Mediterranean Buddha Bowl

Buddha bowls are one of my favorite things. I love the idea of throwing a bunch of nutritious ingredients together in a bowl with a yummy sauce and having my meal ready to go! This Mediterranean Buddha Bowl is one of my go-tos and I hope you give it a try!

If you want to prep this on the weekend and have it ready to go throughout the week, I recomend making the tabbouleh, dill sauce, and lentils ahead of time. You can also chop your veggies and have them ready to go. Then during your busy mornings you can quickly throw it all in a bowl, pack it, and you’re on your way!

Ingredients

• Green lentils – lentils are full of protein and fiber, making them a nutritious addition to plant based meals! We are keeping ours pretty simple for this recipe – you can either cook them and keep them plain, or add just a bit of lemon juice and herbs for some variety!
• Tabbouleh – we are making my Quinoa Tabbouleh for this bowl, and it’s one of my faves! If you want to keep the recipe even simpler, you could just use quinoa here (or leave it out completely). But I really love the flavor that the tabbouleh adds!
• Dill dressing – for some big flavor, we are basically making a dill dressing out of hummus! Super easy to blend up and add to your bowl.
• Artichokes, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers – you can really use whatever veggies make you happy here, but these are my suggestions! The artichokes are my personal favorite here.
• Spinach – my green of choice for this bowl!
• Avocado, kalamata olives, and hemp seeds – optional but delicious! I love topping my bowl with these for some extra nutrients, healthy fats, and flavor. Feel free to just use one or two if you don’t want to add all three!

How to Make a Mediterranean Buddha Bowl

Before making this recipe, you’ll want to chop your veggies and make the Quinoa Tabbouleh! After that, you can follow this recipe and be a happy camper.

1. Cook your lentils
2. While lentils cook, blend your dill dressing
3. After lentils have cooked and cooled, add in optional seasonings
4. Put everything together your bowls!

Tips & Tricks

• Not a dill fan? No worries! You can just use hummus in place of the dill dressing if you’d like. You can thin it down with a bit of water or lemon juice if you’d like a more dressing-like consistency!
• To make the dill dressing super quick, use your favorite store-bought hummus. But if you’re feeling a little wild, check out the hummus recipe from my ebook and use that! It’s oil-free and delicious.
• Spinach is my green of choice, but any green will do! Try romaine, arugula, or anything else you have on hand.
• To cook your lentils, you can follow package directions or you can cook them in the Instant Pot! The recipe includes directions on how I use my instant pot for this.
• Have fun with your veggies! Here I’m using cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and artichokes. But use whatever speaks to you! Roasted eggplant or pickled red onions would be my next choices.
• As always, play with the spices and flavors however you wish! There’s a lot going on here flavor-wise, so make it work for your personal preferences. You could add more or less dill to the dressing, more or less lemon juice to the tabbouleh, etc.

Enjoy!

Mediterranean Buddha Bowl

Recipe by Delaney Romero – Joyful BalanceCourse: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: Mediterranean, Buddha Bowl

Servings

4-5

servings

Prep time

40

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

This Mediterranean Buddha Bowl is FULL of flavor! The base of this bowl is green lentils and Quinoa Tabbouleh, filled up with lots of veggies and a delicious dill dressing. Feel free to mix up the veggies with whatever you’ve got on hand if desired!

*NOTE: Prep time includes time to make the Quinoa Tabbouleh and to chop your veggies. If you want to also make hummus from scratch (for the dill dressing), this will add another 5-10 minutes of prep.

Ingredients

• Green Lentils

• 2/3 cup dried green lentils

• Optional: salt, to taste

• Optional: 1/2 – 1 Tbsp lemon juice

• Optional: 1 tsp dried oregano (or another dried herb of choice)

• Dill Dressing

• 1/2 cup hummus (store bought or homemade – I used the recipe from my free ebook)

• 1.5 Tbsp dill

• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

• 1/2 Tbsp water

• Buddha Bowl:

• Dill Dressing (recipe above)

• Green Lentils (recipe above)

• 2 cups Quinoa Tabbouleh

• 3 cups spinach, roughly chopped

• 1 can artichoke hearts, chopped

• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered or halved

• 4 mini cucumbers, diced

• Optional Toppings

• Avocado, sliced

• Kalamata olives

• Hemp seeds

Directions

• Cook lentils: Start by cooking your lentils according to package directions, or cook in the Instant Pot. (To cook in the instant pot: add 2/3 cup dried lentils and 1 cup of water to the Instant pot. Set at high pressure for 8 minutes, let it naturally release for 10 minutes, and then quick release.) While your lentils are cooking, move onto the next step.
• Make dressing: Make your dill dressing by combining hummus, dill, lemon juice, and water to a blender. Blend until very smooth. If you’d like to adjust the consistency to make it thinner, add more lemon juice or water as desired.
  
• Season lentils (optional): Once your lentils are done cooking, allow to cool and then mix in the optional salt, lemon juice, and dried oregano (if using).
• Make your bowls: Dividing your ingredients into 4-5 bowls, create your bowls by adding your lentils, quinoa tabbouleh, spinach, artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers to your bowls. Add any additional toppings that you’d like, and finish with a drizzle of the dill dressing.

Happy cooking, friends! If you made this recipe don’t forget to tag me (@joyfulbalanceofficial) on facebook or instagram so I can cheer you on for your bowl-making ways.

Stay joyfully balanced!