Hearty Vegan Gumbo Soup Recipe
2013
This vegan gumbo soup recipe makes a very thick, rich and hearty soup. Okra, as well as its flavorful spiced base, is the superstar and most characteristic part of Gumbo soup. The word gumbo itself comes from an African word for okra. While gumbo soups are generally meat or seafood filled, this plant empowered version gets its wonderful thick and hearty texture from the addition of beans, mushrooms and, of course, loads of vegetables. Lots of herbs, spices and a little smoke seasoning gives it it’s deep full flavor. This was a huge hit at our home. We all loved it and I hope that you do too!
Hearty Vegan Gumbo Soup Recipe
Ingredients
1 Onion – chopped
4 Celery Stalks – sliced
2 cups Mushrooms – chopped
6 Garlic cloves – minced
½ Red Pepper – diced
½ Yellow Pepper – diced
1 Zucchini – diced
Okra – sliced
6 Tomatoes – blanched and peeled
1 can Red Kidney Beans, est 2 cups
1 can Black Beans, est 2 cups
optional – ¼ cup Cornstarch
Seasonings
Lots of Chives, up to a cup, or ¼ cup dried
6 to 8 Basil leaves
3 stems of fresh Oregano, or 3 tsps of dried
3 stems of Thyme, or 2 tsps of dried
2 Bay leaves
1 Tbsp Onion powder
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Black Pepper
½ tsp Cumin
½ tsp Cayenne
10 drops of Liquid Smoke
Directions
Heat a frying pan and fry the onions, celery, mushrooms and garlic for about 4 minutes. Add the peppers and zucchini and continue frying for just a couple more minutes, until they are just starting to soften. Then add them into a large pot along with the sliced okra, cover with water and set on high heat. Process or mash the tomatoes and add them, along with the beans, to the pot. When the water in the pot begins to boil reduce the heat to medium-low, so the water continues to boil gently.
Chop the fresh herbs; add the whole thyme strands if you have fresh. For the oregano remove the leaves from the stem and lightly chop. Add all of the seasonings to the pot and continue to boil. Mix the cornstarch in a bottle with at least a half cup of water. Put the cover on the bottle and shake to mix, then add slowly to the pot while stirring. His will help along with the okra, to thicken the soup. In another 15 to 30 minutes of cooking the soup is ready to serve.
Serve now, or you can remove from the heat, let cool and transfer to containers to refrigerate at this point. Alternatively, you can lower the heat to low and continue simmering for hours to serve when desired. When simmering a soup for long periods, remember to stir occasionally and add some water to the pot to replace the water that has evaporated from simmering.
Photo Description
Assemble ingredients
Assemble seasonings
Get the star of this soup ready – wash and drain okra
Fry onions, garlic, celery and mushrooms.
Chop okra
Chop the rest of the vegetables while onions and mushrooms are frying.
Add zucchini and peppers to the frying pan.
Transfer all fried vegetables and okra to a pot and cover with water.
Chop herbs
Add herbs and seasonings to the pot.
Mash or process tomatoes.
Drain beans.
Add beans to pot.
Remove thyme strands from pot if using fresh.
Add coconut milk.
Let thicken and the gumbo is ready!
I added the tomatoes at the end for this batch, as I was making some soup without tomatoes in it as well. The finished soup has tomatoes added, but the last few pictures were taken without the tomatoes added.
Ready to serve!
Enjoy!
