You don’t need to be Vegan or Vegetarian to fall in love with this colorful Buddha Bowl, drizzled with the most flavorful dressing ever!
I consider myself an omnivore. I eat really just about anything, and am game to try new things, especially if they are foods cherished by other cultures or groups of people. (Ok maybe not certain juicy insects or various organ meats.) However, at home, I have tougher audience than just myself. That said, I do try to bolster the foods and meals we eat (that may or may not be superhealthy) with nutritious ingredients, like vegetables, beans or whole grains.
I’m one of those people who adds all the veggies I can to spaghetti sauce, casseroles, chili, or soup. Some may call this “sneaky” or “deceptive” but I don’t get it. What is deceptive? If anyone were to ask, I’d tell them that yes, indeed, I added parsnips and half a bell pepper to that meatloaf, which is also half ground turkey. But no one asks. No harm, no fowl, right? This entirely plant-based Buddha Bowl with Lime Tahini Dressing, though, hides absolutely nothing. Its delicous produce is front and center, the star of the show! And the knock-you-over Lime Tahini Dressing will leave you wishing you’d doubled the recipe!
This meal is one which you can serve warm, room temperature, or cold. So no worries about leftovers, you’ll definitely want them! If your family might be a bit vegan-averse, (and you’re not into my brand of deception), you could also use this recipe as a great meal-prep for a week of lunches. Or add some chicken. It makes just enough for 5 protein, vitamin and fiber-filled meals that taste fantastic! And did I mention the dressing? So so tasty you might consider it as a sauce for just about everything – from roasted meats to salads to roasted veggies!
If you aren’t familiar with tahini, it is really just ground sesame seeds, the same way peanut butter is ground peanuts. Filled with protein, minerals and healthy fats, one of its more common uses is to mix with chickpeas to make hummus. And, it’s delicious! For this dressing, I mixed some tahini with lime juice, soy sauce, hot sauce and a few other ingredients. A quick stir or shake and pour it on!
I’ve made some nice Vegan dishes before, as well as some lovely and delicious Salads, but this Buddha Bowl takes the proverbial cake for how great it tastes (that dressing!) and how good it makes you feel! Trust me, it does! Enjoy!
Buddha Bowl with Lime Tahini Dressing
I love a good bowl full of healthy ingredients. Among my favorites are roasted sweet potatoes and farro. But when you top these ingredients with a flavorful Lime Tahini Dressing, it is positively MAGIC!
This recipe creates possibly twice the dressing you will need, so you will likely have extra. Not a bad thing at all. I hope you’ll agree!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 30min
- Total Time: 45 min
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Oven Roast
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 1 c Farro
- 1 15 oz can beans, drained and rinsed, any variety (I like Black beans)
- 1 lg Sweet Potato
- 1 Med Onion
- 3–4 c Broccoli Florets
- 1 Avocado
- 1/4 Small Purple Cabbage, cut thinly
- 3 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1/2 t Ground Cumin
- 1/4 t Garlic Powder
- Salt and Pepper
For the Dressing:
- 1/2 c Tahini, well stirred
- Juice of 2 Limes (about 2–3 T)
- Zest of 1 Lime
- 1 T Soy Sauce (low-sodium is great!)
- 2 t Hot Sauce (I used Sriracha)
- 1 T Maple Syrup
- 1 large Garlic clove, minced
- 1” Chunk of Ginger, peeled and minced
- 1/3–1/2 c water, for thinning
Instructions
Make the Salad:
- Preheat oven to 400F, or 375F for convection-bake. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Cut the sweet potato into 12 wedges.
- Spread the sweet potato wedges over 1 sheet, drizzle with olive oil (about 1 1/2 T). Mix together the cumin, garlic powder, and about 1/2 t salt. Sprinkle sweet potato wedges with the spice mix.
- On the second sheetpan, spread the broccoli florets. Drizzle with olive oil, salt as desired.
- Slice the onion into thin slices, drizzle with olive oil, and place next to the broccoli florets. Salt if desired.
- Place both sheets in the oven. Check the sheetpans at about 15-20 minutes, turning vegetables over for even browning. For me, the broccoli began to brown at about 25 minutes, and the sweet potatoes took about 30 minutes.
