This Mediterranean bowl recipe is a savory, delicious filling meal full of flavorful ingredients like quinoa, sweet potatoes, fresh veggies, and store-bought hummus. Quick and easy pickled onions add a punch of flavor you're going to obsess over!
Our healthy Buddha bowl recipe makes the best healthy dinner or meal prep lunch recipe you'll eat on repeat since it's easy to customize. It's Whole Lotta Yum!
Our healthy Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl is so hearty!
This Mediterranean Bowl is a powerhouse of nutrition but not short on flavor. Itʼs packed with crisp veggies and delicious roasted sweet potatoes. The lemony marinated kale takes the flavor and texture up a level and when you eat it all together, itʼs the perfect bite for dinner tonight or as a healthy meal prep lunch for tomorrow.
Double the recipe and pack it for lunch for the next day (or two!) It is great for leftovers and can be eaten warm or cold. If you love to make healthy meal prep bowls, you'll also want to try our chicken teriyaki bowl or chicken burrito bowl.
- Super healthy and packed with nutrient dense ingredients that will keep you full.
- Loaded with flavor from the quick pickled onions and hummus that will make your taste buds sing!
- Comes together super fast with already prepped ingredients and healthy grocery store items.
- Easy to customize! We share numerous ways to change up the flavors.
Ingredients list
While at first, it might seem like our healthy bowls might have a lot of ingredients, most are inexpensive grocery store basics you might already have. To make prep even easier, you can buy pre-cut sweet potatoes or precooked grains, and replace the pickled onions with sliced red onion.
- Sweet potatoes - Add more color interest by using any of the different colored sweet potato varieties. Butternut squash would also be yummy.
- Kale - Baby spinach can easily be a kale replacement if you don't have any on hand.
- Avocado - Adds a lovely creamy texture, and good for you fats. Guacamole cups are a great alternative to fresh avocados.
- Quinoa - Brown rice, cannellini beans, roasted chickpeas, or even a plant based protein like tofu or tempeh would be great replacements for quinoa.
- Store bought hummus - Adding garlic hummus or a different flavor would also make for some unique flavors. Make your own homemade hummus with tahini sauce, this will allow for personalized flavors.
- Olive oil - Swap out olive oil with avocado oil while maintaining the same mild flavor of the oil.
- Lemon juice - Fresh lemon juice is always best!
- Grape tomatoes - If you cannot find the grape variety, you can substitute those for cherry tomatoes or regular tomatoes. Just cut them into small pieces.
- Persian cucumber - The cucumber can be whatever variety you would like, we love the small Persian cucumbers from Trader Joe's. English cucumbers are also a great option.
- Red onion - Used for making pickled onions. You could skip the pickling and use red onion slices or green onions.
- White vinegar - This is for pickling the red onions, in a pinch you could use apple cider vinegar as well.
- Sugar - Regular white granulated sugar is used to pickle the red onions.
- Salt and black pepper - For seasoning
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the nutritional information and exact quantities
Variations
- For other levels of bold flavor try adding sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, or artichoke hearts.
- Add fresh herbs like chopped parsley, cilantro, or fresh dill.
- Topping variations like toasted pine nuts or feta cheese would be super yummy!
Kitchen tools
- An Air Fryer (optional!)- A quick way of cooking the sweet potatoes, but an oven works too.
- medium saucepan
- baking sheet
- microwave
How to Make A Vegan Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl
Prep the pickled onion in advance to really get the best flavor.
Prep Ingredients
Prepare the pickled red onion. Take the ½ cup of vinegar and ½ cup of water and bring to a boil in the microwave. Usually, 2-3 minutes is enough. Add in the 1 teaspoon of sugar and stir until dissolved.
In a mason jar or similar, place the thinly sliced red onion and pour the vinegar mixture over the red onion. Loosely cover the jar and let stand on the counter to cool. (**This step can be made ahead, more info in the notes section)
Prepare the sweet potatoes. Cut the peeled sweet potatoes into ½” pieces, as close in size as possible for even cooking. Toss the sweet potato pieces in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast in the oven at 425 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway. The potatoes should have a crispy exterior and be cooked on the inside. Alternatively, you can make our air fryer sweet potato cubes.
Cook quinoa according to the instructions on the package. For a little extra flavor, add a teaspoon of lemon juice and some salt to taste.
Prepare the kale. Take your kale and tear it into smaller, bite size pieces after washing. In a bowl, place the kale, lemon juice, and remaining olive oil and massage the kale for 2-3 minutes until it is a deeper green color and softer. Place it to the side and allow the kale to marinate a little longer.
Prepare veggies. Slice the cucumber into pieces. Halve the grape tomatoes. Slice the avocado and sprinkle a little lemon juice to prevent browning.
Assemble
Assemble the bowl. Evenly distribute the cooked quinoa in one section of the bowl. Spoon in the sweet potatoes and kale on either side of the cooked quinoa. Add on the cucumber, tomatoes, and avocado.
Remove some of the pickled onions and place them in one section of the bowl. Top with a spoonful of creamy hummus in the center and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!
