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Roasted Garlic Buddha Bowl

A Roasted Garlic Buddha Bowl bursting with nutty brown rice, sweet roasted vegetables,wilted greens, crunchy raw green onions, sesame seeds & heavenly roasted garlic sauce.

A Roasted Garlic Buddha Bowl bursting with nutty brown rice, sweet roasted vegetables,wilted greens, crunchy raw green onions, sesame seeds & heavenly roasted garlic sauce.

I love bowls of food. There is something so comforting about eating a meal from a big deep bowl and as Buddha Bowls are all the rage at the moment and it is the kind of food I love, the time has come for me to put my own spin on it.

Buddha Bowls are intended to be filled with wholesome, simple food, piled high and rounded like the belly of a Buddha!

That sounds good to me so here is my Roasted Garlic Buddha Bowl.

Buddhists chant before and sometimes after their meals to express gratitude for their food. Did I get chanting when I presented my Roasted Garlic Buddha Bowls? No I didn’t, but I did get lots of ‘mmmms’ while they were gobbled up and the bowls were left scraped completely clean at the end of it. A sure fire sign of a good meal!

My Roasted Garlic Buddha Bowl has a brown rice base which is topped with generous amounts of roasted sweet potato, butternut squash, wilted spinach, edamame beans, marinated mushrooms and raw green onions, all drizzled with the most delicious roasted garlic sauce and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Heaven in a bowl!

If you are very observant you will notice that there is something missing from the bowl in the pictures above. I started snapping pictures and was almost done when I realized that the edamame beans were still sitting patiently in their hot water bath and I had forgotten to drain and add them to the Buddha Bowl.

Oops!

I liked the pictures though hence the reason I am still using them. Hopefully the edamame beans will forgive me for leaving them out of their spot in the limelight, especially as they feature in the picture below which I took as soon as I realized my faux pas!

If you are left with any of the Roasted Garlic Sauce (although it is so delicious that there probably won’t be) it keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days and is great served with just about anything, including veggie burgers, salad and potato wedges, or as a dip for chopped veggies.

Remember that I love to know what you think of my recipes so please let me know in the comments below. I would also like to see your pictures. Tag me on Instagram @avirtualvegan and add the hashtag #avirtualvegan so I don’t miss it!

Roasted Garlic Buddha Bowl

A Roasted Garlic Buddha Bowl bursting with nutty brown rice, sweet roasted vegetables,wilted greens, crunchy raw green onions, sesame seeds & heavenly roasted garlic sauce.
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin
Course: Entree, Main Course
Cuisine: gluten-free, vegan
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Makes: 2 servings
Calories: 599kcal
Author: Melanie McDonald

Ingredients

  • 180g | 1 cup uncooked brown rice
  • ½ small butternut squash , cubed
  • 2 small sweet potatoes , cubed
  • 1 tablespoons olive oil
  • 6 mushrooms
  • 4 handfuls of raw spinach
  • 60g | 1/2 cup edamame beans
  • 2 green onions , chopped
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon Tamari , or soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • salt and pepper , for seasoning
  • sesame seeds , for sprinkling

For the roasted garlic sauce

  • 2 squares of silver foil
  • 2 roasted bulbs of garlic (see instructions)
  • ½ lemon juice only
  • 5½ tablespoons tahini (you can sub cashew butter)
  • leftover marinade from the mushrooms
  • 80mls | 1/3 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon Tamari or soy sauce

