Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl

Serve this nourishing Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl over quinoa with black beans and an herby cilantro and parsley sauce.

Protein-packed vegetarian meal

Since getting completely hooked on these Buddha Bowls, I decided to swap a few ingredients to make a fun variation. This one is loaded with sweet potatoes, black beans, and a tangy chimichurri-type sauce. The result is an absolutely amazing meal, packed with nutritious ingredients that we can’t get enough of!

Some people think that meatless meals don’t have enough protein, but this veggie-packed meal is loaded with plant-based protein. The black beans and quinoa serve as  the main sources of protein in this Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl.

While I love a good meat-filled meal, I also love vegetarian food. And I believe it’s especially important to have a few delicious and filling vegetarian recipes on hand in times of quarantines and potential meat shortages. 

Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl ingredients

• Quinoa: Any grain works as the base for these bowls, and quinoa is our favorite. I like to cook the quinoa in vegetable broth or stock to boost the flavor.  Feel free to stir a few tablespoons of the herb sauce into the quinoa to add even more flavor.
• Sweet potatoes: I use the same seasoning mix from these mega-popular Roasted Sweet Potatoes to make the potatoes for these Buddha Bowls. The seasonings pair so well with everything else. 
• Black beans: To keep things quick and easy, we’re using canned beans; simply drain and rinse. Once the potatoes have roasted, toss the black beans on the tray with the potatoes to warm through and coat them in some of the delicious seasonings from the potatoes.
• Avocado: The optional avocado adds great creaminess (and healthy fats) to these bowls. If you aren’t an avocado aficionado, I recommend adding some other kind of creamy element like goat or feta cheese. A hard–boiled egg also makes a great avocado substitute.

Sauce tips

The sauce that tops these Sweet Potato Buddha Bowls isn’t complicated to make, but can be a little time consuming if made by hand. Personally, I think it’s best with hand-chopped herbs (hand chopping creates a more coarse and textured sauce), but you can save time by using a food processor or small blender. Here are a few other tips:

• Make the sauce ahead of time.  If you’re planning meals for the week (or meal prepping), I recommend making the sauce in advance. You might even want to double it and add it to whatever else you’re eating during the week. This herb sauce just gets more and more flavorful as it sits! And if you’re not making it ahead of time, prepare it first so it has a time to marinate and become more flavorful.
• Adjust red pepper flakes. If you don’t like heat or spice, leave them out. On the flip side, add more red pepper flakes for extra spice/heat.
• Make sure to completely dry the herbs. After washing the cilantro and parsley, take the time to fully dry them (a salad spinner makes this process go fast). If you use wet herbs, the sauce will taste watery and off.
• Use good quality, extra-virgin olive oil. The better your olive oil, the better the flavor of the sauce. Here are a few tips when trying to find a good olive oil and a list of chefs’ favorite olive oils. Cobram Estate® Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a current favorite of mine for this sauce (not sponsored).
• Stems are fine. Don’t pick all the leaves off the parsley and cilantro before chopping; the stems actually add flavor too. I cut off the bulk of the thicker bottom stems (or twist and tear those stems off), but use the rest of the stems in the sauce.

Variation ideas

• Try different roasted veggies, such as carrots, butternut squash, and beets.
• Add different fresh toppings, such as raw corn kernels, raw or pickled red onion, and chopped cherry tomatoes.
• Swap out the whole grain base for brown rice, farro, barley, or couscous.
• Top Sweet Potato Buddha Bowls with fresh herbs by adding any leftover coarsely chopped Italian parsley, cilantro, or some micro greens.
• Swap the chimichurri-type sauce for homemade or store-bought pesto.

How to meal prep Sweet Potato Buddha Bowls

• Divide the quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes, and black beans into meal prep containers.
• Store the sauce in a covered container or divide it into individual sauce containers.
• To assemble and enjoy: Add quinoa and sweet potato mixture to a plate or bowl and warm through in the microwave. Top with a few spoonfuls of the sauce.
• Chop an avocado to add in. (Store leftover avocado in a bag in the fridge and cut off any top browned layer before adding more in the next day.)