Dietary swaps
As written, our recipe is vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
- Whole30: Replace quinoa with approved plant based protein like tofu or beans, or with cauliflower rice.
Recipe notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- This bowl is excellent when eaten right after itʼs prepared. It also tastes great cold and can be taken as a lunch the following day. Sprinkle a little lemon juice to revive the ingredients and stir together.
- The pickled onions actually taste better if made in advance. The onions will gain a better pickle and have more flavor. They can be added to salads, tacos, sandwiches etc, and are SO delicious.
- This is a vegetarian recipe but chicken, salmon, or a different kind of protein can be added.
- To save additional time, you can also purchase pre-cut sweet potatoes. Just add olive oil, salt, and pepper and pop them into the oven or air fryer. This will save time with prep.
❓ FAQ's
A leftover Mediterranean quinoa bowl will last up to 3-4 days in the fridge stored in an airtight container. Sliced avocado doesn't store as well and will turn brown, we suggest adding fresh avocado when you go to eat your bowl or using guacamole cups instead.
Our healthy Buddha bowl is a one dish meal, but if you want to have a side you can serve this dish with a side of warm pita bread or pita chips. You can also serve it alongside our lemon caper pasta or blackened cod if you want to serve the sweet potato quinoa bowl as a hearty side salad.
A traditional Buddha bowl is a vegetarian dish that typically consists of cooked whole grains (such as quinoa or brown rice), cooked beans or legumes, raw and/or cooked vegetables, nuts, seeds, and a flavorful dressing. This style of meal is based on the Buddhist principle of mindful eating and typically has no meat or animal products.
More Healthy Bowls
- Sweet Potato Chickpea Buddha Bowl
- Chicken Burrito Bowl
- BBQ Chicken Sweet Potato Bowl
- Greek Salad Bowl With Chicken
- Big Mac In A Bowl
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Mediterranean Power Bowl
This Mediterranean Bowl is healthy and delicious but not short on flavor. Itʼs packed with crisp veggies and delicious roasted sweet potatoes. The marinated kale takes the flavor and texture up a level and when you put it all together, itʼs the perfect bite. Double the recipe and bring pack it for lunch the next day. Itʼs as good as a leftover and can be eaten cold.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Sweet potatoes, peeled
- 2 cups Kale
- 1 Avocado
- 1 cup Quinoa, cooked
- 4 tablespoons Hummus
- 3 tablespoons Olive oil, divided
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 1 cup Grape tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 Persian cucumber, diced
- 1 Red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup White vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Prepare the pickled onions. Take the ½ cup of vinegar and ½ cup of water and bring to a boil in the microwave. Usually, 2-3 minutes is enough. Add in the 1 teaspoon of sugar and stir until dissolved. In a mason jar or similar, place the thinly sliced onion and pour the vinegar mixture over the onions. Loosely cover the jar and let stand on the counter to cool. (**This step can be made ahead, more info in the notes section)
- Prepare the sweet potatoes. Cut the peeled sweet potatoes into ½” pieces, as close in size as possible for even cooking. Toss the sweet potato pieces in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast in the oven at 425 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway. The potatoes should have a crispy exterior and be cooked on the inside.
- Cook your quinoa according to the instructions on the package. For a little extra flavor, add a teaspoon of lemon juice and some salt to taste.
- Prepare the kale. Take your kale and tear it into smaller, easy to bite pieces after washing. In a bowl, place the kale, lemon juice, and remaining olive oil and massage the kale for 2-3 minutes until it is a deeper green color and softer. Place to the side and allow the kale to marinate a little longer.
- Prepare veggies. Slice the cucumber into pieces. Halve the grape tomatoes. Slice the avocado and sprinkle a little lemon juice to prevent browning.
- Assemble the bowl. Evenly distribute the quinoa in one section of the bowl. Spoon in the sweet potatoes and kale on either side of the quinoa. Add on the cucumber, tomatoes, and avocado. Remove some of the pickled onions and place them in one section of the bowl. Top with a spoonful of hummus in the center and drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!
Notes
- To store, place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The avocado will turn brown so this is the one item to slice fresh when you go to eat it.
- This bowl is excellent when eaten right after itʼs prepared. It also tastes great cold and can be taken as a lunch the following day.
- Sprinkle a little lemon juice to revive the ingredients and stir together.
The pickled onions actually taste better if made in advance. - The onions will gain a better pickle and have more flavor. They can be added to salads, tacos, sandwiches etc and are SO delicious.
- This is a vegetarian recipe but chicken, salmon, or a different kind of protein can be added.
- To save additional time, you can also purchase pre-cut sweet potatoes. Just add olive oil, salt, and pepper and pop them into the oven. This will save time with prep.
Nutrition Information
Yield 2 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Total Fat 41gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 33gCholesterol 0mgSodium 352mgCarbohydrates 72gFiber 19gSugar 17gProtein 15g
The nutrional information is just an estimate and was calculated by an automated calculator. If you're on a restricted health program please manually calculate this information using the brands of ingredients you have since brands can vary.
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