Do you remember back in 2018 (or thereabouts) when Instagram was filled with nourish bowls of every variety? Like with every trend, they have their time to shine and then they kind of just go away. Well I think it’s about time for a nourish bowl resurrection, don’t you? I mean, nourish bowl is essentially a fancy name for salad anyway, don’t you think? This nourish bowl is filled with yummy roasted veggies, earthy quinoa, marinated butter beans (yum!) and lots of other nourishing ingredients. It’s then finished off just perfectly with my Lemon Tahini Dressing.
Jump to Recipe
What’s to love about nourish bowls?
- allergy friendly – this recipe is gluten free, dairy free, egg free and can easily be made nut free and vegan.
- healthy – packed with wholesome, whole food ingredients, these nourish bowls make for the perfect healthy lunch or light dinner.
- great for meal prepping – whip this recipe up and divide between four airtight containers for delicious and healthy meal prepped lunches.
- good protein source – these nourish bowls provide protein thanks to the butter beansquinoa and walnuts. If you like you can add shredded chicken for a protein boost.
Ingredients Notes & Substitutions
Below is everything you will need to make this easy and healthy recipe, as well as any possible substitutions and ingredient notes. Find the full recipe in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- quinoa – I have used Australian quinoa, which surprisingly is somewhat different to other quinoa in that it is more grainy when cooked and not very fluffy. I love both varieties of quinoa and it doesn’t make a difference to this recipe which one you use. You can also swap the quinoa for other grains like brown rice, farro (not gluten free) or amaranth.
- sweet potato – roasted sweet potato makes this recipe even more filling. Feel free to swap for pumpkin, squash or parsnip.
- cauliflower – because cauliflower can do no wrong, especially when roasted in olive oil, salt and pepper, yum! You can swap cauliflower for broccoli (just don’t roast as long, 30 minutes should be fine).
- capsicum – I’ve used red capsicum but you can use green or yellow as well, it really doesn’t matter. Other vegetables that you can swap capsicum for include green beans, carrots, radish or zucchini.
- sea salt flakes
- cracked black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil – I always opt for extra virgin olive oil as it is much healthier and less processed then other oils, meaning it retains more of it’s nutritional value.
- butter beans – I love butter beans as they have a lovely, tender texture. You can swap butter beans for chickpeas if desired.
- Italian herbs – if you don’t have a dried Italian herbs blend then you can use a combination of dried thyme, dried oregano and dried rosemary.
- kale – I’ve used curly kale in this recipe but you can also use Tuscan kale. If you’re not a kale lover then feel free to swap for other leafy greens like mixed lettuce leaves, beet greens, baby spinach or arugula (rocket).
- walnuts – I love walnuts as they’re a great source of plant based omega 3 (healthy fats). You can swap for other nuts like almonds, cashews or pistachio. To make nut free swap for toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and sunflower seeds.
- avocado – filled with healthy fats, fat soluble vitamins (like vitamin a, e, d and k) and fibre.
- red onion
- lemon juice
Tahini Dressing Ingredients
- hulled tahini
- apple cider vinegar
- honey (swap for pure maple syrup to make vegan)
- lemon juice
- dijon mustard
- sea salt
- extra virgin olive oil
How to Make Nourish Bowls
There are a few steps involved in making these bowls but trust me, it’s worth the effort! Follow my step-by-step instructions to make the best nourish bowls!
Roast the veggies
Preheat the oven and line two large baking trays (sheet pans) with parchment paper. To one of the trays add the cubed sweet potato, drizzle with olive oil and season with half of the salt and then pepper to taste. Toss to coat evenly and then spread out into a single layer. Place into the oven and set the timer to 15 minutes.
Next add the capsicum strips and cauliflower to the second tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with the remaining salt and then pepper to taste. Toss to coat evenly and then spread out into a single layer. When the timer goes off, place into the oven and set the timer for 45 minutes (the sweet potato will cook for an hour in total).
Cook the quinoa
Add the quinoa to a medium saucepan. Top with water and swish with your hands to clean. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and then return to the saucepan. Top with 1 1/4 cups water and bring to a boil. Once most of the water has been absorbed, turn off the heat and place the lid onto the saucepan. Allow to steam for at least 15 minutes.
Would you like to save this?
We’ll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Marinate the beans
To a small bowl add the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, Italian herbs and sea salt. Whisk to combine. Add the beans to the bowl and toss to combine. Set aside.
Make the dressing
Make the dressing as per the instructions.
Assemble the nourish bowls
To assemble, divide the chopped kale between four bowls or airtight containers followed by the quinoa and thinly sliced red onion. Next divide the roasted capsicum, cauliflower and sweet potato between the bowls, then the marinated butter beans, chopped walnuts, sliced avocado and then a dollop of dressing.
Meal prep tips
Make it High Protein
- Add shredded chicken to each nourish bowl for a protein boost.
Meal-prep it
- Divide the quinoa, roasted vegetables, kale, marinated butter beans, avocado and red onion between four lunch containers. Top with lemon tahini dressing.
- Squeeze lemon juice over the avocado to prevent it from browning or refrain from adding avocado until the day of eating.
- Place the lid on each container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Make it Vegan
- Swap the honey for pure maple syrup.
Nourish Bowl
Equipment
- Chopping Board
- Sharp knife
- Parchment paper
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 700 grams sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt flakes
- 1 red capsicum, core removed and cut into 1 cm strips
- ½ head cauliflower, cut into small florets
Marinated beans
- 400 grams canned butter beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt flakes
- ¼ teaspoon dried Italian herbs
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
To serve
- Lemon tahini dressing
- 4 leaves kale, stalk removed, roughly chopped
- 1/2 avocado, halved, seed removed, thinly sliced
- ½ red onion, peeled and finely sliced into rounds
- 1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line two large baking trays with baking paper and set aside.
- Add the cubed sweet potato to one of the lined baking trays. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, season with ½ the sea salt flakes and then pepper and toss to combine. Place into the oven to roast for 1 hour.
- To a second tray, add the capsicum strips and cauliflower florets. Drizzle with remaining olive oil, season with 1 teaspoon sea salt flakes and then pepper and toss to combine. Place into the oven and roast for 45 minutes. Once all vegetables are roasted, remove vegetables from the oven.
- Meanwhile, cook the quinoa. Place the quinoa into a large saucepan and top with water. Use your hands to swish the quinoa around to wash. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and then return to the saucepan. Top with 1 ¼ cups water. Place on the stovetop and bring to a boil. Continue boiling until most of the water has been absorbed. Place the lid onto the saucepan, turn off the heat and allow to steam for 15 minutes.
- While the quinoa is steaming, make the tahini dressing. Add a few tablespoons of water to the dressing to thin it out if it seems too thick.
- Next, to make the beans, to a medium bowl add the olive oil, honey, lemon juice, dried herbs, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Tip the drained and rinsed beans into the bowl and toss to coat in the marinade.
- To assemble nourish bowls, divide the cooked quinoa between four bowls or glass airtight containers. Top with kale, marinated butter beans, avocado, red onion, walnuts and shredded cooked chicken. Drizzle with lemon tahini dressing and serve.
Notes
Add shredded chicken to each nourish bowl for a protein boost. Meal-prep it
- Divide the quinoa, roasted vegetables, kale, marinated butter beans, avocado and red onion between four lunch containers. Top with lemon tahini dressing.
- Squeeze lemon juice over the avocado to prevent it from browning or refrain from adding avocado until the day of eating.
- Place the lid on each container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Swap the honey for pure maple syrup.
Like this recipe? Leave a comment!