Dirty Rice with Collards and Leeks {vegan and gluten-free}

Name: Dirty Rice with Collards and Leeks {vegan and gluten-free}
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 2 cups vegetable broth; 1 cup long grain brown rice (see note); 1 bay leaf; 1 bunch collards, (stems removed and discarded); 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 leek (about 1 ½ cups, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise into half-moons); 1 garlic clove (minced); 1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (coarsely chopped); 1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce; 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (see note, optional); ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt; Freshly ground black pepper

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Long grain brown rice, fresh antioxidant-full greens, and nutritious pumpkin seeds, some of the healthiest foods you can choose, make up this meatless rendition of the classic Cajun favorite, dirty rice. Flavorful and easy to put together–dirty rice with collards and leeks is about to become your new favorite side dish!

Loaded with peppery spice, tossed with fragrant leek nibbles and a generous amount of healthy collard ribbons, all in the same spoonful this dirty rice is not just dirty, it’s clean!

Click here to PIN Dirty Rice with Collards and Leeks!

In Louisiana, dirty rice is cooked with the chicken parts that are normally thrown away—the “dirty” color comes from liver and gizzards. Traditional dirty rice also calls for the holy trinity of onions, celery and peppers. This vegetarian version is made with a whole lot of collards and a duo of leeks and cayenne pepper.

Southerners, don’t chastise me too much for dirtying the recipe this way. Please lend redemption for the collards ribbons in every single bite, and for added crunch from toasted pumpkin seeds. In return, I’ll forgive you for the time you made dirty rice from a boxed mix. 😉 (Affiliate link.)

How to make vegan dirty rice with collards and greens.

First cook brown rice in vegetable broth instead of water. (You can do this ahead of time.)
Slice collard leaves into spaghetti-like strands.
Sauté thinly sliced leeks with a bit of garlic, and toast the pumpkin seeds.
Steam the collard ribbons until they’re tender, then chop them into (about) 1-inch pieces.
Toss the veggies and rice together and season with tamari, cayenne and black pepper and if you wish, nutritional yeast.
Ta-da!

The clean part of this dirty rice–what is clean eating?

Clean eating is about being mindful about what we eat. Clean eating means eating “real” foods as close to their natural form as possible. It’s about seeking out whole, unprocessed or minimally processed foods.
Clean cooking and eating are the recipes I share with you on this blog.
To learn more about the concepts of clean eating, read Michael Pollan’s book, Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual. (Affiliate link.) It’s a slim little bible for eating wisely.

More recipes with brown rice and collards:

Do you enjoy the nutty flavor of brown rice? You might also enjoy this Lentil Very Brown Rice recipe.
Stuffed Collard Rolls. Rice-filled vegetarian dolmades made with blanched collards instead of traditional grape leaves.

Wishing you a fabulous day–get in the kitchen and cook something delicious!

**To get my latest recipe posts and exclusive monthly newsletters, subscribe here. (I hate Spam too and will never share your email with anyone.)**

Follow me on Instagram! It’s my favorite!
Peruse my Pinterest boards for more vegetarian recipe ideas.
Find daily vegetarian and healthy living ideas on my Facebook page.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. When you purchase products via my links, it doesn’t cost you anything and I earn a tiny commission, which helps me continue to provide free content here on Letty’s Kitchen. Thank you for supporting Letty’s Kitchen!

PS If you make this recipe and love it, please consider leaving a blog post comment. Your comments help other readers learn more about the recipe. If you’d also give the recipe a ✮✮✮✮✮ rating, I’d be delighted!

rice tossed with collard ribbons and leeks

Print Recipe

4.5 from 36 votes