Are you on Instagram? I have to say, it’s my favourite form of social media. What’s better than a constant stream of your favourite people’s photographs? You get a peek inside someone’s life, little snippets of their day. The interaction is fun too. Scrolling through the feed is one of my favourite ways to pass time when I need a little distraction. I mostly like to share recipes that I’m testing, meals, or some behind the scenes blog, book, and photography stuff. There are also some people, scenery, and travel shots, and of course, crazy Sketchie who is by far the fan favourite. Like when I shared a shot of him playing sabotaging our Monopoly game. Just when you least expect it Sketchie pops out of no where and kung fu kitties the dice across the room!
Did I mention that I came downstairs one morning and our entire unfinished Monopoly game was flipped upside down on the floor?
Only a cat…only a cat.
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t always bother plating my food nicely when I’m not photographing it; sometimes the only thing I care about is how quickly I can sit down to eat. I throw the food on the plate and that is that. Luckily, vegetables tend to look beautiful anyway (unless we’re talking about mushroom pesto…). But it is fun to put more effort into it now and then, especially when I want to impress the people I’m feeding or to get myself out of a food rut. Give me a colourful plate of food and I’m a happy girl.
The Big Vegan Bowl
Yield
2 large bowls
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Can’t you just imagine this bowl being served at a vegan restaurant? Well, why not make it in the comfort of your own home? It looks like it would take a long time to prepare, but it only set me back about 25 minutes of prep time. I simply roasted the sweet potato and chickpeas, cooked some quinoa on the stove top, and chopped a few veggies. It’s pretty laid back and you can tend to other things while it’s cooking. Due to the hummus and avocado, there’s no real need for a dressing unless of course you want to throw some on. My Lemon-Tahini dressing would be great on this, but it's great plain too. Next time you are in a lunch or dinner rut, give this a shot! It’s simple vegan food at its finest. Bowl idea inspired by Deliciously Ella.
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato, chopped into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 1.5 cups)
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 large carrot, peeled & julienned
- purple cabbage or vegetable of choice, shredded
- couple handfuls of greens for the base (optional)
- lots of hummus
- sliced avocado
- hulled hemp seeds.
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Spread out the chopped sweet potato on one sheet. Drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon of oil or so and toss the potatoes until coated. Sprinkle with fine grain sea salt.
- For the roasted chickpeas: Drain and rinse the chickpeas and then place on a large tea towel and pat until completely dry. Discard any skins that fall off. Transfer the chickpeas to the baking sheet and drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon oil. Rub them around with your hands until lightly coated. Generously sprinkle with fine grain sea salt and your favourite spices. I like to use garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and salt. Toss gently to combine.
- Place both the sweet potato and chickpeas into the preheated oven. Roast for 15 minutes at 400F and then remove both. Flip the sweet potatoes and gently roll around the chickpeas. Place back in the oven for another 15 minutes or so, watching closely during the last 5 minutes. When the chickpeas are golden and the sweet potatoes are lightly browned on the bottom and fork tender, they are ready to come out.
- Meanwhile, cook the quinoa while the roasting is going on. In a fine mesh sieve, rinse the quinoa and then place in a medium pot. Add in 1.5 cups of water and stir. Bring the mixture to a low boil and then reduce the heat to low/medium and cover with lid. Simmer, covered, for about 14-17 minutes (you can check after 13 minutes), until all of the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy. Remove from heat and leave the lid on to steam for another 5-10 minutes or longer if needed. Fluff with fork.
- Assemble the bowl: Add a couple handfuls of greens into a large shallow bowl. I had some leftover Best Kale Salad so I used that for my base. When the roasted veggies and chickpeas are done, allow the chickpeas to cool for 5 minutes and then add them on the salad followed by the sliced avocado, hummus, shredded veggies, and hemp seeds. See picture for how I plated it.
- Serve immediately and enjoy! You can use dressing if you'd like, but I don't usually bother. If you have leftover sweet potato and roasted chickpeas, you can place them in the fridge. Reheat in the oven at 400F for about 5-10 minutes.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)Looking for a monster salad bowl? Try The Big Chopped Salad.
LOVE love love your recipes, this one looks sooo yummy – can’t wait to try :)
This vegan bowl looks so delicious,filling and artistic! Can’t wait to try it. I hope you enjoyed your holidays and are surviving the cold!
This looks like a big bowl of goodness. I’m definitely striving to eat this way more often in the new year.
I just found your blog!!! It’ s very interesting!!! Cool photos:) Today on my blog pineapple: ) My parents always told me not to play with food, but by looking on food photography, I think they might be wrong. For me food, is always one of the greatest inspirations, very tasty inspiration: )!!! Do you also think so?
That bowl is everything I could ever ask for in a vegan meal!
Yum!! This looks fabulous and I have almost everything on hand. I plan to make this this week. Thanks!!
i think 2014 should become the year fo the bowls. I love a good bowl of veggies and grains/beans so much more than greasy burgers in vegan restaurants! this looks like a gorgeous and hearty meal
SO delish! It’s -30 here today so I wanted to make something warm and cozy… but I just had to make this instead! We all loved it and my three year old asked me if I would make it again! :) Thanks!
Angela – can I ask where you got this knife and fork set from? Its SO cute, I’m in love! Your meals always look like a dream too, absolutely loving your blog!
Lucie =]
It’s from West Elm :)
This look amazing, I had something very similar at a vegan/vegetarian restaurant but this one looks way better
Making it!
If you ever come to Portland, it is a MUST to visit Blossoming Lotus’s restaurant – vegan/vegetarian, raw, organic everything that is delicious! They make stuff similar to this but I have to say – yours is even better than that restaurant!
