This easy vegan quinoa bowl comes together in just 20 minutes! A simple bowl consisting of seared vegetables, fluffy quinoa, and an easy mustard tahini sauce.
This vegetarian quinoa bowl is a flavorsome dish that can be customized to suit your taste buds. It's a particularly easy dish that makes for great leftovers and a go-to meal prep recipe. Be sure to check out the variation section for ideas on how to add protein and other nutrients.
If you love quick and easy meals add this vegan pesto pasta & these gluten-free vegan quesadillas to your meal rotations ASAP.
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What is a quinoa bowl?
Quinoa bowls are made by adding quinoa to a bowl, along with veggies, beans, tofu, and/or greens of choice. The most delicious quinoa bowls are then topped with an easy sauce that adds additional flavor, elevating the dish and providing necessary moisture.
What does quinoa taste like?
Quinoa has an earthy taste when eaten by itself, but when enjoyed with other ingredients, the taste is pretty mild. The texture is similar to couscous (which is not gluten-free) or short-grain rice. Furthermore, it's fluffy and pairs well with savory and sweet dishes.
Vegan quinoa bowl ingredients & substitutions
For the quinoa bowl:
- Quinoa: white, red, black, or Tri-Color quinoa all work. Be sure to cook according to package instructions.
- Broccoli florets & cauliflower florets: fresh or frozen (I used frozen)
- French style green beans: fresh or frozen (I used frozen)
- Shallots
- Coconut aminos: substitute with tamari or liquid aminos, with slight taste variation to be expected
- Avocado oil (optional)
- Garlic granules
- Salt (iodized or salt of choice)
Easy quinoa bowl sauce/dressing:
- Tahini (I love Soom tahini)
- Dijon mustard
- Jalapeño juice: liquid from a jar of jalapeños. Alternatively, use lemon juice.
- Water: used to help thin the sauce to make it pourable.
- Garlic & onion granules (or powder)
- Salt (iodized or salt of choice)
Top tips for making vegan quinoa bowls
Tip #1: First, rinse your quinoa well before adding it to a sauce pan with water. Not rinsing quinoa results in an off-taste and may cause stomach irritation.
Tip #2: When cooking the quinoa, the package instructions will call for you to cover the pot once the quinoa and water are boiling. Rather than fully covering the pot, tilt the lid slightly so it covers most of the pot, but still provides a small opening. This ensures the quinoa doesn't burn or cook too rapidly.
Tip #3: Use organic frozen vegetables for a quick and easy meal with limited prep time.
Other ingredients to add to vegan quinoa bowls
For additional plant-protein: add tofu, chickpeas, beans, green lentils, or hemp seeds.
For additional nutrients & texture: add sunflower or pumpkin seeds, micro greens, kale and/or spinach.
Swap tahini sauce for vegan pesto, lemon vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette or hummus of choice.
Storage tips
For best results, store the quinoa, vegetables, and sauce separately in airtight containers in the fridge.
Quinoa stays good for 1-2 weeks. However, if it starts to develop a smell or discolor, it should be thrown away as these are signs that the quinoa has gone bad.
The tahini sauce will also last for a few weeks. Also, it's natural for the sauce to thicken as it sits. Thin the sauce by adding a splash of water and whisking well.
The seared vegetables will last for 3-4 days, but taste best fresh out of the pan!
To reheat, microwave or add to a skillet over medium heat.
Ways to use leftover quinoa
- Make this quinoa & lentil bowl with tahini sauce.
- Swap brown rice for quinoa in this pesto grain bowl.
- Enjoy with pretzel-crusted tofu and vegan honey mustard.
- Bake or broil cooked quinoa until golden and crisp, then add to these peanut butter cups or this peanut butter bark.
Lastly, if you made this quinoa bowl recipe, please leave a review and a rating below. I can't wait to hear from you!
📋 Recipe
Easy Vegan Quinoa Bowl with Tahini Dressing
Equipment
- sauce pan or small stock pot
- skillet with cover
- measuring cup and spoons
- knife + cutting board
- whisk + small sealable jar
Ingredients
Quinoa
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 2 cups water
Pan Seared Vegetables
- 2 cups broccoli florets (fresh or frozen)
- 2 cups cauliflower florets (fresh or frozen)
- 1 heaping cup french style green beans (fresh or frozen)
- ¼ cup shallots, thinly diced
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- drizzle of avocado oil (optional)
- 1 teaspoon garlic granules or powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Easy Tahini Sauce
- 2 tablespoons tahini
- 2 tablespoons jalapeño juice (brine from the jar of sliced jalapeños, or sub lemon juice)
- 2 tablespoons water (+ more if needed to thin the sauce)
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon each; onion & garlic granules
- large pinch salt
Instructions
- Prepare quinoa: thoroughly rinse 1 cup of quinoa, then add to saucepan with 2 cups of water. Place over high heat until boiling, then cover and let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until water is absorbed. *this yields about 3 cups of quinoa and stores well so leftovers &/or meal prep will be a breeze!Alternatively, use leftover quinoa or other grain of choice.
- Steam vegetables & make sauce: add vegetables to a skillet over medium heat with a tablespoon of water and cover for 3-5 minutes (frozen vegetables will need 5). While the vegetables steam, thinly dice shallots.
- Sear vegetables: remove cover and add coconut aminos, avocado oil, diced shallots, garlic granules and salt. Increase heat slightly and stir occasionally until liquid is absorbed and vegetables are seared (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat.
- Assemble bowl: add desired amount of quinoa (½ cup - 1 cup) and top with vegetables (about a cup). Drizzle with sauce & enjoy! *see notes below for other ingredients that can be added
Notes
- Top the bowl with a few dashes of dried herbs such as cilantro and parsley and pepper
- Tofu
- Chickpeas
- Hemp hearts
- Pumpkin or sunflower seeds
- Cashews or sliced almonds
- Sliced avocado
- Microgreens
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