Easy Instant Pot Vegan Etouffee

If you’re anything like me, you love a good Mardi Gras parade: the sights, the sounds, and the great Cajun and Creole cuisine. With one hitch, few Cajun or Creole recipes are plant-based. Especially my favorite Creole comfort food, Etouffee.

A dish that’s full of down-home flavor, and if you could pack the flavor of the Crescent City into one dish, this would be the one.

If you’ve never heard of etouffée before, its traditional Creole dish from New Orleans that consists of seafood, typically crawfish, that’s smothered in a rich, spicy gravy thickened with butter-based roux. Which makes it anything from vegan-friendly.

While I am not an étouffée neophyte, I am a newbie when it comes to turning this family favorite dish into a plant-based classic. But as this was one of my favorite things to eat as a non-vegan, I knew I needed to have my hand in this recipe too! It is so good.

Étouffée is steeped in Cajun tradition. And my kidney bean version of étouffée is so yummy that it’s unthinkable for me to ever miss this beloved dish again. This buttery, spicy, tangy stew is just like a vegan trip down the bayou. Perfect on a cold, dreary winter day at home!

And today is Mardi Gras, and I’m all about living that Laissez les bon temps rouler life. I’m sharing with you today my favorite 1-hour Mardi Gras-ready Red Beans Etouffée recipe.

This recipe is super quick to throw together with a pressure cooker or instapot. I’ve used both my Pressure Cooker XL and Instapot, and both worked very well!

In terms of flavor, omitting the sausage or crawfish makes little change in this recipe. You’ll get great flavors in this Cajun dish from the spices. And if you like your stews extra thick, like me, be sure to smash some of the cooked beans to thicken up your stew. This etouffee recipe can be served over brown rice, quinoa, or sorghum for a change of pace.

I love this dish served chili-style. My husband? He’s fancy. He likes his etouffee served around an island of rice. Either way, it’s awesome!

If you are a lover of all things in a bowl, you’ll love this étouffée. It is gorgeous in color and also affordable to make. As it will surely yield an extra day’s worth of leftovers that get better with each passing day.

If you’d like to see how to make this recipe live, check out my video below for details!

I hope you will give this recipe a try, you won’t be sorry!

Now I want to ask, do you have any favorite Creole or Cajun dishes you love to make at home? I’d love to hear about them below!