This vegetarian Teriyaki Tempeh Buddha Bowl is a delicious marriage of color, flavor, texture and nutrition. It's packed with nutrient-dense ingredients to give your immune system a boost!
Whether you call them grain bowls, power bowls or Buddha bowls, there’s no doubt that one-bowl meals are a hot trend! And for good reason- they are a fun and simple way to eat healthy.
In one bowl, you can combine whole grains, vegetables, lean protein and tasty sauces to create nutritious, well-balanced meals. Some of my favorite bowls are my protein-packed vegetarian burrito bowls and my copycat Sweetgreen harvest bowls. Now I'm excited to bring you this teriyaki tempeh Buddha bowl.
Buddha bowls are perfect for quick weeknight dinners or even when you’re having friends over. You can prep all the ingredients ahead of time and allow everyone to assemble their own bowls- that way they can incorporate their own favorite ingredients. It's a lot of fun!
Immunity-Boosting Bowl
This Immunity-Boosting Teriyaki Tempeh Buddha Bowl has a combination of whole grain sorghum, savory tempeh, tangy kimchi, and colorful vegetables like sweet potatoes, kale, and avocado. This plant-based bowl is a delicious marriage of color, flavor, texture and nutrition!
Since it’s been a particularly rough cold and flu season, I decided to make a Buddha bowl full of nutrient-dense foods that will give your immune system a good boost!
Did you know that about 80% of your immune system is located in your digestive tract? For this reason, I packed this bowl with gut-friendly foods like sorghum, tempeh and kimchi.
Ingredients
- Sorghum is a whole grain that’s gluten-free and provides a variety of vitamins and minerals including B vitamins, iron and phosphorus. It also provides a significant amount of protein and fiber, which feeds the good bacteria in your gut. You can substitute other whole grains like quinoa, wild rice, millet or farro.
- Tempeh and kimchi are both fermented foods, which are gaining popularity as their health benefits gain greater recognition.
- Tempeh, which is made from fermented soybeans, is an excellent source of high quality protein, vitamins and minerals.
- Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish made with fermented cabbage and spices.
- Fermented foods help create a favorable environment in your gut that help healthy bacteria to thrive, thus boosting your immune system. Tempeh absorbs marinades really well, so I marinate my tempeh overnight in a delicious peanut sauce. It infuses the tempeh with a delicious rich, savory flavor that’s hard to resist.
- To balance out the savory tempeh, I add some roasted sweet potatoes to my bowl. Sweet potatoes are packed with nutrients including beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant that gets converted to vitamin A in the body.
- Vitamin A plays a central role in immune function and in the maintenance of epithelial surfaces, part of our body’s first line of defense against infection.
- Kale, another nutritional powerhouse, contains an impressive array of vitamins, minerals and disease-fighting antioxidants.
- It is especially rich in vitamin A and vitamin C, which is one of the biggest immune system boosters of all. One cup of kale provides even more vitamin C than a medium sized orange!
- I like to top my bowl off with slices of avocado and sesame seeds.
- Avocados are chock full of nutrients, including the antioxidant vitamins A, C and E. They also provide satiating healthy fats and fiber.
- Sesame seeds provide more immune-boosting micronutrients including copper, zinc and manganese.
Chef's Tips
- There’s no “right” way to make a Buddha bowl. That’s actually one of the things that I love about them- you can create your own unique bowls, filling them with your favorite ingredients depending on what you have on hand.
- Don’t have sorghum? No worries- try using quinoa, brown rice, farro or millet instead.
- Not a fan of kale? Try spinach or collard greens instead.
- Want to try other veggies besides sweet potatoes? Use butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, or any vegetable that you like!
- Want to add more protein? You can top these bowls with salmon, chicken, ground turkey or other proteins.
- Use this teriyaki tempeh Buddha bowl recipe as a starting point and have fun experimenting with ingredients you love!
More Tasty Bowls
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Recipe
Immunity-Boosting Teriyaki Tempeh Buddha Bowl
Equipment
Ingredients
Bowl:
- 1 cup sorghum or other whole grain like quinoa, millet or farro
- 8 ounces tempeh (can substitute tofu)
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 teaspoons olive oil divided use
- Salt and pepper
- 2 cups shredded Tuscan kale
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 avocado, peeled and sliced
- ½ cup kimchi
- Optional garnish: sesame seeds
Sauce:
- ⅓ cup Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce
- 3 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- To cook the sorghum, place the sorghum and 3 cups water or vegetable broth together in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until done, about 1 hour. Drain water and set aside.
- To make the sauce, whisk the teriyaki marinade & sauce, peanut butter, honey and sesame oil together in a bowl.
- Steam the tempeh in a steamer for 15-20 minutes to remove any bitterness. Alternatively, heat about ½ inch of water in a medium saucepan, cover and bring to a boil. Place the tempeh in the saucepan, cover and steam 15-20 minutes. Remove and cool. Cut the tempeh into small pieces (I like to cut it into triangles) and place the pieces in a shallow dish. Pour about ½ cup of the sauce on top and toss to coat. Marinate the tempeh at least a few hours or preferably overnight.
- Transfer the tempeh to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Toss the sweet potatoes and 1 teaspoon olive oil on a second sheet. Season the potatoes with a pinch of salt and pepper. Place both pans in the oven and bake until done, about 25 minutes for the tempeh and 35-40 minutes for the sweet potatoes. Brush the sweet potatoes with a little sauce 10 minutes before done.
- Toss the kale with the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil and the lemon juice in a bowl. Massage the oil and juice into the leaves to tenderize them. Season them with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- To assemble the bowls, divide the sorghum among four bowls. Top each bowl with equal portions of tempeh, sweet potatoes, kale, avocado and kimchi. Garnish with sesame seeds. Serve any extra sauce on the side to drizzle on top.
Notes
- There’s no “right” way to make a Buddha bowl. That’s actually one of the things that I love about them- you can create your own unique bowls, filling them with your favorite ingredients depending on what you have on hand.
- Don’t have sorghum? No worries- try using quinoa, brown rice, farro or millet instead.
- Not a fan of kale? Try spinach or collard greens instead.
- Want to try other veggies besides sweet potatoes? Use butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, or any vegetable that you like!
- Want to add more protein? You can top these bowls with salmon, chicken, ground turkey or other proteins.
- Use this recipe as a starting point and have fun experimenting with ingredients you love!
Gregory Burzynski says
Hi Sonali, I found all your recipes are very tempting and delicious. I thought being vegetarian is totally boring, you created something that stand out. I started now to shift into plant based food. Good to invest something healthy and nutritious meal. Keep sharing your masterpiece meal.