Spanish Vegan Paella (One Pot)

This Spanish Vegan Paella recipe is so easy to make and full of flavor! It’s topped with artichokes and European olives that are bursting with flavor and can be made in one pan for easy kitchen cleanup!

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What is paella?

Paella is a rice dish that originated in the Spanish city of Valencia. The word “paella” actually translates to “frying pan” in Valencia’s regional language.

Although paella is often thought of as a rice and seafood dish, the traditional Valencia paella is made with rabbit and chicken along with green beans. Artichoke hearts and olives are also used as seasonal ingredients.

To make this paella vegan, we’ll be using beans instead of meat. Beans are also often added which helps to keep this dish more traditional while being vegan-friendly at the same time.

Best rice for paella

Bomba rice is the traditional rice for paella because it short grain, naturally nonstick, and can absorb 2-3 times its volume of water without bursting or becoming soggy.

In supermarkets you may see it labelled as Paella Rice or Calasparra Rice.

If you can’t find Bomba rice, Arborio rice works well in this vegan paella! It’s the rice used for risotto but it is short grain like Bomba and more widely available.

Ingredient Notes

This vegan paella only requires 12 ingredients (including salt!). Reference the recipe card at the bottom for exact measurements.

Chickpeas—Used as the “meat” of the dish. Feel free to use your favorite beans! Great Northern Beans and Butter Beans are more widely used in paella if you prefer to make it more traditional.

Saffron—Provides a lovely flavor and golden color to the dish. If you can’t find it, you can substitute it with turmeric powder.

Saffron can be expensive but I was able to find it for a reasonable price at World Market. You can also find it online.

Olives and artichokes—Give this dish a burst of flavor. I used Manzanilla olives, which are plump, green olives from Spain. Canned artichokes are fine as well, or you can use roasted artichoke halves for even more flavor and texture!

How to make vegan paella

This step by step walk-through shows the process of making this one pan vegan paella recipe. Exact times and temperatures are available in the recipe card at the bottom.

Wash and prepare the vegetables. Dice the pepper and trim and quarter the green beans.

Over medium-high heat, cook the green beans and peppers for a few minutes until they start to brown. Add a splash of broth as needed to prevent sticking.

Add the rice and fry for a couple minutes, then add the salt, saffron, paprika, tomato paste, diced tomatoes and stir well to combine for a couple minutes.

Add the broth along with the chickpeas, stir to combine. Bring to boil, then turn down heat to a low boil and cook for it 10 minutes without stirring.

After 10 minutes, add the olives and artichokes to the top (without stirring), then cover with a lid and continue cooking without stirring for another 8-10 minutes.

Keeping the lid on, remove from heat for 5-10 minutes to allow the rice to finish soaking up any last liquid.

Squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the top of the finished vegan paella before serving!

Expert tips

Do not stir the rice once you have added the broth and brought it to a boil. You can stir it in to make sure everything is well combined, but once it starts cooking, leave it alone to do its thing.

Rotate the pan a couple times throughout the cooking process to ensure even cooking. You don’t want one side cooking faster than the other and risk burning the rice.

FAQ’s

More One Pot Vegan Recipes

Easy Potato Rice

One-Pot Lentil Curry

One-Pot Baked Feta Pasta

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