This is the tastiest vegan seafood boil sauce EVER! It makes everything taste amazing and I could literally drink the liquid…I might have actually done that, lol, but don’t tell anyone. My cajun seafood boil recipe is easy to make, uses a ton of delicious Louisiana flavors, and can be made in a pressure cooker, crockpot, or using a regular pot. This will be a hit for dinner or for a party!
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Hi, its Monique!
I’m here with yet another terrific recipe in line with the Daytime Vegan vision and just in time for a little vegan fun in the sun! Now that summer is finally here, its time for backyard fun, cookouts, and recipes that’ll leave everyone licking their fingers for more! So, can anyone say Vegan Cajun Seafood Boil?
What is a Cajun Seafood Boil
A seafood boil is basically what it sounds like…except it’s EXTREMELY DELICIOUS! A traditional seafood boil includes shrimp, crawfish, and/or crab, red potatoes, mini corn on the cob, and sometimes sausage, like an andouille sausage. These ingredients are boiled in a delicious liquid made with lots of butter, garlic, onion (sometimes), liquid (vegetable stock, seafood stock, chicken stock, or even water can be used) and tons of robust cajun seasonings.
Of course my vegan version does not include seafood, sausage, or butter…but I PROMISE it’s just as delicious as a traditional seafood boil. I proooomiiiisseee!!!
What gives this vegan recipe the seafood flavor?
My vegan “seafood” boil gets the seafood flavor from wakame and kombu.
Wakame is a species of edible seaweed. In my opinion, it provides the strongest “seafood” flavor in vegan seafood recipes, as opposed to kombu, dulse, nori, etc…. I mostly see wakame in it’s dried form. I will insert a picture for you all:
Kombu is an edible kelp. Kelp and seaweed are very similar and although kelp is sometimes referred to as a large seaweed, kelp and seaweed are not the same. Kelp is classified as a Laminaria and is a Protist, while seaweed is classified as Paraphyletic. A protist is any eukaryotic organism that is not an animal, plant or fungus.
There are currently 300 known kelp varieties and at least 10,000 known seaweed species. Also, seaweed can grow in most marine environments, like the ocean, rivers, or lakes, whilst kelp is typically found along rocky coastlines and in salt water.
In this recipe, I take dried wakame and grind it in a coffee grinder. I then sauté the ground wakame with the rest of the spices, to add an intense flavor of the sea. The kombu helps give it that little extra kick of seafood flavor.
My Favorite Vegetables to use
I don’t know why I’m including this in the blog post! I can never choose a favorite vegetable, in general, let alone choosing favorites for this delicious recipe. The broth for this recipe really does make anything taste amazing. You could drink the broth….I might be speaking from experience *wink*.
When making this vegan seafood boil, I typically use cauliflower, because it soaks up the liquid better than any other vegetable, in my opinion, bell peppers, asparagus, red potatoes, and corn (I don’t add corn all the time, but if I can find some quality non-gmo corn, I’ll ALWAYS use it in this recipe). You could also try zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, or even squash, such as butternut squash or kobacha squash.
Health Benefits
Seaweed is rich in some health-promoting molecules and materials such as, dietary fiber, ω-3 fatty acids, essential amino acids, and vitamins A, B, C, and E.
A single tablespoon of kelp provides 500 percent of the daily recommended value of iodine. Iodine is a key component of the hormones made in the thyroid gland, which help control energy production.
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Vegan Cajun “Seafood” Boil
Ingredients
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 head garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon ground wakame, optional
- 1 teaspoon celery seeds
- 1/2 tablespoon granulated onion
- 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
- 1 tablespoon gumbo file
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon lemon pepper
- 1 tablespoon old bay seasoning
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic paste, optional
- 5 cups vegetable stock
- 1 piece kombu, optional
- 6 – 8 small red potatoes
- 9 mini corn on the cobs
- 1 bunch asparagus, cut in half
- 1 cauliflower, cut into large florets
- 2 bell peppers, cut into large chunks
- juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Place a very large stock pot on medium heat. Once hot, add the olive oil, garlic, and onion. Cook these for about 5 – 7 minutes, or until they are lightly browned. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking and burning.