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 400
  • Cut the top quarter off your whole garlic bulbs exposing the cloves inside.
  • Brush your foil with a little oil and place the large part of the bulb in the middle of the foil and draw it up around, squeezing tightly shut all over. Place in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes. Check they feels squishy through the foil. If they don't return to the oven for a few minutes more.
  • When ready allow to cool in the foil. (It might seem like a lot of garlic but once roasted the flavour mellows and won't be any where near as dominant as it would if you didn't roast it).
  • Brush your sweet potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place on a baking tray and put in the oven either with the garlic or after it is ready.
  • Toss your butternut squash cubes in a little olive oil, season and add to the tray with the sweet potatoes about 15 minutes later.
  • Roast the butternut squash and potatoes for about another 45 minutes or until both are tender.
  • In a small bowl mix together the teaspoon of sesame oil, the tablespoon of Tamari and and the 1 teaspoon of maple syrup.
  • Add the mushrooms to the bowl and allow to soak for a minimum of 10 minutes, stirring them every so often so they get covered in the marinade.
  • Cook your brown rice according to the directions on the package.
  • In the last 10 minutes add your mushrooms to the baking tray with the potatoes and squash, making sure to reserve the marinade.
  • Squeeze the roasted garlic out of each clove and into a food processor or blender. If you squeeze from the base of each they should pop out easily.
  • Add all the other sauce ingredients including the leftover mushroom marinade and blitz until smooth.
  • Heat a small fry pan and wilt your spinach over a medium heat with a tiny drop of oil and some salt and pepper.
  • Add your edamame beans to a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to stand for a few minutes while you assemble your bowls.
  • Start with some rice in each bowl, then top that with the spinach, mushrooms, butternut squash, some sweet potato sliced into rounds, the drained edamame beans and a sprinkling of green onions.
  • Drizzle over plenty of the roasted garlic sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
  • Dig in!

Notes

This recipe is very versatile. You can sub any of the vegetables for whatever you happen to have or use leftovers from a meal the night before and just warm them through until piping hot then add them to your bowl. However if you do not cook the mushrooms (or you cook them without marinading them first) then add the ingredients for the marinade into the sauce.
If you would like to reduce the fat content of this recipe then either use an oil spray to coat your vegetables or steam them (note that if you steam you won't get the same flavour as you do when roasting).
Nutritional information is calculated on 2 servings. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 599kcal | Carbohydrates: 86g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 23g | Sodium: 753mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 233% | Vitamin C: 36% | Calcium: 24% | Iron: 31%
Tried this recipe?Tag @avirtualvegan on Instagram and hashtag it #avirtualvegan


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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. bailey says

    May 9, 2017 at 1:10 pm


    switched up the sauce by adding lime, chili flakes, and ginger :) so delicious with any combo of veggies! :)

    Reply

  2. Georgina Burniston says

    September 19, 2016 at 10:03 am


    Made this yesterday for lunch for me and my mum as a break from gardening. I used brown jasmine and black venus rice, normal green beans as I didn’t have edamame and sprinkled with pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds as I’d already premixed it. Everything else I stayed true to the recipe. Sitting in the sun eating this was glorious! Very filling indeed and simply bursting with flavours and colour.. The mushrooms were a great surprise, marinated and cooked this way. Would definitely recommend and will be making again!

    Reply

    • A Virtual Vegan says

      September 19, 2016 at 7:29 pm

      Thank you so much Georgina! I am thrilled that you both enjoyed it so much. Your additions sound great and what a lovely setting to enjoy it in. It sounds like a perfect day :O)

      Reply

    • A Virtual Vegan says

      August 23, 2015 at 5:52 pm

      Thanks Letty. Yes roasting does mellow it and makes it super sweet and delicious. It isn’t overpowering at all. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

      Reply

  7. pragati says

    August 22, 2015 at 11:03 pm

    This looks YUM! I don’t really know what Buddha bowl means..i tried to do some research but was still unclear..I think your post has a lot of helpful detail..some people said that the bowl you use also matters, or that it should be the same bowl every time..

    Lots of food that looks good and is healthy, served in a single bowl – I guess that is my summation so far…not a bad one, eh?

    Reply

    • A Virtual Vegan says

      August 22, 2015 at 11:27 pm

      Thank you Pragati. I agree with your summation. Also because it’s so full of food it’s kind of rounded like a Buddha’s belly! ????

      Reply

  12. Madiha Nawaz says

    August 20, 2015 at 7:37 am

    This looks really delicious! I’ve never tried a Buddha bowl ever but after looking at your post, I’d really love to taste it someday :)
    Thanks so much for sharing! :)

    Reply

  19. Pretty Practical Pantry says

    August 19, 2015 at 2:00 pm

    I’m not a vegan, but this looks super appealing to me! I love everything in that bowl! It was so nice of the restaurant to take your dietary restrictions seriously and make you something as great as what you described. Vancouver rocks!

    Reply

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