Published: Jan 16, 2022 · Modified: Jan 11, 2023 by kaydimaggio

Easy New Orleans Style Vegan Gumbo (Gluten-Free)

Name: Easy New Orleans Style Vegan Gumbo (Gluten-Free)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 1 cup avocado oil; 1 cup cassava flour; 1 large yellow onion; 1 red bell pepper; 1 green bell pepper; 5 stalks celery; 3 cloves garlic; 2 tablespoons cajun seasoning; 8 cups vegetable broth; 1 package plant-based Spicy Italian sausage links (I used Beyond Meat); 1 cup diced okra; 1 cup diced mushrooms

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This New Orleans Style Vegan Gumbo is easy and delicious to make! It is gluten-free and full of delicious and hearty ingredients! This gumbo recipe will take your taste buds right back to the South!

Three bowls on grey surface with okra and a red napkin

One of the things that I love the most is down-home, Southern food. While I make my home in California, my family traces our roots back to the South. This New Orleans Style Vegan Gumbo is full of those hearty, cajun flavors that you are used to. Filled with cleaner ingredients, including a gluten-free roux!

For some other delicious recipes, try this Vegan Jambalaya or this Cajun Pasta with Smoked Sausage.

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Gumbo vs. Jambalaya
Why This Vegan Gumbo Is So Great
Ingredient Notes
Instructions
Substitutions
Variations
FAQ's
Equipment
Storage
Top Tips
Other Recipes You'll Love
Easy New Orleans Style Vegan Gumbo (Gluten-Free)
Food Safety

Gumbo vs. Jambalaya

There are big differences between Jambalaya and Gumbo that you might not know of if you didn't traditionally grow up around these foods. The main difference between these two dishes is their use of rice. Gumbo is really a soup or stew that's often served over a little rice, while jambalaya is made with the rice cooked into the dish, making the grain an integral part of it. Both dishes boast multicultural Creole and Cajun roots.

Why This Vegan Gumbo Is So Great

Gluten-Free Roux- Probably the best thing about this recipe is the fact that it is made with a gluten-free roux. Roux is typically made with flour and some sort of fat, such as butter or oil. This roux uses Cassava flour in place of the all-purpose flour making it the perfect recipe for those who are gluten-free to enjoy!
Plant-Based- This recipe skips the meat and ops for plant-based proteins which help to lighten the dish up a bit and allows for vegans and meat eaters alike to enjoy!
Quick and Easy Recipe- This gumbo comes together in about an hour which makes it a quick and easy recipe for a weeknight. It is such a hearty dish that no one would guess that it takes just an hour!

Ingredient Notes

Beyond sausage, holy trinity, broth, okra and oil

Plant-Based Sausage- Gumbo is made with sausage, chicken, and shrimp. This vegan gumbo is a little on the lighter side, relying on plant-based sausage and mushrooms to do the heavy lifting of the animal proteins. I used beyond sausage in this recipe, but feel free to use whatever plant-based sausage links you can find. I have heard great things about Field Roast or Lightlife!
Cassava Flour- The base for the roux is Cassava flour. Cassava flour is a grain-free flour created from the cassava root plant. Consider it similar to that of tapioca starch. It has a mild flavor and fine texture that is perfect for gluten-free cooking!
Avocado Oil- The second part of the roux is made up of Avocado Oil. Avocado oil is perfect for this recipe because it has a mild flavor and high smoke point. If you don't have avocado oil on hand, you can swap with another mild oil such as canola or sunflower. You can even use vegan butter as your fat base.
Cajun Seasoning- Cajun seasoning is a mixture of paprika, garlic powder, pepper, onion powder, celery salt, oregano, cayenne, and thyme. You can either make your own or use a pre-bought mixture. I opted for the pre-bought kind as that is what I had in my pantry.
Holy Trinity- The holy trinity of cajun cooking is a mixture of onion, celery, and bell peppers. It is the cajun version of mirepoix.
Okra- This is a key ingredient in this gumbo recipe, acting as both the thickener and giving delicious flavor. Gumbo derives its name from the West African word for okra, ki ngombo. You can choose to leave this out if you can't find it, however, I highly suggest leaving it in. If you can't find fresh okra, check the freezer section of your local grocery store where you should be able to find frozen okra.

