Vegetarian Gumbo Recipe

Gumbo, which is a hearty stew, is a popular dish in Louisiana's Creole cuisine. It has African, Native American, and European roots, with the name coming from the Bantu word for okra. Okra is often an ingredient used to add flavor and to thicken the gumbo. In our rich, slightly spicy, and deeply flavorful vegetarian version, we start by toasting flour in oil at length to make a dark brown roux. Then we add the Holy Trinity of Louisiana vegetables — onion, celery, and bell pepper — as well as broth and spices. Traditional gumbo is full of a combination of shrimp, crab, oysters, sausage, chicken, or other meats.

With all that seafood and meat, what's a vegetarian trying to recreate gumbo to do? Luckily, you can make a delicious gumbo without them. Recipe developer Michelle Bottalico has created a vegetarian gumbo recipe that features three hearty plant-based ingredients instead: seasoned baked tofu, marinated cremini mushrooms, and black-eyed peas. The rest is based on the traditional gumbo-making method, but we use vegetable broth and add ingredients to the tofu and mushrooms for a stronger, smokier, more savory flavor. To make sure this is vegetarian, use vegan Worcestershire sauce. The recipe also includes steps for making your own Creole seasoning.

You can enjoy this recipe whether you're a plant-based eater or not, because it's delicious, loaded with healthy fiber, and has flavor elements of traditional gumbo thanks to the dark roux and seasonings. Serve the gumbo over white rice alongside crusty bread for a satisfying and nourishing meal.

This recipe starts with a Creole seasoning. The ingredients are paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, dried thyme, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. You can choose to use smoked paprika and smoked sea salt to add a smokier flavor reminiscent of the flavor that smoked meats contribute to a traditional gumbo.

Then you will make marinated mushrooms. You will need ground mustard seed, soy sauce, white vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, and cremini mushrooms. Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies, so choose a vegan version if needed, or keep these anchovy swaps in mind when making your own Worcestershire sauce.

Grab extra-firm tofu and black-eyed peas (which, along with the mushrooms, are the meat substitutes) as well as vegetable oil and all-purpose flour for the roux. You'll also need olive oil, onion, celery, bell pepper (any color), garlic, vegetable broth, more salt, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, okra, parsley, and scallions. Scroll down to read about filé powder as a substitute if you don't like okra. Finally, gather cooked white rice for serving as well as more parsley and scallions for topping if desired.

Make the Creole seasoning by placing all of the seasoning ingredients in a small bowl and whisking to mix. Set aside.

Place the mustard seed, soy sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, and 1 teaspoon of the Creole seasoning in a large mixing bowl and whisk well.

Add the mushrooms to the bowl and toss until they are evenly coated in the marinade. Set them aside to marinate.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Drain the tofu well, pat it dry, and cut it into ½-inch cubes.

Place the tofu in a large mixing bowl. Add the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the Creole seasoning and toss gently or shake the bowl until the tofu is evenly coated.

Arrange the tofu in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, flipping halfway, until browned and crispy. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil on medium in a Dutch oven or large, heavy-bottomed skillet, preferably cast iron.

Add the flour and, stirring constantly to prevent burning, cook for 30-35 minutes until it turns into a dark brown roux.

Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic, and cook, stirring constantly, for 5-6 minutes until the vegetables are softened. If not using a Dutch oven, transfer the mixture to a stockpot.

Add the broth, black-eyed peas, salt, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, and the remaining 2 teaspoons of the Creole seasoning to the pot and stir until the roux and liquid are well combined.

Raise the heat to bring the liquid to a boil, and then lower the heat and let the mixture simmer, uncovered, for 40 minutes.

Add the marinated mushrooms with their liquid, the browned tofu, and the okra and stir well. Let simmer for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove the pot from the heat and remove the bay leaves. Add the parsley and scallions and stir. Taste and adjust for salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper.

Serve with white rice and topped with additional parsley and scallions if desired.

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Roux is a base for sauces and dishes that's made from flour and a fat. In French cuisine, butter is used, but oil is used in Cajun and Creole cuisine because you can cook oil longer without it burning. This is important because a Cajun or Creole roux needs to be cooked until it's dark brown — the color of chocolate. Roux is a thickener, but it works less for thickening and more for flavor, the darker you make it.

The color of your roux matters. Roux starts out watery, beige, and bland. A white roux, as used in Béchamel sauce, is cooked the least. Next is a blond roux, which is cooked a little more and takes on a slight color and flavor. Then comes tan or light brown roux, which starts to develop noticeable flavor and is the color of peanut butter. After that is a brown roux, with a deep, nutty aroma and a bold flavor. With more cooking, you reach a dark brown or black roux, which is the Cajun roux with the most intense aroma and flavor.

Have patience — you must stir a dark roux continuously so it doesn't stick and burn. It's done when it's dark brown, has a deep aroma, and has thickened, so that when you stir it with a wooden spoon or paddle, you'll see an empty trail that liquid no longer rushes to fill.

Filé powder is made from the dried leaves of the sassafras tree, which are pounded until they're ground to a powder. The sassafras tree is a deciduous tree native to North America, and Native Americans used the leaves in their cuisine. When the Cajuns relocated to Louisiana from Canada, they adopted the use of this herb.

Sometimes you see it written as file powder, but it's pronounced fee-lay rather than file as in file cabinet. Filé powder is an important ingredient in Cajun and Creole cuisine, and it's often used in gumbo. In fact, sometimes it's known as gumbo filé. Although this ingredient thickens the dish, some gumbo recipes, such as this one, don't call for it and use okra as a thickener instead.

Filé powder is aromatic and also contributes a mild, earthy flavor to food. To use filé powder to thicken gumbo, wait until you've finished cooking the dish. Take the pot off the heat, and then stir in a little powder. Don't add the powder earlier because it turns stringy when cooked.

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