Buddha Bowl Recipe, Vegan, Gluten-Free

• Food: Buddha Bowl

• Writer: Alice

• Content-Type: Food Blog

The ideal vegan Buddha bowl, packed with nutrients! It is wholesome and savory thanks to fresh vegetables, legumes, sauerkraut, and a colorful turmeric tahini sauce.

What is the origin of the name “Buddha Bowl”? These vibrant bowls are loaded with plant-based food including grains, legumes, steaming and raw veggies, and savory sauces, so if you’ve been on Instagram in the last five years, you’ve probably seen them.

The name may have originated from the way Buddha gathered alms, according to a 2017 Epicurious article by Katherine Sacks. Buddha would use a huge bowl to collect little tidbits of food that the locals of the area he was staying in could afford to share.

I used to know them as macro bowls before we started calling these vibrant bowls “Buddha Bowls.” I frequently went to Casa de Luz, a macrobiotic eatery, when I wanted a little rest when we were residing in Austin.

Casa de Luz featured a single rotating dinner each day as opposed to a set menu. It would always be a certain style of a buddha bowl, consisting of a grain, a legume, blanched leafy greens, steamed veggies, a pickled vegetable, and a delectable sauce.

The sauce and vegetable combinations there have been some of the greatest I’ve ever eaten, despite how restrictive they may sound.

I utilized their basic recipe as a starting point to create my buddha bowl dish since I can’t visit Casa de Luz frequently now that we reside in Chicago.

COMPONENTS OF MY BUDDHA BOWL RECIPE

I utilized one ingredient from each of the following categories to create a homemade version of a Caza de Luz macro bowl:

• I made a flavorful turmeric tahini sauce that was quite amazing. It’s my favorite kind of creamy sauce since you can quickly whisk it up without using a blender. Additionally, you’re in luck if you have leftovers! This vibrant sauce is delicious on everything.
• Vegetables that have been cooked: I chose roasted sweet potatoes.
• Raw veggies like red cabbage, watermelon radish, and rainbow carrots add a stunning splash of color to this Buddha bowl meal.
• Kale is the way to go for leafy greens.
• I went for a legume, my go-to source of plant protein: chickpeas!
• A grain; I used brown rice, but you may use white rice if you don’t have any on hand.
• Sauerkraut is a vegetable pickled! I cherish Bubbies.

If you want to prepare this dish ahead of time for the week’s lunches, all of the ingredients stay well in the refrigerator. Discover more of my favorite healthy lunch dishes and my best advice for meal preparation here.

VARIATIONS ON THE BUDDHA BOWL RECIPE

Although I adore this dish exactly as given, feel free to make your own Buddha bowl. Here are some of my preferred modifications:

• Adapt the vegetables. Butternut squash or ordinary potatoes can be used in place of the sweet potato, or you could try another type of roasted vegetable. Roasted broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, beets, and Brussels sprouts would all taste delicious. You might also experiment with preparing them in various ways. Instead of eating it raw, you should steam or sauté kale, roast carrots, or boil sweet potatoes. In the summer, grilled vegetables would be fantastic in this place!
• Replace the protein with another. Try adding edamame, lentils, black beans (or any other sort of legumes), or tempeh or tofu cubes to the top of your grain bowls. You could even add roasted chickpeas for more crunch!
• Alternate the grain. Substitute quinoa, farro, or couscous for the rice. Skip the grain and substitute cauliflower or broccoli rice for more vegetable strength.
• Change the sauce. Use a different sauce entirely, or make a different variation of my basic tahini sauce recipe! I enjoy adding hummus, peanut sauce, lemon vinaigrette, green goddess dressing, cilantro lime dressing, or drizzles of sesame oil and soy sauce or tamari to my Buddha bowls as a final touch.
• Change up your pickle. You’re out of sauerkraut. Use jalapenos or pickled red onion instead!

Please share any modifications you try!

BUDDHA BOWL

To pack this healthy Buddha bowl for lunch or to make it for a quick evening dinner, prepare these straightforward ingredients in advance. free of gluten and vegan.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large sweet potato, cubed
• Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 1 watermelon radish or 2 red radishes
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 cup shredded red cabbage
• Squeeze of lemon
• 8 kale leaves, chopped
• 2 cups cooked brown rice or quinoa
• 1 cup cooked chickpeas or cooked lentils
• 3/4 cup sauerkraut or another fermented veggie
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds or hemp seeds
• Turmeric Tahini sauce for serving
• Microgreens, optional
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Put a sizable baking sheet in the oven and preheat it to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Sprinkle the sweet potatoes with salt, pepper, and olive oil before spreading them out on the baking sheet. Until golden brown, roast for 20 minutes.
3. Slice the radish into rounds using a mandoline, and use a vegetable peeler to create ribbons out of the carrots.
4. Sliced radish, carrots, and shredded cabbage should be combined with a squeeze of lemon. Set apart.
5. Squeeze some lemon juice and add a few pinches of salt to the kale leaves in a big bowl. Massage the leaves in the dish with your hands until they are mushy and wilted and have decreased by roughly half.
6. Brown rice, chickpeas, kale, carrots, radishes, cabbage, sweet potatoes, sauerkraut, sesame seeds, and microgreens, if used, should be put together in separate bowls. Serve with the Turmeric Tahini Sauce after seasoning with salt and pepper.