After a weekend of sweets and treats, this fall Buddha bowl with maple tahini dressing is the perfect way to eat all the veggies that you missed out on this weekend. This gluten free, vegan Buddha bowl will quite literally make you crave vegetables! It's the maple tahini dressing paired with all the best fall vegetables like butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower rice and arugula. I could quite literally eat this everyday.
Every week I take 1-2 hours to meal prep. I prepare a good amount of the food I expect us to eat during the week, and this process always has some of the same main foods, quinoa, cauliflower rice, roasted butternut squash and roasted sweet potatoes. For Dave I also make some ground turkey, ground beef or pork tenderloin for him to eat throughout the week. During this time, especially now that it's getting chilly I like to make a the ultimate chili or hearty brown rice and lentil soup as well. I try to chop veggies so that I can quickly assemble a salad for lunch everyday. If I have time I will make 1 or 2 homemade dressings as well.
This whole process takes an hour or two and it saves me so much time later in the week. I have roasted veggies, quinoa, cauliflower rice already ready to be part of any meal! So instead of lunch and dinner being a big ordeal, it's usually more of an assembly process where I add flavor with dressing, sauce or spices. I have done meal prep for so long, I can't imagine my life without it. If you don't already meal prep, I certainly recommend it!
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So this Buddha bowl only took me about 10 minutes to assemble from start to finish, and that's only because I wanted to include some sauteed Brussels sprouts that I didn't have premade from my meal prep. While the Brussels sprouts were cooking, I made the dressing and chopped the roasted red peppers and the apple. Be sure to double or triple this recipe, the arugula holds up well and can last 2-3 days for lunch or dinner. I would keep the dressing off the salad if you are storing it for later.
The maple tahini dressing is certainly the star of this fall Buddha bowl. Check out how easy it is to make your own dressing at home in the video below and make sure to grab a dressing shaker (affiliate) to make it even easier! Have you gotten on the tahini bandwagon? You have got to try it if you haven't! Tahini is made from roasted sesame seeds; just like peanut butter or almond butter is made. Dave is allergic to sesame seeds, so this dressing was ALL FOR ME! The tahini is paired with grainy mustard and maple syrup, and I swear this dressing could make cardboard taste magical. It's that good. It would be a great marinade for chicken, turkey, pork or salmon as well.
This fall Buddha bowl is filled with cauliflower rice, butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, roasted red peppers, thinly sliced apples, chick peas, hemp hearts and arugula. But feel free to add whatever you have on hand. Roasted beets, lentils, roasted sweet potatoes, quinoa would also be perfect in this fall Buddha bowl as well. Just because it's getting cold outside doesn't mean that salads have to disappear. Make them fun and interesting with fall flavors and use more hearty bases like arugula and kale to hold up to these bold flavors.
If you love Buddha bowls, make sure to check out this Asian Zoodle Buddha Bowl!
Video of how to make Healthy Homemade Dressing
Fall Buddha Bowl with Maple Tahini Dressing
Recipe Video
Ingredients
Buddha Bowl
- 1-2 bags organic arugula
- 2 cups cauliflower rice
- 2 cups butternut squash
- 1 apple - sliced thin
- 4 roasted red pepper - from a jar, chopped
- 1 cup chickpeas
- 10-15 Brussels sprouts - thinly sliced
- 4 tbs. hemp hearts
Maple Tahini Dressing
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 2 tbs. maple syrup
- 6 tbs. white balsamic vinegar - or white wine vinegar
- 2 tbs. whole grain mustard - I used Trader Joe's
- 3-6 tbs. water - depending on how you like your dressing
Instructions
- To make the butternut squash, peel and cut into cubes (removing the seeds), roast for 30 minutes at 425F on a lightly greased pan (I use coconut oil).
- To make the cauliflower rice, see instructions in this post.
- To make Brussels sprouts, thinly slice the Brussels Sprouts, and add to a medium skillet with 1 tsp. coconut oil. Saute for 5 minutes over medium to medium high heat. Add pinch of salt.
- To make the Buddha bowls, divide the arugula between 4 bowls.
