Vegan Beet Buddha Bowl with Chickpeas and Kale

This delicious beet buddha bowl makes for a balanced, nutrient-dense and filling meal perfect for the fall and winter. It combines chewy kale, spiced chickpeas, beets and a simple tahini lemon sauce. Great recipe to meal prep on the weekend to have a few healthy lunches ahead of a busy week. Vegan and gluten-free.

Vegan buddha bowls are the absolute BEST lunch or dinner when looking for something quick, colorful, nourishing and customizable. They are made of a few building blocks that you can mix and match to your preference, with usually including healthy grains, vegetables, plant-based protein and a sauce to bring everything together.

I have a big collection of amazing plant-based bowls on the blog, and these Asian mushroom buddha bowl and tofu peanut butter buddha bowl are great recipes to check out if you are just getting started.

Today I'll show you how to make a beet buddha bowl that's full of flavor and also pretty easy to make, especially if you follow my time-saver tips. It combines spiced chickpeas, beet, sweet oranges, chewy cooked kale, creamy avocado and brown rice. Plus a simple yet delectable lemon tahini herb sauce that can be done in 5 minutes.

Makes for a perfect fall or winter bowl that will make you feel good!

Let me know if you give it a try! ❤️

Jump to:

• 🗒 Ingredient notes (+ substitutions)
• 📝 Variations
• 🍴How to make it
• 💡Time-saver and make-ahead tips
• More healthy plant-based bowls to try
• 📖 Recipe

🗒 Ingredient notes (+ substitutions)

• Beets: roast your own beets or do like me and buy them already cooked. You can use red or golden beets.
• Oranges: great pairing with beets and add a nice sweetness naturally to the bowl. Navel oranges or blood oranges are good choices.
• Kale: use either curly or lacinato kale. I like cooking it in a pan until wilted for a delicious chewy bite, but you could also keep it raw and serve it as a salad. Feel free to swap for collard green or mustard green.
• Chickpeas: there are a few options depending on the time you have to prep the meal. Since the tahini sauce will bring a whole lot of flavor, you can simply use plain drained chickpeas to top off the bowl. But if you have 10 minutes extra, then these sauteed chickpeas are amazing and so full of texture and flavor!
• Buddha bowl sauce: I used this easy lemon tahini herb sauce which simply combines tahini paste, lemon juice, garlic and fresh herbs (I made it with basil). This cilantro lime tahini dressing and this basil balsamic vinaigrette would also be great here.
• Toppings: seeds (I used pumpkin seeds) are an easy way to add more crunch and nutrition. I like to also add some sprouts (or microgreens) and avocado.

⭐️ See below in the recipe card for the detailed list of ingredients with quantities.

📝 Variations

• Grain: I usually make my vegan bowls with brown rice as I enjoy its chewy texture and I find it easy to cook in my Instant Pot. Quinoa, barley or farro are also great choices! They are so full of texture and also add tons of fiber and plant-based protein to your meal.
• Vegetables: the beauty of buddha bowl is that you can add any veggies that you like or have on hand! Try including roasted broccoli, butternut squash, cauliflower, sweet potato or zucchini for a delicious fall-inspired bowl.
• Protein: to boost your bowl with even more plant-based protein, then swap the chickpeas for roasted tofu, tempeh or even some edamame if in a rush.
• Salad vs bowl: for a lighter version, skip on the grain and do not cook the kale but instead, serve the ingredients over fresh chopped kale for a salad bowl!

🍴How to make it

Prep the grain and cook the beets

These can take some time to prepare, so start with them!

If roasting the beet from scratch, then clean them nicely and wrap them with foil. Then, bake at 400º for 45-60 minutes (cooking time depends widely on their size). They are done when a knife can go through the beet easily. Once done, let them cool down until you can handle them, then rub on their surface to easily peel off their skin. Dice the beets into bite-size cubes.

Also, start by cooking your grain, especially if serving the bowl with brown rice, which can take up to 45 minutes to cook. I like to cook brown rice using my Instant Pot.

Make the spiced chickpeas and kale

Here is the easy sauteed chickpea recipe, all made on the stove. In a second pan, cook the kale over medium-high heat until wilted and tender. You can add a splash of water if needed to help steam the leaves.

Make the tahini sauce

While the chickpeas and kale are cooking, you can make the tahini lemon sauce. You can make it in the food processor or chop the herb finely and whisk in a bowl instead.

Assemble

When you are ready to enjoy, simply layer the cooked grain, kale, beets, oranges, avocado and sprouts. Then, drizzle the tahini sauce over and garnish with the pumpkin seeds.

⭐️ Complete recipe down below in the recipe card!

💡Time-saver and make-ahead tips

For a speedy bowl that does not require much prep, here is what you can do:

• Beets: Use pre-cooked and vacuum-sealed beets (I enjoy the beets from the company Love Beets). You can find them in most grocery stores in the fridge close to the produce section. They are great for making salads (like this broccoli beet salad!).
• Grain: there is now a huge variety of cooked grains you can buy at the grocery stores. From sealed packaged to frozen, you can find cooked brown rice, quinoa or mixed grain as well, which can give you a huge head start in your meal prep.
• Chickpeas: I like this crunchy chickpea snack from the brand Biena. They are ready to enjoy and they are super crispy, adding tons of texture to your bowl with zero effort. You can use them instead of cooking the spiced chickpeas from scratch to save some time.

To prep this bowl recipe ahead of time:

• Cook the grain, let it cool down and keep it in the fridge, or use pre-cooked rice as mentioned above.
• Beets: you can also roast the beets ahead of time and keep them in the fridge before ready to use.
• Chickpeas: the spiced chickpeas are best when made just before serving your bowl as they lose their crispiness while resting. But, you can still make them ahead and simply reheat them quickly in a pan until crispy again.
• Sauce: I encourage you to prepare the sauce ahead of time since the flavors will blend together even more while resting. If the sauce gets thicker in the fridge, then you can add an extra splash of water.

More healthy plant-based bowls to try

• Harissa tofu and avocado bowl
• Sweet chili tofu quinoa bowl
• Ancient grain harvest buddha bowl
• Vegan vermicelli buddha bowl
• Vegan taco bowl
• Chimichurri bowl

I hope you enjoy this beet buddha bowl recipe as much as we do! If you try it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how it was. Your feedback is so helpful!

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📖 Recipe