This One-Pot Cajun Rice recipe is simple, satisfying and perfect for busy weeknights. It makes a tasty vegetarian and vegan meal that the whole family will love. Learn how to make homemade spicy Cajun rice with this easy skillet recipe.
You are going to love this Louisiana-style rice made with Creole spices, fresh vegetables, red beans and rice. It is perfectly seasoned and bursting with piquant Cajun flavor, but is so easy to make. In addition, everything gets cooked together in one pan. That means minimal cleanup is required to prepare this fast, flavor-packed meal. ♡
How To Make Vegetarian Cajun Rice
Here are the basic steps to make this homemade Cajun rice recipe:
- Cook the veggies: Sauté a vegetable medley of chopped onion, celery, and bell pepper in a bit of olive oil. These three vegetables are collectively known as “the holy trinity of Cajun cuisine”, as they provide the flavor base for the dish.
- Add the spices: Next, a blend of Cajun spices is added and lightly cooked until fragrant. Gently cooking the spices allows them to bloom and release their aromas.
- Add the rice, beans & broth: Stir in the rice, canned red kidney beans and broth. Leave everything alone to cook, until all of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. Garnish with cilantro (if desired) and then serve up your rice nice and warm.
That’s it! This is truly a quick and easy Cajun dinner recipe that is absolutely bursting with flavor.
More Vegetarian Rice Dinner Recipes to Try
Looking for more meatless rice dinner inspiration? Here are a some of my favorite recipes on the blog:
One-Pot Cajun Rice Recommendations
Here are some tools that will make prepping the ingredients for this Creole-style recipe an absolute breeze:
- Ultra Chef Express Food Chopper – This is the one I have and it is one of my most-used kitchen tools. I use mine all the time to quickly chop up vegetables. I especially love using it to dice onions, because it saves me from all the tears!
- OXO Stainless Steel Scraper – I purchased a bench scraper after seeing them being used on my favorite cooking shows. It is SUCH a handy tool for scraping up and transferring chopped food from the cutting board into the pan.
If you make this Cajun Rice recipe, let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating ★ below, because I love hearing from you! ♡
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One-Pot Cajun Rice (Vegetarian & Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup uncooked white rice
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- Salt and pepper
- 1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- Optional garnish: Chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- In a pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and bell pepper. Sauté for 4-5 minutes until softened.
- Add the garlic, paprika, oregano, thyme, cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook for another minute until fragrant.
- Stir in rice, broth and beans. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Increase heat to high and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro, if using, and serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
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I made this last night and everyone enjoyed it! I did cut down on the cayenne and omit the green bell pepper but it was still very flavorful. Overall I still prefer to make rice in my rice cooker but despite my fussing and anxiety it did cook properly!
Hi Erin, thanks so much for letting me know! I’m so happy everyone liked the recipe! 🙂