Chickpea Buddha Bowls
I came across the idea of Buddha bowls when I was writing my free vegan book with Leo from Zen Habits. Leo loves these ones from the Minimalist Baker and we were planning to include a recipe in the book but didn’t get it done.
In case you’re wondering, buddha bowls are “a bowl which is packed so full that it has a rounded ‘belly’ appearance on the top much like the belly of a buddha.”
How good does that sound!
The tricky thing with this recipe is the amount of chickpeas. One can will make two modest serves and two cans will give you a very round buddha!
There are 7 ingredients listed but one is water, which totally doesn’t count in my 6!
Chickpea Buddha Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch kale or other leafy greens, finely sliced
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce some for sauce and some for the greens
- 4 tablespoons tahini (120g / 4oz)
- 3 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1-2 cans chickpeas drained (400g / 14oz each)
- 1-2 teaspoons curry powder or 1t each cumin + paprika
Instructions
- Heat a good glug of oil in a large saucepan on a medium high heat. Add sliced greens and a splash of water. Cover and cook, stirring every now and then until the greens have just wilted down – about 5 minutes.
- While the greens are cooking, make your sauce by mixing together tahini, lemon / lime juice, 1-2 tablespoons soy sauce and 2 tablespoons water. Stir until smooth. Taste and season with more salt. If sauce is too thick add a little more water.
- When the greens are cooked, season with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce (or more) and divide between two bowls.
- Return the pan to the heat and add another big glug of oil, curry powder / spice and chickpeas. Cook for a minute or two until chickpeas are hot. Season with a little salt.
- Divide chickpeas between your bowls. And serve with a big dollop of the tahini sauce on each.
Variations & Substitutions
pantry-friendly – use frozen greens or other frozen vegetables. Vinegar can be used instead of lemon / lime.
more substantial (carb lovers) – use extra chickpeas or toss in some cooked grains like brown rice or quinoa. Or warm pita bread on the side.
keto / low carb – replace chickpeas with sausage or some cooked low carb veg like roast cauliflower or grilled zuchini / eggplant. Serve with poached eggs or cooked chicken or sausages to up the protein. A handful of roast nuts wouldn’t go astray. I like hazelnuts because they look similar to chickpeas.
home cooked chickpeas – 1 can = 250g / 8oz home cooked chickpeas. Use this recipe here substituting dried chickpeas for the beans.
different legumes – any cooked beans or lentils will work.
different spice! – any spice you like will work. Baharat (lebanese 7 spice), garam masala or ras el hanout are my next choices after the curry powder.
more veg – add in any cooked veg. Roast onions, eggplant, capsicum (bell peppers) or sweet potato would be nice.
Low FODMAP – replace chickpeas with minced chicken or pork or some sausage. Cook for longer until no longer pink. And don’t use the stems of the greens (these contain more fiber). Consider adding some extra low FODMAP veg like roast sweet potato or some steamed rice.
Carnivore – add some sausages or chicken.
paleo – replace chickpeas with cooked sausage. Replace soy sauce with fish sauce or salt.
family-friendly – use a mild curry powder / garam masala or choose the cumin + paprika option.
Waste Avoidance Strategy
kale / leafy greens – will keep in the fridge in a plastic bag uncooked for at least 2 weeks. Once cooked like this it will keep for a month or so in the fridge. Can be frozen both cooked or raw.
soy sauce / chickpeas / curry powder – keep it in the pantry.
tahini – I keep mine in the pantry but will keep longer in the fridge if open.
lemon / lime – whole lemon will keep wrapped in a plastic bag in the fridge for months.
Problem Solving Guide
bland – add salt first. If it still needs something try more soy sauce or lemon or lime. Or all of the above. IF that doesn’t work, throw your favourite hot sauce at it 😉 Next time use more spice or a different brand of curry powder.
too dry – drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil.
too hot! – next time use a milder curry powder. For now calm the heat with a dollop of yogurt, coconut milk or more tahini.
too much – next time don’t use all the chickpeas.
Prepare Ahead
Yes! Just cook as per the recipe but keep the sauce separately. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or can be frozen. To serve, warm chickpeas and greens. Divide between two bowls and top with the sauce.
Add to my Old Favourite Recipes
My family & I are learning to “try-on” new recipe concepts. I’m proud of my 3 teens for embracing the flavors and combinations we’ve not eaten before and even our autistic 7 year old tried each element of this meal. The biggest surprise was my “meat & rice” Hawaiian husband thanking me for serving healthy “Mediterranean food” and cleaning his plate. ? Thanks for helping me grow as a cook and embrace the SMP approach to nourishing my family!
Love it Jen!
We loved this recipe. I used a combination of sausage and chickpeas so my husband wouldn’t balk but I would definitely make this again!
Yum LOVE the idea of sausage with this Christine 🙂
For greens I steam fried two small heads of broccoli. To 1 tin of chickpeas for the protein part, I added two smoked chorizo (sliced), and had the result with avocado and rice (I meant to throw in some grilled capsicum but I forgot). Just the chickpeas and tahini sauce, and a bit of kale would be an extremely light meal. OK.
Nice addition with the chorizo and broccoli Mark – I find tahini and chickpeas really filling.
This time I made this to use up some mushrooms and a capsicum, plus the 1/2 a bunch of kale that I hadn’t made into “chips”, that I bought earlier this week, and an open jar of tahini and some curry powder that I hadn’t used for a while. I fried the mushrooms first, then the capsicum and kale, then made the spiced chickpeas (1 tin) and the tahini sauce. The mushrooms were a good contrast in texture and flavour to the chickpeas. Good.
oh yum Mark – inspired idea to use mushrooms here.
Will make this again. Somehow I over salted it, but that was my bad habit of adding fresh sea salt at the table. Added pumpkin seeds and parsley to finish. An avocado would have been devine.
Bummer about the seasoning Kesha – happens to the best of us! And yes for avocado!
This worked really well with one can of chickpeas. I didnt need to add any salt, even though I used low sodium chickpeas; the soy sauce had enough salt.I only needed one teaspoon of curry powder.
Excellent Paul!