Eat the rainbow with this delicious Veggie Bowl! This easy plant-based meal prep recipe has quinoa, veggies, and a tasty garlic dressing.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like avocado or canola oil.
- Quinoa – use any healthy grain of your choice like brown rice, cauliflower rice or farro.
- Water – you could also cook the quinoa in vegetable broth to make it more flavourful.
- Red pepper – use yellow or orange pepper instead.
- Carrots – leeks or parsnips would also be delicious.
- Kale – substitute for another dark leafy green like spinach or Swiss chard.
- Corn – substitute for any other veggie of your choice if you don't like corn.
- Avocado – guacamole would be good as well or you can leave the avocado out altogether.
- Red cabbage – swap out for lettuce or coleslaw.
- Watermelon radish – candy beets or regular radishes would also be good here.
- Chickpeas – swap out for another legume like black beans or lentils.
Garlic dressing
- Sunflower oil – avocado oil or olive oil can be used instead.
- Soy milk – you can try using almond or cashew milk if you don't have any soy milk on hand.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic can be used in a pinch.
- Lemon juice – use freshly squeezed or bottled lemon juice. Lime juice would also work.
- Apple cider vinegar – use white wine vinegar or add in some more lemon juice instead.
- Dry mustard – you can try using a bit of stone-ground mustard or leave this out altogether.
- Salt – to taste.
How to make a veggie bowl
Step 1: Cook the quinoa.
Make the quinoa in a pot on the stovetop or a rice cooker.
Step 2: Roast the veggies.
Drizzle the carrots and red pepper with olive oil, drizzle with salt and pepper, then roast on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the oven. Add the kale during the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
Step 3: Make the garlic dressing.
Add all the dressing ingredients except for the water to a blender and blend until thickened. Pour into a bowl then mix in the water.
Step 4: Assemble your bowls and serve!
Add all your veggies, quinoa and toppings to a bowl and drizzle with the garlic dressing. Serve and enjoy!
Veggie bowl variations
Just like the original Chipotle veggie bowl, you can customize your bowl to your liking – without the high price tag! There are tons of ways you can customize your bowl. Experiment with different options until you find something you love.
- Protein: Tofu, edamame, lentils, black beans, sofritas, garbanzo beans
- Veggies: Spinach, Swiss chard, squash, sweet potato, parsnips, leeks, zucchini
- Sauces: Tahini, pesto, ranch, Green Goddess dressing
- Grains: Brown rice, farro, cilantro lime rice, bulgur
- Toppings: Guacamole, tempeh bacon, cilantro, parsley, green onions, wonton strips, almonds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! These bowls are super customizable, so you can use any sauce or dressing of your choice. I used a delicious garlic dressing, but you could also try drizzling on some tahini, pesto, ranch, or Green Goddess dressing.
This veggie bowl recipe is already pretty low carb, but if you want it to be even more low carb, leave out the quinoa and swap out the chickpeas for a low-carb substitute like garbanzo beans.
I typically just like to season the roasted vegetables with salt and pepper, but feel free to add on any seasonings or spices of your choice.
You can add the veggies raw if you'd prefer, but I'd recommend roasting the carrots, peppers and kale.
Storing these bowls
If you're meal prepping these veggie bowls, leave off the dressing and store your assembled bowls in the fridge for up to 5 days. I'd recommend waiting to dice up the avocado until right before serving, as it will likely brown in the fridge. When you're ready to enjoy, dice up the avocado, drizzle on the dressing and dig in! There's no need to reheat as they're delicious eaten cold (and a lot of the ingredients won't reheat well).
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Meal Prep Tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls to pack up your weekly lunches.
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Ultimate Rainbow Veggie Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1 red pepper chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch thick coins
- 2 cups kale chopped
- 1 cup corn
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1 cup red cabbage sliced
- 1 watermelon radish or candy beet or 2-3 regular radishes, thinly sliced
- 1 can chickpeas
Fave ever garlic dressing
- 1/2 cup sunflower or avocado oil
- 1/4 cup soy milk
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp dry mustard
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F. Add quinoa and water to a rice cooker or pot on the stove and cook until the liquid has absorbed.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and add carrots and red pepper, drizzling with a bit of olive oil and seasoning with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes, then add kale and an extra drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper, cooking for 5 more minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare other veggies and make dressing by adding all ingredients under the dressing heading except water to a small blender or Magic bullet. Mix until thickened, then pour into a medium-sized bowl with a lid (there may be extra leftover you want to save!). Mix in water, then set aside. Important: you must mix in water AFTER or it won't emulsify into a dressing.
- Divide quinoa among 4 bowls, then divide roasted red pepper, carrots, corn, avocado, red cabbage, radish and chickpeas. Drizzle with a bit of dressing to taste, then serve and enjoy!
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