My chickpea bowls are the delicious weeknight dinner you need in your life! Made with saucy, spiced chickpeas, roasted broccoli, and sweet potatoes over rice, all drizzled in creamy tahini dressing, these bowls are both nutritious and comforting. They're great for meal-prep too!
You've got to love a good meal bowl for dinner! Bowls are comforting, often quite nutritious, and great for meal-prep. You can't go wrong with my vegan burrito bowls or sheet pan tofu bowls. Both of those recipes use tofu as the star ingredient, but you know what else makes an awesome bowl? Chickpeas!
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Chickpeas are great because they're so hearty and satisfying, and convenient! I've always got a couple cans of chickpeas stashed away in the pantry.
For these bowls, we'll be cooking up our chickpeas in a spicy tomato sauce, and serving them over rice, along with roasted broccoli and sweet potatoes, and a creamy, dreamy tahini sauce. This is such a vibrant, nourishing meal, and it's easy enough for a busy weeknight.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Rice. Feel free to substitute another grain for the base of your chickpea bowls. Quinoa, millet, and farro would all be delicious!
- Sweet potato. Not a fan of sweet potatoes? Other root veggies can work in this recipe! Carrots, parsnips, and beets are great options.
- Broccoli. The broccoli can be swapped out too! Try cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, or green beans.
- Olive oil. Other high heat oils will also work in this recipe. Coconut oil, corn oil, canola oil, and avocado oil are all fine options.
- Salt and pepper.
- Tahini. Tahini is a type of sesame paste that's used in lots of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes. You can find it in the international aisle of most grocery stores.
- Lemon juice. Freshly squeezed lemon juice will give your tahini dressing the best flavor. Please don't use bottled!
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Spices. We're using curry powder, ground cumin, and cayenne pepper. All are available in most grocery stores, in the spice aisle.
- Chickpeas. We're keeping things simple and using canned chickpeas.
- Tomato sauce.
- Fresh cilantro. You can skip this if you don't like it. Simply leave it out, or try another fresh herb, such as parsley, chives, or scallions.
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Start cooking your rice first. Depending on the variety, it can be the component that requires the longest cook-time of the whole dish!
Dice your sweet potato, arrange the pieces on a baking sheet, and rub them with some olive oil. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
Give the broccoli the same treatment. Break it into florets, then hit them with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Place both baking sheets into a preheated oven.
Make the dressing while the veggies roast. Whisk tahini, lemon juice, and salt together, then thin the mixture with as much water as is needed to get the dressing just pourable, but still creamy.
Heat some olive oil in a skillet, then add diced onion. Cook the onion for a few minutes, to start softening it up, then add the garlic and spices. Cook everything briefly, stirring constantly.
Stir in the chickpeas and tomato sauce. Let the mixture simmer for just a few minutes, then take it off of heat and season it with some salt.
The sweet potato can come out of the oven when the pieces are easily pierced with a fork and lightly browned in spots.
And the broccoli is done when the pieces are tender and browned. It should take about the same amount of time as the sweet potato!
To assemble your chickpea bowls, divide the rice among four bowls, followed by the veggies and chickpeas. Drizzle everything with the tahini dressing and sprinkle with cilantro. Dig in!
Leftovers & Storage
If possible, store each component of this recipe separately in an airtight container in the fridge, then assemble the bowls just before eating them. If you can't make that work, no biggie! The rice, veggies, and chickpeas will each keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about three days, while the dressing will keep for about a week.
Frequently Asked Questions
They are!
The cayenne pepper adds a bit of a kick to the chickpeas. You can reduce the amount, or even omit it entirely for a milder dish. If you're not sure how much heat you can tolerate, wait until the chickpeas are done cooking and add just a bit of cayenne pepper at a time, until you're happy with the spice level.
It can! Simply skip the oil used for roasting the vegetables, and substitute water or vegetable broth to cook the onion in.
More Weeknight Dinner Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Spicy Chickpea Bowls with Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice
For the Roasted Vegetables
- 1 medium sweet potato, diced (about ½ inch)
- 1 medium broccoli crown, broken into florets
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For the Dressing
- ¼ cup tahini
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 3 tablespoons water, or more as needed
For the Chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 2 (15.5 ounce/439 gram) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 (8 ounce/226 gram) can tomato sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
For Serving
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Cook the rice according to the package directions.
- While the rice cooks, arrange the sweet potato and broccoli on separate baking sheets. Drizzle each with a half tablespoon of the olive oil, then use your hands to rub it in. Sprinkle the veggies with salt and pepper, then place the baking sheets into the oven. Roast the vegetables for about twenty minutes, until tender and lightly browned.
- Make the dressing while the veggies roast. Whisk the tahini, lemon juice, and salt together in a medium bowl. Thin the mixture with water, adding as much as you need to create a creamy but pourable consistency.
- To make the chickpeas, first heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion. Sweat the onion for about five minutes, until it starts to soften up, stirring often.
- Stir in the garlic, curry powder, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Cook the mixture for about a minute, stirring constantly, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the chickpeas and tomato sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer, lower the heat, and let the mixture cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the skillet from heat and season the chickpea mixture with salt.
- To assemble, divide the rice among four bowls, then divide the sweet potatoes, broccoli, and chickpeas among the bowls. Drizzle each bowl with tahini dressing and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve.
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