We’ve got this mouthwatering dish on repeat here, and we know you will too! It’s rice heaven! This hearty, wholesome, and fragrant Vegan Arroz con Pollo is bursting with delicious flavor!  So simple to make with feel-good ingredients like: sweet bell peppers, zesty garlic, briny olives, satisfying rice, and protein-packed soy curls all simmering in a rich, warming red sauce; it’s the perfect weeknight meal that the whole family will enjoy.  Grab a bowl and get ready to dig in – YUM!

Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

Hi there, Ameera here!

We enjoy our Whole Food Plant Based community, friends, and readers.  We treasure every connection, every review, every email as we are passionate about healthy, wholesome, delicious, and nutritious Whole Food Plant Based recipes.  It truly makes us happy; we are glad to have the opportunity to share them with you, and we hope our recipes and resources make you happy too!

Connecting

We are beyond thrilled when we hear how well our recipes are enjoyed, helpful feedback and ideas, and overall learning more about our readers. Occasionally, we get comments and emails from readers asking us to convert their favorite recipes to Whole Food Plant Based, which is a huge compliment to know that our readers are enjoying our style of WFPB dishes.

If we can figure out a way to convert them, we will give it a try! Unfortunately, some dishes take more time to perfect or they just don’t translate, but on occasion, a conversion turns out heavenly, just like this dish. *Mouth starts to water just thinking about it*

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.

Reader Bob

One of our readers, Bob, asked us if we could find a way to convert his favorite dish, (prior to going WFPB), Arroz con Pollo to Whole Food Plant Based.  Since “Pollo” (chicken) is the main component of this dish, we immediately thought “soy curls” as they have an amazing texture that almost translates to a “chicken tender” quality.

You could also replace the soy curls with couple cans of your favorite beans (chickpeas for example) if you do not want to go the soy curl route. But trust us, you don’t want to miss these delicious soy curls.

PSA on Soy

Please don’t be afraid of soy (unless you are allergic)! Soy is an incredible superfood that has so many beneficial health qualities. Check out these awesome videos by Dr. Greger about how soy is good for you here.

There is so much misinformation about soy and the fact that it contains “phytoestrogens,” which for the record is an unfortunate name as it is interpreted incorrectly as estrogen-like qualities. So go forth and learn of the awesomeness of soy and join us in all the deliciousness and nourishing benefits.

Soy Curls

I’ve said it before, but I just have to say it again . . . Have you tried soy curls yet?  If you haven’t, then I’m sorry, but you are totally missing out.  Seriously!  They are soooo good!  Think of them as a blank slate.  They take on whatever deliciousness you cook them in. The texture is chewy, dense, and totally reminds me of “chicken tenders,” but not quite as firm.  They infused with aromatic Spanish spices in this dish creating mouthwatering goodness!

Amazon – Butler Soy Curls

We seriously could not find a single store in Northeast Ohio that carried them, so we ordered them off of Amazon here, but you can also order them direct from Butler Foods.  To be honest, we really didn’t know what to expect. When they arrived, we couldn’t wait to see what they looked like.  They look similar to a crusty onion ring in the package. The only ingredient is  non-GMO whole soybeans, grown without chemicals pesticides – WOOT! They are like dehydrated strips of joy – I mean soy *wink, wink*

Arroz con “Pollo”

Sorry, I got side-tracked touting the deliciousness of soy curls, but I really just don’t want anyone to miss out on them!

So, Bob sent to us a link to his favorite Arroz con Pollo recipe from Chef John Fuller.  Here is the link to the original recipe here where we got our inspiration from. We wanted to see if we could convert the recipe, so Mom and I sat down and started to analyze the recipe and how we could make it Whole Food Plant Based.

We absolutely loved this dish!  It turned out so yummy!  The fragrant seasonings are perfectly paired with the bell peppers and rice.  The green olives and capers give it just the right amount of tangy brininess but without going over the top.  We fell in love!  I’ll let Mom tell you more!

Hi! Robin here!

What can I say that Monkey hasn’t already said about this delicious dish.  I love how Monkey wanted to dig in and help Bob find a Whole Food Plant Based dish that was reminiscent of a former dish that he really enjoyed.

Also, don’t miss out, have an open mind and try soy curls. If your brain can’t initially process the texture, keep eating it, after several minutes, you will fall in love too! That is what happened to me, and I hope the same will happen with you, and you will love them too!

