Buddha Bowl Recipes

Where did the name ‘Buddha Bowl’ come from, anyway? If you’ve been on Instagram in the last 5 years, chances are you’ve seen these colorful bowls, packed with plant-based goodness like grains, legumes, steamed and raw veggies, and flavorful sauces. According to a 2017 Epicurious article by Katherine Sacks, the name could come from how Buddha collected alms, using a large bowl to gather small bits of food that the residents of whatever village he was staying in could afford to share.

Before we started calling these colorful bowls “Buddha Bowls,” I knew them as macro bowls. When we lived in Austin, I headed to a macrobiotic restaurant called Casa de Luz whenever I needed a bit of a recharge. Instead of having a fixed menu, Casa de Luz offered one rotating meal per day. It would always be some type of buddha bowl, with a grain, a legume, blanched leafy greens, steamed vegetables, a pickled vegetable, and a delicious sauce. It may sound limiting, but I’ve honestly had some of the best sauce and vegetable pairings of my life there. Since I can’t visit Casa de Luz regularly now that we live in Chicago, I used their basic template to build my own buddha bowl recipe.

To make a homemade version of a Caza de Luz macro bowl, I used one item from each of these categories:

These components all keep nicely in the fridge if you want to meal prep this recipe for lunch during the week. Find my best meal prep tips here and more of my favorite healthy lunch recipes here!

Easy Buddha Bowls

Check out this recipe for healthy and hearty Buddha Bowls from Delish.com.

Prep: 10min

Total: 40min

Yield: 4 serving(s)

Nutrition Facts: calories 686 Calories, Fat 30 g, Saturated Fat 5 g, Trans Fat 0 g, Cholesterol 83 mg, Sodium 1139 mg, Carbohydrate 61 g, Fiber 10 g, Sugar 9 g, Protein 35 g

Ingredients:

• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 c. Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. honey
• 1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
• 4 c. cooked brown rice
• 1 avocado, thinly sliced
• 2 c. baby spinach
• 1 tbsp. Freshly chopped cilantro, for garnish
• 1 tsp. Toasted sesame seeds

Best Buddha Bowl

Prep these simple components ahead of time to pack this healthy buddha bowl for lunch, or make it for an easy weeknight dinner! Vegan and gluten-free.

Prep: 15min

Total: 35min

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
• ¾ cup sauerkraut or other fermented veggie
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds or hemp seeds
• Turmeric Tahini Sauce (for serving)
• Microgreens (optional)
• Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Instruction:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Toss the sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and spread onto the baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
3. Thinly slice the radish into rounds (this is best done on a mandoline), and use a vegetable peeler to peel the carrots into ribbons.
4. Toss the radish slices, carrots, and shredded cabbage with a squeeze of lemon. Set aside.
5. Place the kale leaves into a large bowl and toss with a squeeze of lemon and a few pinches of salt. Use your hands to massage the leaves until they become soft and wilted and reduce in the bowl by about half.
6. Assemble individual bowls with the brown rice, chickpeas, kale, carrots, radishes, cabbage, sweet potatoes, sauerkraut, sesame seeds, and microgreens, if using. Season with salt and pepper and serve with the Turmeric Tahini Sauce.

Sweet Potato Chickpea Buddha Bowl

Flavorful, filling, 30-minute Buddha bowl with roasted sweet potatoes, onion, kale, crispy chickpeas, and an AMAZING tahini-maple sauce! A healthy, satisfying plant-based meal.

Prep: 5min

Total: 30min

Serving Size: 1 serving

Nutrition Facts: servingSize 1 serving, calories 474 kcal, Carbohydrate 62 g, Protein 13.2 g, Fat 21 g, Saturated Fat 2.8 g, Sodium 563 mg, Fiber 11.4 g, Sugar 7.2 g

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp olive, melted coconut, or avocado oil
• 1/2 medium red onion ((sliced in wedges))
• 2 small sweet potatoes ((halved))
• 1 bundle broccolini ((large stems removed // chopped))
• 2 big handfuls kale ((larger stems removed))
• 1/4 tsp each salt + pepper
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas ((drained, rinsed + patted dry))
• 1 tsp cumin
• 3/4 tsp chili powder
• 3/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp each salt + pepper
• 1/2 tsp tsp oregano ((optional))
• 1/4 tsp turmeric ((optional))
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 medium lemon ((juiced))
• 2-4 Tbsp hot water ((to thin))

Instruction:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (204 C) and arrange sweet potatoes and onions on a bare baking sheet. Drizzle both with a bit of oil, making sure the flesh of the sweet potatoes are well coated and placed skin side down on the sheet.
2. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven flip sweet potatoes and add broccolini. Drizzle broccolini with a bit of oil and season with a pinch each salt and pepper.
3. Bake for another 8-10 minutes, then remove from oven and add kale. Drizzle kale with a touch more oil and season with a pinch each salt and pepper. Bake for another 4-5 minutes then set aside.
4. While vegetables are roasting, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add chickpeas to a mixing bowl and toss with seasonings.
5. Once hot, add 1 Tbsp oil (amount as original recipe is written // use half of total amount if altering batch size) and chickpeas and sauté, stirring frequently. If they’re browning too quickly, turn down heat. If there isn’t much browning going on, increase heat. I found 10 minutes total at slightly over medium heat was perfect.
6. Once the chickpeas are browned and fragrant, remove from heat and set aside.
7. Prepare sauce by adding tahini, maple syrup and lemon juice to a mixing bowl and whisking to combine. Add hot water until a pourable sauce is formed. Set aside.
8. To serve: slice sweet potatoes into bite size pieces. Divide vegetables between 3 serving bowls and top with chickpeas + tahini sauce.
9. Best when fresh, though leftovers will keep for a few days in the fridge.

Buddha Bowls For An Entire Week

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