Spice up your lunch or dinner routine with this curry bento box! This grab-and-go spread of Indian-inspired dishes features a light, flavorful chickpea curry, whole-grain brown rice, and a spicy cucumber salad with roasted nuts -all of which are plant-based and tasty at room temperature.
If you want to switch up your lunch routine, a well-planned and packed bento box is a great way to step away from sandwiches and enjoy a fresh and flavorful meal on the go.
Japanese bento boxes are a great way to portion out the perfect balance of healthy carbs, lean protein, and healthy fats. They’re so easy to change up for more variety in your lunch meals and satisfy any dietary needs. Not to mention cut back on single-use plastic.
And if you like the idea of a packed lunch, you can also try this vegan bento box, vegetarian, Mexican style, chicken teriyaki bento box.
Today’s bento box combo integrates the complexly deep flavors of traditional Indian ingredients into a simple packed lunch.
For the main course, you’ll make a fragrant chickpea curry from scratch in just 10 minutes to serve with brown rice and a crunchy spicy cucumber salad. This meal is inherently gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan!
Ready to spice up your life with a curry bento box?
Let’s look at the ingredients.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- 10-Minute Chickpea Curry: This hearty vegan curry takes 10 minutes from start to finish and is perfect for meal prep as it is even tastier enjoyed at room temperature.
- Brown Rice: Brown rice is a fiber-packed whole grain that won’t have you feeling sluggish after lunchtime. You can use a different type of rice, but the texture and nutritional properties won’t be the same.
For the Spicy Cucumber Salad
- Roasted Spicy Cashews (or sub for roasted chickpeas) – for an irresistible nutty crunch with a kick.
- Veggies: You’ll need cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion -the fresher, the better.
- Dressing: You’ll need olive oil, chili powder, cumin, lime juice, salt, and cilantro. Feel free to play with the flavors. For example, add a dash of cayenne to make it spicier or use lemon juice instead of lime.
How To Make
- Make the chickpea curry: Prepare rich, creamy, and satisfying chickpea curry following these instructions.
- Make the roasted cashews (or chickpeas): According to these instructions, make perfectly salted and spiced roasted cashews (or prepare roasted chickpeas as an alternative).
- Toss the salad: Add the spicy cucumber salad ingredients to a large bowl and toss to combine. Set aside.
- Assemble the bento box and enjoy: Fill your bento box with servings of chickpea curry, rice or naan (or both, if like me, you are greedy), and cucumber salad with spicy roasted cashews (or chickpeas), using the dividers to keep the dishes separate. Make sure everything is cooled completely to room temperature before closing the lid. Enjoy at room temperature.
How to Store
Fridge: To avoid unsafe bacterial growth, each dish must cool entirely to room temperature before putting the lid on. Store your curry bento box in the fridge and grab it on the way out the door.
If there are a few hours between then and lunchtime, tuck a small icepack into the box to keep everything fresh.
Flavor Variations & Add-Ins
For more ways to fill your curry bento box, check out the healthy Indian-inspired main courses below:
- Coconut Lentil Curry
- Butternut Squash Curry with Chickpeas
- Chickpea and Potato Curry (Chana Aloo)
- Tofu Coconut Curry
- Vegan Chickpea Curry
Feel free to use any fresh salad. This spring salad and this roasted butternut squash salad taste great with curry’s hot and smoky flavors.
Grains similar to brown rice nutritionally include quinoa, wild rice, whole-wheat couscous, lentils, farro, and barley.
My Favorite Bento Box Containers
- Stainless Steel Bento Box: Stainless steel bento boxes are sturdy and reusable. This one has a removable silicone seal and leak-proof lock clips, so your food will stay cool and fresh. Not to mention, these are super easy to clean. But remember: You cannot put stainless steel bento boxes in the microwave!
- Leak-proof Bento Box: If you prefer something lighter and less industrial and non-toxic, check out these food-grade lunch boxes or a BPA-free plastic option with a cute bamboo lid.
- Classic Glass Containers: Another safe and classic great option that won’t release any chemicals in your food!
Why I Love This Recipe
- Complete and balanced dairy-free, vegetarian, and vegan meal.
- Each portion of food is delicious on its own, and they taste even better together.
- Delicious homemade Indian-inspired food on the go.
Other Recipes You’ll Love
- Mediterranean Lunch Box
- Vegan Poke Bowl
- Vegetarian Bento Box
- Vegan Bento Box
- Japanese Inspired Bento Box
- Chicken Teriyaki Bento Box
- Mexican Bento Box
- Easy Hummus Bowl
- Chickpea Buddha Bowl
- Tofu Poke Bowl
If you try this curry bento box recipe, please leave a comment and a rating and let me know how much you liked it!
Curry Bento Box
Ingredients
- 1 serving 10-Minute Chickpea Curry
- ¾ cup cooked brown rice - around ¼ cup uncooked rice per bento box, can substitute with naan bread
Spicy Cucumber Salad
- ¼ cup roasted spicy cashews - or sub for roasted chickpeas
- 5 cherry tomatoes - diced
- ½ cucumber - diced
- 1 tablespoon red onion - chopped
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon lime juice - or lemon juice, or vinegar
- salt
- Cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Prepare the chickpea curry according to these instructions.
- Prepare the roasted spicy cashews according to these instructions. Or you can add roasted chickpeas, as an alternative.
- Prepare the salad: mix all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- Assemble all ingredients into your bento box.
- Let everything cool down at room temperature before sealing.
- Enjoy your bento box at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe? Tag @gatheringdreams on Instagram. I want to see it!
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