We would love for you to give this recipe a try! We just know you are going to love it.

If you try it, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us!  We would love to hear from you.

Products Used:

• Ceramic/enamel lined Dutch oven, nonstick deep skillet, or similar large stock pot with a tight-fitting lid

Vegan Arroz con Pollo

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• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 10 Minutes
• Cook Time: 46 Minutes
• Total Time: 56 Minutes
• Yield: 4-6 Servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Spanish

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Description

We’ve got this mouthwatering dish on repeat here, and we know you will too! It’s rice heaven! This hearty, wholesome, and fragrant Vegan Arroz con Pollo is bursting with delicious flavor!  So simple to make with feel-good ingredients like: sweet bell peppers, zesty garlic, briny olives, satisfying rice, and protein-packed soy curls all simmering in a rich, warming red sauce; it’s the perfect weeknight meal that the whole family will enjoy.  Grab a bowl and get ready to dig in – YUM!

Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, no highly processed ingredients.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
• 1 green bell pepper, fine dice
• 1 red bell pepper, fine dice
• 2 Tablespoons garlic, finely minced
• 1 to 2 Tablespoons capers *
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 ½ cups soy curls *
• 1 cup water (or broth)
• 1 ½ cups vegetable broth*
• 1 Tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari *
• 1 Tablespoon miso *
• 8 green olives *
• 1 cup uncooked brown rice

Seasonings/Spices:

• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 Tablespoon dried minced onion flakes
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1  3/4 to 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 to ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Other Optional Ingredients:

• Chopped parsley
• Squeeze of lemon

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Instructions

1. Rinse the uncooked rice well with hot tap water, then place the rice in a large bowl filled with hot tap water. Allow to sit while you prep your vegetables and spice mix.  When ready to add to the recipe (in Step 3), drain and shake off any excess water.
2. In a large ceramic/enamel-lined Dutch oven, skillet or similar stock pot, add the diced onion and bell peppers; sauté over medium heat until they begin to soften, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Add a tablespoon or so of water if they start to stick and/or to prevent burning.
3. Add the minced garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, add the tomato paste, dry spices, and rice, sauté to release their fragrance, about 30 seconds to one minute. Make sure the rice is coated with the tomato paste.
4. Then add the veggie broth, tamari, miso, water, capers, green olives and soy curls, bring to boil, then immediately lower to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes, untouched. Do not remove the lid, do not stir.
5. After 30 minutes, test the tenderness of the rice, by pulling a few rice kernels off the top. Resist the urge to stir. If the rice is not done, place the lid back on and check every 10 minutes until the rice is tender. Note: If most of the liquid has evaporated and the rice is not done add a couple tablespoons of water at a time until the rice is tender.  The key is to have the liquid evaporated and the rice to be tender at the same time.  Keep adding very small amounts of water if all the liquid has evaporated until the rice is tender. Do not stir. The rice will become creamy like a risotto and that is not what we are looking for with this recipe. Stirring releases the starches in the rice.
6. Serve immediately with freshly chopped parsley and a squeeze of lemon, if desired.

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Notes

*Vegetable Stock:   We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.  If using a brand other than Pacific that has a mild/mellow flavor, you may wish to use 2 cups broth and ½ cup water.

*Miso:  We use Miso Master Organic Mellow White Premium Lite Miso, Certified Gluten Free. Miso really lends itself to balancing flavors when you don’t use oil.  You can also substitute with chickpea miso for a soy free version.

*Olives: We used Mezzetta Italian Castelvetrano Whole Green Olives.  These olives do have pits so if you use olives with pits, remind dinner guests of the same.

*Capers:  We love capers. They are tiny little balls of brininess.  However, some folks might find them a tad bit bitter.  If unsure, leave them out or use a smaller amount of capers.  Also, select a good quality caper.

*Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce, Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium.  You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos.

*Soy Curls:  We found it challenging to find soy curls in our local grocery stores. We ended up buying them from Amazon. We purchased Butler Soy Curls 100% natural, no additives or preservatives, non-GMO, grown without chemical pesticides.  However, if you want to make this dish without soy curls, you can add 2 cans of your favorite beans.

*Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

*Servings: 4-6

*Storage:  Refrigerate, use within 7 days.

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.