This Buddha Bowl recipe makes the most satisfying nutritious and delicious vegan meal! A rainbow of roasted veggies, kale, quinoa, luscious lemony dressing and delicious vegan pecan parmesan.
I rarely get so excited about a new food concept that I make a beeline for the grocery store to get right to it. That's what happened to me when I discovered Buddha bowls. I'm not the only one. Buddha bowls are all the rage.
WHAT IS A BUDDHA BOWL AND WHERE DID IT COME FROM?
There's lots of debate as to the origin of the buddha bowl. Here's the scoop:
- Some say a buddha bowl is the revival of the hippie bowl of the 1960's, which contained brown rice and veggies.
- The urban dictionary defines a buddha bowl as "...a bowl which is packed so full that it has a rounded "belly" appearance on the top much like the belly of a buddha."
- The common denominator is that a Buddha bowl is a big beautiful bowl of delicious food that's super good for you.
'Buddha bowl' is such a great name for this dish. It evokes a sense of serene wisdom and spiritualism, of simplicity and healthfulness. It has mystique.
Tell someone you're making buddha bowls for dinner and they will immediately be intrigued and want to know more. And they'll probably go home and make buddha bowls for dinner too.
I've always loved the concept of composed 'bowls.' It's like having your own personal little smorgasbord, packed with carefully chosen, delicious stuff.
Other delicious "Bowl" recipes
- Korean Bibimbap
- Teriyaki Salmon Rice Bowl (one of the most popular recipes on the blog)
- Thai Beef & Bok Choy Rice Bowl
- Grilled Harissa Chicken Rice Bowl with Glazed Eggplant
This buddha bowl features two of my favorite roasted veggies: Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes. For a contrast in texture and flavor, I added super healthy raw dinosaur kale and cooked quinoa. Everything is tossed with lemony dressing and vegan toasted-pecan 'parmesan'. Slivered pecans and micro greens add a final layer of healthy tasty crunch.
HOW TO MAKE THIS BUDDHA BOWL:
The recipe has 5 steps: Roast the veggies, cook the quinoa, make the lemony dressing, make the pecan parmesan, assemble the bowls.
- Roast the Veggies: Cut the Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes, toss them with olive oil and salt, and roast them in a 400ºF oven for 25-30 minutes.
- Cook The Quinoa: While the veggies are roasting, cook the quinoa and wash and slice the kale. As soon as the quinoa is done, while it's still piping hot, toss it with the raw kale. The kale will soften and cook a bit from the heat of the quinoa and it will be the perfect texture for the buddha bowl.
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Make the Lemony Dressing: a mix of olive oil, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. Pour it over the kale/quinoa mixture and toss to combine.
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Make the Vegan Pecan Parmesan: Finely chop the toasted pecans in the food processor or blender. Add nutritional yeast, olive oil and salt. Pulse to combine. Pour on top of the kale-quinoa just before serving, and toss to combine.
- Assemble Buddha Bowls: Divide kale Quinoa mixture between bowls. Arrange roasted veggies on top. Sprinkle with slivered almonds and micro greens. Enjoy!
WHAT IS NUTRITIONAL YEAST?
- If you've never cooked with nutritional yeast, you are in for a treat. It's not what you think of when you think of yeast. Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast that's used as a flavoring ingredient in cooking. Many vegan cooks add it to soups or stews to give a savory, umami boost to their recipes.
- Nutritional yeast mimics the flavor of cheese. Try sprinkling it on popcorn or on kale chips! As a bonus, it's full of "nutrients," hence the name "nutritional."
- I buy it at my local Whole Foods. You can also order nutritional yeast from Amazon.
As long as we're on the topic of Buddha bowls, I have to share a few of my favorite quotes from The Buddha:
"Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without."
"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned."
"The mind is everything. What you think you become."
If you like this recipe, you'll also like this vegan Roasted Vegetable Salad with Kale and Chickpeas.
Here's the Sweet Potato Brussels Sprout Buddha Bowl Recipe If you make this, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!
Sweet Potato Brussels Sprout Buddha Bowl
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Yield: 4-5 1x
Description
A healthy, delicious, satisfying vegan buddha bowl with roasted veggies, kale, quinoa, lemony dressing and vegan toasted pecan "parmesan."
Ingredients
Units
Scale
The Buddha Bowl Ingredients:
- 3 medium sweet potatoes or yams (about 2 ½ pounds) peeled, cut into ¾-inch cubes
- 1 ½ pounds Brussels sprouts, trimmed of ends and damaged leaves, and halved
- 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 bunch dinosaur kale (also called Lacinato kale), thick stems removed, leaves washed, dried, stacked and thinly sliced
- 1 cup raw quinoa, rinsed and drained
For The Vegan Lemon Parmesan Dressing:
- 1 cup raw pecans, toasted over high heat in a heavy dry skillet for a few minutes (toss & watch constantly to prevent burning)
- 1 ½ tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (1 juicy lemon)
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt or more, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Optional Garnishes:
- Slivered almonds
- Sweetened dried cranberries or cherries
- Micro greens
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Toss sweet potatoes with 3 tablespoon olive oil and a sprinkle of salt (optional). Spread them out in a single layer in a shallow roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet. Toss the Brussels sprouts with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet, cut side down. Roast the vegetables, undisturbed, for 25-30 minutes or until they are tender and starting to brown. The sweet potatoes may need 5 more minutes in the oven than the Brussels.