More healthy bowl recipes

• Chicken Quinoa Bowl with a mango black bean salsa
• Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burrito Bowls with the best sauce!
• Chicken Fajita Bowls with guacamole
• Cilantro Lime Shrimp Bowls with black beans and avocado
• Taco Bowl with ground beef

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5 from 4 votes

Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl

By Chelsea Lords

This Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl is a vibrant, nutritious meal! Roasted sweet potatoes are served over fluffy quinoa, paired with black beans, and topped with a refreshing cilantro-parsley sauce.

Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 27 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 7 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

• large sheet pan, 15 x 21-inch

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

Herb Sauce

• ▢ 3 to 4 cloves finely chopped garlic
• ▢ 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ▢ 1 lime
• ▢ 1/2 cup olive oil
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ▢ 1 tablespoon honey
• ▢ 1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro about 1 full bunch
• ▢ 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley about 1 full bunch
• ▢ Salt and pepper

Quinoa

• ▢ 1 cup quinoa
• ▢ 2 cups vegetable broth or water
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt

Seasoned Roasted Sweet Potatoes

• ▢ 2 pounds sweet potatoes about 3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 1 (15-ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
• ▢ Toppings as desired see note 1

Instructions 

• Herb Sauce: In a large mason jar (see note 2), add finely chopped garlic cloves, red wine vinegar, and 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice. Add olive oil, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, and honey. Seal and shake to combine. Finely chop parsley to get a full 1/2 cup (some stems are fine). Finely chop cilantro to get 1/2 cup. Add the 1/2 cup parsley and 1/2 cup cilantro to the jar and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I use 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Seal, shake, and place in the fridge overnight or let stand at room temperature while preparing everything else.
• Quinoa: In a medium pot, add quinoa (rinse in a fine mesh sieve first to remove saponin coating), vegetable broth, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover with a lid. Let cook 12–17 minutes or until water is mostly absorbed. Remove from heat, keeping the lid on, and let stand 15–20 minutes. Remove lid and fluff quinoa with a fork.
• Sweet Potatoes: Preheat oven to 425°F. Peel and cube sweet potatoes into 1/2-inch pieces. Add to a large sheet pan (15x21 inches) along with olive oil, chili powder, paprika, cumin, and garlic powder. Season to taste (I add 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Toss to coat sweet potatoes, then spread in an even layer. You don’t want potatoes overlapping or they’ll steam instead of roast. Flip every 10–15 minutes, cooking for a total of 27–35 minutes. Once potatoes are crisp tender, remove from oven and pour drained and rinsed black beans on the pan. Toss to combine.
• Divide quinoa evenly among bowls. Top with the seasoned sweet potato and bean mixture. Add 1/4 of a thinly sliced avocado to each bowl, along with some lime wedges if desired. Drizzle sauce generously over bowls (you may not use it all; sauce will keep for 5 days in the fridge). Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Toppings: 1 large avocado, 1 fresh lime, optional: additional parsley for garnish).

Note 2: I like the sauce best with hand-chopped herbs, but if you’re looking to save some time, here’s how to make chimichurri in a food processor:

• Add all ingredients except the parsley, cilantro, and olive oil to a food processor; use a mini-prep processor if possible.
• Pulse to chop—you want ingredients finely minced here.
• Add herbs—again pulse to chop, but this time you want the herbs to be a little more coarse (they’ll soften as they sit).
• Drizzle in oil—while the processor is running, drizzle in the oil to help thicken the sauce and chop the herbs a little more. Again, you don’t want this sauce to be smooth as it’s best with texture.

Storage: Store the assembled Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl in an airtight container, keeping the sauce separate. Both can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. Add the sauce before serving and reheat if needed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 472kcal | Carbohydrates: 80.6g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 31g | Sodium: 320.1mg | Fiber: 9.2g | Sugar: 8.4g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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