- Top each bowl of arugula with 1/4 of the Buddha Bowl ingredients above.
- Make the Maple Tahini Dressing by combining the ingredients in a mason jar and shaking vigorously for 30 seconds with the lid tightly screwed on.
- Pour over Buddha bowl and enjoy! I enjoyed this with cold vegetables the next day for lunch and it was fantastic cold.
- Prep time indicates meal prep time. You can roast the butternut squash, the Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower rice in under 30 minutes if you don't have it on hand. Cook time indicates the time it takes to make the dressing and divide the vegetables.
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Nutrition Information
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What about you?
- Do you meal prep?
- What are your favorite fall vegetables?
- Do you make your own dressing?
Elaine
This looks so yummy!! and super healthy too!! Thanks for sharing on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday!! Hope to see you again! Pinned!
Karly
This looks delicious! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
Amy J
My favourite cafe in the whole world serves a different Buddha Bowl each week and they’re the most delicious things! I have wanted to make my own at home but thought I would be so crap at putting one together, but this is really inspiring! I have Pinned it for later 🙂
KC the Kitchen Chopper
This bowl has me drooling. It’s a dish right up my alley. I am curious as to what makes a “Buddha bowl” a Buddha bowl. Is it the ingredients or the style or what.
Theresa @DearCreatives
This sounds and looks amazing. Thanks for sharing at the party! Pinned & sharing. I can’t wait to make a version of this recipe.
Keri
This sounds fantastic. I love how you incorporated fall flavors!
Kathryn Doherty
I could absolutely eat this every day too! I love a Buddha bowl, and I love the combination of veggies you used here – ALL the good stuff! I always make my own dressings and this one sounds super tasty. YUM, thanks for sharing!
Jenna @ A Savory Feast
You always have the coolest buddha bowl ideas! This is so colorful and pretty. I can’t wait to try it!
Liora at Allthingsloveli.com
This looks so delicious! Definitely how I like to eat. Tahini also makes everything 100x better!
Anne
I love anything in a bowl. This looks amazing – I love cauliflower rice. Thanks for sharing!
Ginger Wroot
Love the name of this dish, and how fresh and tasty it looks! You’ve inspired me to set aside an hour or so during the weekend so that weeknights will be easier to eating healthier!
Shadi
Totally my type of food! I love fall veggies and this year my obsession is acorn squash, have already posted one acorn squash dish on my blog and I’m gonna post another one. I love the use of tahini in this dressing and also apples! Wonderful recipe!
Lilly
I’ve made numerous different variations of “Buddha Bowls,” but never have I included cauliflower rice or brussel sprouts. And this lemon tahini dressing is different from my usual and sounds amazing! These types of recipes are just the best because you get to just throw everything in a bowl and every bite is different. So excited to make this!
Kat
I never buy tahini because aside from hummus, I never know what to do with it! Definietly changing that now! This salad sounds incredibly good. I can’t believe all the nutrition stuff in there!
jill conyers
I love buddha bowls! This looks delicious Sam.
Annmarie
Oh my goodness gracious, this looks amazing!!! I could so go for a bowl of this right now.
Jen
That maple tahini dressing is on point! All my favorite things in one bowl! Yum!
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner
ooh the tahini dressing looks amazing! I haven’t made cauliflower rice in a while looks like a great reason to make it again. Yum!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
All the nutrients!!!! Love these types of bowl meals!
I’m just crushing hard on all the cauli and brussels right now!
Gretchen | Gretchruns
Oh my gosh..this looks SO good. I have to try it..I just have to! Thank you for the food-spiration this morning!
Jess @hellotofit
Sam, this may be my favorite Buddha bowl so far! I love all of the ingredients you chose, and the peppery deliciousness of the arugula complements all of the toppings, I’m SURE of it. Happy Monday!
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy
That dressing sounds really good! I make a lot of hummus, and always have loads of tahini left over that I don’t know what to do with it. I am going to make this next time I have tahini to use.
Susie @ SuzLyfe
This. Sounds. AH MAZING
rachel@ atheltic avocado
this could not get any better since its filled with all of my favorite foods! perfect lunch and dinner 🙂