Spring Buddha Bowl with Creamy Herb Dressing
This buddha bowl recipe is full of whole food goodness! It’s got fiber, protein, and healthy fats to keep you satisfied, and is loaded with flavor. Dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, and vegan. A great lunch for batch cooking and meal planning when you’ve got a busy week!
Buddha Bowls really are nothing fancy. To me, it’s the simplest way to eat lunch. You just throw together basically whatever you’ve got on hand- fresh or cooked veggies, leftover grains, leftover chicken, canned beans doctored up with some seasonings…
—> In fact- check out this blog post where I give you a simple formula and loads of tips for making endless buddha bowls!
But that said, sometimes you need a little inspiration or you’ll keep eating the same old boring things over and over again and we know what that leads to: potato chips, ice cream, you name it- indulging in garbage that depletes your energy.
In this bowl I’m celebrating what’s new and available in the spring in New England, where I live. Spring is an exciting time of year, but it’s also a slow time at the farmer’s markets. Mostly what we can get is young leafy greens and whatever’s leftover from the late fall harvest. But of course we have the regular ole grocery store and we see some new produce for spring there, too, especially asparagus.
So this bowl has a bit of spring in it- roasted asparagus and fresh baby greens. But it’s also got a little winter leftover, too- carrots and purple daikon radish. I like to vary the color in my buddha bowls, so if you can’t find a purple daikon radish, try something similar like a watermelon radish (they’re hot pink on the inside!).
A Few Tips for Making This Buddha Bowl
Batch It. Now, before you even look at the recipe below, keep in mind that there are a lot of ingredients involved. That’s because this is all about batch cooking. So if you’re a single person and you make this recipe, you’re gonna have FOUR lunches prepared for you at the end. If you’re cooking for more people, try doubling or even tripling the recipe so you can stretch out the bowls over multiple meals.
Prep Multiples. You can even prepare your meals in advance and pack them in tupperware containers so all you’ve gotta do is grab and go (or grab and eat!). That said, the roasted chickpeas and asparagus will taste better when hot, so if you’re doing the work from home thing, it’s worth it to reheat those before lunching.
Switch Up the Flavors. I believe all recipes are meant to be modified- including mine! It makes your cooking life a lot easier when you get used subbing ingredients to better suit your taste buds or what you’ve got on hand. So, to that end… I used Italian herbs in this recipe both for the chickpeas and for the dressing. One of the main reasons I did that is because I have an indoor hydroponic herb garden and tons of fresh basil at the moment. But let’s say you prefer different flavors? Switch up the herbs. OR let’s say you want to keep it Italian but are out of one of the herbs and spices I list- just sub something else, or use an Italian spice blend!. The possibilities are endless.
Spring Buddha Bowl with Creamy Herb Dressing
Makes 4
Ingredients
2 cups of quinoa, cooked (click here for instructions)
1/4 cup pepitas
1 bunch of asparagus
2 t olive oil
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t fresh black pepper
3 cups chickpeas (2 15-oz cans)
1 T olive oil
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
1 t oregano
1 t thyme
1 t rosemary
1 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
2 large carrots, cleaned and peeled
1 small purple daikon radish
1 bag of baby greens mix (about 4 cups)
2 avocados
A few extra basil leaves
DRESSING ingredients
1/2 cup hemp hearts
1/3 cup water
1 lemon, juiced (3-4 T)
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t garlic granules
generous handful of basil
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Arrange the pepitas on a baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are fragrant and crackling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Raise the oven temperature to 425F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
Cut off the ends of the asparagus, then cut into 2-inch lengths. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then arrange in a single layer on one of the baking sheets.
Drain, rinse and pat dry the chickpeas. Toss with the olive oil, spices and salt and pepper. Arrange in a single layer on the other baking sheet.
Place both sheets in the oven and set the timer for 8 minutes. Check to see that the asparagus is roasted to your liking (it should be bright green and tender, but with a little bit of crunch still). Remove the asparagus and roast the chickpeas for another 12 minutes. When they’re done, remove from the oven and let cool a couple minutes before you prep the final bowls.
While the asparagus and chickpeas are roasting, prepare the cold ingredients. Using a vegetable peeler, mandolin or spiralizer, create long, flat fettuccini-style ‘noodles’ out of the carrots. Then, chop the daikon radish into small matchsticks (julienne); you’ll want about 1 cup of julienned daikon, and can save the rest of the radish for another use. Slice the avocados in half, remove the pits, and slice each half horizontally. Slice the basil.
Make the Dressing
In a small blender (I use the magic bullet), blend together the hemp hearts and water till you have a creamy base. Then add the lemon juice, sea salt, and garlic granules and blend again. (PS: if you’d like, add a pinch of cayenne). Finally, add in the handful of basil and blend until you have a smooth dressing.
Arrange the Buddha Bowls
Divide the quinoa, asparagus, chickpeas, carrots, and daikon radish among four bowls. Arrange half an avocado in each bowl. Sprinkle 1 T of the pepitas on each bowl, and serve with the dressing.
*To reheat the chickpeas: preheat the oven to 350F and reheat for 8-10 minutes. They’re better when warm!
