Ultimate Recipe For a Buddha Bowl
Veggie Bowl Recipe
The ultimate Buddha bowl recipe! Featuring quinoa, steamed and raw veggies, avocado and an addictive lime-cilantro dressing.
I love this colorful, zesty, healthy all-in-one meal, and I’m so excited to share it with you!
“Buddha bowls” are all over the internet. I had kind of forgotten about them. I used to make a lot of them when I was vegan, and I served them in my restaurant on many occasions. What are they all about? Apparently, from what I found on the internet, Buddha used to carry a bowl with him on his journeys and accepted food as donations, which he would eat at the end of the day. Basically, Buddha bowls are very similar to macrobiotic (macro) bowls, with steamed or raw veggies and whole grains.
The base of this Buddha bowl is cooked quinoa with steamed and raw vegetables, along with medicinal mushrooms, pistachio pesto and avocado. For the vegetables, you can choose whatever variety you want. I used broccoli, kale, carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers and green onions. Use veggies that steam well, so they don’t become mushy.
I also made a pistachio pesto to mix in. I topped the bowls with a generous drizzle of my lime-cilantro dressing, which I always keep in stock in my kitchen. This dressing is one of my favorites and absolutely worth the effort to make. I always make more so I can use it in future salads… you can even make it in advance if you like! I needed to add avocado to make the dish more creamy. I finished the dish off by sprinkling it with flaky sea salt, just to give it that final ‘kick’! The beauty of this recipe is that it combines different textures and flavors that go very well together – a real palate pleaser!
This recipe is chock-full of nutrients and it contains lots of fiber, which, in our typical diets, none of us are getting enough of these days. You can always add your choice of protein to the bowls. I like to add grilled, wild-caught salmon. Feel free to play around with the vegetables, different additions, and mix-and-match the various components. You can also wrap all the ingredients in lettuce, making it into a ‘lettuce wrap’ instead of a bowl.
This Buddha bowl recipe is delicious, fresh and versatile! The bowls also make great leftovers!
I would love to hear from you… let me know how you like these tasty bowls, please!
The quinoa, dressing and veggies can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Recipe yields 4 meal-sized bowls.
___________
Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #thetastesoflifeholisticblog
Ultimate Buddha Bowl Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ cups Quinoa rinsed
- 1 Red bell pepper sliced
- 1 Cucumber diced
- 2 cups Carrot sliced lengthwise and steamed
- 2 cups Broccoli florets steamed
- 3 cups Kale steamed
- 2 cups Medicinal mushrooms such as shiitake or maitake gently stir-fried
- 1-2 tbsp Gluten-free soy sauce to taste
- 2 Ripe avocados, halved, pitted and thinly sliced into long strips wait to slice just before serving
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
Pistachio pesto
- 1 cup Pistachios
- ½ cup Olive oil
- ½ bunch Cilantro
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
Dressing
- 2 cups Olive oil
- 1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup Freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 bunch Cilantro
- 1 tbsp Maple syrup
- 4 cloves Garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste
Garnishes
- Dressing
- Green onion sliced lengthwise
- Lime wedges
- Black sesame seeds
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Bring a medium pot of water to boil (with 3 cups water). Once the water is boiling, add quinoa and continue boiling for 15 minutes on low heat with lid stirring occasionally
- When the quinoa is ready, transfer to a bowl and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of gluten-free soy sauce. Stir to combine.
- Stir-fry sliced mushroom in 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- For the dressing: blend all the ingredients until smooth in a high-speed blender. Make a full batch so you can use it for later. It keeps in the fridge for 2 weeks. You can also use it for stir-fry veggies.
- For the pesto: put all the ingredients in the food processor and pulse until it becomes a paste.
- Divide the rice/veggie mixture and raw veggies into bowls. Add the veggies, pesto, and mushrooms. Drizzle lightly with dressing and top with sliced green onion, avocado, and black sesame seeds. Place a lime wedge or 2 in each bowl. Serve promptly.
