Vegan Protein Bowl Recipes
Today we are making a Vegan Protein Bowl Recipe (a Buddha Bowl) with Miso Ginger Dressing! If you’re on social media, you probably know what the Buddha Bowl is. It’s like a vegan power bowl! When it comes to vegan protein bowl recipes, the terms “Buddha Bowl,” “Power Bowl,” and the likes are all very similar. In general, they’re a veggie bowl filled with salad, a protein source, a grain, and everything in between. You can add dressings, toppings, spices, use up fridge leftovers, and customize it to make it your own. It’s an awesome way to make a healthy meal!
Why call it “Buddha” Bowl though? Because Buddha is worshipped in parts of Asia, this name originated from the fact that he was a simple man who would carry a bowl with him through the roads of wherever he was staying at the time. People would put food in his bowl as a donation, so he would eat all the food he had been given in that bowl. It would have likely been a mix and match of different items, and healthy items at that, since processed food was unheard of in that time. Because of his simplistic way of living, these mix-and-match bowls we now make are named after Buddha!
Customize It!
Do you ever open the fridge to find a random green pepper lying in the back of the vegetable drawer, then you turn it to its side and notice a giant ugly patch of fungus growing? Yup, that’s happened to me too, sadly more times than I would like to say. But I’ve made more of an effort over the last few years to check the fridge and clean out (aka, eat) what’s not being used if I think it’ll be expiring soon (like a vegetable that might go bad in a few days).
This vegan Buddha Bowl recipe is great because it’s a way to use up all those colorful veggies that are leftover in the fridge that you might not take out and munch on directly. Case in point – I usually do not take raw cabbage, or cilantro, just to chomp on while I sit around. But if it has some oh-so-good dressing and a protein (tofu) with grains (noodles), it suddenly becomes so much more appealing to eat those leftover veggies!
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Protein Bowl Recipe
Never Get Bored!: There are so many different ways to make vegan protein bowl recipes, with all the various components. You can switch up the protein source, the grain, the fresh vegetables, the toppings and even the sauce. In this recipe, we use a miso ginger dressing to cover the protein, which makes it taste amazing because the flavorful sauce seeps into the tofu, which acts like a sponge!
Substitutions: Sauce
Miso-Ginger Dressing: Miso and ginger pair great together, so I wouldn’t make many substitutions for this part. Sesame oil also imparts a certain flavor. It definitely won’t be the same if you use a different type of oil, so I don’t recommend to substitute any other oil, like olive oil.
Tamari: This is a lower-sodium and gluten-free version of soy sauce. You can substitute with soy sauce, which does contain gluten though.
Maple Syrup: Use agave nectar instead.
Substitutions: Protein
Tofu: You can use tempeh, seitan, or a different plant-based protein here. The spices and sauces used are best for something that has the texture of tofu, but other vegan proteins like black beans, lentils or chickpeas may work too. Half a block of tofu, as used in the recipe, has about 28 grams of protein! This is not even counting the extra protein from all the other components of this recipe.
You can also use more vegetables with the sauce instead of the tofu, but there will not be enough protein in this dish as there would be with the tofu.
Substitutions: Grains
Rice Noodles: The sauce works really well with rice noodles. You can try another source of whole grains as well, such as brown rice, buckwheat or fluffy quinoa. Cauliflower rice can be a great way to make this a low-carb dish! For extra protein, choose a high-protein noodle, such as chickpea noodles.
Substitutions: Vegetables
Veggies: Use any amount of veggies you’d like! I just used whatever was in my fridge, but if raw cabbage and carrots are not your thing, switch it up! For example, use roasted butternut squash, red onion, roasted brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, parsley, basil, avocado, artichokes, olives, baby spinach, other leafy greens and so much more!
Substitutions: Toppings
Topping: Roasted peanuts are one of my favorite toppings in a salad or a bowl. They also add in healthy fats! I topped it with a lemon slice as well. You can add sesame seeds, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, lime juice or anything else you’d like on top. The flavor of peanuts usually go the best with tofu and rice noodles (or any savory noodle dishes). To keep the recipe nut-free, omit the peanuts.
Vegan Protein Bowl Recipe Notes
- I don’t recommend to meal prep the fully made recipe because it will get soggy. If meal prepping, keep the noodles, veggies, and tofu separate. Mix it all together the day you are ready to eat it, up to two days in advance.
More Plant-Based Meals & Easy Recipes
Brown Rice Pizza Crust with Cashew Cheese
Fettuccine Alfredo Sauce (without Cashews)
Sweet Potato Lasagna with Tofu Ricotta
If you make this Vegan Protein Bowl Recipe, then leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!
Vegan Protein Bowl Recipe with Miso Ginger Dressing
Equipment
- Stovetop Pan
- Whisk
Ingredients
For the Tofu
- ½ 14 oz extra firm tofu block water removed and cubed // press the water out by wrapping and squeezing it in a towel – not hard enough to break it, but just enough to drain the moisture before cubing it
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp tamari
- ½ tsp chili garlic sauce
- ¼ tsp rice vinegar
For the Veggies
- ¼ cup bean sprouts
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- ½ carrot shredded
- ⅓ cup lettuce chopped
- ¼ cup purple cabbage shredded
- 2 mini sweet red/yellow/orange peppers sliced lengthwise
For the Noodles
- ¼ pack dry vermicelli rice noodles about 113 grams
- ½ inch ginger, finely grated
- 1 large garlic clove finely grated
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp tamari
- 1 tbsp white miso paste
For the Topping
- 2 tbsp roasted peanuts crushed
- slice of lemon
Instructions
For the Tofu
- Take the cubed tofu and toss it with the cornstarch in a bowl.
- Turn on a stovetop pan over medium heat, and add the sesame oil to it.
- Whisk together the last 4 ingredients from the tofu section above in a small bowl.
- Once the oil is hot on the pan, add the tofu and the whisked items.
- Stir fry them together for a few minutes, until the tofu is starting to brown and get crispy. Once you can see that, remove it from the heat.
For the Noodles
- Boil the 1/4 pack of noodles according to the instructions on the package.
- Whisk together the rest of the items under the noodle ingredients above until they form a sauce.
- Once the noodles are cooked, pour this sauce over them. If there is extra sauce left that you don't want to use on your noodles, pour them over your veggies instead.
To Assemble
- Chop all the items under the veggies ingredients above.
- To arrange, put the noodles, crispy tofu, and raw veggies in a circle all around a shallow bowl. This should take up all the space, and the remainder of the items can go in the center of the bowl. It depends how big your bowl is, but this recipe made two bowls for me.
- Top with roasted peanuts and a slice of lemon.
- Enjoy right away!
Notes
-
Storage
- Do not store this recipe. It will get soggy!
