The Healthy Broccoli Bowl
This pretty broccoli bowl may be simple, but it has a lot going for it. Here’s what I like about this little beauty.
1. TIMING
No fussy, high-maintenance meal here. Just sauté the onions, steam the broccoli, heat remaining ingredients, and assemble. The Broccoli Bowl can be prepared in 20 minutes or less.
2. EASY PEASY
The Broccoli Bowl is a cinch to make. No advanced cooking skills needed. No grating, basting, braising, flambéing, or filleting. Just simple cooking. Child’s play. (Oh, wait! Now there’s an idea! Convince your kids to make it for you. A delicious, healthy, home-cooked meal and you didn’t have to lift a finger.)
3. FEWER DISHES TO WASH
You may notice that in this recipe you sauté the onions and steam the broccoli in the same pan, and you heat the quinoa/rice and heat the beans in the same pan. Why? Because I like to eat, but I do not like to spend hours in the kitchen washing dishes.
4. THE SAUCE
The sauce. Oh, the sauce. Creamy. Rich. Tangy. This sauce makes the dish. (Pay no mind to the fancy drizzle of sauce in the picture below. I dollop the sauce all over my grains and veggies.)
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5. PLANT POWER
High in calcium, protein, iron, and antioxidants, this healthy bowl is straightforward, delicious, plant-based goodness.
6. HELPFUL FOR WEIGHT LOSS
Fiber is a key ingredient for healthy weight loss. And coming in at 39 grams of fiber per serving, this broccoli bowl makes it easy to meet surpass your fiber goals for the day!
7. GLUTEN-FREE
This dish is not only fast, easy, delicious, vegan, and slimming, it’s also gluten-free.
8. FLEXIBILITY
Prefer rice over quinoa? No problem. Want to sauté some bell pepper in with your onions? Go for it! A little cauli with your broccoli? By all means. Up the seasonings? Yep, you can do that. Embrace the flexibility here! Add, subtract, multiply, and adjust. Be your own broccoli bowl self.
The Broccoli Bowl
Ingredients
The Bowl
- 1 cup sweet onion, cut in half then sliced
- 4 cups raw broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups cooked long-grain brown rice - or quinoa – see notes
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1/4 teaspoon salt - scant
- 1/8 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/8 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/8 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 small avocado
- 3/4 cup cooked white beans - drained but not rinsed
The Sauce
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1-2 tablespoons water
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Optional Topping
Instructions
Prepare Bowl Ingredients
- In a medium saucepan, saute onions over medium/low heat for 6 to 8 minutes. (You can use a tablespoon or so of olive oil to sauté the onions or you can use this method to saute without oil.) Onions should be nicely browned. If they start to brown too much, reduce heat to low.
- Meanwhile prepare broccoli.
- When onions are done, transfer to a separate container. Set aside.
- Place broccoli into onion pan. Add 1/2 cup water and immediately cover. Cook over medium/low heat for about 8 minutes or until broccoli is tender, but not mushy.
- While broccoli is cooking, heat cooked quinoa or rice, and stir in seasonings. Transfer to bowls.
- Heat beans over high heat.
Prepare Tahini Sauce
- Place all sauce ingredients into a bowl or large measuring cup.
- Stir very well with a fork or small whisk.
Assemble Broccoli Bowl
- Top grains with broccoli, beans, and avocado.
- Drizzle with Tahini Sauce (and Creamy Italian, if desired).
Notes
>> One quick request: if you like this recipe, please leave a rating and a comment. Ratings help more people find these healthy recipes!
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Hi Jennifer! You were right about this meal. Super easy and super delicious! It is currently 100° where I live today and this meal was nice and light and refreshing.
I had just bought some broccoli, and I had leftover rice and white beans in the fridge, so this recipe was a winner right from the get go. The cheesy sauce tied it all together beautifully.