Today, we are making THREE easy and delicious buddha bowls! Head over to the video to watch me whip up these bowls and don’t forget to scroll down for the written recipes.
I love vegan buddha bowls because they are so filling and pretty easy to make. Plus, they’re so versatile that you can add almost anything to your buddha bowl because it’s basically a mix and match of healthy, delicious ingredients!
Before I get to the recipes, let me tell you a little bit about buddha bowls. Did you know that the term was first used by Martha Stewart in 2013, when she was inspired by Buddhist monks walking around holding bowls to be filled by anything people can spare?
At the same time, the tradition of mixing protein, grains, and greens in a single bowl can be traced back to many different cultures, but mainly in Hawaii (poke bowls) and in Asia (e.g. Korean bibimbap).
This culture-rich dish has always been a long-time favourite of mine because I can balance out the nutrients. I make sure I include healthy portions of grains, protein, veggies, and health fats — all thrown together to make one delicious and healthy meal!
For this batch of recipes, I created THREE vegan buddha bowls. The first one is an Easy Sushi Bowl which is basically a deconstructed vegan sushi that you can eat in a bowl. The second one is what I call a Hearty Barley Bowl — a deliciously filling buddha bowl where I used vegan spam (a.k.a. my Smoked Tofu recipe) as the main protein source. Last but not the least is the Fresh Soba Bowl which is perfect for people who love soba noodles and fresh veggies! YUM!
Once again, these buddha bowl recipes are completely versatile; feel free to swap out your rice with quinoa or any other type of grain, and use whatever vegetables and plant-based protein source you like! The possibilities are endless, which is another reason why buddha bowls rock!
Don’t forget to watch the video above and without further ado, let’s head over to making these vegan buddha bowls!
Easy Sushi Bowl
Ingredients (1 serving):
- 1 medium carrot
- 1 handful baby spinach
- 1 cup brown rice (or sushi rice)
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch sugar
- 1 cup shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix + 1/2 tbsp vegan mayo + 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 pieces hearts of palm + 1/2 tbsp vegan mayo
- 1/3 cup edamame + 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 1/2 nori sheet
- Desired amount of soy sauce
Instructions:
- Chop your carrot julienne-style. For ease, you can use already grated carrots!
- On a large serving bowl, lay out a bed of fresh baby spinach.
- In a smaller mixing bowl, add in brown rice, rice vinegar, salt, and sugar. Mix well and add into the large serving bowl along with the carrots.
- In the same smaller mixing bowl, throw in coleslaw mix, dijon mustard, and vegan mayo. Mix well and add into the serving bowl.
- Chop up hearts of palm into smaller chunks. Mix with vegan mayo before adding into the serving bowl.
- Throw in some edamame beans seasoned with a little salt (this will be your protein source).
- Cut up nori sheet into smaller pieces and use to garnish the middle of the serving bowl.
- Top with sesame seeds & add desired amount of soy sauce to the bowl before serving. Enjoy!
Hearty Barley Bowl
Ingredients (3-4 servings):
- 1 cup dry pearl barley
- Vegan Spam / Smoked Tofu (link video/blogpost)
- 4 cups kale
- 1 medium sweet potato + 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 3 tbsp pumpkin seeds
Cashew dressing:
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 tbsp miso paste
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions:
- Cook barley according to package instructions.
- Marinate chopped tofu pieces to make vegan spam (or smoked tofu — see recipe here).
- Peel and chop sweet potato into bite sized pieces. Place on a baking sheet, add some olive oil, and massage the oil into the sweet potato pieces. Set aside.
- Soften cashews by boiling them with water for about 15-20 minutes.
- For the vegetable, add chopped kale into a large mixing bowl. Pour in lemon juice, massage kale, and then add in nutritional yeast and salt for extra flavour.
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375°F.
- While the oven is preheating and once the cashews are softened, blend all cashew dressing ingredients together until smooth. Place in a container to keep extras in the fridge and feel free to use it for other recipes as well.
- Place marinated tofu pieces on the same baking sheet with the sweet potatoes and bake for 15 minutes on one side. Then flip tofu, toss sweet potatoes and add in the kale and bake for another 15 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are cooked.
- Assemble all ingredients into a serving bowl.
- Top with avocado slices, pumpkin seeds, and drizzle with the cashew dressing. Enjoy!
Fresh Soba Bowl
Instructions (1 serving):
- 1 serving soba noodles
- 1 head baby bok choy
- 1/2 bell pepper
- 1 medium carrot grated (or 3/4 cup carrots)
- 1 roma tomato
- ⅓ cup chickpeas
- ½ tube extra soft tofu or ½ small block of soft tofu (optional)
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (for the tofu, optional)
- 1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
- Garnish options: green onion, sesame seeds, alfalfa sprouts
For the sauce:
- 1 tbsp Gochujang
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or agave nectar
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions:
- Cook soba noodles according to package instructions.
- Chop up baby bok choy, tomatoes, and bell peppers into thin pieces. Also chop up carrots julienne-style.
- In a small mixing bowl, make the sauce by mixing together gochujang and maple syrup first and then mixing in the vinegar and soy sauce. (NOTE: If you don’t like spice, omit the gochujang and add in more soy sauce.)
- Drain and rinse cooked soba noodles in cold water.
- In a large serving bowl, add in soba noodles and pour over some of the sauce (leave some for drizzling later). Mix well.
- Assemble the bowl by adding in the chopped vegetables, followed by chickpeas and extra soft tofu (optional) for protein.
- Drizzle with the remaining sauce. If using extra soft tofu, drizzle tofu with soy sauce & sesame oil (optional).
- Top with alfalfa sprouts, sunflower seeds, and chopped green onions.
- Serve and enjoy!
