Vegan Prawn Creole Recipe
Looking for a delicious vegan alternative to traditional prawn creole? Look no further! My vegan prawn creole recipe is bursting with flavor and will satisfy your cravings. With perfectly seasoned plant-based prawns and a rich tomato-based sauce, you won’t miss the original. Serve it over a bed of fluffy rice for a complete and satisfying meal.
To me Cajun food always represents the holidays. It started back in 1986 when I was staying with a friend during the holidays. His family had some Cajun friends who were hosting the festivities that year. What I experienced was the quintessential holiday experience. The food was sublime and the mood uniquely festive. Rarely have I encountered such genuine and generous people in the years since and I will always cherish how great that Thanksgiving was.
Despite the fact that the migration of the French from Acadia occurred in the mid 18th century, Cajun cuisine didn’t become part of the mainstream vernacular until the 1990’s, flirting with acceptance then falling briefly out of favour. Perhaps the acceptance of this food and subsequent rejection can be attributed to the same thing: health. The initial intrigue was very likely a reaction to the bland and boring health consciousness of the 1980’s. The rapid fall from grace for Cajun food was probably the result of the next wave of health food fascism that swept the country again in the 1990’s.
Fortunately, and in no small part to the popularity of TV chefs, cookbook writers and whole stations devoted to cooking, Cajun food, along with many other styles of cooking were soon in the forefront of modern cuisine. In the UK though, Cajun food still seems quite understated: you might find the odd gumbo-style ready meal in supermarkets, and you can certainly buy Cajun seasoning and okra quite easily, but it’s rarely seen on restaurant menus.
If you’ve tried my other vegan Cajun-style recipes, gumbo and jambalaya, hopefully, like me, you’ll have fallen in love with the spicy, robust flavours, the essential roux and the trinity of flavours: onion, celery and bell peppers. Once you understand these key elements of Cajun cooking, it is so easy to produce authentic Cajun dishes at home.
Table of Contents
What is a Creole sauce?
Traditionally, a creole is a thick, spicy stew, flavoured with the aforementioned holy trinity, roux but also tomatoes and hot sauce, plus the preferred proteins of shrimp and chicken, and served over boiled rice. It’s somewhat a cross between jambalaya and gumbo, so if you do love those dishes, you won’t go far wrong with my vegan creole!
What I love about Cajun recipes is that they are usually one-pan dishes, making them a breeze to assemble, and not too much washing up!
Instead of prawns or chicken, I’ve used a vegan prawn substitute, although you could omit this altogether, and perhaps use some sliced king oyster mushrooms, canned kidney beans or your favourite meat-alternative.
To understand the importance of the roux in Cajun cuisine, and how to make one, I have written about it here.
Ingredients
- vegetables: onions, bell peppers, garlic, tomatoes, spring onions and celery
- vegan prawns (or vegan chicken replacement)
- vegetable stock
- hot sauce (I use Tabasco, but use the sauce of your choice)
- flour and olive oil for the roux
This is ONLY a list of ingredients for the recipe; please see recipe card below for complete printable recipe.
Instructions
In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and flour to make the roux.
Over medium heat, keep stirring the roux until it turns a rich brown colour and smells like popcorn.
Now add your holy trinity: the chopped bell peppers, onions and celery and sweat down in the roux for 20 minutes.
Now add the chopped tomatoes, hot sauce, garlic and bay leaves. Cook for another 20 minutes.
Stir in the spring onions, stock, parsley, sugar and salt. Cook for 20 minutes more.
Finally, stir in your vegan prawns and cook for a final 5 minutes. Serve over boiled rice.
Substitutions
- Hot sauce – I use Tabasco, but use your favourite hot sauce.
- Vegan Prawns – feel free to use your favourite plant-based alternative meat, some tinned kidney beans or sliced mushrooms.
Storage
- You can store the cooled creole in the fridge for 2-3 days, gently reheating when needed.
- Creole freezes beautifully. Cook, cool and place in a freezer-safe container, thawing at room temperature and reheating gently.
Vegan “Shrimp” Creole recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 onion - large, peeled and diced
- 1½ bell pepper - diced, colour of your preference
- 3 sticks celery - diced
- 2 cloves garlic - crushed
- 4 tomatoes - chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp hot pepper sauce
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp Parsley - fresh, chopped
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 spring onions - sliced
- 250 g shrimp - vegan
Instructions
- Whisk together oil and flour in a heavy bottomed pan until a light roux is formed
- Add onions, celery, and peppers. Sauté for about 20 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, bay leaves, hot sauce, and garlic. Simmer on low for 20 minutes.
- Pour in stock, parsley, spring onions, sugar, and salt. Cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add vegan shrimp and cook for 5 minutes.
- Serve over rice.
Please note that where the recipe asks for milk, butter or yogurt, this refers to any plant-based version that you prefer.
