This vegan roasted chickpea quinoa bowl is a perfect combination of crunchy & soft; cooked & raw; delicious & aromatic! The base is a lemony quinoa salad with cucumber, tomato, and lots of fresh herbs. It is topped with crispy, cumin-spiced chickpeas and roasted capsicum and drizzled with a lemony vegan yogurt dressing.
This roasted veggie quinoa bowl is a great idea for healthy dinner and leftovers! I love these ‘one-bowl’ meals for their convenience and combination of flavors and textures. There is so much room to experiment with. In this recipe, I have roasted chickpeas and bell peppers with an Indian spice mix of cumin, paprika, garam masala but you can also go with Middle-Eastern flavors and use harissa seasoning or try a Mexican fajita seasoning. Add more roasted vegetables along with peppers like sweet potato, and cauliflower. The base itself is very adaptable to individual preferences. To keep it gluten-free, I use quinoa but bulgar is also a great option and so are various whole millets.
Vegan cheese is something I am slowly trying out. The vegan ricotta I have used in this quinoa bowl is made of almond milk. Any salty and tangy cheese or cheese alternative will add a creamy flavor to the mix. You can also opt-out. The almond yogurt dressing is like sour cream dressing. To make it creamier, whisk in a little ricotta to the dressing.
While the recipe has many steps and components like roasting the chickpeas and bell peppers, making quinoa, making the dressing, and also prepping all the veggies; most of it happens in parallel and thus the total recipe time is just about 30 minutes.
Vegan Roasted Chickpea Quinoa Bowl
Ingredients (1cup = 240ml; 1tbsp = 15ml; 1tsp = 5ml)
- 1½ cups Boiled chickpeas 1 can if you are using canned chickpeas
- 1 Red capsicum bell pepper
- 1 tsp Cumin powder
- 1 tsp Paprika powder
- ½ tsp Garam masala or mild curry powder
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- ½ cup Quinoa
- ½ cup Tomato finely chopped (1 regular tomato)
- ½ cup Cucumber finely chopped (~1 Persian cucumber)
- 3-4 sprigs Fresh dill
- 3-4 stalks Fresh parsley
- 1 Lemon
- 4 tbsp Almond yogurt
- 2 tbsp Vegan ricotta or feta cheese optional
Instructions
Roast Chickpeas and Capsicum
- Preheat oven to 425ºF (200ºC / gas mark 7)
- If you are using freshly boiled, defrosted or canned chickpeas, drain and rinse the chickpeas and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Core, deseed and chop the red capsicum in ½-inch pieces.
- Toss the chickpeas and red capsicum on a baking tray with 1 tbsp olive oil, cumin, paprika, garam masala, and salt.
- Roast for about 20 minutes till the chickpeas are lightly browned and the capsicum is softened. Remove from the oven and keep aside.
Cook Quinoa
- Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa in a fine sieve and let drain. Heat 1 cup water in a small pot. Add the rinsed quinoa along with 1 tsp olive oil and a little salt. Bring to a boil and then let it cook on low heat until all the water is absorbed and the quinoa is cooked. Remove from heat.
Prep Veggies & Dressing
- While the quinoa and chickpeas are cooking, prep all the vegetables and herbs. Zest the lemon and halve.
- For the vegan yogurt dressing: Whisk together 2 tbsp almond yogurt, 2 tsp olive oil, ½ tsp lemon juice, salt, and black pepper.
Assemble the quinoa bowl
- Squeeze half the lemon juice into the cooked quinoa. Add the lemon zest, chopped cucumber, tomato, dill, and parsley. Mix together and adjust for salt and pepper.
- To serve: Divide the quinoa into bowls, top with roasted chickpeas and capsicum, sprinkle some vegan ricotta, and drizzle with vegan yogurt dressing. Serve with lemon on the side.
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate information for 1 of 2 servings.
- Quinoa bowls make for great leftovers. For leftovers, keep the dressing separate and add only while eating.
- I don’t prefer using canned chickpeas so I usually boil and freeze chickpeas in small jars so that I have boiled chickpeas whenever required. Else if you are using dried chickpeas, use about ¾ cup, soak them overnight and then boil them till tender.
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