If someone told you they have an extremely easy recipe with tons of health benefits and a delicious taste, would you try it? You’d be crazy not to, right?
Well, we’re that someone. And this rainbow tofu buddha bowl is going to blow your mind. So, let’s do this!
📖 About
It’s obvious we didn’t come up with the idea of a buddha bowl. Whoever did is a genius though, and we would like to meet this person.
However, since the first time we tried one many years ago, we have been experimenting with all different types. The only criteria we have for buddha bowls is to be colorful, fresh, and served with a delicious sauce.
Buddha bowls are the perfect plant-based meal because they are so well balanced. With grains, proteins, and lots of vegetables, this recipe should be eaten every day.
We especially love buddha bowls because you can throw basically whatever ingredients you have on hand into a bowl, whip up a sauce, and there you have it! There are no excuses not to try one.
🍲 Key ingredients
These are the key ingredients we used in our recipe, but remember, there are infinite amounts of variations to choose from.
- Sweet potatoes: the sweet flavor and creamy texture of roasted sweet potatoes will never get old to us. They make any buddha bowl better tasting and more filling. You can use regular potatoes too, but we find sweet potatoes just make your bowl that much more tasty.
- Tofu: this is such a versatile source of protein, especially for vegans and vegetarians. We love making large cubes and baking it with a marinade. The water evaporates leaving you with a chewy texture on the inside, yet crispy on the outside.
- Brown rice: using brown rice is a nice little hack to add some more fiber in your day. But, feel free to switch this out for white rice or quinoa if you want to.
- Carrot: ever heard that carrots are good for eyesight? They are loaded with vitamin A, which is good for your eyes and helps you to see things at night. Do we have night vision goggles yet?
- Peas: another, often overlooked, source of plant protein. These little guys have 8 grams of protein per cup. Talk about big things coming in small packages.
- Cabbage: we always try to include as many colors in our buddha bowls as possible. Did you know red cabbage actually has some of the highest antioxidant levels of any food?
🔪 Instructions
To begin with, you’ll cube the tofu and toss it in some marinade. It’s best to let it sit overnight, but don’t worry if you forget. It will still taste delicious!
Throw some rice on in a pressure cooker or pot. Then, bake the sweet potatoes and tofu while you prepare your other ingredients.
While the tofu and sweet potatoes bake, cut your fresh veggies and sauté the green peas.
Get your sauce ready. These bowls are just asking for a creamy cilantro lime dressing.
Once everything is prepped, the fun part begins. You get to build your bowl any way you want. Typically, they are built like a happy buddha belly. Nice and round.
🌡️ Storage
The ingredients for buddha bowls are great for prepping ahead of time to use for lunches all week long. You can store it all in the fridge for about 4-5 days.
💭 Budget tips
We think everyone should be able to eat better for less, so here are a few tricks to make this recipe even more affordable:
- Trade your tofu in for a legume like beans or chickpeas
- Use white instead of brown rice
- Swap out the liquid aminos for soy sauce (remember soy sauce contains gluten)
🍴 Tasting notes
This is one of our favorite meals to enjoy, and we know it will quickly become one of yours too. It’s:
- Filling
- Saucy
- Full of plant protein
- Fresh
- Simple
If you try this recipe, please rate it and leave us a comment below! Want to stay up-to-date with new recipes? Subscribe to our newsletter or connect with Broke Bank Vegan on social media. Happy eating!
Rainbow Tofu Buddha Bowl
Equipment
- Pressure cooker
- Baking pan
- Large mixing bowl
- Frying pan
Ingredients
Rice
- ¾ cup uncooked brown rice ($0.29)
- ¾ cup water ($0.00)
Buddha Bowls
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed ($0.70)
- 1 ½ tbsp olive oil ($0.18)
- 2 tsp garlic powder, divided ($0.04)
- 1 brick extra firm tofu, cubed large ($1.42)
- 2 tbsp liquid aminos ($0.36)
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast ($0.25)
- 1 cup frozen green peas ($0.21)
- 1 medium red bell pepper ($0.83)
- 2 medium carrots, shredded ($0.28)
- 1 cup red cabbage, shredded ($0.16)
- 2 cups spinach ($0.34)
- Sea salt and pepper to taste ($0.02)
Garnishes optional
- Avocado cream sauce
- Avocado slices
- Lime wedges
- Red onion slices
Instructions
- Rinse the rice and start cooking it in an instant pot. Alternatively, you can cook it in a pot on the stove with a ratio of 1:1 ¾ cups rice to water. Then, preheat your oven to 350°F, and line two baking pans with parchment paper.
- Lightly coat sweet potatoes with oil of choice, 1 tsp garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper. Spread evenly on a parchment-lined pan, and bake for 25-30 minutes, mixing halfway.
- In a large bowl, coat tofu cubes with the rest of the garlic powder, nutritional yeast, liquid aminos, salt, and pepper to taste. Spread evenly on the second baking pan, and cook for 25-30 minutes at 350°F, turning halfway.
- Heat ½ tbsp of oil in a pan on low, and cook the green peas until heated through about 3-5 minutes. Season with a pinch more garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- In the meantime, cut up the rest of your fresh vegetables and set them aside.
- Once the rice, sweet potatoes, and tofu are done, start assembling the bowls. Begin with a layer of brown rice, then spinach, tofu cubes, sweet potatoes, and the rest of the vegetables. Garnish with red onion slices, lime juice, avocado slices, and dressing.
Notes
- You can make this oil-free for lower fat content. Just substitute the oil for lemon juice.
- Marinate the tofu overnight to enhance the flavors.
- Optional ingredients are not reflected in the price or calories of our recipes.
- We calculate nutritional information for our recipes with Cronometer.
- Recipe cost calculations are based on ingredients local to us and may vary from recipe-to-recipe.
- All prices are in USD.
Nutrition
♻️ Similar recipes
For more tasty dish ideas, check out our:
- Vegan poke bowl if you’re wanting some deconstructed sushi with tons of nutrients.
- Ramen noodle bowl for a spicy and creamy vegan broth that’s ready for slurping.
- Spicy peanut noodle bowl for a filling bowl inspired by Southeast Asia that’s guaranteed to transport your tastebuds.
- Teriyaki tofu and vegetable stir fry for an easy weekday meal that tastes like it took much longer than it did.
- Vegan spam to get all your plant-based protein needs!
💬 FAQ
Marinating tofu overnight is not necessary, but it will allow the tofu to soak up more of the flavors.
You can absolutely make this recipe with quinoa! It works well with any type of rice, quinoa, or even rice noodles.
You do not need to bake the tofu. You can also fry it if you want.
