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This no-seafood vegan boil is going to blow your mind. Corn on the cob, potatoes, broccoli, vegan sausage and more topped with an incredible vegan cajun butter sauce. It's a great dish for a vegan cookout or get-together, and even holidays!
Vegan Boil
The day my husband said, "Hey...let's try to make a vegan boil" was the day I fell in love with him all over again. Okay, that is super dramatic, but this vegan boil immediately became one of my favorite things to eat, ever.
We started out following Veggie Rose's Vegan Crab Boil recipe, took inspiration from other boil recipes out there, and adapted it to our own tastes and preferences.
There are three main components to this vegan boil: the vegetable boil, the vegan sausage, and the cajun butter sauce.
The Vegetable Boil
First thing's first: you will need a really really big pot. The pot I use is about 20 quarts. Add in 16-20 cups of water, a crab boil bag (which is just a bag of seasoning), salt, a quartered lemon, and a quartered onion. All of these ingredients will help add flavor to your veggies.
Bring the pot to a boil, then carefully add in your longer-cooking vegetables - for this recipe, that's the corn and potatoes. See this post for tips on shucking corn.
Let the water come back to a boil. This takes a few minutes and it helps to cover the pot. Boil the vegetables until the potatoes are nearly tender. Then add in the vegetables with short cooking times - I use broccoli and green beans. Boil for 2-3 minutes or until everything is tender.
Carefully drain into a large colander.
While the vegetables are cooking, make the sausage and butter sauce.
(I have included a list of other veggies that go great with a boil at the bottom of this post.)
The Sausage
Grab your favorite vegan sausage! My husband & I love to use 2 links of Field Roast Chipotle Sausage and 2 links of Field Roast Frankfurters. He goes for the way-more-spicy chipotle flavor and I stick with the Frankfurters (that still do get a bit spicy being cooked together.)
Another brand of sausage we love is Beyond Sausage. Or, you can make your own seitan sausage!
As an alternative protein, you can cook up some tofu. Becky from Glue & Glitter has a great recipe for baked tofu that would be heavenly drizzled with the cajun butter sauce.
If you REALLY want some kind of plant-based "seafood", there are some store-bought options out there.
The Cajun Butter Sauce
In a small saucepan, melt some vegan butter. Add in the seasoning (garlic, onion, paprika, Old Bay, and Cajun seasoning). Let the spices simmer with the butter for about 1 minute. This really lets the flavors activate.
Whisk in the vegetable stock and bring to a simmer again. Lastly, stir in the lemon juice after removing the pot from the heat.
Additional Vegetable Options
Here are some other ideas:
- Bell peppers
- Cauliflower
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Kale
- Asparagus
- Spinach
- Squash
- Celery
Some veggies like asparagus and spinach will take less time to cook, so add them with only a couple minutes left. Here is a great guide to veggie cooking times.
How to Make a Vegan Boil: Video
Vegan Boil
Ingredients
The Boil
- 16-20 cups water
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 crab boil seasoning in a bag - like Zatarain's
- 1 lemon - quartered
- 1 yellow onion - peeled and quartered
- 4 ears corn on the cob - shucked and cut into halves or thirds
- 2-3 lbs baby potatoes - washed
- 1 large head broccoli - cut into florets
- 1 lb fresh green beans - trimmed
The Cajun Butter Sauce
- ¾ cup vegan butter
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1-2 tsp Cajun seasoning
- ¾ cup vegetable stock
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- salt to taste - if needed
The Vegan Sausage
- 4 links vegan sausage
- 2 tsp oil or vegan butter
Instructions
The Boil
- Add the water, salt, crab boil seasoning bag, lemon quarters, and onion quarters to a very large pot. I use a 20-quart pot.
- Bring the pot to a boil.
- Add the corn and potatoes into the pot. Be super careful so you don't splash boiling water on yourself. I wear long oven mitts to protect my hands/arms.
- Bring the pot back to a boil. This takes 5-10 minutes. Boil for about 8-12 minutes or until the potatoes are almost fork-tender. (In the meantime, you can prep the butter sauce and the sausage.)
- Add in the broccoli and green beans. Continue to boil until all veggies are tender.
- Drain the pot carefully into a large colander.
Cajun Butter Sauce
- In a small saucepan, melt the vegan butter on low-medium heat. Add in the garlic powder, onion powder, Old Bay seasoning, paprika, and Cajun seasoning.
- Let the butter come to a simmer for about 1 minute, whisking to make sure it doesn't burn.
- Whisk in the vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer again and then remove from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice.
Sausage
- Cut the sausage links lengthwise, then into thirds or quarters.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add in the sausage and saute until browned.
Serve it up!
- You can leave the strained veggies right in the colander, or serve them on a large serving dish with tongs to easily grab the veggies.
- Add the veggies to your plate along with the vegan sausage. Drizzle the Cajun butter sauce over top. Dig in!
Viviana says
Recipe is so easy and delicious! Came out so good! Definitely will make again. Would though double the spices.
Lara says
Delicious summer dish. I used to love these Cajun boils and never thought to recreate as vegan. This was perfect.
Celeste Thrower says
Would it still taste good if I left the meat replacement out althogether?
Karissa says
Absolutely!
Diane Munson says
Really good. Never heard of a boil but looked good. I Used Kroger plant based kielbasa. Thank you!!
viviana says
how would you heat this up if its meal prepped.
Karissa says
The microwave is probably best.
Melisa Montoya says
I can’t even explain how amazing this is!!!! With 2 vegans and 2 meat eaters it barely made it to the table. I literally said GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN AND WAIT!!!! LOL
Loved it!!!!!
Mary says
Omg this is great! We’re from Louisiana. My 16 year old daughter is a vegan and I never imagined there could be a vegan boil option. Can’t wait to try it!
Stephy says
Wow you are ana amazing parent for going out of your way to learn how to make vegan food for your child <3
Kat says
Awesome! My neighbor hosts a boil twice a year. I always look longingly at the corn and potatoes, but never eat them, since they're cooked with the meat. Well not this time, baby! I will always bring this recipe from now on. I subbed the broccoli for homegrown butternut squash and used real butter. I served with smoked apple sage field roast sausage. So good...lots of compliments!
Linda Streeter says
This is my first review but I just had to let you know how much my husband and I enjoyed this dish! We are on a beach vacation a this was the perfect dish
Jennifer says
I'm so excited to try this my husband and I eat fish as the only meat we eat but this would be great and he wouldn't even miss the meat
Dee M. says
So good!!!
Carole Rebera says
This is such a great idea, will be making it this weekend! Thank you for sharing the recipe!