This Healthy Creole-Style Cauliflower Jambalaya is a fast skillet meal that you can prepare in just about 30 minutes. It comes from my second cookbook, No Excuses Detox, which features fast and affordable recipes to help you eat better everyday.
Due to popular demand, I’ve dedicated two entire chapters of this book to main entrée recipes. First, there’s a Comfort Food & Casseroles chapter, with recipes for Vegan Sloppy Joes, Philly “Cheesesteak” Stuffed Squash, Spinach & Artichoke Casserole, Nut-Free Vegan Mac n’ Cheese, Vegan Shepherd’s Pie, Speedy Veggie Burgers, Baked Ziti, and more.
The second main entrée chapter focuses on Quick Skillet Meals that can be made on a weeknight, all in about 30 minutes or less. This Cauliflower Jambalaya comes from that chapter, and you’ll also find recipes like Pasta Primavera, Butternut Stuffing (which tastes like Thanksgiving in a bowl!), One-Pot Quinoa “Fried” Rice, Singapore Sweet Potato Noodles, and more.
What you’ll also find in this book is a collection of quick recipes that I turn to when I feel “too busy” to eat healthy. Some of my favorites include:
- Freezer Waffles. Just thaw them in the toaster each morning!
- Cashew Butter Spice Muffins. This might be my favorite recipe in the whole book. They are unbelievably moist, fluffy, and super-easy to make.
- Skillet Breakfast Hash. A quick low-carb, one-skillet breakfast.
- Knock-Off Italian Dressing. Tastes like the kind that would come over a salad with unlimited breadsticks.
- Pizza Salad. This totally solves my craving for pizza when I feel like I should be eating a salad.
- Creamy Kale Salad. This salad makes kids eat kale. Enough said.
- Savory Sweet Potato Crackers. A homemade cracker with a sneaky serving of sweet potato inside!
- Cinnamon Oat Crackers. This is my alternative to store-bought graham crackers for my son!
- Easy Party Mix. This tastes just like Chex Mix, but without grains!
- Southwest Lettuce Wraps with Sweet Cilantro Dressing. These are inspired by my prior obsession with the deep-fried Avocado Egg Rolls from the Cheesecake Factory.
- Sloppy Joe Stuffed Sweet Potatoes. These are so comforting, and family-approved.
- Overnight Quinoa Pizza. This is my new go-to pizza crust, because it’s faster than the cauliflower version and still packs a sneaky veggie inside.
- Cauliflower Baked Ziti. This is a low-carb dish has all the flavor of lasagna you love, without nearly as much effort!
- Speedy Black Bean Burgers. These are seriously fast to prepare and taste amazing. I keep a stash in the freezer for a quick weeknight meal!
- Butternut Stuffing. This vegetable-based dish tastes like Thanksgiving in a bowl. I could eat it year-round!
- Rainbow Lo Mein. This skillet meal tastes amazing hot or cold. I’d pack the leftovers for lunch.
- Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie. This was the winner among my cookbook team– everyone went home and made it for their families after tasting it on the set of the photo shoot!
- Coconut Oatmeal Cookies. These cookies are naturally gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, and egg-free to accommodate special diets and allergies. Sometimes I make them with raisins, but they’re also great with chocolate chips!
- 5-Minute Freezer Fudge. This is my go-to dessert for my toddler, and he can help me make it because it only requires one bowl and 5 minutes of his attention span.
- Vegan Chocolate Cake. This cake is gluten-free with only one type of flour, which is really unusual but makes it super-speedy to prepare. It’s a little sticky to remove from the pan, but the flavor and texture are worth the effort.
- Coconut Lime Pie. This is the easiest Key Lime Pie ever, and tastes amazing!
Okay, I just realized that’s a lot of favorites.
All of the recipes in No Excuses Detox are vegetarian and gluten-free, with about 80 of them being vegan or vegan-friendly. (So you can swap honey for maple syrup, or leave out the cheese to make them vegan.) At the bottom of some recipes, I do offer suggestions when I think meat could be added for a properly combined meal to accommodate a variety of diet needs. My family tends to have a mix of both vegetarians and meat eaters, so I wanted to offer something for everyone.
