There’s a lot of reasons to get excited about this wholesome, plant-based Buddha Bowl. Incredibly nourishing and satisfying, full of exquisite flavours, easy to make, and great for meal-prepping, this one-bowl meal is an absolute pleasure to eat.
After throwing a very carby, cheesy dish at you a few days ago, I figured I needed to redeem myself with this nourishing bowl full of plant power ingredients. Featured in this Buddha bowl is a wonderful combination of turmeric-spiced roasted cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and chickpeas that top a bed of fluffy, nutty quinoa. Kale adds some much needed greens this time of year and avocado slices complete this exquisite one-bowl meal.
A really great Buddha bowl requires something saucy and creamy drizzled over top and here we are using a dairy-free, spicy cashew dressing that is out. of. this. world. I could drink it straight out of a glass, no straw needed. With just the right balance of tart, sweet, tangy, and spicy, it takes this Buddha bowl from great to fabulous.
Table of Contents[Hide]
Not only is this Buddha bowl nourishing and healthy, it will make you feel full and happy and bring you warm comfort on a chilly night. Best of all, it comes together in less than 45 minutes—including cooking the grain.
What Is A Buddha Bowl?
Also known as bliss bowls, power bowls, hippie bowls, or nourish bowls, a Buddha bowl refers to a one-bowl meal that is piled high with wholesome, nourishing ingredients.
Buddha bowls are almost always plant-based but the ingredients used vary endlessly. Most will start with a base of grains such as quinoa, brown rice, lentils, or even noodles. From there, the bowl will get loaded with a variety of cooked or raw vegetables, greens, a plant-based protein, nuts and seeds, and a dressing or sauce to bring it all together.
There are no real rules to building one of these glorious bowls which is definitely part of the appeal. Call them what you wish but, to me, they are a wonderful way to enjoy a complete meal that is nourishing, satisfying and lip-smacking good.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A healthy, balanced meal. This vegetable-focused Buddha bowl is filled with good-for-you ingredients that will make you feel completely satisfied.
- Great for meal prep. Hearty and fun to eat, this is a great recipe for make-ahead easy dinners or packable lunches.
- Customizable. Do your best to use unprocessed, whole food ingredients, but from there feel free to tailor the bowl to your particular taste preferences. This a great way to use up what’s already in your fridge.
- Killer sauce! This nourishing bowl is fantastic all on its own but the spicy cashew sauce will have you swooning.
- Vegan and gluten-free. Even if you eat meat and dairy, this Buddha bowl is a great way to eat more plants and take a break form processed foods.
Ingredients And Substitutions
- Cauliflower: This recipe calls for 6 cups of cauliflower florets so you will need one medium/large head of cauliflower. Feel free to double in which case you will need two baking sheets.
- Sweet potatoes: You will need about 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes for this recipe. I like to cube it into 1-inch pieces so it cooks at the same time as the cauliflower. You can peel the sweet potatoes if you wish but I prefer to leave the peel on. Just make sure to scrub them well.
- Chickpeas: Chickpeas in a Buddha bowl are not only delicious but offer extra protein so you stay full longer. For convenience, I always use canned chickpeas in my Buddha bowls. Costco sells organic canned chickpeas for a great price.
- Quinoa: I love using quinoa as the grain-base for this Buddha bowl, but feel free to use your favourite. This recipe includes instructions on how to cook really fluffy quinoa. You can use water or broth to cook the quinoa. A reminder that if you are sensitive to quinoa, always rinse it well before cooking. Other GF options you can use here are brown rice, white rice, wild rice, lentils of any kind, millet, etc. Not GF options: Farro, barley, freekeh, bulgur, etc.
- Kale: Not essential but I enjoy some kind of green in my veggie bowls. Plus, kale is loaded with vitamins that we could all use more of this time of year. Massage some curly kale really well before adding it to the bowl, and it will be delicious. You can also use spinach, Swiss chard or arugula, if you prefer.
- Spices: For some anti-inflammatory benefits, and because I enjoy the flavour, I like to sprinkle the veggies with a generous amount of ground Turmeric. Smoked paprika and cumin lend loads of earthy, smoky flavours that I find very harmonious with cauliflower and sweet potatoes. If you don’t have these on hand, you can also use a blend of chili powder and regular paprika.
- Spicy cashew dressing: Though you can drizzle any dressing over this Buddha bowl, I highly recommend you give this easy-to-make spicy cashew dressing a try. Packed with good fats, it will also make this meal more filling and satisfying. This version is slightly adapted from Sweetgreen’s infamous dressing and it is ridiculously good.
- Optional toppings and sides: Between the veggies, grain, and dressing component, this Buddha bowl is pretty loaded but I always say more is better when it comes to these one-bowl meals. Add some sliced avocado, nuts, seeds, or fresh herbs for even more delicious flavours.
How To Make A Buddha Bowl
- Preheat oven to 425ºF.
- Cook the quinoa: Rinse the quinoa well and place in a medium saucepan. Add the water or broth, a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to gently simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. You may need to reduce the heat some more as it reaches the end of cooking time. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. When ready to serve, fluff it with a fork.
