Chickpea Buddha Bowl

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This chickpea Buddha bowl is built to fill up bellies! This one-bowl meal includes lots of plant-based goodies, including brown rice, fresh veggies, crispy chickpeas, creamy avocado, and turmeric tahini dressing. It’s the perfect healthy lunch or light dinner!

Plant-based buddha bowls are a great way to take full advantage of fresh seasonal produce.

These chickpea buddha bowls feature carrots, kale, and radish paired with smooth avocado, brown rice, and crispy turmeric-spiced chickpeas.

But wait, there’s more!

You’ll top your bowl with spring onions, fiery sliced chilis, crisp greens, and sesame seeds.

Finished with a creamy turmeric tahini dressing as a welcome bonus! Before we break down the components of a vegan buddha bowl, let’s go over the basics.

Components of a Buddha Bowl

To make the most of this vegan buddha bowl recipe, include a serving from each of the five buddha bowl components.

The components are listed below, along with what you’ll need for this vegan bowl recipe:

  • Veggies: I love the combination of carrots, kale, and radish. But what I love about Buddha bowls is that you can use any kind of vegetable. So feel free to use any fresh veggies you have around.
  • Whole grains: I used brown rice, but you can use any other cooked whole grain. See below for variations.
  • Protein: Golden chickpeas provide plant-based protein. The chickpeas are spiced with turmeric and crisped to perfection. You’ll need olive oil, onion, garlic, cumin seeds, chickpeas, turmeric powder, salt, and pepper. For extra heat, add chili powder.
  • Toppings: Get creative! Spring onions, sliced chili, watercress (or any microgreens), and sesame seeds are a winning combo. I added avocado as well to boost the healthy fats and fiber.
  • Dressing/sauce: Vegan chickpea buddha bowls aren’t complete without a creamy sauce drizzled over the top. Creamy turmeric tahini dressing is the perfect pairing.
Ingredients on the counter to make a chickpea buddha bowl.

How To Build a Chickpea Buddha Bowl

  1. Chop the vegetables: With a mandoline or a very sharp knife, carefully slice the radish into thin rounds and cut the carrots into small batons (bite-size 1/2″ thick sticks).
  2. Soften the leafy greens: Cut away the woody stalk from the kale and tenderize the leaves. You can do this by boiling the leaves in water for a few minutes or by massaging the leaves in a large bowl with olive oil and lemon juice until soft.
  3. Prep avocado: Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Then peel away the skin and slice the flesh into wedges. To keep the avocado from browning, squeeze lemon juice onto the pieces.

Golden Chickpeas

  1. Prepare the golden chickpeas: Warm extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook until golden and fragrant. Then, add the cumin seeds and toast for 30 seconds. Next, add the turmeric powder and drained chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper and cook until the chickpeas are golden with crispy edges.
Chickpeas in a bowl.
  1. Assemble individual Buddha bowls: In each bowl, add a serving of rice, chickpeas, kale, carrots, radish, and avocado. Top with sliced green onions, fresh chili slices, sesame seeds, and salad cress or microgreens.
  2. Serve: Serve with turmeric tahini dressing and enjoy!
Close up of Buddha bowl

How to Store

Fridge: These bowls are best kept in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoyed within 4 to 5 days. Store the dressing in a separate container. You should store the avocado separately, but it will begin to brown quickly, so it’s best sliced fresh right before each meal.

Chickpea buddha bowl packed up togo.

Flavor Variations & Add-Ins

For more ways to build a vegan buddha bowl, check out these alternative ingredients:

  • Veggies: Grape tomatoes, bell peppers, sliced jalapenos, lime wedges, bean sprouts, blanched green beans, regular broccoli, jicama sticks, or roasted veggies like sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts are great healthy options.
  • Whole grains: Any cooked whole grain works – quinoa, wild rice, whole-wheat couscous, farro, etc.
  • Protein: You can sub protein-rich chickpeas for other legumes. Black beans, white beans, crispy tofu, edamame, and tempeh are great plant-based protein sources.
  • Toppings: Cilantro, pickled red onion, lime juice, chopped peanuts, jalapenos, bean sprouts, pepitas, etc. You can also add seeds like pumpkin seeds or hemp seeds.
  • Dressing/sauce: Keep it simple with an extra-virgin olive oil dressing or a Thai peanut sauce, or use your favorite creamy vegan dressing.

