Loom Knitting by This Moment is Good!: Vegan or Pescatarian Jambalaya Recipe

An easy and versatile recipe! Add a little spice to your life...

This is an easy, peasy slow cooker recipe. It's super tasty, a little spicy and it fits the Meditteranean, vegan or pescatarian lifestyle. If you're vegan, just omit the shrimp and add an extra vegan sausage link (it's just as tasty). The sausage is plant-based so it fits most diets. I do not add a lot of sausage as I now see any meat or processed food as a seasoning/flavoring and not a large part of the meal. I've included two nutritional analyses below; one for the pescatarian version and the other is for the vegan version. It is analyzed by VeryWell, not me. I am not a health/nutrition expert.

Feel free to chop your own tomatoes (I'm lazy in this area if I can find canned, no-salt-added). 2 Large tomatoes should be fine.

Use a slow cooker on low or a dutch oven, placed in the oven, set to 190 degrees. I like the dutch oven since I can brown and slow cook all in one pot. I recommend being in the house if using the oven method. I also slow cook my meals for a shorter period of time than usual as I see no reason to kill all of those great nutrients in your food.

You will also see that I use both sodium and potassium salts. Sodium makes your blood pressure go up and potassium lowers it so I usually use a balance of both when I want more salty taste. You can use any salt you desire for this recipe. Talk to your doctor, some people can't have either...so sad :(

Vegan/Pescatarian Jambalaya (plant based recipe)

Prep: 20 MIN Cook: 4-5 hours on low, slow cooker setting.
Makes: 8 Servings

Spritz of avocado oil/or olive oil
1 Vegan Field Roast Italian Sausage link (click here), use 2 links if keeping this recipe entirely vegan.
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 Cup large onion, Chopped
1 Cup large celery stalks, chopped (approximately 2 stalks)
1 large Bell Pepper, chopped (any color, green is more traditional but I used 1/2 orange/1/2 Yellow)
2 cans 14.5 ounces organic, no salt added diced tomatoes with juice.
1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce (click here)
1 teaspoon Crystal Hot Sauce or preferred brand (adjust for taste)

Seasonings
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 TB onion flakes
1 tsp Italian seasonings
1/2 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp salt substitute (potassium-based)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (red pepper, adjust for taste preference)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp regular paprika
1 tsp parsley

Rice: 4 cups cooked (any rice you desire/white is traditional). Exchange half the water in your rice recipe for low sodium vegetable broth and add a teaspoon of vegan or regular butter. This will make your rice extra tasty. Please note that it will also add sodium.

For the Pescatarian, add 1/2 pound uncooked, peeled deveined large shrimp, thawed if frozen. Add into the pot 10-20 minutes before serving. I check them every 10 minutes so they don't shrink too much. Make sure they are cooked before serving.

Using a dutch oven (if you have a low crockpot setting for your oven) or crockpot. Slice sausage into thick quarter size chunks and brown in avocado/olive oil. You can do this right in the dutch oven if you have one, otherwise, use a frying pan. Transfer sausage to crockpot if necessary, Turn off heat (if using a dutch oven) and add garlic, celery, bell pepper, onion, Worcestershire sauce, and tomatoes.

Add all seasonings to the pot and stir. Later you may add more hot sauce if you like it spicy or omit it altogether, along with the cayenne if you are sensitive.

Cook on LOW crockpot setting for 4-5 hours. If you are adding shrimp (non-vegan version), add them before serving (see above).

Cook your rice following the directions on the box and see the rice note above for preparing. You will need 4 cups, cooked.

Add the rice to your dutch oven or slow cooker OR place some rice at the bottom of the bowl and spoon the Jambalaya over the rice.

Enjoy!