Veggie Protein Bowls – A Couple Cooks

May 16, 2025

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These veggie protein bowls are my go-to weeknight dinner that’s nutritious, filling, and fast! With roasted candy potatoes and chickpeas, creamy cottage cheese, and a drizzle of honey mustard sauce, they’re easy and customizable—my reply to these viral beef protein bowls.

So I hold seeing these floor beef protein bowls bowls throughout social media, and whereas they appeared scrumptious, I wished to create a vegetarian model that may be simply as satisfying (since we eat the Mediterranean weight loss plan). I swapped in chickpeas for the meat and these veggie protein bowls have been born – they usually is likely to be even higher than the unique!

The surprising hero of those protein bowls? Cottage cheese! I do know it’d look like an uncommon addition, but it surely creates this creamy sauce-like component that brings every part collectively whereas including a major protein enhance. Our youngsters truly devoured these down—and I really like the way it’s so easy, you don’t need to assume an excessive amount of while you make it!

Why these protein bowls work

The key to really nice protein bowls is balancing flavors, textures, and vitamin. Right here’s why this mix works:

Texture and taste contrasts: The tender roasted candy potatoes and crispy chickpeas play fantastically in opposition to the creamy cottage cheese and the recent, crunchy cabbage.
Important vitamins: Every element serves a function – advanced carbs from candy potatoes, protein from chickpeas and cottage cheese, wholesome fat from avocado and olive oil.
Customizable warmth stage: The honey mustard sauce will be stored gentle or kicked up with a couple of shakes of scorching sauce, letting you management the spice stage. The unique beef protein bowls have scorching honey, however I didn’t love how that tasted with cottage cheese. The mustard sauce is far more enjoyable!

Ideas for bowl meeting

This recipe comes collectively rapidly, with more often than not being hands-off whereas the greens roast. It’s such a fantastic meatless meal concept that I’ve made usually and all the time take pleasure in. Listed below are some tips about the strategy:

1. Roast the candy potatoes and chickpeas.

Toss diced candy potatoes and drained, rinsed chickpeas with olive oil, garlic powder, chili powder, and kosher salt. Unfold them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast at 450°F for about 25 minutes, till the candy potatoes are tender and browned and the chickpeas are barely crispy.

Professional tip: Don’t crowd your baking sheet! The greens want area to roast correctly. Use two sheets if needed.

2. Make the honey mustard sauce.

Whereas the greens roast, whip up a fast honey mustard sauce. I like so as to add a couple of shakes of scorching sauce for a spicy-sweet mixture that basically brings the protein bowls to life.

3. Assemble your protein bowls.

Begin with a mattress of coleslaw combine or thinly sliced cabbage, high with the roasted candy potatoes and chickpeas, add a beneficiant scoop of cottage cheese (about ½ cup per bowl), fan out some avocado slices, and drizzle with honey mustard sauce.

Meeting tip: I desire drizzling the sauce over the greens and cabbage, not the cottage cheese, to keep up that good distinction between the tangy sauce and the creamy cheese.

Variations and protein adders

One of many causes I really like these protein bowls is how simply they adapt to what you could have available:

Grain addition: Add ½ cup cooked quinoa or brown rice to make these bowls much more substantial. (For fast weeknight meals, attempt pre-packaged cooked rice.)
Completely different protein: To essentially amp the protein, add baked tofu, pan seared hen, shredded hen, air fryer hen, or canned tuna or salmon (seasoned with salt and olive oil).
Different veggies: You may add every other veggies you’d like—uncooked or cooked! Strive broccoli, cucumbers, crunchy bell peppers, roasted brussels sprouts, and extra. You may also throw in different veggies whereas roasting—I identical to retaining it easy with the candy potatoes and chickpeas.

Storing leftovers

These protein bowls are perfect for meal prep with a couple of easy methods:

Part storage: Retailer the roasted candy potatoes and chickpeas, cabbage, cottage cheese, and sauce individually in hermetic containers within the fridge. They’ll hold effectively for 3-4 days.

Avocado trick: By no means slice the avocado prematurely as a result of it’s going to brown. For make-ahead meals, add the avocado recent simply earlier than consuming.

Reheating tip: Solely reheat the candy potatoes and chickpeas (both in microwave for 1-2 minutes or in a skillet). Preserve the cottage cheese and cabbage chilly for the perfect texture distinction.

Dietary notes

These protein bowls are vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based and dairy-free, add a tray of baked tofu and enhance the bake time a couple of minutes; use maple syrup or agave within the mustard sauce.

I hope you’ll give these vibrant, nutritious protein bowls a attempt! The mixture of flavors, textures, and vitamin creates one thing a lot higher than the sum of its elements. They may simply develop into your new favourite weeknight dinner too—tell us what you assume within the feedback under.

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