Easy Vegan Chickpea Broccoli Bowls (2024)

Oven roasted broccoli, served on a bowl of brown rice, topped with a creamy lemon tahini dressing, creates THE BEST plant-based buddha bowl recipe! It's healthy, gluten free and vegan. It's also perfect for meal prep and easy to make in 30 minutes!

How to roast broccoli

Roasted broccoli is so easy to make. Follow these two simple tips for perfect broccoli every time!

1. Toss the broccoli florets with oil and seasoning before adding it to a sheet pan for roasting. This will insure that the broccoli gets evenly coated in the oil and seasoning.
2. Roast at 450°F for 20 minutes. This will cook the broccoli until it's soft on the inside with a crisp, flavorful exterior.

Can you roast frozen broccoli?

Yes, you can roast frozen broccoli at the same temperature as fresh broccoli. Simply add 5 minutes to the roasting time and toss the frozen broccoli half way through the 25 minute cook time.

How to make roasted broccoli bowls

• If you don't already have prepared rice, start by cooking the brown rice. Follow this post for how to cook brown rice on the stove, in an Instant Pot or in a rice cooker.
• While the rice is cooking, roast the broccoli and chickpeas.
• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Toss the broccoli and chickpeas with olive oil and Montreal steak seasoning.
  • Note: Montreal steak seasoning is a combination of coarse salt and peppers, sometimes with the addition of garlic and paprika. It can easily be found in the spice aisle at your local grocery store. If you don't have any steak seasoning at home, simply substitute 1 teaspoon coarse salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes and ¼ teaspoon paprika.
• Spread the broccoli and chickpeas out on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet.
• Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
• While the broccoli and chickpeas are roasting, prepare the lemon tahini sauce. It takes less than 5 minutes to make and it's so delicious on top of these bowls!
• Once the rice, broccoli and chickpeas are cooked, divide the rice between two bowls, then top with the broccoli and chickpeas.
• Add slivered almonds, sliced red onions and sliced avocado to each bowl.
• Drizzle the lemon tahini sauce over the bowls.

Make the bowls low carb

• Substitute the brown rice with cauliflower rice or greens, such as spinach, kale or a spring mix.
• Omit the chickpeas. Roast an additional 2 cups of broccoli instead of adding chickpeas to the bowl.
• Using cauliflower rice instead of brown rice and substituting 2 cups of additional broccoli for the chickpeas will reduce the carbs per bowl from 101 grams to 37 grams.

Meal prep the bowls

• For storage: prepare the brown rice, roasted broccoli and chickpeas. Divide the cooked rice, broccoli and chickpeas between two plastic storage containers. Place the almonds and red onions in another small container or plastic bag and add to the larger container. Wrap the avocado in plastic wrap and place the lemon tahini dressing in asmall salad dressing container. Add both to the larger container with the additional bowl ingredients.
• To reheat and eat: remove the almonds, red onions, avocado and lemon tahini dressing from the larger plastic storage container. Place the rice, broccoli and chickpeas in the microwave and heat for 2 minutes. Remove from the microwave and top with the almonds, onions and avocado. Drizzle the lemon tahini dressing over the bowl.

Add a protein to the bowls

• Chickpeas are a great source of plant based protein. Served as is, these bowls contain 27 grams of protein per bowl, making them a great option for those seeking plant based, protein rich recipes.
• If you’d like to add a meat based protein option, chicken breasts can be roasted with the broccoli and easily added to these bowls.
  • To add chicken, pound 1-2 chicken breasts until they're 1 inch thick. At this thickness, the chicken will roast at the same time as the broccoli and chickpeas. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and season with theMontreal steak seasoning. Place the chicken on a baking sheet and roast in the oven at the same time and temperature as the broccoli and chickpeas. Remove the chicken from the oven, dice and add to the bowls.

More plant based recipes

Looking for more delicious plant based bowls? Try these easy recipes!

• Moroccan Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Buddha Bowl
• Vegan Cobb Salad with Poblano Ranch Dressing
• Charred Cauliflower Bowls with Harissa Tahini Sauce
• Indian Cauliflower Bowl with Roasted Chickpeas
• Chipotle Copycat Vegan Fajita Salad
• Roasted Chickpea Salad
• Vegan Stuffed Baked Potatoes

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