Vegan Spiralized Paella

Vegan Spiralized Paella

This paella inspired dish uses spiralized carrots that are pulsed into rice-like bits for a texture and flavor that's just like paella, but a grain free way to enjoy this classic Spanish dish. With a vegan twist, this veggie packed meal has exotic flavors with an easy preparation.

Vegan Spiralized Paella

One of the first dishes I made vegan back in 2008 when I “went vegan” for three years was paella. Paella is such a flavorful, rich, and beautifully textured dish and I wanted to recreate those same robust flavors and textures.

Vegan Spiralized Paella

You’ll be amazed by how similar to paella this dish tastes – it only takes a few simple seasonings like paprika, cayenne, and saffron to give this recipe that classic flavor. Some simple vegetables like bell peppers and artichoke hearts give the paella heartiness and olives give each forkful that much needed saltiness that you’d get otherwise from a meat or seafood.

Of course, the real star here is the carrot rice. Now, if you can’t find carrots large enough to spiralize, simple chop them into small cubes and pulse them in the food processor until rice like – that’ll do. Otherwise, this would work beautifully with sweet potato, golden beet or butternut squash as well. The spiralized rice soaks up all the delicious flavor in this recipe and makes for a tasty meal.

Vegan Spiralized Paella

And as a bonus point, since this is a vegan paella, it saves well in the refrigerator! Did someone say meal prep?

Watch our video to learn how to spiralize a carrot using the Inspiralizer and subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch more videos:

 

Nutritional Information & Recipe

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Vegan Spiralized Paella

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 3 large carrots peeled, Blade D
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 yellow onion diced
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1.5 teaspoons paprika
  • 1.5 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon saffron threads
  • salt to taste
  • 2 cups chopped broccoli florets
  • 1 red bell pepper sliced into strips (or spiralized with Blade A and noodles trimmed)
  • 1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes (if you like tomatoes, use a 28oz can of tomatoes and omit the vegetable broth later)
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 tablespoon freshly chopped cilantro
  • 1 14.5oz can quartered artichoke hearts
  • pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth
  • 1/2 cup pitted green olives
  • 1 tablespoon minced parsley for garnish
  • 4 – 6 lemon wedges to serve

Instructions

  • Pulse the carrot noodles in a food processor until rice-like. Set aside.
  • Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Once the oil heats, add in the garlic and onions and let cook for 3 minutes or until softened. Then, add in the cayenne, paprika, and saffron. Season with salt.
  • Add in the broccoli and bell peppers and cook for 3 minutes or until they begin to soften. Then, using tongs, remove the bell peppers and set aside on a plate. Add in the tomatoes and stir well. Then, add in peas, carrot rice, cilantro, artichokes, salt and pepper, and vegetable broth. Stir to combine and then decoratively add in the bell peppers. Add in the olives, pressing them into the carrot rice, submerging.
  • Let the mixture cook undisturbed, for 10 minutes or until the carrot rice is softened to your preference (taste to tell.)
  • Garnish with parsley and serve immediately with lemon wedges.

with love, Ali

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comments

  • YES!!!! After having my first vegetarian paella a few years ago, I've been wanting to recreate it at home (but I've been too lazy, let's be honest). This is fantastic! Thanks!
  • Great to see a vegan version! I am not a seafood person, so, needless to say, I don't enjoy paella in its most traditional form. Haha. I'm diggin' the carrot rice noodles, too!
  • I hadn't ever thought of making rice out of carrots but they'd be perfect since they are a hard veggie. Now on to turnip and rutabaga rice as well. You might want to try them as a good Mexican Rice substitute because they would look the part better than cauliflower or Daikon radish rice. ¡Arriba!
    • I have a rice and beans recipe in my next cookbook! And for some more Mexican inspiration, try: https://inspiralized.com/sweet-potato-rice-mexican-breakfast-skillet/
  • Great idea! I copied the concept, if not the actual ingredients. I had some carnitas that I fried in my cast iron pan, then made rice from a sweet potato, a carrot and a parsnip. Steamed it in chicken broth, added peas and put the meat on top. It was a beautiful presentation and my kids had no idea that they had just eaten an entire bowl of vegetables! Thanks!
  • I'm wondering if the taste would be ruined without the cayenne and olives. I can't eat spicy and don't like olives. I had vegetable paella in Spain and loved it! I've been dying to recreate it!
    • It would be less salty and less spicy - perhaps add some extra salt and some spice (like chili powder, instead!)
  • I made this for dinner tonight and it was so yummy! I had to buy the saffron and I about freaked when I saw how much it cost, but it was worth it. I will definitely make this again and may try adding shrimp too!
    • Wonder if we could make it without the saffron?
  • This looks incredible! More vegan recipes please :D also do you suggest a replacement for the broccoli? I can't have cruciferous veggies :/
  • This looks fab! I've cooked your Paella from the cookbook (swap out the fish for chicken as I can't eat seafood) and it's amazing, so I'm excited to try this one. Plus it has artichokes, which I've never cooked with or eaten, so that will be something new to try (and hopefully delicious!) Inspiralized and completely changed my diet for the better and I can't wait for your new book! Thank you.
  • I've been eating a lot more plant based recipes as well! Adding loads of vegetables into your dishes is such a great way to incorporate more micronutrients and fiber into your diet! This is such a wonderful take on paella :)
  • Thank you for sharing such a good recipe, vegetable paella. It is soo good!!!