Mmmm this sounds heavenly!
Definitely will be trying this bowl for dinner sometime soon! Can I ask, however, what does hemp seed taste like?
I agree. Quit Facebook? Meh, sure. Twitter? I don’t even have an account. But you can bet I’ll be checking Instagram posts! And this Vegan Bowl is definitely Instagram-worthy. Beautiful!
I made this tonight for me and my husband and it was scrumptious. I didn’t have any sweet potatoes on hand so I subbed roasted delicata squash. I used a spicy roasted jalapeño hummus and it have everything a nice kick and made a great alternative for dressing. It was almost as beautiful as yours, and so much fun to put together. Thank you, Angela. Again.
This looks absolutely delicious! It’s so inspirational because you could technically fill the bowl with anything you have a taste for…but it’s a lunch idea that never really get’s registered! You make it look so appetizing too. I’m not actually a veggie but I pretty much only ever eat vegetarian food! This looks like a freshly harvested buddha bowl with a twist. Cannot wait to try it!
xo Tash
Mmmm I love a big bowl of plants too! Its my favourite thing to make when cleaning out my leftovers. Loving the variety here – beans, fats, veggies & grains :D
Like Lindsay, I also put kimchi on mine. It was fabulous and similar to Kris Carr’s Buddha Bowl. My BB version: brown rice, avocado, tahini, kimchi, walnuts, and a dash of liquid aminos.
This looks really yummy!! Thanks!
I LOVE this site.. you have the absolute best vegan recipes I’ve found on the internet… thank you SO much! :D
So much goodness in one fabulous bowl! We made this for lunch today and LOVED it! I can see this making a regular appearance on our table. Thanks for the recipe. :)
this was delicious – flavorful and filling. will definitely make again!
One of the best dishes I’ve eaten. Simply scrumptious! My 21 month old just about licked her plate clean.
Where did you get your beautiful fork?! I can’t decide which is more beautiful. the fork, or the meal!
Hi Angela,
This salad is so delicious! I make it to take to work. So easy as well as delicious! Next on my menu is the Big Salad:)
I love the fork!!! its sooo cute !!!
Do you ever write about other vegan products like beauty products. The skin absorbs 60% of all topical products into the bloodstream. A lot of soaps are made with tallow.
Wow this looks delicious! I think I will pair this with some salmon for dinner tonight :)
Made this today, mmmmm, added mint, lime, chilli and pomegranate seed’s to quinoa! and home made almond meal crackers, mmmmmmmm, thank you
oh so many of my favourite foods. I have a big roasted chick pea addiction currently so this is perfect. thank you.
I made this for dinner last night. It is fabulous!
I had this for lunch today and it was DELICIOUS! I made a lentil hummus instead of using store-bought and was packed with flavour. It was so filling as well. Thank you so much Angela!
Gorgeous bowl of goodness. I’m so enjoying your inspiring posts. Thank you!
Made this for lunch today. My husband and I both devoured it. And did I mention how beautiful it looks? Just gorgeous! This is yet another of your recipes that will be making more appearances on our dining table. Thank you!
Thanks so much for posting such a great idea! I made this earlier this week for dinner and it was delicious!
Awesome looking dish! :)
I have to ask-do you use a special tool to julienne or do you just have mad knife skills? I’m pretty good with a knife but I canNOT do that!
This was amazing! I served it for dinner tonight and my picky eater husband ate every last bite!
One of my favorite things about being a vegan is how completely gorgeous food can be! I feel like I could just hang this bowl up on my wall as art. It looks awesome and I can imagine that it is so healthy. Looking forward to trying it!
I love this recipe! I have made it twice for dinner already and my husband loves it as well. Delicious & satisfying. Quick question though: for the chick peas, is it 1/2 teaspoon or 1/2 tablespoon of oil for?
Thank you!
It’s correct in saying 1/2 teaspoon – the chickpeas really don’t need much oil at all. Hope this helps!
This looks amazing!
x
I had this for dinner today and it was amazing! My four-year old son was watching me make it and was sneaking bites of the roasted sweet potato and chickpeas. Then he made his way to the hummus and lettuce. I made his favourite pasta for dinner, but he wanted the vegan bowl! When I told him that I’d give him a small plate of the veggies on the side, he started crying! He wanted a BIG plate, lol! Thanks SO MUCH for this.
This pretty bowl inspired me to be more proactive in creating colorful, good-for-you foods. I roasted sweet potatoes and paired it with some avocado and a salad after my run and it was the most amazing complimentary dish post-workout, encouraging the feel-goods. Please keep up with ideas/recipes such as these for us follow diet-revampers!
Looks Amazing!! If I wanted to take this to work for lunch, could i eat it cold/room temperature?
Would it be good that way?
thanks!
OMG these bowls look amazing!! Keep them up!! Makes eating veggies fun! Finally will get to dust off the quinoa jar that I haven’t used in months!
Could I replace flax seeds for the hemp???
Totally agreed about Instagram! That’s how I discovered both you and Ella. Thanks for the recipe – love it! :)
instagram.com/breakfastcriminals
This looks so amazingly satisfying! I just linked to this recipe on my Veggie Monday Post :)
I am wondering where you found the bowls? I have looked everywhere for those perfect shallow and wide shapes and found nothing. :( the presentation is key in this dish I think. Looks so pretty!
Angela,
I’ve been following you for a long time, and I’ve made many of your recipes. All with great success, and enjoyment. But this one is fantastic! Very tasty, quick and with ingredients we had on hand.
I’ve purchased your book, and will continue to enjoy them one by one!
Congratulations….on the book, and all other major events happening this year!