- Roast the veggies: Whisk olive oil, turmeric, cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add cauliflower florets and sweet potatoes and toss to coat. Transfer to a large rimmed baking sheet and spread to arrange in an even layer. Pro Tip: If you don’t want your nails to turn yellow, make sure you use a spatula, or disposable gloves when tossing the vegetables. Roast, stirring once, until vegetables are browned and tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately add the chickpeas to the pan. Gently toss and season with a little more salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Massage the kale: Add a drizzle of olive oil to the chopped kale and a pinch of salt. Massage vigorously with your hands until kale has darkened in colour and softened considerably, about 2 minutes.
- Make the spicy cashew dressing. Add cashew butter, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, water, lime juice, maple syrup, chili sauce or sriracha, and salt to a blender. Add a bit more water gradually until sauce is smooth and fairly loose. Taste and adjust spice level and/or seasoning, if needed.
- To serve: Place cooked quinoa in bowl(s) and top with kale, cauliflower/sweet potato/chickpea mixture and additional toppings, as desired. Drizzle generously with spicy cashew sauce.
Due to allergies, is there another sauce I can use?
This Buddha bowl can be drizzled with a variety of sauces. Try it with this delicious Tahini Dressing or any other creamy dressing of your choosing.
MAKE-AHEAD AND STORAGE TIPS:
- Make-Ahead: Cook the quinoa up to 3 days ahead and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Make the spicy cashew dressing up to 4 days ahead and store, covered, in the refirgetaor. You can also chop the cauliflower into florets and store in an airtight container up to 2 days ahead. The sweet potato can be chopped and kept in water up to 8 hours ahead.
- To store: Store the dressing for 1 week I the refrigerator. The roasted veggies and quinoa can be stored separately for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
- Reheat: The veggies can be reheated in a 350ºF oven for 15 minutes. The quinoa can be reheated in the microwave on medium for 2 minutes or on the stovetop until just just warmed through.
More Plant Based Recipes To Try
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe
Buddha Bowl with Roasted Veggies
There's a lot of reasons to get excited about this wholesome, plant-based Buddha Bowl. Incredibly nourishing and satisfying, full of exquisite flavours, easy to make, and great for meal-prepping, this one-bowl meal is an absolute pleasure to eat.
Ingredients
For the quinoa
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- 2 cups water or broth
- pinch of salt
Buddha Bowl
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 medium head cauliflower cut into florets (about 6 cups total)
- 2 medium sweet potatoes cut into 1-inch cubes (see notes)
- 1 15 oz. can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 3 cups roughly chopped kale
Spicy Cashew Dressing
- 1/2 cup cashew butter (see notes)
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 fat clove of garlic
- 1 one-inch piece of ginger, grated or finely minced
- 3 Tablespoons water plus more as needed
- juice of 1 small lime
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons chili paste or more to taste (see notes)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Optional toppings
- sliced avocado
- sesame seeds
- pumpkin seeds
- toasted coconut flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425ºF.
- Rinse the quinoa well and place in a medium saucepan. Add the water or broth and a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to gently simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. You may need to reduce the heat some more as it reaches the end of cooking time. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes. When ready to serve, fluff it with a fork.
- Meanwhile, whisk 2 tablespoons olive oil, turmeric, cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add cauliflower florets and sweet potatoes and toss to coat. Transfer to a large rimmed baking sheet and spread to arrange in an even layer. Pro Tip: If you don't want your nails to turn yellow from the turmeric, use a spatula or disposable gloves to toss the veggies.
- Roast the vegetables, stirring once, until browned and tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately add the chickpeas to the pan. Gently toss and season with a little more salt and pepper, if necessary.
- While the veggies are roasting, drizzle the kale with remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt. Massage vigorously until it darkens in colour and softens considerably, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- To make the spicy cashew dressing, add cashew butter, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, water, lime juice, maple syrup, chili sauce or sriracha, and salt to a blender. Add a bit more water gradually, if needed, until sauce is smooth and fairly loose. Taste and adjust spice level and/or seasoning, if needed.
- To serve, place cooked quinoa in bowl(s) and top with kale, cauliflower/sweet potato/chickpea mixture and additional toppings, as desired. Drizzle generously with spicy cashew sauce.
Notes
Sweet potatoes: I prefer not to peel the sweet potatoes but you can if you wish. If not peeling, make sure to scrub them really clean.
Cashew butter: For convenience, I use cashew butter to make the spicy cashew dressing. If you prefer to use raw cashews, here’s what to do: Cover the cashews in enough boiling water to cover by an inch and leave to soak for at least 15 minutes. Drain and proceed with recipe adding 3 tablespoons more water than the recipe calls for, plus more as needed.
Chili paste for cashew sauce: I use sambal oelek or this chilli paste which is sold almost everywhere in Canada. Use your favourite chili paste here, or even sriracha. Red pepper chili flakes will work in a pinch but they don’t add as much flavour.
- Make-Ahead: Cook the quinoa up to 3 days ahead and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Make the spicy cashew dressing up to 4 days ahead and store, covered, in the refirgetaor. You can also chop the cauliflower into florets and store in an airtight container up to 2 days ahead. The sweet potato can be chopped and kept in water up to 8 hours ahead.
- To store: Store the dressing for 1 week in the refrigerator. The roasted veggies and quinoa can be stored separately for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
- Reheat: The veggies can be reheated in a 350ºF oven for 15 minutes. The quinoa can be reheated in the microwave on medium for 2 minutes or on the stovetop until just just warmed through.
Tried this recipe?Tag @sandra_valvassori on Instagram or hashtag #sandravalvassori!
Join the Conversation