F.A.Q.

Do you eat vegan Buddha bowls hot or cold?

The beauty of Buddha bowls is that there’s no wrong way to eat them. If there’s a specific component you prefer warm, like brown rice or chickpeas, store those components separately and heat them before each meal.

What is the difference between a salad and a buddha bowl?

The whole grain component and the delicate balance of different food groups set Buddha bowls apart from ordinary salads.

What’s another name for a Buddha bowl?

Not surprisingly, big meals in bowls have more than one nickname. Buddha bowls are also known as grain bowls, hippie bowls, macro bowls, and power bowls.

Pouring dressing over the top of a chickpea buddha bowl.

Why I Love This Recipe

  • It’s a quick vegan lunch or easy dinner.
  • Includes a nourishing balance of gluten-free, whole-grain ingredients.
  • An infinite number of great ways to customize.
  • Perfect for plant-based meal prep.

Other Recipes You’ll Love

And for more healthy recipes, check out these 100+ Vegan Meal Prep Ideas.

If you try this chickpea Buddha bowl recipe, please leave a comment and a rating and let me know how much you liked it!

Chickpea Buddha Bowl

This chickpea buddha bowl is built to fill up bellies! This one-bowl meal includes lots of plant-based goodies, including brown rice, fresh veggies, crispy chickpeas, creamy avocado, and turmeric tahini dressing. It's the perfect healthy lunch or dinner!
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: Vegan
Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 414kcal
Author: Sara Trezzi

Ingredients

Bowl

  • 2 carrots
  • 3 cups kale
  • 6 radish
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice - or any other grains – (around ½ cup or 100g uncooked rice)
  • 1 avocado

Golden Chickpeas

Toppings

  • 1 spring onions
  • Chili
  • Salad cress - or microgreens
  • Sesame seeds

Dressing

Instructions

  • Slice the radish into thin rounds, and chop the carrots into small batons.
  • Remove the hard stalk from the kale leaves, and either boil it in water for 3 to 5 minutes or place them in a bowl and massage it with a bit of olive oil and lemon juice until they become soft.
  • Cut the avocado in half, remove the seed, peel and slice it.
  • Prepare the golden chickpeas: Place a pan on medium-high heat. Add the extra virgin olive oil, then saute the onions and garlic until golden. Add the cumin seeds and let them roast for around 30 seconds to let them release their flavor. Then add the turmeric powder and the drained chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 5-10 minutes until golden and crisp on the edges.
  • Assemble the individual Buddha bowls: add the cooked brown rice, chickpeas, kale, carrots, radish slices, and avocado, and top with sliced green onions, fresh chili slices, sesame seeds, salad cress, or microgreens.
  • Serve with the turmeric tahini dressing, and enjoy!

Notes

Note 1: Swap out the veggies, grains, or protein to use up ingredients you have on hand.
How to Store:  These bowls are best kept in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoyed within 4 to 5 days. You should store the avocado separately, but it will begin to brown quickly, so it’s best sliced fresh right before each meal. Store the dressing in a separate container and add at the last minute. 
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate per serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 414kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 18g | Sugar: 5g

Did you make this recipe? Tag @gatheringdreams on Instagram. I want to see it!

4.25 from 4 votes

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8 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I love it. It’s nutritious and simple. I tried this for dinner and it was great. Thank you very much

  2. 5 stars
    This was delicious! Thanks fo much! I loved the dressing. So good!

  3. 2 stars
    Hi, this is not an easy 10 min prep…. I haven’t tasted it yet and I’ve been working on this recipe for over an hour… yeah so maybe it’s great but let’s not say 10min prep when that’s completely false /: thanks

    1. I am sorry it’s taking you longer to make it! I guess it depends on how fast you can move in the kitchen, but I do appreciate that I might be a bit faster than other people. I have updated the prep time to 20 minutes for a total of 30 minutes, but it really shouldn’t take you an hour to make…

  4. 5 stars
    Loved it! Thanks so much! It took a bit of time to put it together but totally worth it!