See the recipe card for the full ingredient list and quantities.

Instructions

How to Make the Roux

Heat the avocado oil in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat.
Whisk the cassava flour into the oil and cook over medium-high heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes.
Once the roux is dark brown in color, remove it from the heat and set it aside.

How to Make the Gumbo

Brown the sausage In a separate skillet on medium-high heat place the sausage slices in one layer in the pan. Brown them well and then remove them to a plate.
Saute the vegetables. Add the vegetables, garlic, and cajun seasoning to the hot skillet that had the sausage with one tablespoon of oil. Saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the vegetables to the large soup pot with the roux.
Add the sausage to the soup pot and cover it with vegetable broth. Bring to a simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the chopped okra and simmer for an additional 15 minutes, until the stew is thickened and fragrant.
Serve warm over rice

Hint: Use the same skillet for both the sausage and holy trinity, I like to just do it in batches and make the roux in my dutch oven, that way I only have to clean two dishes!

Substitutions

Low Sodium - Make your own cajun seasoning to keep this low-sodium.
Kidney Beans -Add some kidney beans to bulk up the protein in this vegan gumbo even more.
Oil-Free - You can make the roux without oil, place flour, and spread evenly in a cast-iron skillet or other oven-safe, heavy pan. Place in the center of the 400 degree preheated oven. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes stirring every 15 minutes at first. After color develops on the flour, stir every 10 minutes.

Variations

Tomatoes - Tomatoes are more common in Creole gumbos. If you’d like to add tomatoes to this gluten-free gumbo recipe, purée 14 ounces of diced fire-roasted tomatoes and add to the pot at the same time the sausage. No need to reduce the amount of broth.
Filé powder - Filé powder, is also known as gumbo filé. It is an herbal powder made of ground-up sassafras leaves, this can be used in place of okra if you prefer.
Kid-friendly - Add half the amount of cajun seasoning to keep it from getting too spicy for little ones. Serve them the gumbo over white rice at a ration of 1:2, one part gumbo, two parts rice.

Check out this other delicious Southern dish, Vegan Creamed Spinach Casserole!

FAQ's

Can I make this Louisiana Vegan Gumbo with jackfruit?

Yes! Totally add some jackfruit into the mix! It will really lend that shredded chicken texture that authentic gumbos have.

Is this Vegan Gumbo authentic

While there are a lot of authentic qualities about this gumbo, no, I would not state that it is authentic for a few different reasons. First, at the heart of the dish, it is a meat based dish. So you won't find mushrooms or plant-based sausage in the original. Second, gumbos are so different based on the region where you are from and most recipes are passed down from family to family. So I honestly don't know if there is just one "authentic" gumbo recipe out there.

What is the difference between Creole Gumbo and Cajun Gumbo?

You will most often find tomatoes in Creole based Gumbos. The difference between Creole and Cajun is vast. In present Louisiana, Creole generally means a people and culture of mixed colonial French, African American and Native American ancestry. “Cajun” is derived from “Acadian” which are the people the modern day Cajuns descend from. These were the French immigrants who were expelled from Nova Scotia, and eventually landed in Louisiana.

Equipment

Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. See below for the equipment you will need to make this recipe.

Dutch Oven or Large Soup Pot
Cast Iron Skillet
Metal Spatula
Wooden Spoons
Chef Knife

Storage

Store the vegan gumbo in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

To freeze, allow the gumbo to cool completely, and store it in a freezer-safe container (separate from the rice) for 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.

Top Tips

Be careful not to burn the roux. The roux is the central element to this delicious vegan gumbo. Dark roux with regular flour usually takes up to 45 minutes, but cassava flour creates that nutty dark flavor extra fast since it’s grain-free!
Keep this easy gumbo recipe grain-free by serving it over cauliflower rice instead of the traditional white rice! It keeps the carb count lower you still get all of that delicious flavor.
Gumbo can definitely be made ahead of time and even tastes better the day after it’s cooked. Cool then refrigerate the entire pot, covered, for up to 2 days. Reheat over low heat.

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