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A fresh and fun way to eat vegetables and all sorts of goodness, this Buddha bowl is full of nutritious ingredients. Fresh veggies, sweet roasted butternut squash, creamy avocado and more, all brought together by a zesty lemon tahini dressing. What’s not to love?
This Lemon Tahini Dressing is a stunner, and one that I’ve used in all sorts of ways. For a different take, try it with gorgeous Roasted Carrots!
In my quest for lunch options that are good for me, I’ve eaten far too many that leave me feeling hungry shortly after I finish my meal. That’s why discovering Buddha bowls was such a godsend!
These bowls are not just tasty and nutritious, when made right they can be properly filling. Pick the right mix of fresh, savoury, flavoursome ingredients and with just a bit of assembly you have a stunning lunch!
Famously, these bowls look just as good as they taste. So let’s get creative with our Buddha bowl and make something worthy of our Instagram feed!
What is a buddha bowl?
A buddha bowl is a one-pot meal that includes a potpourri of fresh and filling ingredients. What ingredients? It almost doesn’t matter!
The standard expectation for a buddha bowl is that it will contain a mixture of fresh vegetables, plant protein and grains. There is no rigid definition, though, so the main idea is simply to use whatever you happen to have on hand without letting anything dominate.
With a mixture of one-bite flavours and textures, it is a fun way to have a diverse meal that also happens to be incredibly photogenic.
What to add to your bowl
Since there is no rule about what goes into a Buddha bowl, you can feel free to be as creative as you wish and choose whatever will make you happy.
That said, the best Buddha bowls have plenty of vegetables, grains for bulk plus added protein. Next we need to mix up the textures, which is why both cooked and raw vegetables are often included.
I’ve added raw cabbage but fermented cabbage such as sauerkraut or kimchi would be a great nutritional substitute.
For grains I used a combination of brown and basmati rice from a packet for convenience. Any whole grain can be used, such as quinoa or bulgar.
Although the roasted squash takes a bit of time to make, it really is a remarkable addition to this dish. My pro tip is to make it in advance, with extra to use for other meals like Creamy Orzo Pasta with Roasted Butternut Squash.
I bring it together with a tasty garlic tahini dressing and sprinkle seeds or nuts for an added punch.
The assembly of the Buddha bowl is the easy part, and takes but a moment. The longer step is to prepare the ingredients, although this can easily be done in advance.
Lemon tahini dressing
Tahini dressing is popular in my house and similar to one that I’ve used before with Israeli Salad. Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds and brings a pleasant nuttiness to any dish it touches.
This dressing combines tahini paste with lemon juice and then one grated garlic clove. When these three ingredients are added together, the paste is quite thick.
Because we want to be able to pour it over the Buddha bowl, we need to add water until it is the right consistency. Do this one tablespoon at a time so that it doesn’t become too soupy.
To finish it off we only need salt. Add salt until you get the taste you want.
The quantity for this recipe is quite small as this is only for two portion. It can be a good idea to make more and leave it in the fridge for use at a later date.
Recipe tips and notes
- Putting this salad together is quick and easy, roasting the butternut squash takes a bit of time. My advice is to roast a whole squash in advance and have it ready to go for when you want to assemble the buddha bowl. Roasted squash will keep when refrigerated for 3-5 days.
- I’ve made the bowl using ingredients I love and have available to me. But there is no hard and fast rule here. Feel free to improvise and experiment to make the bowl perfect for your taste and budget.
- The bowl is at its best when the dressing is evenly distributed, but for this to happen may mean that the dressing needs to be thinned out slightly. Add a small amount of water at a time so the dressing doesn’t become too thin, until you are happy with the consistency.
- I love the kale sautéed with garlic and chilli flakes. I didn’t specific the quantity of chilli flakes as we all love a different amount of heat. I used about a teaspoon, but you may want more or less.
Serving suggestions
This is a meal all to itself. Nothing more needed, nothing more to add!
Although I will often suggest a range of side dishes to serve with my recipes, this is one that needs only what is in the bowl in front of you.
Storage and leftovers
A buddha bowl is all about freshness, so this is definitely one to eat right when it’s prepared. Assemble your bowl and enjoy, because it won’t improve with age!
If you end up with extra ingredients, keep them separated in the fridge for use in a later buddha bowl, or however you choose to use them. Most raw vegetables will keep for 3-4 days, but hardy ones like cabbage and carrots will last a week.
The dressing will last a week as well, with the extra time allowing the garlic to infuse the sauce even more. Caution, though, as the extra hit of garlic may not be for everyone!
More plant-based meals
- Easy Kimchi Fried Rice
- Vegan Dan Dan Noodles
- Coconut Lentil Curry with Butternut Squash
- Vegetarian Thai Green Curry
Vegan Buddha Bowl
A fresh and fun way to eat vegetables and all sorts of goodness.
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 40 minutes mins
Course lunch
Cuisine American
Servings 2
Calories 599 kcal
Ingredients
- 40g/1.5oz rice cooked, I used a mixture of brown and basmati
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 50g/1.2 cups cavolo nero/kale
- 1 clove garlic
- 90g/½ cup edamame beans
- 1 avocado
- 1 carrot cut into ribbons
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 90g/1 cup shredded red cabbage or white cabbage
- 1 tbsp seeds/nuts/hemp seeds
For the Lemon Tahini Dressing
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- Salt to taste
For the Roasted Butternut Squash
- 200g/1⅓ cups butternut squash cubed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- Salt to taste
Instructions
To make roasted butternut squash, preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Peel, cut and deseed the butternut squash. Cut one quarter into 2 inch cubes and reserve the rest for later use. Toss the squash with the mixture of salt, smoked paprika, garlic powder and the olive oil. Roast in the preheated oven on a large and rimmed baking sheet for 40-45 minutes or until tender and golden.
Sauté cavolo nero/kale with garlic and chilli flakes for 5 minutes in 1 tbsp oil and water with a lid on.
Make the tahini dressing by adding tahini paste and lemon juice to a small bowl and stirring until thick, then add grated clove of garlic. Add small amounts of water a tablespoon at a time until a pourable consistency, then salt to taste. Assemble the bowl using the rice as the base, then pile the roasted squash, kale, edamame beans, avocado, carrots, cabbage and drizzle with the tahini dressing. Sprinkle with seed and nut mix of choice.
Nutrition
Calories: 599kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 14gFat: 42gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 24gTrans Fat: 0.01gSodium: 2381mgPotassium: 1324mgFiber: 14gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 18644IUVitamin C: 62mgCalcium: 194mgIron: 4mg
Keyword buddha bowl
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