Vegetarian Gumbo

Better than Bullion makes a "No-Chicken" base that tastes like chicken stock but is vegetarian and delish.

Chicken stock in vegetarian gumbo is an interesting option imo

I make a vegan gumbo using Beyond Meat sausages and spicy tofu, and pretty much everything else the same as regular gumbo. Tastes amazing.

As Doug and Kim mentioned, chicken stock isn't vegetarian. With that said ... roasting the okra, and including red lentils, are both great ideas! Fresh okra would be preferable, though. I prefer whole or crushed tomatoes, in glass jars rather than cans. Or, I might use low-sodium tomato juice. And, I would use smoked paprika instead of "liquid smoke". Great. I've become "that" person who wants to change the recipe. :)

This is really tasty, though a little different from chicken or seafood gumbo. I’d suggest cutting down slightly on the hot sauce because it adds a little more vinegar than I’m used to—if you want more spice, compensate with more creole seasoning or some cayenne. I also added a few shakes of MSG, which always helps to make a vegetarian alternative taste a little meatier.

Most vegetarians would know how to make this completely vegetarian. So the quibbling seems unnecessary. This is delicious and easy. No okra to be found, fresh or frozen, so I used fresh zucchini, cut in 1/2” rounds, roasting it on a cooling rack over a baking sheet at 450F for 35 minutes, then added it where okra was added. For creole seasoning try https://www.emerils.com/120057/emerils-essence-creole-seasoning, converting it as tsp rather than TBsp. I used 2 tsp rather than 1 in this recipe.

If you use veg stock and olive oil this recipe is vegan.

A far darker roux - approaching the color of Great Auntie Amélie's mahogany sideboard - would provide more flavor. Other than the Trinity, including chunks of leeks and large cubes of a winter squash - butternut, pumpkin, etc. - would add texture and additional flavor - roasted in the oven to caramelize the sugars and then add them toward the end of cooking into the gumbo pot, along with the okra. With a properly-made roux and slow, long cooking, no lentils are necessary. And rice, please!

Okay so it's not strictly vegetarian if you use chicken stock - but still it's practically a "no-meat" recipe. Many of us, myself included, are eating much less meat than in previous years, maybe almost no meat, but we don't call ourselves "vegetarian".

The roux in a gumbo is always equal parts vegetable oil and flour. Cook it over medium heat until it is the color of an old penny.

Not sure if this is why it was specified, but I find that making a dark roux like this is always easier to gauge when is the perfect moment to pull it from the heat in my enameled cast iron dutch oven because the white enamel makes it much easier to see its color.

So... use a Dutch oven to make the roux... and then don't use the oven for anything else? Seems like a waste. Why not just do the simple roux in a small sauce pan?

creole gumbo ~ yes tomatoes. cajun gumbo ~ no tomatoes. needing to get back to the 'nawlins' jazz fest now...

I made a vegan gumbo substituting red beans, black beans and cannellini for the chicken and andouille sausage I usually use. Obviously, you must use vegetable stock. It came out very good, and was a big hit with my vegetarian and vegan friends. We also had the chicken and sausage gumbo and a seafood gumbo for the non-vegetarians. Btw, I much prefer vegetable oil for making the roux.

Recommended: I make a vegan gumbo using Beyond Meat sausages and spicy tofu, and pretty much everything else the same as regular gumbo. Or: I made a vegan gumbo substituting red beans, black beans and cannellini for the chicken and andouille sausage.