Blog > Recipes > Vegan Buddha Bowl with Tempeh and Quinoa

Vegan Buddha Bowl with Tempeh and Quinoa

Name: Vegan Buddha Bowl with Tempeh and Quinoa
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Salad
Ingredients: 3 cups greens (I used spinach); 1 block tempeh (see dressing below); ½ cup quinoa; 1 can beans (I used white kidney); ½ can beets; 1 medium sweet potato; 4 mini peppers; ½ medium avocado; 1-2 tbsp sesame seeds, to top (optional); Salt and pepper, to taste; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar; 1 1/2 Tbsp Grade A Maple Syrup; 1 tsp dried thyme; 1 clove Garlic (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder); 2 Tbsp lemon juice

Nov 6, 2019 | #Recipes

This Vegan Buddha Bowl with Tempeh and Quinoa is full of plant based protein, fiber and antioxidants, and a delightful mixture of flavors. Switch out tempeh for tofu, chicken or keep it as a veggie power bowl to switch things up!

Hi, friends! Today I’m sharing a recipe from the early Bucket List Tummy days.

As in, this was in the first few months of blogging. Obviously, the photos weren’t great and I had some text to update.

But, this quinoa power bowl recipe with tempeh in and of itself is very tasty! Hopefully, you’ll give it a try when you’re looking for easy tempeh recipes or a tempeh buddha bowl.

This is actually the first way I introduced tempeh to Camryn. I mean she does seem to have a mature palate – she enjoys salmon, halibut and beets, and now we can add tempeh to the list.

Table of Contents

What Is A Buddha Bowl?

Have you ever had one of the panera bread grain bowls? They’re so good! You can get them cold or hot, and personalize many of the ingredients.

That was the inspiration for this vegan buddha bowl, and I feel like many buddha bowl recipes take after that.

Bowls like this have many names – macro bowls, veggie bowls, buddha bowls, power bowls. In essence, they are just a combination of tasty ingredients (to your liking) mixed in a bowl.

This vegetarian buddha bowl is a great recipe for those looking to add more plant proteins to their diets. Of course, you can make it a chicken power bowl, or add ground turkey, eggs, beef, whatever you desire!

I used tempeh because I love the consistency and texture of tempeh, and to date, this is one of my favorite tempeh recipes and among the best baked tempeh recipes.

I live my life through bowls. For realsies, I could live without plates and just have bowls.

I need bowls for my oatmeal, yogurt, smoothie bowls, veggie stirfry concoctions, drippy egg yolks over anything, and of course, for power bowls (or buddha bowls), whathaveyou.

Basically, the power bowl gems are hearty little combo’s of veggies, grains, protein sources, sauces, nuts/seeds/toppings aka whatever you want them to be. In a bowl because bowls are awesome.

My mango lime quinoa salad is another of my favorite power bowl recipes, which is more geared towards summer and the warmer months.

How To Make a Buddha Bowl Vegan

To make a vegan buddha bowl, just stay away from any animal products. Remember, that also means eggs, cheese, or yogurt (if you were to make a creamy dressing), as well as honey.

To make a vegetarian buddha bowl, you can use those ingredients but no meat.

Vegan Protein Ideas

tempeh
tofu
nutritional yeast (a vegan alternative to cheese) – More recipes on nutritional yeast here!
peas
nuts/seeds
grains
edamame

What’s In A Vegan Buddha Bowl?

I chose to use a bunch of different veggies and starches in here.

I’ve already written about my love for tempeh, so naturally I included it in my favorite grain bowl.

sweet potatoes
quinoa
avocado
tempeh
beets
peppers
beans
greens

Other Buddha Bowl Ideas:

As mentioned earlier, you can, of course, make your own veggie power bowl or add any ingredients that you like! Power bowl recipes are endless because they can be so personalized.

If you’re more of a tofu person, just make it a tofu buddha bowl.

butternut squash
nuts/seeds (pepitas make a great topping)
avocado
chickpeas, lentils
arugula
tomatoes
lentils
beans
cheese

You could also use lemon herb cheesy quinoa to make an advanced veggie quinoa bowl.

I feel that pretty much everything meshes well with sweet potatoes and quinoa, so starting with a foundation sweet potato buddha bowl and then adding a grain, protein source, and any veggie that you choose will be delicious.

How To Make Vegan Buddha Bowl Sauce

I think one of the best parts of buddha bowl recipes is the marinade that’s used. To me, that’s really what sets apart different iterations of power bowls.

I actually baked the tempeh the night before and then let it sit in the marinade all day to soak up the flavors before eating this bowl the following night.

For this buddha bowl sauce marinade, I’ve used:

olive oil (use an extra virgin for better taste)
balsamic vinegar
maple syrup
thyme
garlic
lemon juice

A Quick Buddha Bowl Dressing Recipe

I also made a quick tahini dressing (2 parts tahini, 3 parts lemon juice and water, 1/2 tsp garlic, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/4 tsp ground pepper) for the topping, but the dressing isn’t mandatory.

I’m a sucker for dressings though, so I usually add it.

Other Buddha Bowl Dressing Ideas:

What Are The Nutrition Benefits of Buddha Bowls?

This vegan buddha bowl is protein-packed from the quinoa, beans, and tempeh.

The Vitamin C from the peppers, the carotenoids (precursor to Vitamin A) from the sweet potatoes, and the betalains and polyphenols that the beets add all contribute to wonderful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties.

And don’t forget the probiotics that tempeh offers.

It’s gluten-free and dairy free also.