Quinoa Sweet Potato Bowl
Imagine a sheet pan vegan recipe that ends up looking like a rainbow on a plate… This quinoa sweet potato bowl is exactly that recipe, and it’s meal prep friendly, too!
As much as I love salads, cold Canadian winters require something a little warmer. My alternative to summer salads are winter nourish bowls like this quinoa sweet potato bowl, mediterranean veggie bowl, and vegan harvest bowl.
Simple and accessible recipes are kind of my signature. Both of PlantYou cookbooks are packed with beginner-friendly vegan recipes and feature vibrant infographics to help you easily view the ingredients.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The more the merrier! Think of all the plants intros recipe: quinoa, sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, chickpeas… That’s before we account for spices, herbs, and the dressing ingredients.
- Having such a great variety of ingredients covers all bases. You get fiber, carbs, fat, and protein in just one bowl!
- This quinoa sweet potato bowl is cozy and comforting, perfect for colder months.
- Aside from quinoa and the dressing, this recipe is made with a single sheet pan. Perfect for meal prep and multitasking.
- Endless potential to modify the recipe to your taste or simply keep things interesting.
Key Ingredients
- Quinoa is the “grain” base of this bowl – technically, a seed – that is easy to cook and pair with other flavors.
- Sweet potatoes add extra carbs and fiber to the dish, as well as a splash of color and sweetness.
- Heirloom carrots are perfect for roasting. The process releases sweet, earthy flavors and softens the carrots.
- Broccolini (also known as tender stem broccoli) is an excellent green component that goes well with almost any type of dish.
- Chickpeas are a cheap and allergen-friendly source of plant-based protein.
- Cashews are a great vegan alternative to dairy when making creamy ranch dressing. Blended with mustard, vegan yogurt, maple syrup and parsley, it makes a delicious drizzle for the quinoa sweet potato bowl.
Hack It!
- If you have a cashew allergy (or nut allergy), swap them for raw sunflower seeds. You can pre-soak the seeds to make the blending process easier.
- Instead of quinoa, you can also use rice, buckwheat, farro, or couscous.
- Instead of chickpeas, use your favorite beans, tofu cubes, or rehydrated soy protein chunks.
- Sweet potatoes can be swapped for regular potatoes, butternut squash, pumpkin, or even plantain.
- As for other vegetables, you can get as creative as you like! Cauliflower, parsnips, Brussels sprouts – just make sure they cook thoroughly in the oven.
- Finally, you can swap out the sauce. Try this recipe with green goddess dressing, easy peanut sauce, tahini drizzle, or vegan bang bang sauce.
How to Make Quinoa Sweet Potato Bowl
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment or oil.
Add sweet potato, carrots, broccolini and chickpeas to the sheet pan. Season with paprika, garlic powder and dried parsley, concentrating on the chickpeas.
Step 2: Drizzle with oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are soft.
Step 3: Prepare the ranch dressing by adding all listed ingredients apart from the parsley to a high-speed blender.
Step 4: Combine in a blender until smooth. Then, stir in the dried parsley.
Step 5: While the vegetables are in the oven, cook the quinoa according to package directions. Try to time it so that it’s ready at the same time as sweet potatoes and chickpeas.
Step 6: Serve the vegetables over the quinoa, and drizzle with the sauce. Enjoy immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Either! It tastes amazing straight out of the oven, but it also makes an awesome “salad” bowl after being refrigerated. Alternatively, you can reheat the bowl, minus the dressing, before enjoying it later.
In the fridge, it lasts up to four days. Perfect for meal prep!
It is, and you don’t even have to swap out a single thing. All of the ingredients are naturally free of gluten.
More Plant-Based Sheet Pan Recipes
If you’re an adventurous cook who likes to try new recipes every week, you’ll love the PlantYou Planner! It’s an interactive meal planner app that’s fully vegan and largely WFPB. You get to choose from over 600 delicious recipes to create your own meal plan, or follow one of the plans curated by our team. In addition to all that, the app provides allergy swaps for most recipes and generates a custom shopping list. How amazing is that?
The Recipe: Quinoa sweet potato bowl
Ingredients
- ½ cup quinoa, dry
- 2 sweet potatoes, medium, orange or purple, cubed
- 10 heirloom carrots, small, or large cut in half
- 2 bunches broccolini
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- salt and pepper, to taste
- olive oil, optional, a drizzle
Vegan Ranch Dressing
- ½ cup cashews, pre-soaked if needed
- 1 cup vegan yogurt
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
Equipment
- Parchment Paper or oil
- Small pot to cook the quinoa
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment or oil.
- Add the sweet potato, carrots, broccolini and chickpeas to the sheet pan. Cover with the paprika, garlic powder and dried parsley, concentrating on the chickpeas until they are a completely coated in spices.
- Drizzle with oil, salt and pepper, and place in the oven for 25 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are soft.
- In the meantime, cook the quinoa according to package directions.
- Prepare the ranch dressing by combining all ingredients apart from the parsley in a blender until smooth. Stir in the dried parsley.
- Serve the vegetables over the quinoa, and drizzle with the sauce. Enjoy immediately, or store in the fridge for up to four days.
Notes
- If you have a cashew allergy (or nut allergy), swap them for raw sunflower seeds. You can pre-soak the seeds to make the blending process easier.
- Instead of quinoa, you can also use rice, buckwheat, farro, or couscous.
- Instead of chickpeas, use your favorite beans, tofu cubes, or rehydrated soy protein chunks.
- Sweet potatoes can be swapped for regular potatoes, butternut squash, pumpkin, or even plantain.
- As for other vegetables, you can get as creative as you like! Cauliflower, parsnips, Brussels sprouts – just make sure they cook thoroughly in the oven.
- Finally, you can swap out the sauce. Try this recipe with green goddess dressing, easy peanut sauce, tahini drizzle, or vegan bang bang sauce.
