lovely healthy lunch the next day…or you could have it cold as a sort of fancy rice salad instead.
This recipe is vegetarian and vegan friendly, and also gluten and dairy free too – though do be careful with the vegetable stock as stock cubes can often contain gluten or dairy (or just a whole load of random unpronounceable gubbins). I went for Kallo Organic Vegetable Stock Cubes, my favourite brand for stock cubes, which are vegetarian, vegan, gluten and dairy free. I just used one cube dissolved in 1.2 litres of boiling water and that worked out just perfectly.
If veggie food is just not your thing, then you could always eat this as a side dish to grilled chicken or salmon or else throw a handful of cooked prawns or leftover cooked chicken into the pot at the same time as the peas (and make sure you heat until piping hot). Full instructions in the recipe notes. Alternatively you could try one of my other paella recipes.
So what I really want to know is, are there any other recipes on my blog that you’d love to see in veggie form? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll put them on my list. 😀
And if you want to check out more of my vegetarian and vegan recipes – do head over to my Easy Peasy Vegetarian and Vegan Recipe Collection where you’ll find loads more!
Easy One Pot Vegetable Paella (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1.2 litres hot vegetable stock
- Big pinch of saffron
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion sliced
- 3 cloves garlic crushed or grated
- ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes or to taste
- 3 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 red or yellow bell peppers, sliced or diced
- 3 medium tomatoes roughly chopped
- 100 g green beans trimmed and cut in half
- 300 g paella rice
- Salt and pepper
- 100 g frozen peas
- 2 lemons cut into quarters
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley plus extra for garnish
Instructions
- Add the saffron to the hot stock, stir thoroughly and set aside.
- Place the olive oil in a large, wide pan and add the onion, cover with a lid and cook over a gentle heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic, chilli and paprika. Cook for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Next, add the peppers, tomatoes, green beans, paella rice and vegetable stock, plus some salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 15 minutes, with the lid off.
- Add the frozen peas and cook for a further 5 minutes. By this time all the stock should have all been absorbed.
- Finally stir in the juice from 2 of the lemon quarters and the chopped parsley. Serve scattered with more parsley and with the remaining lemon quarters.
Notes
If you want to add leftover cooked chicken, pre-cooked prawns or pre-cooked mixed seafood to this, add them in at the same time as the frozen peas. Make sure you heat through until piping hot. Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Pin Easy One Pot Vegetable Paella for later
FREE 4 Week Easy Dinners Meal Plan
Have you got your hands on a copy of my meal plan yet? If not CLICK HERE to download a copy of my FREE 4 Week Easy Dinners Meal Plan today!
Don’t want to miss a thing?
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Or why not subscribe to my blog and get delicious, stress free recipes straight to your inbox every week?
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food says
I’m also trying to get more vegetarian dishes into my diet, and this paella is just what the doctor ordered! Knowing my meat-addicted hubster, though, I’ll be grilling up a chicken breast on the side! These gorgeous colors in this comforting dish are just what I need to get through this snap of horrifically cold weather we’re having.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Michelle! Sorry to hear you are having such bad weather…this recipe is definitely what you need…sunshine on a plate 😀 Eb x
Midge @ Peachicks' Bakery says
Ooooh those colours! We love a paella in this house & this one looks gorgeous! pinned for later!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Midge – I do love colourful food!! I really need this kind of food in winter – especially when the weather is dreary and grey. So pleased you like the recipe, do let me know how you get on if you make it 🙂 Eb x
Corina Blum says
I just love the sunshine colour of this paella Eb! It looks delicious and really does make me look forward to summer and make me think about booking our summer holiday in Spain! Thanks so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Corina 🙂 We are planning to go to Spain too this year! Probably one of the Canary Islands. I am so looking forward to it…mostly for the food – haha. I adore Spanish food and can’t wait to eat lots of it!! Eb x
Megan says
This looks delicious! I’ve been a vegetarian for over a decade but never made a paella – definitely pinning this to make later. xx
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Megan 🙂 So pleased you like the recipe. I’d love to know what you think if you make it! Eb x
Chloe says
Oh I have always wanted to try a paella this looks delicious with all of the vibrant colours. I shall bookmark to try soon #FreeFromFridays
Eb Gargano says
Oh you should – it’s so delicious! And this is such an easy recipe to get started with. Would love to know how you get on if you try it! Eb x
Mel says
I am a HUGE fan of Paella, but I always pick around the mussels and king prawn. What I love most is the rice and its paprika-infused flavours! Your vegan version is my idea of the perfect dish. I’m not sure the rest of the family would be with me on this one, but I could devour a whole casserole of it! Rice addict here 🙂 Love the vibrancy of your photos
Eb Gargano says
Ah yes – saffron-y, paprika-y rice. It’s the BEST!! You could always make my version up to the point where you chuck the peas in, then take out your portion and add the prawns/seafood etc to eveyone elses – that way everyone is happy! Eb x
Mel says
xxx
Monika Dabrowski says
This is lovely comfort food and so healthy too, not to mention convenient – come to think of it this recipe ticks all the boxes! #CookBlogShare
Emma Amoscato says
I love paella but trying to get anything without meat past my family is a tough job!
