Macro Veggie Bowl

A vibrant turmeric tahini sauce is the star of this delicious veggie bowl! It adds a pop of bright flavor to the mix of fresh vegetables, rice, and beans.

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When we lived in Austin, I headed to a macrobiotic restaurant called Casa de Luz whenever I craved a nourishing, cleansing veggie bowl like this one. Instead of offering a menu, it serves one rotating meal that always contains a grain, a legume, blanched greens, steamed vegetables, a pickled vegetable, and a delicious sauce. It may sound limiting, but I’ve honestly had some of the best sauce and vegetable pairings of my life there. If you’re ever in Austin, make sure you check it out!

Inspired by years of enjoying delicious, nourishing meals at Casa de Luz, I used the macrobiotic template to develop a veggie bowl of my own. It’s a totally gluten-free and plant-based recipe, but it doesn’t taste at all like “health food.” A vibrant turmeric tahini sauce fills it with bold flavor, and a scoop of sauerkraut gives it a delicious tangy pop. Make it whenever you’re craving something energizing, satisfying, and absolutely delicious.

My Veggie Bowl Recipe Ingredients

As I mentioned above, I used Caza de Luz’s template to build this healthy veggie bowl. Here’s what I chose for each macrobiotic category:

A delicious sauce – For my at-home “casa bowl,” I used an amazing turmeric tahini sauce! It’s my favorite type of creamy sauce in that it doesn’t require a blender, so you can stir it together in no time. You’ll love it on this veggie bowl, but it tastes great on just about everything else, too!
Steamed vegetables – I steamed carrots, broccoli, and kale until they were tender and vibrant.
A legume – I went out of my comfort zone and gave mung beans a try. Compared with other dried beans, they cook up in no time!
A grain – Brown rice was my pick.
A pickled vegetable – Sauerkraut! I love Bubbies.

For a final finishing touch, I went rogue and added some raw radishes to my veggie bowl. You could skip them if you like, but they add delicious crunch and peppery flavor to this recipe.

These components all keep nicely in the fridge if you want to meal prep them for lunch or dinner during the week. And an extra tip – be careful with the turmeric sauce in your kitchen! I love its bright color, but it can easily stain things yellow.

Veggie Bowl Recipe Variations

This recipe is fantastic as-written, but feel free to change it up! Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Cook the veggies in a different way. Instead of steaming the broccoli, roast it! You could also roast the carrots or leave the kale raw and massage it before adding it to your bowl.
Or use different veggies entirely. Roasted vegetables like cauliflower, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and beets would all be great additions to this recipe.
Swap in a different legume. I recommend black beans, lentils, or roasted chickpeas, but a different protein, like baked tofu or tempeh, would work here, too.
Vary your grain.Swap the brown rice for quinoa, farro, or white rice. Or, for extra veggie power, go grain-free and use cauliflower rice!
Switch the sauce. Seriously, your options are endless. Try one of these 4 tahini sauce variations or this tahini dressing. You could also drizzle on green goddess dressing, vegan ranch, cilantro lime dressing, or the carrot ginger dressing from this recipe!

Let me know what variations you try!

More Favorite Bowl Recipes

If you love this macro veggie bowl, try one of these delicious recipes next:

Adzuki Bean Bowls
Best Buddha Bowl
Sesame Soba Noodle Bowls
Roasted Veggie Grain Bowl
Vegan Burrito Bowl
Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowl
Or any of these 15 Best Rice Bowl Recipes!

rate this recipe:

5 from 5 votes

Ingredients

1 watermelon radish or 2 red radishes
squeeze of lemon
1 uncooked cup sprouted mung beans orcooked lentils
6 small or 3 medium carrots, steamed
1 small head broccoli florets, steamed
8 kale leaves, chopped
2 cups
brown rice orquinoa
¾ cup sauerkrautor other fermented veggie
2 tablespoons sesame seeds or hemp seeds
microgreens, optional
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Turmeric Tahini

1

tablespoon

extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon tahini
1/2 tablespoon water
1/2 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Instructions

Make the sauce. In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, water, garlic, turmeric, and generous pinches of salt and pepper. Set aside.
Thinly slice the radish (this is best done on a mandolin), and toss the slices with a squeeze of lemon. Set aside.
Cook the mung beans in boiling salted water according to package directions, or until tender. Drain.
In a steamer basket over a pot of simmering water, steam the carrots, covered, until just tender, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove and set aside. Next steam the broccoli until tender but still bright green, 4 to 5 minutes. Lastly, steam the kale until just tender, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Assemble individual bowls with the brown rice, mung beans, carrots, broccoli, kale, sauerkraut, sesame seeds and microgreens, if using. Season with salt and pepper and serve with the Turmeric Tahini Sauce.