Tofu Jambalaya

Here is a great, tasty meal for when you want something spicy and full of nutrients.  This jambalaya is packed with veggies, healthy carbs from the brown rice, and the tofu packs tons of protein!  It is also a very easy and quick meal to make and leftovers are just as delicious the next day!

This recipe was adapted from FatFree Vegan Kitchen:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb extra-firm tofu, frozen and defrosted
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped (green and/or red)
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 cup uncooked brown rice
• 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup water
• 2 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp Liquid Smoke
• cayenne and black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch cubes. Set aside.
2. In a large pot, saute onion, bell pepper, and celery over medium-high heat until soft.
3. Add rice and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes while stirring.
4. Add tomatoes, water, and all seasonings and stir to combine.
5. Gently stir in tofu.
6. Cover the pot tightly and turn heat to low.  Cook for about an hour or until rice is done and the liquid is absorbed.

The original recipe recommends using white rice because it cooks faster.  I prefer brown rice, though, and I can wait an extra 30 minutes while it only simmers; it is not like I had to do any extra steps for the brown rice.  But I guess if you are in a rush, you should use the white rice and you will only need 1/2 cup of water instead of 1 cup.  

Also, if you want to make this more like regular jambalaya that is more "meatier" than tofu, you can probably use vegan sausage in place of or in addition to the tofu.

Besides chopping all the vegetables, this meal came together very quickly.  And here's a tip, to quickly chop all the vegetables, I added them all to a food processor and pulsed a few times.  Then, once everything is mixed together in the pot, there is really nothing more to it!

I am roughly estimating that this recipe makes about 8 servings and each serving yields approximately 175 calories and 8.5g protein.