Have you ever wondered why everyone’s all of a sudden calling grain bowls Buddha bowls? Me too.
Jump to Recipe
I did a little Google investigation into why this is. The only thing I could find was that Buddha did have a bowl and apparently he would wake up every morning before dawn, carrying his bowl through the streets where he was staying. People would place donations of food into the bowl and he would eat whatever he was given.
So basically, he’d end up with lots of different types of food, mixed up in the one bowl and that’s where the inspiration for the name Buddha bowl comes from.
Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s talk about my version of a Buddha bowl.
I honestly believe that the success of any Buddha bowl depends on how tasty the sauce is and my avocado and coconut Green Goddess dressing brings so much flavor to the table (or bowl in this case) that anything else you put in there is going to taste amazing.
In this instance, I’ve selected quinoa as the grain for my Buddha bowl. It’s not only gluten-free, it’s also high in fiber, B vitamins, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin E, phosphorus and many other beneficial antioxidants. Better yet it’s also really high in protein and contains all nine essential amino acids.
I’ve given some suggested veggies too – they’re ones we really enjoy eating in our house. The mix of blanched and raw veggies ensures that every ingredient is still flavorsome and it provides a really nice combination of textures and crunch. Feel free to use your favorite veggies or whatever you happen to have at home.
Will you give ‘The Ultimate Quinoa Buddha Bowl’ a try? Let me know in the comments section below.
The Ultimate Quinoa Buddha Bowl with Avocado Green Goddess Dressing
Ingredients
Quinoa:
- 1 Cup quinoa
- 2 Cups water
- pinch of salt
Veggies:
- 4 Cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 crown of broccoli cut into florets
- 1 cooked sweet potato cut into chunks
- 2 Cups green beans stem end trimmed
- 20 grape tomatoes
- 1 Cup shelled edamame beans
- 1 cucumber sliced
- 1 small red pepper julienned
- 1 avocado cut into chunks or slices
- 1/2 Cup cooked corn kernels
- 1/2 pickled red onion or raw red onion sliced thinly
Avocado Green Goddess Dressing:
- 1/2 avocado remove pit and scoop out of the skin
- 5 Tablespoons coconut milk
- 3 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoons mirin
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
- 8-12 leaves of fresh basil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Quinoa- Cook the quinoa according to the package. I prefer to use a rice cooker on the white rice setting.
- Avocado Green Goddess Dressing– Combine all the dressing ingredients in a blender and blend for 10 seconds or until smooth.
- Veggies- Bring a medium-sized pot of salted water to a boil. Quickly blanch the broccoli and green beans until slightly tender. Drain and shock in an ice bath or under cold running water.
- Assembly- Divide the spinach into 4 large bowls. Arrange the cooked quinoa and veggies in each bowl. Top with dollops of the avocado green goddess dressing. Enjoy!
Notes
- I always double this and have it for lunches. Keep the dressing separate until ready to eat.
- Substitute any veggies you wish for this. I change it up all the time.
Nutrition