Eb Gargano says
Aw, shame! I have a lovely chicken and chorizo paella on the blog – maybe that would go down better? Eb x
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
This sounds delicious, I love paella! Your photos are so bright and summery too!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Kat! I need bright and summery when the weather outside is miserable!! Eb x
jenny paulin says
such sunny colours in your rice dish here Eb. It sounds very tasty too and as always, easy which show I like to cook food.
Happy new year xx
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Jenny! Easy and tasty is what I always aim for 😀 Eb x
Diane says
OMG! When I think of a hearty and filling meal, this is the type of food I want. Can’t wait to try this! These photos just make me hungry. Thanks for sharing and happy new year!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks so much, Diane, for this lovely comment! Hearty, filling meals are exactly what I am craving at the moment too – I’m eating lots of soups and stews and curries at the moment…but trying to keep them healthy and packed full of veggies too…and of course easy peasy! Eb 🙂
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
Yum, yum, yum!! I adore paella and this looks so good Eb! x #CookOnceEatTwice & #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Kirsty, me too – I am a big paella fan, can you tell? And perfect for using up odds and ends. We had one yesterday using leftover roast chicken and a bit of chorizo I had left in the fridge. So good! Eb x
Geetha Priyanka says
Paella looks so bright and colourful. It sounds healthy and easy to make. I will have to try it sometime soon. #CookBlogShare
Steph A says
I’ve made your paella several times now and my entire family loves it – I leave out the dried chilli flakes when my kids are eating it and occasionally add prawns. The only comment I have is that I when I leave the lid off during the 15 minute cooking time, the rice doesn’t cook all the way. So I just put the lid on and it was perfect! Fantastic recipe – thank you!
Eb Gargano says
Yay – so pleased you and your family love this recipe. Thanks for letting me know about the rice – I’ll take a look at that in case the recipe needs to be amended. It might just be a difference in our pans and/or a difference in how we like rice cooked, but good to know! Eb 🙂
Richard says
Definitely a great and easy recipe! I don’t know why so many people are voting without even trying this recipe first. I’ve tried this recipe several times and with several different methods. I’ve found consistently that the recommended amount of liquid is actually a bit too much, and that for the tomatoes its best to cut out the seeds as to reduce the excess amount of liquid from the tomatoes. Going with around 900-1000ml is usually enough for me. Great recipe though, thanks for the share! Will definitely repeat and recommend to friends!
Eb Gargano says
Hi Richard, thank you for this lovely comment. I’m so pleased you like this recipe. Interesting what you say about the amount of liquid. It’s just the right amount for me – I am wondering if possibly your pan is not as wide as mine of your heat source is set a little lower – anyway, whatever it is I am glad you found a solution that works for you and hopefully helpful to others too! Eb 🙂
Keisha says
I love this dish it’s so yummy! Having it about once a week now. Thank you for posting 🙂 All of your 5 minute series are making vegan dinners a lot easier..
Eb Gargano says
Oh yay! So pleased you are enjoying this recipe and all my other vegan recipes too! Eb 🙂