At a glance

This buddha bowl features 8 components that work so well together and are also delicious on their own!

1 | Earthy Rosemary Couscous

2 | Sweet Beets with a Kick of Cayenne

3 | Creamy Roasted Kabocha

4 | Rosemary Smashed Potatoes

5 | Avocado Lime Cilantro Sauce

6 | Chewy Roasted Chickpeas

7 | Toasted Pine Nuts

8 | Shredded Greens

What I love about buddha bowls is the room for improvisation! Feel free to make substitutions based on what you have on hand. As long as you have some grains, seasoned veggies, and protein in your bowl, you're in for a delicious meal. Read on to learn how I created this bowl.

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Recipes, part by part

1 | Earthy Rosemary Couscous

Ingredients

2 cups Moroccan couscous
2 1/4 cups water
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
1 tomato, diced
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 bay leaf
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring the water to a boil in a medium-sized pot. Turn off the heat.
2. Stir in the dry couscous, bay leaf, 1 tbsp olive oil, and a bit of salt to taste. Cover the pot and let it sit for about 5 minutes, or until the couscous absorbs all the water.
3. Uncover the pot and fluff the couscous with a fork. Allow the couscous to cool while you prep the onion and tomato.
4. In a medium-sized saucepan, caramelize the diced onion with 2 tbsp oil. Halfway through the caramelization process, add in the dried rosemary.
5. Stir in the diced tomato and the couscous.
6. Add in a touch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper, and set this aside until assembly!

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2 | Sweet Beets with a Kick of Cayenne

Ingredients

3 to 4 beet roots, diced into 1-inch cubes
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne, variable to taste
coarse sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F.
2. Toss all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Make sure to coat the beet root pieces with the seasonings really well.
3. Spread the seasoned beet root pieces into a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, give them a toss with a spatula.
5. When the pieces of beet root are tender and cooked to your liking, take them out of the oven and set them aside until assembly!

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3 | Creamy Roasted Kabocha

Ingredients

2 to 3 small kabocha squash, sliced along the natural indentations
(optional) 1/4 tsp harissa
coarse sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F.
2. Toss all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Make sure to coat the pieces of squash with the seasonings really well.
3. Spread the seasoned pieces of squash into a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Flip them once about halfway through cooking time. When the pieces of kabocha squash are tender, set them aside until assembly!

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4 | Rosemary Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients

20 baby yukon gold potatoes
a large pot of salted water
4 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
coarse sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring your heavily salted pot of water to a boil.
2. Carefully pierce each potato a few times with a knife or a fork, to the potatoes cook all the way through.
3. Add the potatoes to the pot of boiling water, and let them cook for about 13 minutes, or until they are just tender! Be careful to not overcook them.
4. Carefully remove the potatoes from the boiling water and let them cool for about 10 minutes. 5. Transfer the potatoes to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Preheat your oven to 450°F.
6. With the flat bottom of a small bowl or plate, press gently on top of each potato, until it slightly flattens out. This will introduce some great surface area for the potato to develop a lovely texture.
7. Sprinkle the potatoes with dried rosemary, coarse sea salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. Drizzle over the olive oil.
8. Bake the potatoes in your oven at 450°F for about 25 minutes, or until the skins are gold and crispy. These are delicious eaten as is, but you can set them aside for now and reheat them in the oven when you want to assemble the buddha bowls.

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5 | Avocado Lime Cilantro Sauce

Ingredients

1 1/2 avocados, halved
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, rinsed and roughly chopped
1/4 medium onion, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp salt
juice of 1 lime

Directions

1. Add all of the ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth.
2. Adjust salt to taste, optionally add a splash of water to thin it out, and then set aside until assembly!

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6 | Chewy Roasted Chickpeas

Ingredients

1/2 cup cooked chickpeas
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp harissa
coarse sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
2. Toss all of the ingredients together, coating the chickpeas with all of the oil and seasoning.
3. Spread the chickpeas out into a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking tray.
4. Bake the chickpeas for 20 minutes at 350°F, or until they dry out and have a slight bite to them. I like mine to be a bit chewy, but if you want them to be more crunchy, you can set the temperature lower and leave them in for longer.

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7 | Toasted Pine Nuts

Ingredients

1/2 cup pine nuts
(optional) dash of cayenne
coarse sea salt

Directions

1. For about 4 minutes, toast the pine nuts in a pan on low heat. Halfway through, add in a bit of sea salt and, optionally, some cayenne to taste.

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8 | Shredded Greens

Ingredients

1 cup lettuce, roughly shredded
1 cup spinach, roughly shredded

Directions

1. Toss together your roughly shredded greens and set aside until assembly. You can use any other greens you have on hand, like kale!

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Assembly

The portions listed above should make enough for about 6 bowls plus some extra for leftovers! Start plating each bowl with a handful of shredded greens. Next, place in a generous serving of the earthy rosemary couscous, followed by a couple slices of the creamy roasted kabocha an a few spoonfuls of the sweet beets. Optionally add a few dollops of (vegan) sour cream as a base for the rosemary smashed potatoes. Toss over a small handful of the chewy roasted chickpeas. Load up a piping bag or a simple Ziploc bag with some of the avocado lime cilantro sauce, snip off the corner, and drizzle the sauce all over! Top it off with some toasted pine nuts, and you're ready to enjoy this cozy roasted veggie bowl that's bursting with a variety of flavors and textures.