A Buddha Bowl, or power bowl, is the ultimate nutrient-packed meal filled with whole foods such as crispy chickpeas, fresh vegetables, healthy grains, healthy fats, and more! This one-bowl meal is a great way to incorporate even more plant-based protein and fresh veggies into your weekly meal prep. The best part of this recipe is that you can take advantage of seasonal veggies or customize these colorful bowls to your liking to create your own Buddha Bowl variation with fresh flavor!
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What’s in Buddha Bowls?
These vegetarian Buddha Bowls contain healthy, plant-based ingredients for easy and delicious meal planning!
- Quinoa: You can use either white or red quinoa for this dish. Some types take longer to cook through than others, so follow any directions on the bag regarding cooking times.
- Chickpeas: You can substitute kidney beans instead or use a combination of chickpeas and kidney beans. Throw in these spiced chickpeas for more flavor!
- Sweet Potatoes: Sweet potatoes are most fitting in this dish but if you absolutely need to substitute another potato you can use Russett or Yukon Gold potatoes. Be aware that the roasting time may differ.
- Water: To add a bit of flavor you can substitute vegetable or chicken broth if you wish.
- Mixed Greens: I used a spring mix for this recipe but you can substitute any leafy greens in this bowl. In fact, I encourage you to try different ones and find your favorite!
- Cocktail Tomatoes: I used cocktail tomatoes but you can also use grape or cherry tomatoes or even chopped roma tomatoes in a pinch.
- Green Onions: You can substitute chives or minced sweet onion if necessary.
- Milk: You can use 2% or whole milk.
- Olive Oil: You can substitute any of your preferred cooking oils in this dish or even use extra sesame oil to increase the sesame flavor.
- Sriracha Sauce: You can substitute any hot sauce you have on hand but flavored hot sauces may change the flavor of the sauce.
Pro Tip: Rinse the quinoa before cooking it to remove the bitter coating.
Vegan Buddha Bowls
These Buddha bowls are easily adapted to suit any diet. To turn these from vegetarian to vegan, omit the feta cheese or swap it for vegan feta. In the dressing, you can use vegan mayonnaise and full-fat coconut milk!
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Buddha bowls are made up of whole grains, veggies, protein, dressing, and sprinkles (additional toppings). This recipe utilizes quinoa, sweet potatoes, chickpeas, sriracha mayonnaise dressing, and crumbled feta cheese for a balanced bowl.
If you don’t have smoked paprika, you can use a mixture of 2 parts regular paprika and 1 part cumin. This will closely approximate the flavor!
While you certainly can use a different kind of potato, I highly recommend sweet potatoes because they are much higher in nutrients than regular potatoes. If you must substitute, Russett or Yukon Gold potatoes work best.
You can use any protein source you like in these Buddha bowls. Grilled chicken breast, salmon, or steak would be delicious, or swap the chickpeas for kidney beans, fava beans, tofu, or tempeh!
Quinoa has a slightly bitter coating which is produced by the plant to keep insects away. Rinsing it helps to remove the bitter taste. While the quinoa is edible if not rinsed, it doesn’t taste very enjoyable. You can toast the quinoa as well, which will also remove the bitterness.
How to Store and Reheat a Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl
Because this Buddha Bowl can be served both hot or cold, I recommend storing the components separately and combining them just before serving for the freshest and best-tasting results.
- The prepared sauce will keep for several days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- The cooked potatoes and chickpeas can be kept for 4-5 days in the refrigerator, but I do not recommend freezing them as they get mushy when thawed.
- Cooked quinoa will last for up to 7 days in the refrigerator and up to a year in the freezer.
- Sliced or chopped vegetables only last for 1-2 days, even well stored in the refrigerator.
I like to prepare the components no more than 1 day in advance and put them together just before serving. You can also store leftover bowls, if well covered, for 1-2 days in the refrigerator but you may find that the texture changes.
What to Serve with a Vegetarian Buddha Bowl
This plant-based bowl recipe makes the best meatless meals for monthly or weekly meal planning! It’s a full, nutrient-packed meal all on its own. If you want some more healthy ideas to go wit it, try this orange ginger shot or creamy green smoothie!
If you make this recipe be sure to upload a photo in the comment section below or leave a rating. Enjoy! You can also jump to recipe.
Buddha Bowl Recipe
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Ingredients
For the Bowls
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 15.5 ounces chickpeas rinsed, drained, and patted dry
- Kosher salt to taste
- ½ cup dry quinoa red or white
- 1 cup water
- 2½ cups mixed greens
- ½ cucumber sliced
- ½ cup cocktail tomatoes quartered or halved
- 2 green onions sliced
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh feta cheese
For the Dressing
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup milk 2% or whole, plus more as needed
- 1½ teaspoons Sriracha or more to taste
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon lime juice
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Thoroughly mix the olive oil and smoked paprika together in a medium-sized mixing bowl.¼ cup olive oil, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- Toss the sweet potato and the chickpeas in the oil mixture and then arrange on the prepared baking tray.2 sweet potatoes, 15.5 ounces chickpeas
- Bake for about 20 minutes, until well cooked. Add salt to taste and allow to set to the side until you assemble the bowls. They can be assembled hot or cold.Kosher salt
- While the potato mixture is baking, rinse the quinoa well in a fine mesh strainer under cold water for 1-2 minutes.½ cup dry quinoa
- In a small pan, stir the quinoa into the water and bring to a boil over medium or medium-high heat.1 cup water
- Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid, and cook until all the water has been absorbed and a little tendril has sprung out, about 10-15 minutes.
- Fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork and set to the side until you are ready to assemble your hot or cold bowls.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, milk, sriracha, sesame oil, smoked paprika, and lime juice together until combined and smooth. Add more or less milk to achieve your preferred consistency.½ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup milk, 1½ teaspoons Sriracha, ½ teaspoon sesame oil, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon lime juice
- Arrange the mixed greens on the bottom of two serving bowls, then add to each bowl half of the quinoa, sweet potato chunks, cucumber slices, tomatoes, green onions and feta cheese.2½ cups mixed greens, ½ cucumber, ½ cup cocktail tomatoes, 2 green onions, 2-3 tablespoons fresh feta cheese
- Serve hot or cold with the sriracha mayonnaise dressing.
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- You can substitute any of your preferred cooking oils in this dish or even use extra sesame oil to increase the sesame flavor.
- If you don’t have smoked paprika, you can use a mixture of 2 parts regular paprika and 1 part cumin. This will closely approximate the flavor!
- Sweet potatoes are most fitting in this dish but if you absolutely need to substitute another potato you can use Russett or Yukon Gold potatoes. Be aware that the roasting time may differ.
- You can substitute kidney beans instead or use a combination of chickpeas and kidney beans. You can also swap in a different protein, like chicken, salmon, beef, tofu, or tempeh.
- To add a bit of flavor you can substitute vegetable or chicken broth in place of the water.
- I used a spring mix for this recipe but you can substitute any greens in this bowl. In fact, I encourage you to try different ones and find your favorite!
- I used cocktail tomatoes, but you can also use grape or cherry tomatoes or even chopped roma tomatoes in a pinch.
- You can substitute chives or minced sweet onion for the green onion.
- You can use 2%, whole milk, or full-fat coconut milk in the dressing.
- You can substitute any hot sauce you have on hand for the sriracha but flavored hot sauces may change the flavor of the sauce.
- For vegan Buddha bowls, use vegan mayonnaise and full-fat coconut milk in the dressing, and swap the feta for vegan feta.
Nutrition Information
