This recipe is perfect for anyone looking to consume a more plant based diet. Roasted vegetables, farro, spinach, warm spices, and toasted chickpeas, a drizzle of tahini dressing... is your mouth watering yet? This Vegan Buddha Bowl is so delicious and super healthy!
Why is it called a "Buddha Bowl"?
From what I have gathered on the internet, there are a couple of explanations as to why this dish is called a "Buddha Bowl". Many say that Buddha carried a bowl with him on his journeys and would fill it with whatever bits of vegetarian food the villagers would offer him. Others believe that the overstuffed bowl resembles the belly of Buddha, which symbolizes happiness and good luck.
Vegan Buddha Bowl Ingredients
- Cauliflower
- Butternut Squash
- Red Onion
- Fresh Spinach
- Farro
- Chickpeas
- Tahini
- Lemon
- Maple Syrup
- Olive Oil
- Spices
The beauty of Buddha bowls is that they are so versatile. You can use your choice of grains, vegetables, and plant proteins, and it is the perfect way to use up any leftovers you may have on hand. The more colors, textures, and flavors, the better!
How to Make a Vegan Buddha Bowl
Mix all of the spices together in a small bowl and set them aside.
Place the chickpeas in a bowl of water and rub them between your fingers to remove the skins. I find that this makes them more crispy!
Place them on a baking sheet and roast them in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes.
While the chickpeas are roasting, cut the cauliflower, butternut squash, and red onion into bite sized pieces. Toss them with olive oil and spices. Place them onto baking sheets. Remove the chickpeas from the oven, toss them with olive oil and spices and return to a baking pan. Place all four in the oven and roast for 25 minutes.
Okay, can I just say that the fragrance of all of those roasted vegetables and spices filling up your house is going to be AMAZING!
Next, you will cook the farro according to package directions. Not familiar with farro? It is an ancient grain that is similar to rice but has a bit more chew to it.
The tahini dressing is prepared by mixing tahini (sesame paste) with lemon juice, a touch of maple syrup, and a pinch of salt and garlic powder. It is thinned down with warm water to a desired consistency. So yummy!
Once the chickpeas and vegetables are done cooking, simply arrange them into 4 bowls, along with the farro.
Buddhaful!
Did you make this recipe? If yes, please leave me a comment below and let me know what you thought! Was this your first Buddha bowl? What are YOUR favorite ingredients?
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Vegan Buddha Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 head Cauliflower
- 4 cups Butternut Squash
- 1 Red Onion
- 5 ounces Baby Spinach
- 2 cups Farro cooked
- 1 cup Chickpeas canned/carton
- 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- ⅓ cup Olive Oil
- ¼ cup Tahini
- 1 tablespoon Maple Syrup
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme Leaves
- ½ teaspoon Curry Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Mix all of the spices together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Place chickpeas into a bowl of water. Rub them between your fingers to remove the skins. Spread the chickpeas onto a baking sheet and place into oven for 20 minutes.
- While chickpeas are roasting, cut the cauliflower into bite sized pieces and place into a bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoon olive oil and 1 ½ teaspoon of the spice mixture. Spread onto a baking sheet.
- Cut the butternut squash into bite sized pieces and place into a bowl. Toss with 2 tablespoon olive oil and 1 ½ teaspoon of the spice mixture. Spread onto a baking pan.
- Slice the red onion into ½ inch pieces and place into a bowl. Toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Spread onto a baking sheet.
- Remove chickpeas from oven. Toss with 1 teaspoon olive oil and the remaining spice mixture. Spread onto a baking sheet.
- Place cauliflower, butternut squash, red onion, and chickpeas into the oven and roast for 25 minutes.
- While vegetables are roasting, cook farro according to package directions.
- Arrange all ingredients into 4 bowls.
Tahini Dressing
- Add tahini, lemon juice, maple syrup, a pinch of garlic powder and salt to a bowl and whisk together.
- Slowly whisk in 2 tablespoon of warm water.
Notes
- Removing the skins from the chickpeas will make them more crispy.
- Dry roasting the chickpeas the first time around without oil will make them more crispy.
- Cut the head of cauliflower into slices so you have nice flat edges. This will help it caramelize when cooking.
- Cut all of the vegetables into uniform sized pieces to help them cook evenly.
- Don't overcrowd the vegetables on the baking sheet. This will cause them to steam and not brown or crisp up.
- When roasting the vegetables, I rotate the baking sheets halfway through, so that they cook evenly. (Move top 2 sheets to the bottom of the oven and move bottom 2 sheets to the top of the oven.)
- Farro triples in size when it cooks, so ⅔ cup dry farro should yield 2 cups cooked.
- Feel free to substitute any of the ingredients with others you may have on hand. That's half the fun when making Buddha bowls!
This was sooo good! I didn’t make the sauce but the bowl itself was so delicious it didn’t need it.
Glad you liked it Jasmine! 🙂