If you’d like to virtually “flip through” the new book, I made a quick one-minute video to help you do just that:
(If the video above doesn’t load for you, you can watch it on YouTube.)
Now, let’s eat.
Cauliflower fried “rice” has become a staple in my family’s diet, so I wanted to come up with a new way to spice it up—and this Healthy Creole-Style Cauliflower Jambalaya has been declared a new favorite! As written, the dish is purely vegetable-based, but you can bulk it up as a main course by adding more protein. My husband prefers meat, but vegetarians can use cooked beans for an extra boost of protein and fiber.
Healthy Creole-Style Cauliflower Jambalaya
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 yellow onion , chopped
- 1 green bell pepper , chopped
- 4 celery stalks , chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ⁄2 jalapeño chile , seeded and finely chopped
- 2 large tomatoes , chopped
- 11 ⁄2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 ⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 head of cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into florets
- 11 ⁄2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 ⁄4 cup tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)
- 1 1/2 cups cooked beans , or 1 (15-ounce) can beans, rinsed and drained (optional)
Instructions
- In a large 5.5-quart Dutch oven, melt the coconut oil over medium heat and sauté the onion, bell pepper, and celery until they start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeño, tomatoes, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne, and oregano and sauté until the tomatoes release their juices and cook down, about 5 minutes more.
- While the veggies are cooking, pulse the cauliflower florets in a food processor until a ricelike texture is achieved. Add the cauliflower rice to the sautéed vegetables, along with the salt, tomato paste and tamari and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes more. Add the beans, if using. Stir occasionally while cooking to prevent sticking.
- Once all of the vegetables are tender and any added protein is cooked thoroughly, taste and adjust the seasonings. Serve warm. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Video
Nutrition
Per Serving: Calories: 136, Fat: 3g, Carbohydrates: 20g, Fiber: 7g, Protein: 6g
I hope you enjoy it, and thank you all so much for your support. This book wouldn’t be possible without all of you!
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Hi Megan,
Just bought your second book now and clicked the link above. That one worked but the link from that page to redeem the bonuses says it is no longer valid.
Wanted to let you know!
Going to try this jambalaya recipe tonight!
Also can’t wait to get the new book!
xx
Thank you so much! I’ll see what I can do about getting the bonus page back up! 🙂
It’s back up now!!
I was so excited for your new cookbook to arrive today because I know how much I love the old one. I have made almost everything in there. ?
I made the “cheesy quinoa and broccoli casserole” tonight. I was excited that the meal took me the same amount of time to bake a frozen pizza. It helped that I had frozen organic quinoa from Trader Joe’s. The dish was super delicious and definitely reminded me of the traditional cheesy broccoli and rice casserole except better!!!
As a full-time working mom of 4 I’m thankful for all your hard work so we can make quick and healthy meals for our families. My 2-year old loved it too! The big kids didn’t try it but they will see it on their plate tomorrow!!
Oh, I’m so glad to hear that!! Especially happy that your 2-year-old loved it. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the rest!
I’m expecting my No Excuses Detox cookbook in the mail this week! Cannot wait to try some new recipes. The ones you have listed sound great!
My copy of the new book should be here tomorrow! I can’t wait! This will help me get back on track! And I’m happy the jambalaya won, it’s really creative.
I received my copy in the mail today and am looking forward to trying some new recipes. I really loved your last cookbook. I’ve been in a rut lately so this is perfect timing.
I have recently been using your recipes and like them very much. I am currently trying to lose some weight and am counting calories. Is there any way you could post the calorie value with these recipes? Thank you!
Lisa
I’m trying to figure out a way to do that without having them prominently displayed– some of my readers are recovering from a poor relationship with food, and seeing calories can trigger relapses for them. When I can figure out a way to have a clickable button to display the nutrition info, I’ll be able to post it for all of my recipes. In the meantime, you can use the awesome free tool on MyFitnessPal.com. In their Food section, you can just copy and paste the URL of my website into their recipe calculator, and it will automatically calculate the nutrition info for you!
That was a great tip Megan and thanks for asking Lisa. I did want to mention that there is something off in the sodium import for this recipe. It’s showing one serving has 10,590 mg of sodium which is CRAZY high. FYI to others that might be importing. Cheers!
