These Vegetarian Buddha Bowls with Spicy Peanut sauce make a great Winter salad – for those days when you fancy something a bit lighter for dinner.
It’s easy to go into carb overload during the colder months.
Right now with the house extension going on, and my only method of cooking at home being a single plug-in hob, a microwave and a toaster, we’re starting to get into the habit of feasting on chips, large sandwiches and stodgy cakes.
I’m not beating myself up about it. I know it’s only a temporary thing, and we’ll get back to lovely homecooked meals soon, but I would like to throw in the occasional nod to healthy eating.
So today I’m sharing this warming winter salad:
Bright colourful veggies (instead of all that brown food!), multi-coloured quinoa (that I can cook on my little hob) and a spicy peanut dressing to warm up your belly.
I made this a couple of months ago for the Autumn edition of Superfood magazine, and I’m pulling it out again to make this weekend.
I’ll probably serve it with some ready-cooked chicken for my carnivorous family and finish it off with the caramel chocolate mug cake that I’m posting on Saturday. If you fancied a more meaty version then why not try my Coffee Crusted Steak Buddha Bowl or Spicy Chicken Nourish Bowl.
I know, I know, naughty-brown food for dessert, but I’m too weak for going cold turkey!!
The Vegetarian Buddha Bowls with Spicy Peanut Sauce Recipe:
Vegetarian Buddha Bowls with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 100 g (1/2 cup) dry quinoa (we used a mixture of white, black and red)
- 1 small butternut squash peeled and diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 80 g (2 cups) mixed baby salad leaves
- 1 avocado peeled, de-stoned and sliced
- 1 red apple cored and sliced
- 1 roasted red pepper from a jar drained and sliced
- ¼ of a cucumber cut into small chunks
- 25 g (1/4 cup) feta, crumbled
- 1 tsp black sesame seeds
- small bunch of fresh parsley chopped
Spicy Peanut Sauce:
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- ½ of a finely chopped red chilli
- 1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce or tamari for gluten-free
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cm piece of fresh ginger peeled and minced
- 1 clove garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tbsp honey
- juice of ½ lime
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa in water as per pack instructions, leave to cool.100 g (1/2 cup) dry quinoa
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F (fan).
- Place the diced butternut squash on a baking tray and drizzle on the olive oil. Add the paprika, salt, and pepper, and toss everything together with your hands. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.1 small butternut squash, 1 tbsp olive oil, ¼ tsp paprika, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper
- Whilst the butternut squash is roasting, make the spicy peanut sauce by whisking together all of the sauce ingredients. Put to one side.½ of a finely chopped red chilli, 1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 cm piece of fresh ginger, 1 clove garlic, 1 tbsp honey, juice of ½ lime, 1 tbsp peanut butter
- Spoon the cooked quinoa into two bowls. Arrange the salad leaves, butternut squash, sliced avocado, sliced apple, sliced pepper, and chunks of cucumber on top. Sprinkle on the chopped feta, black sesame seeds and parsley.80 g (2 cups) mixed baby salad leaves, 1 avocado, 1 red apple, 1 roasted red pepper from a jar, ¼ of a cucumber, 25 g (1/4 cup) feta, crumbled, 1 tsp black sesame seeds, small bunch of fresh parsley
- Serve with the spicy peanut sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Whoops, forgot to mention, I roast my own peppers with a kitchen torch, it’s really easy and the results are fresher than out of a jar.
This is an excellent recipe and it serves as a fine base for a wide variety of ingredients. The first time I made it, I followed the recipe. The second time, I substituted sweet potato for the squash. Next it will be eggplant. The apple can be replaced with mango, for example. I would never take out the avocado though.
The dressing is excellent but it makes about half of what is necessary. That’s a serious problem and why I took off a star. As written, the dressing is really skimpy.
Love this filling buddha bowl, this is added to our meal rotataion.
Looks delicious Nicky! And you are quite right: stodgy food is definitely making a come back in our house. I’ll definitely be giving this lovely Buddha bowl a whirl ????
I love everything about this bowl! It is nice to have a dish that isn’t a carb overload this time of year.