Easy Vegetable and Chickpea vegetarian Paella Recipe

Whilst I was making Stuart a mixed meat paella which he loves I decided to make myself a vegetarian paella and thought I would share the recipe with you. It is very similar and perfect for vegetarians or vegans. So this is the vegetable and chickpea paella I created.

If you follow Slimming World, Weight Watchers (WW), Noom or any other weight loss plan you can usually count this easily within your allowances as it is high in protein, low in fat and very filling.

Making a meal vegetarian easily

Whilst this recipe is vegetarian and even vegan many healthy recipes you find may not be. As a vegetarian, I thought I would share some tips with you.

An easy way to make a meal vegetarian is to swap the meat for a vegetarian alternative such as Quorn. Other possible swaps are for jackfruit, lentils, chickpeas, mixed beans or just extra vegetables.

I have been a vegetarian since I was 10 years old and enjoy a huge variety of food so whatever you do, don’t let being vegetarian mean you need to eat a boring diet.

My mixed meat paella recipe (pictured below) is very similar to this vegetarian one.

Why you need vegetables to lose weight

Everyone knows vegetables are good for you, don’t they? They are healthy and filling for very few calories!

The best vegetables are those with low-calorie density. Basically, we are talking about the healthier vegetables – potatoes don’t count but butternut squash is much healthier for example!

This means if you eat 100g of spinach, for example, it is just 23 calories and obviously, 100g of anything would fill you up significantly. On the other hand, 100g of crisps, which would be just as filling, is around 536 calories!

Find more tips about the best vegetables for weight loss.

Budget shopping tips

I try to ensure all of the recipes I make are accessible for everyone. By this, I mean that they do not use obscure hard to find ingredients. I also believe that recipes should use as few ingredients as possible and avoid expensive ingredients. We would all much rather spend money on holidays than expensive ingredients wouldn’t we?

Shopping around to see which shops have offers on your usual products can make a big difference to your weekly shopping bill. Additionally don’t forget to check out the yellow sticker reductions and freeze what you can.

Chickpeas are a low-cost food and make this recipe pretty budget-friendly. If you are struggling with all the vegetables just add your ones of choice in. Did you know when you strain chickpeas for this vegetarian paella if you keep the liquid it is called aquafaba and can be used as an egg alternative?

Adaptions to this vegetarian paella

You can replace the meat in paella with almost any vegetables and it will remain authentic (though you do need to keep the rice).  In fact, paella started in Valencia as a “leftovers” dish, where housewives would throw food in before it expired.  

The key to good paella is how you cook it.  By keeping the paella less than an inch deep it develops a fluffy texture.  You don’t need to stir the rice this way – and in fact, you shouldn’t.  

The resulting burnt rice on the bottom is the favourite part of the meal for some Spaniards.  The Valencians call this “socarrat”.  Obviously, like many “delicacies” socarrat isn’t exactly healthy

Of course, it helps to have a proper paella pan to do this.  These are wide and shallow, letting you cook a decent amount of paella the traditional way,

Other recipes you may enjoy

If you love recipes with rice then be sure to check out my ultimate selection of rice recipes. Don’t panic if you are rubbish at boiling rice, I have a foolproof guide!

Do you now realise you like chickpeas? Check out my chickpea guide for more ideas of things to make using them including a one-pot chickpea curry, cauliflower and chickpea curry, falafel and Spanish chickpeas.

If you are vegetarian or want to eat more vegetarian or plant-based meals I have a full list of vegetarian and vegan recipes.

This is also a pretty good meal to cook on a budget as you can change the vegetables around depending on what you have in. Check out my budget recipes.

Weight loss and Exercise Support

I have a lot of weight loss guides and support if you want to exercise including if you have a condition like fibromyalgia.

Have a good look around and see how I can help you achieve your weight loss goals. Request my free resources to get you started too!

If you want more quick easy vegetarian recipes then try Simply sensational food’s favourite 5 out.

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