Barcelona: Vegan Paella and traditional rice dishes

Barcelona gives you plenty of chances to eat paella. This four-hour class lets you learn how to make it, along with other Spanish rice dishes, using entirely plant-based ingredients. At In Bloom Cooking School, you cook as a group, then sit down to taste the results buffet-style.

I like the unusual menu: Valencian paella, oven-baked rice, black rice with vegan prawns, and fideuà with vegan squid. I also like the social format, with one welcome drink included and the dishes shared by everyone. The main consideration is that the exact number of recipes depends on group size, so you should not assume you will prepare every listed dish.

Key points at a glance

• Four classic Spanish rice dishes: The menu may include paella Valenciana, arròs al forn, arròs negre, and fideuà.
• A fully plant-based cooking school: Heura, konjac, mushrooms, black beans, seaweed, and vegetables replace the usual meat and seafood.
• Shared buffet at the end: Everyone helps prepare the food, then tastes all the dishes made by the group.
• Minimum group of four: The class runs with at least four participants, and the recipe count depends on attendance.
• Near Plaza España: The school is behind Arenas mall, making the meeting point easy to pair with time around the square.
• One drink included: Additional drinks are available for purchase and paid for at the end.

Four hours of cooking near Plaza España

The class takes place at In Bloom Cooking School, behind Arenas mall and close to Plaza España. That location matters because it is simple to fit into a Barcelona day. You can visit the square and former bullring complex before or after the class, rather than making a special trip far from central sights.

Allow the full four hours. This is not a quick demonstration followed by a small tasting. You take part in preparing the food, and the group eats together after the cooking is complete. The pace gives you time to work through several dishes, though the final number depends on how many people attend.

The class is offered in Catalan, English, German, and Spanish. If you need instruction in English, check the available language when booking. The cooking school is wheelchair accessible, which is useful for anyone planning Barcelona activities with access needs.

Children under 10 are not allowed. For older children and teenagers who enjoy cooking, the hands-on setup may work well, but the activity is still best suited to people who are happy spending several hours preparing food rather than simply eating it.

How the group cooking format works

The course begins with a welcome drink. After that, you can buy additional drinks at the school and settle the bill at the end. The included drink is a pleasant touch, but keep in mind that the advertised price does not cover anything extra you order.

The class requires a group of at least four people. That minimum helps explain the shared format. Rather than each person making an entirely separate meal, the participants prepare recipes together. The amount of food and the number of recipes can change with the size of the group.

This is worth understanding before you book. The menu lists four dishes, but you may not personally cook every one in every session. You should expect to help with the recipes selected for your group, then taste all the food made during the class.

That arrangement has a clear advantage: it lets you sample more than one dish without asking you to prepare four full meals alone. The tradeoff is less control over the menu and less certainty about exactly how much time you will spend on each recipe.

Paella Valenciana, the main event

The paella Valenciana uses Bomba rice, green beans, garrafó, and vegetable broth. Garrafó is a traditional Valencian fava bean, an ingredient that gives the dish a more regional character than a generic vegetable rice.

The class adds marinated and grilled Heura in a chicken-style preparation. This does not try to disguise the dish as a meat course so much as show how a familiar paella format can be adapted with plant-based ingredients.

For many people, this will be the dish they most want to learn. Paella depends on the rice, the broth, and the balance of ingredients, so preparing it in a cooking school gives you a chance to pay attention to the building blocks rather than ordering a finished pan in a restaurant.

You should also notice that paella is only one part of the session. If your goal is to master a single traditional paella recipe in great technical detail, a shorter class focused only on paella may suit you better. If you like comparing Spanish rice dishes, this broader menu gives you more to taste.

Arròs al forn brings oven-baked comfort

The second listed recipe is arròs al forn, or oven rice. It combines Bomba rice with tomatoes, potatoes, chickpeas, and vegetable broth. The plant-based additions include marinated mushrooms prepared in a bacon-style manner and a vegan sausage made from black beans.

This dish gives you a different idea of Spanish rice. Paella is cooked in its own broad pan, while arròs al forn is built around oven baking. The potatoes and chickpeas make it feel hearty, and the black bean sausage adds a savory element without relying on pork.

I like this part of the menu because it shows that Spanish cooking is not one dish with endless variations. Regional rice traditions include different cooking methods, textures, and combinations. A class that includes oven rice gives you a wider picture of plant-based Spanish food than a paella lesson alone.

The exact cooking role you have may depend on the group, but everyone gets to taste the finished dish as part of the buffet. Bring a Tupperware container if you want to take leftovers home. That is a practical tip, especially after four hours of cooking and tasting.

Arròs negre with vegan prawns

Arròs negre, or black rice, gets its dark color and sea flavor here from black rice, seaweed, peas, red and green peppers, and a seaweed broth. The dish is served with vegan prawns made from konjac.

The menu also lists rancid wine as an ingredient. That is an unusual detail, and you may want to ask the instructor about its role if you are curious about the flavor profile. The important point is that the dish uses seaweed broth and plant-based seafood substitutes to create a coastal-style rice without fish or shellfish.

