The best Feijoada Vegana Recipe (Brazilian Black Beans)

This Feijoada vegana recipe is the perfect comfort food. Rich, delicious and full of flavour. Serve with traditional farofa, cassava or collard greens. 

If you came looking for a simple recipe for vegan feijoada your search has ended, because here is a recipe for a delicious feijoada vegana.

Offer the perfect vegan feijoada to your guests, this guide comes complete with tips, tricks and tricks for a complete and perfect feijoada.

Feijoada is a popular Brazilian dish whose main ingredient is black beans. It is a hearty flavoursome stew traditionally made from pork but I've adapted it to make it vegan without sacrificing on taste.

Brazilian Cuisine

Brazilian cuisine is a melting pot of different cuisines due to the heritage of it's populace particularly European, Amerindian, African, and Asian. It varies greatly by region, which is a reflection this diverse country's mix of native and immigrant populations, and its location in the world. This has created a national cuisine that is diverse by nature.

Ingredients first mader popular by it's native population include include cashews, cassava, guaraná, açaí, cumaru, and tucupi.

Immigrants of course also brought with them their own set of traditional recipes.

European immigrants brought with them wine, leafy vegetables, and dairy products which are now ever present in the Brazilian diet. Africans were key in extending Brazilian cuisine too. The Japanese immigrants introduced Asian cuisine to the country.

Root vegetables are popular in Brazilian cuisine, such as yams and the diet is fruit heavy with tropical fruits like açaí, mango, papaya and guava are prevalent.

Feijoada or black bean stew is considered the country's national dish.

Another Brazilian favourite is caruru, which is a dish made of okra, onion and toasted nuts.

About Feijoada vegana

Historically, Feijoada vegana is a dish that was created by the country's African slaves. Slaves would gather the remnants of their owner's feasts and mix them with black beans to create what we now know as black bean stew.

This dish was and still is served with farofa, which is a dish made from cassava flour and bacon. It was also served with oranges to cut through the heaviness of this dish.

Feijoada vegana is revered in Brazil and it is easy to see why it has become so popular, not just in Brazil but also outside the country.

When to eat it

Feijoada vegana is a dish regularly consumed by Brazilian families, it isn't just a special occasion dish. It is a low cost dish and my vegan version is even more budget-friendly than the traditional feijoada recipe.

It is often seen as a winter dish due to it's rich and hearty taste but in certain parts of Brazil it is eaten all year round.

How to serve Feijoada vegana

The perfect Feijoada vegana requires amazing side dishes:

1 - Rice - In addition to being easily accessible, rice generally has a very neutral flavor, can be prepared with little salt and is a light food, but in addition to all this it forms a perfect combination with beans, they complement each other in nutrients and generate a very nice balance.

2 - Farofa - Farofa offers a different texture to other foods. A great dish needs to have a mix of textures.

3 - Kale - It can be mixed with salad in the form of kale salad (I particularly prefer this version) or simply sautéed! It is a very rich vegetable, which takes the place of salad, complete with nutrients and gives a new colour to our feijoada.

These are the basic accompaniments for your perfect feijoada!

Feijoada is traditionally served with Brazilian rice, Brazilian collard greens and farofa toasted cassava flour - all of which are components of a complete feijoada.

But white rice and fried plantains all work well with this dish. For a delicious meal, I suggest pairing it with cocktails like caipirinhas.

Key ingredients

A Feijoada vegana recipe uses black beans, onion, garlic, tomatoes and cumin .

For my version, I am also using soy sauce, mirin and liquid smoke to replace the taste that you'd usually get from the pork.

I've also added eggplant, vegan sausages and kidney beans. Not traditional but damn tasty.

My Feijoada vegana recipe

This is a great recipe to make in batches. Just reheat and eat when ready.

You'll need to either soak your beans overnight or use the canned variety. Optionally, you can use the quick soak method which significantly cuts down the soaking time. Just add your beans to a pan filled with water, Then get your pan to the point where water is almost boiling. Turn off the heat and put a lid on your pan. Let sit for 1 hour then drain and rinse your beans.

You can freeze portions of this feijoada and they keep for up to three months. Reheat in the microwave.

To make vegan feijoada, the quality of the ingredients is something that makes a big difference, so it's worth buying the highest quality you can find.

The key ingredient in my version is beans and there are dozens of types of beans, the most used for feijoada vegana is black beans which I used alongside kidney beans, but you can choose another type of bean if you'd like.

As for rice, opt for white rice for the best results.

Instructions

1. Heat the oil In a large stew pot, on a medium heat. When hot add the onions and garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes until onions are softened.
2. Add the eggplant and saute gently for a further 5 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.
4. Add both lots of beans. The generously season with salt and pepper. Add the bay leaves, liquid smoke, cumin, soy sauce and mirin.
5. Add 8 cups of water and stir until thoroughly mixed.
6. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low-medium.
7. Cover and cook for 2 to 2 and a half hours, you want the black beans to be soft when you bite into them. If the soup is too thin, add a little cornflour mixed with water to thicken.
8. Spoon into bowls.
9. If serving with farofa, sprinkle it on top.

Tips

The following tips and tricks will help you make the perfect feijoadas:

• You can add more vegetables to switch it up.
• Beans should be the main ingredient.
• The size of the vegetables and the way they are added makes all the difference!
• If you decide to add vegetables make sure you add them at the correct time, bear in mind this dish takes a while to cook and adding them at the very beginning will turn them to mush after 2 hours of cooking.
• There are many options for a feijoada vegana, you could opt to replace vegan sausages with seitan or tofu, and add peppers for a different texture.

Yield: 8 servings

Vegan Feijaoada Recipe (Brazilian Black Beans)

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 55 minutes

This vegan Feijoada recipe is the perfect comfort food. Rich, delicious and full of flavour. Serve with traditional farofa, cassava or collard greens. 

Print

Ingredients

• 2 cups black beans (soaked over night (see tips above))
• 1 can kidney beans
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 6 vegan sausages
• 1 onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic (minced)
• 3 tomatoes (diced)
• 3/4 cup light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp miso paste
• 2 tbsp liquid smoke
• 1 eggplant diced

Instructions

1. Heat the oil In a large stew pot, on a medium heat. When hot add the onions and garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes until onions are softened.
2. Add the eggplant and saute gently for a further 5 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.
4. Add both lots of beans. The generously season with salt and pepper. Add the bay leaves, liquid smoke, cumin, soy sauce and mirin.
5. Add 8 cups of water and stir until thoroughly mixed.
6. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low-medium.
7. Cover and cook for 2 to 2 and a half hours, you want the black beans to be soft when you bite into them. If the soup is too thin, add a little cornflour mixed with water to thicken.
8. Spoon into bowls.
9. If serving with farofa, sprinkle it on top.

Notes

You'll need to either soak your beans overnight or use the canned variety. Optionally, you can use the quick soak method which significantly cuts down the soaking time. Just add your beans to a pan filled with water, Then get your pan to the point where water is almost boiling. Turn off the heat and put a lid on your pan. Let sit for 1 hour then drain and rinse your beans.

You can freeze portions of this feijoada and they keep for up to three months. Reheat in the microwave.