- Add the next 9 ingredients, stir, and cook for 1 minute to intensity the flavor of the seasonings. Be sure to stir so they don’t burn. Next, add the stock and kombu (if usinand stir.
- Add the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes, then add the cauliflower and corn and cook for another 10 minutes, then add the asparagus and bell peppers and cook for about 8 minutes, or until everything is fork tender.
- Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and serve.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
You can use any vegetables you want or have on hand.
Hello Ms. Monique,
I lived in Louisiana years ago but I currently live in Georgia. I have been trying to incorporate vegan food in my weekly meal for health reasons. I also love Cajun food and that is one of the things I miss about Louisiana. I decided to add vegan meal to my diet for health reasons and a couple of friends of mines recommended DaytimeVegan.com as a great start for vegan food with great taste. When I was viewing your website I saw your Vegan Cajun Seafood Boil meal and I thought I would try to make the meal. The meal was very easy to make by following your video and recipe on your website. I like corn, so I added it as part of my recipe and your Cajun Seafood Boil meal was awesome. I love your vegan meals on your website and I will use them to help me incorporate vegan meal in my diet.
Thank you
I’m glad you found my website! Thank you for the nice comment 😊
lol, I’m glad it turned out nicely for you! Thanks for giving it a try!
Wow! I only recently found your website and I LOVVVVE IT! ♥ This Cajun seafood boil was dinner last night and my husband (who I have the durnest time getting to eat vegetables) was nearly slurping the broth! Great recipe!
You can use any vegetable in this recipe and it will taste delicious! I’m so happy he enjoyed it!
Im not really a “leave a comment” type, but this recipe came out SO delicious for me that I feel helpless to my urge to thaaaaaaank youuu for sharing such a wonderful recipe!! Oh, and btw…you just won a new subscriber to your YouTube channel 😇…first time I’ve ever even subscribed to YouTube! Thanks Chef!!
Thank you very much! I have a new video uploading to YouTube next Thursday, so stay tuned! I’ll show you how to make Vegan Mexican Street Tacos!
HI Monique. Thank you so very much for this recipe, I have attempted several vegan seafood boils in the past, but they didn’t taste as I had hoped. I never tried those recipes again. I tried this recipe,, and OMG!! It was exactly what I had been trying to achieve all this time. I am going to make if tor the upcoming holidays with my family. Thank you so much. Keep the recipes coming..
I’m so happy it turned out well! I hope your family enjoys it as much as you did! Thank you 😊😊
Awesome recipe! Super creative with the ingredients List! I love it!!
Thank you!
My hats off to you on this recipe, because although I went to it as a last minute sorta thing, it was much much better than I ever imagined anything vegan could possibly be. As you can tell I’m not a vegan myself. Good job though because it’s very tasty and don’t tell anyone but… I drank the broth.
lol. I drink the broth too, so no judgement here!
This turned out amazingly good. Please, more Cajun recipes like this in the future! Thanks!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! I’ll definitely take your tip and work on more cajun recipes! Thank you . 🙂
Just finished watching your YouTube video for this dish…it ooks super duper delicious! Gonna give it a try!!!
Please do! Thank you 🙂
Hi Chef and mentor! I really like how this recipe is healthy and vegan and all since I’m a newly converted vegan, thanks to my boyfriend. Would cooking a polar sausage in it to add flavor then throwing the sausage out afterwards be a good way to make more flavor?
Hello! Adding vegan sausage can definitely add flavor!
Have this recipe a try and it turned out really really good. I searched for website looking, but couldn’t find a cookbook from you. I’m wondering if you have one. If so, please send me a link.
Great YouTube channel, BTW.
I’m working on a cookbook. Thank you very much 😊