The vegan prawns are made from konjac, a plant-based ingredient often used for its springy texture. They will not be identical to prawns, but they give the dish a seafood-like visual and textural idea while keeping the recipe vegan.

This is one of the more distinctive dishes on the menu. If you already know you enjoy seaweed and savory seafood-style flavors, it may be a highlight. If you dislike seaweed, peppers, or unusual meat substitutes, this may be less appealing than the paella Valenciana or oven rice.

Fideuà with konjac squid

Fideuà is similar in spirit to paella, but it uses fine pasta rather than rice. The version prepared here includes aubergine, red pepper, white wine, seaweed broth, and marinated, grilled konjac squid.

The pasta changes the experience completely. You still get the broad Spanish rice-pan tradition, but the texture and cooking process are different. For someone who has eaten paella many times, fideuà adds a fresh reason to take the class.

The konjac squid follows the same idea as the vegan prawns. It provides a seafood-style component while the rest of the dish stays plant-based. Allioli, a garlic sauce, is also included with the black rice and helps give the meal a familiar Spanish finishing touch.

I would pay attention to the sauces and broths during this part of the class. Plant-based cooking depends heavily on building flavor from vegetables, seaweed, wine, garlic, and stock. The class gives you several examples of how that works across different dishes.

The shared buffet is part of the lesson

Once the cooking is finished, the whole group eats together as a buffet. You can taste every recipe made during the session, not just the dish you worked on most closely.

That shared meal is one of the best reasons to choose this experience over a standard cooking demonstration. You get a direct comparison between the dishes: the bean-filled oven rice against the lighter vegetable paella, the seaweed character of the black rice, and the fine pasta used in fideuà.

The social side also matters. Cooking in a group means you may be chopping, stirring, seasoning, or assembling alongside other participants. The atmosphere is designed for conversation as well as instruction. A verified booking from June 2025 described the food as delicious and the instructor as interesting and fun. Another booking from November 2024 praised the food and atmosphere.

Those comments point to the class’s strongest qualities: good food and an enjoyable room, not just a list of recipes. Still, your experience can vary with group size and the mix of participants. If you prefer quiet, private instruction, a group class may feel less focused.

Is $93 a fair price?

At $93 per person, this is not the cheapest meal in Barcelona. You are paying for four hours of instruction, ingredients, a welcome drink, and a shared meal that may include several dishes. The value improves if you are interested in learning techniques you can repeat at home.

The price also covers variety. You are not simply making one paella and eating it. The possible menu includes rice, oven rice, black rice, and pasta-based fideuà, with plant-based versions of chicken, sausage, bacon, prawns, and squid.

Extra drinks cost more. Plan for that small added expense if you want wine, soft drinks, or other beverages beyond the included welcome drink. On the other hand, the class does not require you to pay for a separate lunch or dinner afterward, since the prepared dishes form the main meal.

Bring a container for leftovers. It is specifically recommended, and it can improve the value of the class by giving you something to eat later rather than leaving extra food behind.

Who should book this class?

I would choose this activity if you eat vegan or vegetarian food, want to learn Spanish cooking, or enjoy trying meat and seafood substitutes. It also suits repeat visitors to Barcelona who have already eaten paella and want to understand how several rice traditions differ.

The class is a good fit for couples, friends, and solo participants who enjoy a shared table. The four-hour length gives you more time with the food than a short market visit or tasting, but it also requires a real block in your schedule.

I would think twice if you want a private class, need a guaranteed single recipe, or dislike group cooking. You should also confirm the session language and understand that the number of recipes depends on attendance.

Cancellation is flexible up to 24 hours before the activity for a full refund, and you can reserve now and pay later. Those terms help if your Barcelona plans are still shifting.

Should you book it?

Book this class if you want more than a plate of paella. The combination of four possible Spanish rice dishes, plant-based ingredients, a shared buffet, and a central location makes it a useful food experience for anyone curious about vegan cooking in Catalonia.

The strongest reason to go is the range. You may taste paella Valenciana, arròs al forn, arròs negre, and fideuà in one session, with ingredients such as garrafó, seaweed broth, konjac seafood, Heura, and black bean sausage.

Skip it if your priority is a tightly controlled, one-dish masterclass. For everyone else, $93 is reasonable for a four-hour lesson and meal, especially if you bring a Tupperware container and make use of the leftovers.

FAQ

Where does the vegan paella class take place?

It takes place at In Bloom Cooking School, behind Arenas mall and near Plaza España in Barcelona.

How long is the cooking experience?

The activity lasts four hours.

What dishes may be prepared?

The listed recipes are paella Valenciana, arròs al forn with vegan sausage, arròs negre with grilled vegan prawns, and fideuà with vegan konjac squid.

Will every participant prepare every recipe?

Not necessarily. The number of recipes depends on the number of participants, and the recipes are prepared and tasted by the group.

Is a drink included?

One drink is included in the price. Additional drinks can be purchased at the school and paid for at the end.

Can I take leftover food home?

Yes. You are advised to bring a Tupperware container for leftovers.

Is the class suitable for children?

The class is not suitable for children under 10 years old.