- While the veggies are roasting, cook the quinoa per package instructions (1 cup quinoa with 2 cups water for about 12-14 minutes). While the quinoa is cooking put the sliced kale into a large bowl. When the quinoa is ready, immediately add the hot quinoa to the bowl with the kale and toss to combine. The kale will soften and cook a bit from the heat of the quinoa.
- Using food processor or blender, finely chop the toasted pecans. Add the nutritional yeast, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and 1 tablespoons of olive oil, and pulse to combine.
- In a separate small bowl whisk the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil with the lemon juice, dijon, ¼ teaspoon salt, and pepper, to taste. Pour the lemon vinaigrette mixture over the kale-quinoa and toss to combine. Sprinkle the pecan parmesan on top just before serving, and toss.
- To serve, divide the quinoa/kale mixture between 4-5 bowls. Divide the sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts between the bowls, each in their own pile so you can see all the wonderful colors and textures. Sprinkle garnishes on top: cranberries, almonds, micro-greens or all three. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Notes
[This post first appeared on Panning The Globe in Jan 2017. It was updated in Oct 2019 with new photos and clarifying details in the written post.]
Nutrition Information: The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and is not a substitute for the advice of a professional nutritionist.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: lunch or dinner
- Method: Roast
- Cuisine: American
Aubrey
I made this tonight and topped it with a dried cranberry and honey roasted pecan mix that I got from Sam's club. Very tasty, incredibly light too! Thanks for the recipe!
Jennifer Eckstein
Outstanding.
Made this w/mods for my guests last night. Ground about 1/3 cup parm in my food processor and added that plus the nutritional yeast to my dressing. No nuts. (No gluten either, one of my guests has celiac.) Sprinkled pepinos (roasted salted pumpkin seeds) on top. I served it slightly chilled, like a salad, as a side to bbq ribs. (Sorry, I de-Veganed it!)
We all loved it. To the extent that my guests begged for the recipe. Thank you!
Lisa Goldfinger
Hey Jennifer - I'm so glad you and your guests liked the buddha bowl. Thank you sfor sharing your modifications. I love that you were able to make this work for everyone's dietary needs. 🙂
David
Made it last night. Delicious!
Lisa Goldfinger
Hi David! I'm so glad you like this one! Thanks for your note and 5 star rating 🙂
shari
This was was a huge hit!
Inquiring minds want to know what to make next???!!!
Lisa
I'm thrilled you enjoyed the buddha bowl! Now what to make next?? How about Greek Chicken Stew with Potatoes, tomatoes and olives? It's an easy one-pot-dinner that's healthy and delicious!! https://www.panningtheglobe.com/greek-chicken-and-potatoes/
Susan
This was very good. Made substitutions based on my pantry. Cashews for the crumble instead of pecans, quinoa was garlic flavored. Massaged kale with olive oil and splash of lemon juice. So good, balanced, and filling!
Mark Koso
I used almonds too and it came out great. I had lunch for the week.
Natalie
The term Buddha Bowl probably in reference to alms round in which buddhist monks are given offerings from the lay people and pile the entire concoction into one large bowl. They are given this meal once in the morning and then fast until the next day which is often why they take as much as they can and are thankful for anything they're offered making for some very interesting meals (like cereal and spaghetti!). Being that monks are usually vegan as well as buddha bowl recipes are it can be deduced that this is the inspiration to the pop culture reference.
Bernadette
Do you have nutritional info (especially calories) for this recipe? Thanks!
Lisa
Yes! I just added nutritional info.
Lori Yarvis
Loved this dish! So delicious for Sunday night supper!
Amy Robinson
AMAZING and I'm not even a vegan!!!!
Lisa
Yay! Thanks for reporting back Amy!
Kat
Hi - do you know how many calories per serving?
Courtney
I love the ingredients in this! If I wanted to use Parmesan for the dressing, should I just leave out the pecans & yeast, and shred some Parmesan on top of the bowl?
Lisa
Courtney if you substitute Parmesan for the Pecan Parmesan I recommend using finely grated (not shredded) Parmigiana Reggiano. It has that wonderful nutty flavor that works so well in this recipe. Just omit the "pecan parmesan" part of the recipe and substitute a good amount of Parmigiana Reggiano - 1/2 cup or so. I hope you enjoy!
Courtney
Thanks for your prompt response- I'm on the way to the store now 🙂
Ellen Silberman
I just made this and it is delicious. I substituted almonds for the pecans (because of an allergy) in the lemon Parmesan dressing and it was still incredible. So filling and healthy. Thank you Lisa!
Lisa
Hi Ellen! I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed the Buddha Bowl - thanks for letting me know. And I'm glad to know that almonds can be subbed in for the vegan parmesan - I'll definitely give that a try at some point.
2pots2cook
Perfect colours, perfect photos; so inviting ! Will do ! Thank you !
Kristen Chidsey
Lisa--I am totally making this--today! I just bought fresh brussel sprouts and I always have everything else on hand. SO excited to try this!
Jen
I am making this tonight! What a great looking recipe! So perfect for this time of year!!
Lisa
Thanks Jen. I hope you love it as much as we do - let me know!