This Authentic Spanish Vegetable Paella is possibly the most flavorful paella that hails from Spain. It´s packed with so many great flavors, seriously easy to make and done in just 45 minutes. Serve it next to a crunchy baguette and a bottle of Spanish wine for the ultimate Spanish experience.
To make this paella, I used a 12-inch (30 cm) Paella Pan. But you can also use a standard fry pan if you like. However, the cooking times will vary, as using a paella pan distributes the heat much quicker than a regular fry pan.
What really flavors this paella is the sweet smoked Spanish paprika and the saffron. These 2 ingredients are key to achieving that authentic Spanish flavor. You also want to use Spanish round rice, which is very similar to arborio rice and medium grain rice, which are easily found at supermarkets.
TIPS & TRICKS to Make this Recipe: Important to not over-mix the rice once its been added. Otherwise it will distrup the way it cooks. Meaning, if you over mix the rice, the starch will get released and it will lose its beautiful texture.
Key Ingredients & Cookware I used in this Recipe:
MY PAELLA PAN
EXTRA VIRGIN SPANISH OLIVE OIL
SAFFRON I USED
SPANISH ROUND RICE
SPANISH SEA SALT
If you´re not already subscribed to my youtube channel, become a subscriber and click on the bell icon to be notified everytime I release a new video.
Support Spain on a Fork. Get your Spain on a Fork T-shirt and other awesome Merchandise here.
Join Me on Patreon!
Watch the Video Below on How to Make this Authentic Spanish Vegetable Paella
Authentic Spanish Vegetable Paella
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 60 ml
- 1 small onion
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1 carrot
- 10 green beans
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce 115 grams
- 1 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika 2.30 grams
- 1 cup Spanish round rice 200 grams
- 3 cups vegetable broth 710 ml
- 1/4 tsp saffron threads .17 grams
- 1/2 cup canned lima beans (butter beans) 85 grams
- pinch sea salt
Instructions
-
Finely dice the onion, roughly mince the garlic, finely chop the carrot, cut the red bell pepper into thin strips and cut the green beans into 1 inch (2.50 cm) pieces
-
Heat a paella pan with a medium-high heat and add in 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
-
After 2 minutes add in all the chopped vegetables (except the garlic), mix continuously with the olive oil, after 3 minutes and the onion is translucent, add in the garlic, mix for 30 seconds, then add in 1 tsp sweet smoked Spanish paprika and quickly mix together, then add in 1/2 cup tomato sauce and season everything with sea salt, mix together and simmer
-
3 minutes after adding the tomato sauce and it has slightly thickened, add in 3 cups vegetable broth and 1/4 tsp saffron threads, mix together and bring to a boil, then add in 1 cup Spanish round rice and 1/2 cup canned lima beans, give it one final mix and simmer, after this step do not mix the rice again
-
After about 10 minutes and a lot of the broth has been absorbed by the rice, but there´s still plenty of broth left, lower to a low-medium heat, simmer until all the broth has been absorbed by the rice, about 5 minutes, then hit it back to a medium-high heat and go for 1 to 2 minutes, this is to achieve the socarrat (caramelized burnt rice underneath), then remove the pan from the heat
-
Cover with a dishcloth and let it sit for 5 minutes, this is to ensure the rice gets fully cooked through, then remove the dishcloth and serve, enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Get the Saffron Threads I used to make this Paella
Disclosure: At Spain on a Fork, we offer affiliate links to help you find what you need to re-create our recipes. If you like what we do, you can support us through our chosen links, which earn us a commission, but you still pay the same price. Learn more here.
You May Also Like
michelle
hi! I am using a 15 in paella pan, 40cm. Would you double the recipe? Use double the rice and all other ingredients?
20 . Jan . 2023Spain on a Fork
Double everything except for the olive oil 🙂 Much love!
21 . Jan . 2023Pria Zachariah
Hi what tomato sauce did you use? It looks homemade
11 . Nov . 2022Spain on a Fork
I finely grated fresh tomatoes 🙂 Much love!
13 . Nov . 2022Tim W
love your paellas!
13 . Jun . 2022Spain on a Fork
Thank you! Much love 🙂
14 . Jun . 2022Sonya
12 . Jun . 2022I added a few mushrooms instead of carrots and it turned out great! Thanks for posting this recipe, it was much nicer than the vegetable paella we had in Lanzarote where they used long grain rice 🤨. Easy to make, quick and delicious! Thanks again 🙂
Spain on a Fork
Happy to hear that! Much love 🙂
13 . Jun . 2022Shannon
20 . Apr . 2022Hi, I prepared this for dinner yesterday and it was delicious. The only difference is that the green beans we get here look rather different. They are more tubular and smaller, rather than sort of flat like the kind in your pictures. I don’t think this affected the result negatively because they still cooked properly and tasted great. Thanks for the recipe!
Spain on a Fork
THe green beans you used are most typical outside of Spain, which work great, so happy to hear you enjoyed the paella 🙂 much love!
20 . Apr . 2022Gloria Lyons
Thank you for posting vegetarian recipes. All the your recipes that I have tried , and they have been many, are fantasic! Gracias!!!!
30 . Mar . 2022Spain on a Fork
So happy to hear that!! Much love 🙂
30 . Mar . 2022Ramya
Cant wait to make this soon for me can i skip red bell pepper as am not a big fan of red bell pepper i never had spanish vegetable paella before perfect for my after office meals love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
30 . Mar . 2022Spain on a Fork
Sounds great! Much love Ramya 🙂
30 . Mar . 2022