Plant-Based Cajun Jambalaya

• servings: 8 servings
• active time: 45 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 - 16oz pkg vacuum packed extra firm tofu*

1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce

3 Tbsps olive oil

2 and 1/4 tsps garlic powder

2 and 1/4 tsps black pepper

3/4 tsp cayenne pepper (1/4-1/2 for a more mild sausage. 3/4 for spicy)

1 yellow onion, diced

3 celery stalks, diced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced (about 1 heaping Tbsp)

2 cups whole grain brown rice, rinsed and drained

4 and 1/2 cups of vegetable broth or water

1 and 1/2 Tbsps low sodium soy sauce

1 tsp black pepper

Salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning, to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a large baking sheet or two with parchment paper.

Pat the tofu dry. Cut into 1/4" slabs, lay flat, and pat dry once more.

Using a shot glass or spice bottle cap or round tablespoon, etc, cut out as many whole circle sausage coins from the tofu as you can. The circles are the sausage, the excess pieces are the shredded chicken.

In a small bowl, mix together the rest of the sausage ingredients. Dip each side of each piece of tofu into the marinade and place flat on the baking sheet. Continue until all pieces are seasoned and on the baking sheet. Brush any extra marinade onto tofu pieces that look like they could use a little more seasoning.

Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes (when it starts to bake, you may smell a little burning -- its just the little excess seasoning on the pan and will not effect the tofu). Flip each piece of tofu, and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from the over, The tofu will be darker, some smaller pieces almost looking burned. This is correct.

Preheat/bring the oven temp down to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large pot over medium heat, soften the onion, celery, and bell pepper in a little olive oil and a pinch of salt. (Test the softness by cutting through a piece of celery with the edge of your spoon -- it should easily glide through, and the color of the celery and bell pepper will have faded a good bit. Any crisp veggies at this stage will remain that way in the final product, which is not what we want. So don't rush it and make sure they're soft.)

Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds.

Add a splash of broth to the pot and stir to deglaze the pot, removing and brown bits from the bottom of the pot.

Add the broth, rice, tofu sausage and chicken, soy sauce and pepper to the pot and stir. Cover with lid.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes.

Stir, taste and adjust seasonings by adding some salt, pepper, cayenne (for spice) or a Cajun spice blend (the cajun blends contain cayenne, so watch those as they will add spice to your overall dish).

Serve and enjoy!