This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This Chickpea Sweet Potato Veggie Bowl recipe is a simple to make vegan dinner idea and is also great for meal prep!
Whenever I ask on Instagram or throughout email newsletter what you want to see more of, I always get a ton of requests for flavorful meatless dinners. So, that’s what we’re doing today with this Chickpea & Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl. It’s loaded with veggies AND flavor :D
For this recipe, I’ve packed in a few of my favorite things lately: sweet potato, chickpeas, garlic-y kale AND peanut sauce!! I seriously can’t get enough peanut sauce these days! It’s good on everything.
What is a Buddha Bowl anyways?
I tried to find a hard and fast rule for what constitutes a “buddha bowl” on the internet but as it turns out, the nature of a buddha bowl is that there is no one way to describe it. They’re bowls filled with vibrant and wholesome foods that just end up going well together (and typically make for a pretty and instagramable dish, ya know, if that’s your thing ;)).
Buddha bowls seem to lean vegan or at least vegetarian and most often have a nice balance of grains, proteins, fats, and veggies. Bonus points for the more colors you manage to get in there.
Overall they’re just bowls filled with stuff that is great for you and fills you up! I’m a pretty big fan.
How to make this Veggie Bowl:
There a good few steps to this recipe but they’re all quick and easy, I promise :)
First up: get your quinoa cooking. I’m a HUGE fan of making quinoa in my instant pot. Otherwise, follow the package directions.
Next we’ll roast our sweet potato. IF YOU WANT you can also throw the chickpeas onto the tray to make them a bit crunchy. I really like my chickpeas soft but if crunch chickpeas are more your thing then you can bake them along with the sweet potatoes for the same amount of time.
Simply toss the sweet potato (and chickpeas if desired) in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and then roast them for 20-25 minutes or until tender. What I do is toss the chickpeas in for the last 5 minutes simply to heat them up.
The peanut sauce comes together according to THESE directions. Simple and delicious!
Finally we’ll make the garlic-y kale (one of my favorite things ever!) by sautéing our kale with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. SO GOOD!
All that’s left is to assemble the bowls!
See how to make the buddha bowl dressing/ sauce here:
Sweet Potato Veggie Bowl
Ingredients
- Peanut Sauce
- 1 cup of uncooked quinoa, I LOVE to make it in the instant pot following THIS RECIPE
- 1 small bunch of kale, deboned and chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 cup of chickpeas
- 1 medium sweet potato, cut into 2/3 inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil, divided
- ½ teaspoon of cumin
- ½ teaspoon of paprika
- Chopped cabbage for topping
- chopped peanuts for topping
- chopped cilantro for topping
- chopped green onion for topping
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced for topping
- lime wedges for topping
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees F. On a baking sheet, toss together the sweet potato chunks with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, cumin, paprika, and some salt and pepper. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Optional: also toss in the chickpeas and bake them along with the sweet potato if you want them a little crispy. Otherwise, wait and add toss in the chickpeas when the sweet potato has about 5 minutes left in order to heat up the chickpeas.
- Make your quinoa by combining the quinoa in a medium pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer, stirring often, until all of the liquid has been absorbed. Set aside until ready to serve.
- Make your peanut sauce according to THESE directions and set aside.
- Make the kale by heating up 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in the garlic and let saute for about 2 minutes. Add in the kale and cook, stirring frequently, for an additional 5 minutes. Take off of heat and season with salt and pepper.
- Assemble your bowls by dividing everything equally among 2 bowls. I like to start with the quinoa, kale, and sweet potato/ chickpeas and then add my toppings. You can get creative here and use whatever veggies sound good to you. I love raw cabbage for a crunch as well as avocado, peanuts, and cilantro. I also like to serve it was a lime wedge for an added bit of citrus.
Great recipe, I was able to get 4 meals out of this. I added in a bit of broccoli and brussel sprouts for more crunch. The peanut sauce is a must to add!