Vegan Brazilian Feijoada (Week 4)

This recipe is a part of my Global Vegan Challenge where each week I research and develop a recipe from a different country in the world. Many of these recipes are veganized based off their omnivore counterparts. While not all of these recipes are a one for one what you’ll find in their country, I hope you’ll still find them delicious!

Feijoada is the national dish of Brazil. It is a stew often comprised of pork belly, beef, cured meats, and black beans. It’s traditionally served over rice with a side of collard greens, orange slices, and toasted manioc flour.

Typically feijoada has a balanced smoke and pork flavor. In veganizing this I decided to lean a bit more into the smoke by adding more smoked paprika and liquid smoke in the stew and the seitan.

Overall the dish turned out fantastic, and the texture came together really well. If I were to change anything I’d add additional fat to make up for the missing animal fat (olive or vegetable oil) as well as a little bit of cayenne to give it a bit of a kick.

If you give this recipe a spin let me know in the comments, especially if you’ve had traditional feijoada before. In the meantime, happy cooking!

Brazilian Feijoada

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Smoky Seitan Ingredients

• 6 1/2 cup Vegetable Broth
• 3/4 cup Vital Wheat Gluten
• 2 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
• 1 tablespoon Smoked Paprika
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
• 1 teaspoon Champagne Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Granulated Onion Powder
• 1 teaspoon Granulated Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Pepper
• 3 Cloves of Garlic
• 2 Bay Leaves

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Seitan Instructions

• Place 6 cups of vegetable broth in a medium pot. Crush garlic cloves ad add to pot along with bay leaves. Bring to a low simmer.
• While pot is heating up mix remaining 1/2 cup of vegetable broth with wet ingredients in a small bowl.
• Whisk together all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Create a well in the center and pour wet mixture in it. Fold dry into wet until well uniform. Should be springy, but not waterlogged or dry and flaky.If dough is too wet sprinkle in extra gluten to soak up moisture. If too dry, add small amounts of water.
• Add dough to simmering pot. While simmering, prepare feijoada below.
• Allow dough to simmer for 60 minutes then remove from broth. Prepare as instructed for feijoada below.

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Feijoada Ingredients

• 30 oz Canned Black Beans (about 2 cans)
• 1 Batch of Smoky Seitan (above)
• 1 Bunch Curly Kale
• 5 oz King Oyster Mushrooms
• 1 Field Roast Mexican Chipotle Sausage
• 1 Navel Orange
• 1/2 Red Onion
• 3 1/2 cups Water
• 2 cups Basmati Rice
• 1 cup Better than Bullion No Chicken Broth (or vegetable broth of choice)
• 1 cup Better than Bullion No Beef Broth (or vegetable broth of choice)
• 3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• 1 tablespoon Smoked Paprika
• 1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 4 Cloves of Garlic
• 2 Bay Leaves

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Feijoada Instructions

• Turn broiler on high. Place mushrooms on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place under broiler for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, rotate mushrooms and cook under broiler for 2 more minutes. Remove from oven.
• Once mushrooms have cooled hold them by the cap on a cutting board. Take a fork and pull from the cap to the base of the mushroom. Repeat this motion through the mushroom stem while rotating at the cap. This will result in a stringy pieces that will begin to look like shredded meat. Repeat this will all mushrooms and place aside in a bowl.
• Heat up a medium sized pot on medium high. Mince garlic and dice red onion. Once pot is warm, add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Saute onion and garlic until onion starts to turn translucent.
• Cut sausage into 1/4 inch coins. Cut smoky seitan into 1/2 inch chunks. Add to pot along with mushrooms. Saute for 2 – 5 minutes.
• Drain black beans and add to pot. Add broth, liquid smoke, smoked paprika, salt, and bay leaves. Simmer feijoada for 30 minutes.
• While simmering prepare your sides. Add basmati rice to pot with water. Bring to a simmer and cover for 18 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Heat up a medium sauce pan on stove. Remove stems from kale and tear into bite sized pieces. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to pan and add kale. Sprinkle with salt and sauté for 5 minutes or until wilted. Set aside.
• Slice orange into 1/4 inch pieces.
• Serve feijoada hot over rice alongside sautéed kale, and orange slices. Enjoy hot.

As always, here’s a clip from the stream we made it on featuring our omnivore reviewer’s take on the dish!