- While vegetables are cooking, prepare Farro per package directions, with about 2 1/2 c to 3 c water for each cup of farro. Be sure to pour off, or drain any excess liquid.
- Remove both sheetpans from the oven.
- Assemble salad in bowls with all ingredients.
Mix the Dressing:
- Put all ingredients, except water, into a jar.
- Stir or shake until well mixed.
- Thin with water as desired.
- Serve atop each salad, as desired.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 Recipe
Keywords: Vegan, salad, Buddha bowl, salad dressing
PIN FOR LATER ->
give me all the veggies!!! this sounds so tasty + filling (:
Thanks, Heather! I’m with you – full of veggies, tasty, filling – nothing better!
So flavor packed and nutritious that tahini sauce looks. Love the addition of lime zest to it. And all your gorgeous photos! Omg I am drooling over that vibrant salad bowl.
Thank you so much, Neha. I love a beautiful salad, too! The Tahini dressing is truly my new favorite! Thanks for your visit and kind words!
It’s lunch time and now my stomach is growling for this!! Looks so yummy!!
Thank you so much, Kelly! I hope you get the chance to try it, it is yummmmmmy!
Can I be your neighbor? This look soooo amazing and would be perfect for a neighbor…especially if I was your neighbor, yet I would definitely make this for me and my sons, all of them would love it because of it’s so healthy, yet full of flavor! Pinning!
Thanks so much, Kim! It would be perfect for a neighbor. And believe me, if you were my neighbor I’d totally share it with you! Thanks for the Pin!
I’m open to trying some authentic/regional foods, but I tend to be picky and often sceptical about people’s tastes – juicy insects are not the worst thing to try (for the record, I’ve never tried it though). And certainly, I do love this kind of hearty and simple yet flavorful combinations. Sweet potato, beans, farro, vegetables, and the tahini dressing…I’m in!
Thanks, Ben – and thank you for visiting! I imagine insects aren’t the worst, but I also think they likely need to be prepared correctly and possibly sourced well, too. Ha!
I agree with you about being an omnivore, Laura. I grew up on a fairly limited range of foods, but now I’m down to try anything once…except organ meats and bugs like you said. No thank you. I’m not vegan, but I can totally get behind this vegan Buddha bowl! I love the colors, and that tahini lime dressing sounds fantastic!! Perfect for summer!
Thanks for visiting, David! I grew up with a fairly limited menu as well, and I feel like it made me excited to try new things, especially those dishes beloved by other cultures. Because, really, can a million people all be wrong? (Don’t answer that, ha!). Glad you like the bowl, I feel like I’ll be making this dressing all summer long!
Made this last night for a very happy crowd. It was both beautiful and tasty.
That’s wonderful! Glad everyone liked it! Thanks for letting me know, too!
By your description, I am an omnivore as well! This bowl is sooo bright and pretty, and would definitely be filling enough for me!!
Thanks, Katherine! I agree we eat with our eyes first, so beautiful food is great food! It is a satisfying meal in every way, too! Thanks for your visit!
Despite my obvious love for sweets, I do try to eat healthy most of the time. Sweet potato, avocado, farro–you’re using some of my favorites here! And I think I could eat that dressing all by itself!
Thanks so much, Kelsie! I am likely as big a sweet-tooth as you, but obviously not as skilled at baking. Glad you like this yummy recipe, and TBH, Ive been using the dressing for just about everything, salads, meats, etc. So good! Thanks for visiting!
This is my favorite recipe so far! Would love even more de-lish vegan recipes
Thanks! I’ll plan some more Vegan dishes! Thanks for your visit!
Laura – this is how I love to eat! I usually make my tahini dressing with lemon and agave but will have to try this! Love the new look of the blog and your incredible stories. The salmon story made me both laugh and cry!
Thanks, Beth. It made me laugh and cry, too. Glad you like the stories. I have a need to tell them.
Love it ! So glad to see people use ancient grains ! Thank you so much for this one !
Farro is (by far ?) my favorite ancient grain. It’s honestly been tough to try some of the others. But I know I should. I’d likely find a new fave! Thanks for visiting!