I just got my alert from Amazon that my book is on its way and should be delivered tomorrow!!! It’s going to be a looooong work day, waiting to get home to open it up and start choosing which recipe to make first. Decisions, devisions:) I love all your recipes I’ve tried so far, can’t wait to try many more!
Looks great! I don’t have your books, but some of your blog recipes have become permanent members of our family menu. My question, and the reason I hesitate buying, is how many are gf,l and vegan, but then rely heavily on nuts? My toddler (and thus myself) currently has allergies to peanuts, nuts, sesame, other seeds?, eggs, dairy, gluten, AND oats, tomatoes, strawberries, citrus, berries, and pineapple!! I find I really have to look hard or modify recipes a lot. Just wondering if the book would be helpful or to wait till he hopefully grows out of most. Otherwise I really appreciate your recipes.
Oh my god I just ordered this on amazon and paid extra to have it delivered today!!! Gurl I am so excited! I love your website and recipes so much!!
I can’t blame you for having so many favorites. The chocolate shake is amazing and will make a perfect breakfast for those days when I am running around. Last night I made the lentil tacos, and the family loved them even my 3 kids. The thing that is so great about your recipes is that it easy to adapt them. For instance, I gave my husband hot sauce for his tacos because I knew he would like them a little spicier. Let me tell you, I absolutely love the rainbow lo mein. Who needs Chinese takeout with this recipe? I just made the cashew butter spice muffins for the freezer. They are to die for!
just like your other cookbook, I will be using this book weekly. You really did a fantastic job!
Oh, thank you so much for sharing! It’s nice to hear that you’re enjoying the recipes so much. Those Cashew Butter Spice Muffins are my FAVORITE of all time. 🙂
What type of Coconut Oil is the best to use for these types of recipes? Super excited to try!!! Can you use other types of oil?
Is there an alternative for the soy sauce? My husband can’t eat anything with soy. Thanks! Looooove your recipes!
Coconut aminos (now found at Trader Joe’s) is what we keep on hand…I’ll even bring it with me when we go get sushi 😉
Thank you so much for your amazing and uncomplicated recipes! I made this jambalaya and my 2 year old daughter ate her entire serving and asked for seconds! Can’t thank you enough.
I needed to double the spices and jalapeno peppers on this, added some smoked paprika, plus serve it with hot sauce. Maybe just me – I do like spicy food. It was good, but I felt like it needed something to deepen the flavors. Not sure what – maybe chipotle chile in adobo sauce? Or an umami flavor? I may experiment..
Spices were way to much for our family. My 16 year old could not eat this and my mouth is burning. I will make again, but cut the spices. Also added a little veggie broth to this as it was so thick. I used cauliflower rice from Trader Joe’s; maybe it was thicker than normal cauliflower rice, but it needed a lot more time to soften.
LOVED this recipe! Can you freeze this recipe after it is cooked?
Great recipes. Enjoyed watching. Plan on making soon
I have made this 3 times so far and it is amazing!!! The flavors are perfect and it is such a filling meal which taste even better the next day!!! Thank you for this amazing meal and all the others that I enjoy eating!
Megan, I do love your ideas. I am from South Louisiana and love the Cajun style (ok, Creole) cooking. Thank you. –Boatner
Delicious! I will make again
I made this the two nights ago and ate leftovers for lunch yesterday, it was so good I was like a kid at Christmas last night waiting for the store to open this morning that I may get the ingredients to make it again! I literally stood in the kitchen and ate it straight from the pot. I intended to share with my Mom, but it did not happen that way. Hopefully, she gets some of this second batch. Thank so you so much for sharing this recipe! It is delicious!!!
This is SO good. It is so full of flavor and very comforting. I don’t think I could get sick of eating this! I used a bag of cauliflower rice and it turned out great!
So yum! But I cheated 😑 I made it with rice instead of cauliflower. So good still!
I have made this recipe several times. It is so satisfying. This time I did not have cauliflower on hand so I subbed 1 c cooked red lentils for the cauliflower. It was delicious with the lentils too! This recipe is so versatile. Thank you!