This Warm Tahini Kale and Quinoa Bowl with roasted chickpeas, vegetables and avocado is the ultimate healthy comfort food!
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How to make warm tahini kale and quinoa bowls
- While oven is preheating to 450 degrees, toss chickpeas in olive oil, lemon juice, chili powder, garlic powder, salt & pepper. Bake for 40 mins.
- On a separate baking sheet bake butternut squash for 20 minutes.
- Cook quinoa according to package directions.
- Prepare kale and other vegetables. Mix veggies and kale with olive oil, garlic and salt & pepper. Cook on a baking sheet until roasted.
- Make tahini dressing.
- Divide quinoa, butternut squash, and additional tray of mixed veggies into bowls. Sprinkle fresh herbs overtop, and sliced avocado.
- Finish by topping bowls with roasted chickpeas and tahini dressing. Serve and enjoy!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Quinoa – replace quinoa with a grain of choice like brown rice, couscous, barley, farro, etc. Cook time will vary based on the grain.
Roasted Chickpeas
- Chickpeas – use bulk or canned chickpeas. Rinsed and drained canned chickpeas will be easier.
- Olive oil – any neutral oil can be used in place of olive oil. Neutral oils like grapeseed oil, avocado oil or canola oil can work.
- Lemon juice – use fresh or bottle lemon juice. In a pinch, use lime juice.
- Chili powder – cayenne pepper, crushed chili flakes or paprika will work in place of chili powder.
- Garlic powder – onion powder, garlic salt, or finely minced fresh garlic will also work.
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
Veggies
- Kale – use any leafy green of choice. Similar greens would be collard greens, spinach or swiss chard.
- Olive oil – any neutral oil can work in place of olive oil.
- Garlic – use fresh or jarred minced garlic will work in this recipe.
- Butternut squash – use another squash of choice like kabocha, buttercup squash, or pumpkin. Sweet potato can also be used in this recipe.
- Frozen peas – use any frozen veggies of choice.
- Red pepper – use any bell pepper colour of choice or substitute with another vegetable altogether.
- Red onion – yellow onion, shallots or white onion can work in place of red onion.
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
- Parsley – cilantro or another fresh herb of choice can be used to garnish these bowls.
- Avocado – use fresh, sliced avocado or guacamole to top these bowls.
Tahini Dressing
- Tahini – cashew butter, another nut or seed butter can be used in place of tahini.
- Water
- Lemon juice – use fresh or bottled lemon juice. In a pinch use lime juice.
- Cilantro – use parsley or another herb of choice.
- Garlic – use fresh or jarred minced garlic.
- Salt & pepper (to taste)
Roasting the chickpeas
Besides being a great addition to these bowls, roasted chickpeas are the perfect, protein-packed snack to have throughout the day. Make roasted chickpeas up to 2 days in advance for these bowls and leave any extras for snacking purposes.
Roast the chickpeas in the oven on a sheet pan for 20-30 minutes and you're golden! You can roast for more if you'd really like a crunch to them. Coat the chickpeas well with olive oil so that they are evenly roasted and then season with herbs and spices of your choice.
Storing and reheating
Leftovers from this recipe will last up to 5 days in the fridge. When storing, keep the chickpeas separately to help them retain their crunch and avoid them getting soggy. It's also recommended to store the dressing separately so it doesn't make the veggies soggy. This dish can be enjoyed without reheating but if you must, store the veggies separately from the quinoa and butternut squash and assemble the bowls after reheating.
Revive the chickpeas by heating them on a sheet pan and reheat the quinoa and butternut squash by microwaving for 1-2 minutes.
Freezing components of this bowl
Unfortunately, you cannot freeze these bowls but you can freeze various components of the recipe. Freeze the chickpeas after they have been baked, and freeze the butternut squash for a later date. Though I don't recommend making these components for freezing, it's a great option if you have extra leftovers.
More healthy bowl recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this recipe into your weekly lunches.
- I love to use my Vitamix to make this tasty tahini dressing!
- I like this brand of tahini.
Kale and Quinoa Bowl + Roasted Chickpeas
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa cooked
Roasted Chickpeas
- 1 can chickpeas drained, rinsed and dried
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Veggies
- 1 cup kale
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 cup butternut squash cubed (about 1/2 squash)
- 1/2 cup frozen green peas defrosted
- 1/2 red pepper sliced
- 1/2 red onion sliced
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup parsley or cilantro chopped
- 1/2 avocado sliced
Tahini Dressing
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 pinch each salt & pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Toss chickpeas in olive oil, lemon juice, chili powder, garlic powder, salt & pepper, then cook on parchment-lined baking sheet in oven for 40 min.
- Place butternut squash on a separate baking sheet and cook for 20 min.
- Cook quinoa according to package directions (usually 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups of water in a rice cooker or pot on the stove until liquid has absorbed).
- Wash, chop and dry kale. Slice and prepare other desired veggies, then mix with kale, olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet, and cook in the oven until veggies are warmed and roasted, about 10 min.
- In the meantime, add ingredients under tahini dressing heading to a blender or food processor, then divide cooked quinoa among 4 bowls. Top with butternut squash, and additional tray of mixed veggies. Sprinkle fresh herbs overtop, and sliced avocado.
- Take chickpeas out of the oven, and top each bowl with about 1/2 cup of them. Finish by drizzling tahini dressing overtop of bowls and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Cathy Palleria says
Made your dish for my daughter and her coworker. They LOVED it. Making it again as we speak. Thanks for sharing.
Taylor Stinson says
YAY! Thanks so much for sharing with me Cathy! This bowl is one of my favourites too 🙂
Kylie says
Will this last in the fridge if I prep 5 of them for work lunches?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Kylie! Yes for sure – just make sure to keep the dressing separate 🙂
Miriam says
I love chickpeas and roasted veggies in a grain bowl. I put eggplant in mine. Can’t wait to try yours! Always looking for different ways to eat butternut squash!
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Heather – hope it worked out for you! I find tahini is kind of a rich nut butter that has a bit of a salty taste so maybe that combined with the salt can be a bit much! In any case, I adjusted the dressing recipe to read 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of salt so that should help in the future! I hope you liked this bowl, it’s one of my favourites 🙂
janet @ the taste space says
Looks fabulous and just my kind of winter meal. Always love to find other Toronto bloggers, too. 🙂
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks Janet!! Will have to pop on over to your blog more often..your gingerbread cookies look delicious!
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says
I’m definitely pinning this for later! This is like all of my favorite things in one bowl!
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks Liz! Let me know if you end up trying it 🙂
Carmella says
This looks sooooo good. The photos look so fresh and inviting, I feel like I need to make this salad right now!
Taylor Stinson says
Aww thanks Carmella!! I’m obsessed with warm winter salads 😉
Michele Harris Casey says
Oh my gosh…I made this the other night and I could eat it every day! It was unbelievably good!