Overhead view of a large cooking pot filled with Vegan Brown Rice Jambalaya with Black Eyed Peas and Collards and topped with diced green onions.

Vegan Brown Rice Jambalaya with Black Eyed Peas and Collards

Enjoy this vegan & vegetarian take on a southern classic! Recipe courtesy of our friend Phoebe Lapine in partnership with The FeedFeed.

  • Servings
    6
  • Prep Time
    20 min
  • Cook Time
    1 hr 10 min
  • Total Time
    1 hr 30 min

Ingredients

  • 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 bunch collard greens, thick stems removed and thinly sliced
  • sea salt & pepper
  • small yellow onion
  • red bell pepper, finely diced
  • 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
  • large jalapeno, minced, seeds & ribs removed
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne
  • 2 cups chopped tomatoes
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 8 cups vegetable stock
  • 2 cups dried black-eyed peas, soaked overnight
  • 2 cups long grain brown rice
  • 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
  • 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

  • In a large pot over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the collard greens and stir-fry until wilted and tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove to a plate. Set aside.
  • Add the remaining olive oil along with the onions, bell pepper, and celery, and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the jalapeno, garlic, smoked paprika, regular paprika, cumin, cayenne, and salt. Cook for 2 minutes more, until very fragrant, then add the tomatoes, bay leaves, and thyme. Bring to a simmer and allow the tomato mixture to thicken slightly.
  • Pour in the stock, black-eyed peas, and brown rice. Bring to a boil, partially cover, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peas and rice have grown in size, but still have quite a bite to them. Cover the pot completely and continue cooking over low heat, undisturbed, until tender (but not mushy) and all of the liquid has been absorbed, another 20 minutes.
  • Fold in the collard greens and half the scallions. Cover and cook until the rice has absorbed all the liquid and the veggies are tender, about 10 minutes longer. Remove from the heat.
  • Season the vegetarian jambalaya with parsley, the remaining scallions, and serve warm.

Recipe Notes

Instructions for canned black-eyed peas: If you don’t have time to soak the peas in advance, you can a) cover them with boiling water for 10 minutes, or b) start with canned black-eyed peas. For the latter, simply cut the amount of stock in half, and add the rinsed beans to the pot when you fold in the collard greens in step 4.

To make this recipe low FODMAP: Omit the onions, garlic, and black-eyed peas. Reduce the amount of stock to 4 cups. It will be slightly more tomato-heavy without the extra legumes to dilute the flavors, but I didn’t mind!