This easy Mediterranean Buddha Bowl is full of colorful veggies, nutritious quinoa, and roasted chickpeas. Top with hummus for an epic power lunch!
Before you fall off the wagon of your January resolutions, in case you made any, here’s one more way to stay on track.
Despite its pretentious name, this Buddha Bowl has a lot to offer. It’s loaded with a variety of highly nutritious ingredients you should eat, at least once in a while, and it’s delicious enough to make the whole scenario pleasant and enjoyable.
What is a Buddha Bowl made of?
The first reference to a “Buddha Bowl” probably showed up in Martha Stewart Living’s Meatless, a collection of 200 vegetarian recipes published in 2013. Within the book, Buddha Bowls are described as plant-based bowls of glory. They don’t always have to be vegan, but they started out that way.
To that end, Buddha Bowls typically contain a variety of colorful, artfully-arranged vegetables (both and raw and cooked), grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
How do you make a Buddha Bowl?
To make my Mediterranean version, I layered arugula in the bottom of bowl (substitute the greens of your choice). Next, I added vegetables, roasted chickpeas, quinoa, and olives. A dollop of hummus completes this masterpiece.
Why is it called a Buddha Bowl?
Clever marketing.
How to Roast Chickpeas:
I love the idea of roasting chickpeas. It converts a canned, slimy bean into a crunchy treat.
First, drain and rinse a can of chickpeas. Place the rinsed chickpeas on towels and rub them dry as best as you can, removing any skins along the way.
Next, toss them with olive oil, garlic powder, dried basil, salt, and pepper. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, shaking and turning the pan occasionally, until golden, crunchy, and delicious.
Mediterranean Buddha Bowl
Ingredients
For the roasted chickpeas:
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 can chickpeas drained, rinsed, and dried, skins discarded
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the quinoa:
- ½ cup uncooked quinoa rinsed
- 1 cup water
For the salad:
- 2 cups mixed field greens or lettuce
- 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
- 2 cucumbers peeled, halved lengthwise and chopped
- 1 yellow bell pepper stemmed, seeded, and chopped
- 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives
- 1/2 cup Homemade hummus or store-bought
Instructions
To roast the chickpeas:
- Move an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- In a small bowl, combine chickpeas with olive oil, basil, garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper. Spread in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 30 minutes, stirring the chickpeas and rotating the baking sheet halfway through. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.
To make the quinoa:
- Meanwhile, combine quinoa and water in a small microwave-safe bowl. Cover; microwave for 4 minutes on high. Remove from microwave, stir, and heat again for 2 minutes longer. Stir and let stand 1 minute in the microwave.
To assemble the salad:
- Layer greens in the bottom of a bowl or on a platter. Arrange the grape tomato halves, cucumbers, bell pepper, olives, chickpeas, and quinoa in sections around the bowl. Spoon the hummus in the middle of the bowl and serve.
Recipe Video
Nutrition
This was an awesome healthy dinner that would be quick enough to add into regular rotation. We tried this with roasted red pepper hummus and our own garden greens. Delish!
Thanks Katy, sounds delicious! Glad you enjoyed. – Meggan
Fabulous recipe! I just finished devouring it. I can’t help but think that something is off with your nutrition info though. I calculated it on My Fitness Pal and got almost double the amount listed. It was a huge amount of food so I am wondering if it is supposed to be more than 2 servings as stated on the recipe? Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Sharon, so glad you loved it! Thank you so much for noticing the error in the nutrition information and taking the time to let me know. I use an ingredient database program that generates the information, and there was a problem with the quinoa. I’ve updated the recipe card. Thank you again for letting me know, I appreciate it! – Meggan
I had my daughters college friends over for a fun day at out house and I decided this recipe would be lunch. What a great decision. They all loved it and couldn’t stop raving about it. Thank you so much. It was nice to have something heathy for them to eat. This will be on rotation at our house.❤️
Thanks Kathleen, I’m so glad everyone enjoyed! – Meggan
You don’t say what temp you roast the chick peas at. Lousy instructions!
Hi Lauren, I’m so sorry you had trouble finding the temperature. I include a link to the recipe for roasted chickpeas in the post as well as the temperature in step one of the instructions on the recipe card (400 degrees). Here is the link for you as well: https://www.culinaryhill.com/how-to-roast-chickpeas/ Sorry again! – Meggan
Wonderful
Thank you, so much for your reply, Meggan! You are awesome. I ended up making mini quiches again, but I will try this soon!
Thank you for sharing your recipes! I love to make your mini quiches for company. Do you think this buddha bowl would be a good make ahead “company dinner” for a hot day? If I plate individual servings and cover them, would they keep nicely in the fridge for a few hours?
Hi Emily, yes I think they would hold up really well! The ingredient most prone to losing it’s luster is the arugula, but even that is quite hearty for a green and I think it would be fine. There aren’t really any “wet” ingredients to make it super soggy. If you were worried about that, you could use kale instead which can withstand anything. :) But even with the arugula it’s fine, grape tomatoes are not overly juicy and everything else should be good. And it’s just a few hours! Just keep the plates covered with plastic wrap and in the fridge, and you’ll be a super star. Also, I’m so excited that you like the mini quiches! I made them yesterday for a class project! :) Take care and thanks again.
Mediterranean food is my favorite. I can’t wait to make this!
Mmm Meggan your Mediterranean Buddha Bowl looks so satisfying and tasty! I love how colorful it is! Great work!!