Kale and Sweet Potato Brown Rice Bowls
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Published Oct 04, 2023
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These kale and sweet potato brown rice bowls are topped with a delicious savory peanut sauce and packed with plant-based protein. Vegan, gluten-free + perfect for meal prep.
Meet your new go-to meal for busy weeknights or relaxed weekends: kale and sweet potato brown rice bowls.
It’s a hearty mix of nutrient-rich ingredients topped off with a divine creamy peanut sauce. Simple yet unforgettable, this dish offers the ideal blend of comfort and nourishment.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Nutrient-Rich: Packed with vitamins, fiber, and protein thanks to kale, sweet potatoes, and chickpeas.
- Versatile: Easily adaptable to various diets. Swap brown rice for quinoa if you prefer.
- Flavorful: The homemade peanut sauce adds a delightful kick that ties everything together.
- Meal-Prep Friendly: Make components ahead of time for easy assembly during busy days.
Ingredients Needed
- brown rice – cook the rice according to package directions over the stovetop or in a rice cooker. I love the Lundberg Organic Short Grain Brown Rice, but you can use any brand of rice you prefer.
- chickpeas – cook your own or use canned chickpeas for a shortcut. I cooked a big batch of chickpeas in my pressure cooker, which only took only 11 minutes.
- sweet potatoes – when shopping for sweet potatoes, look for firm, unwrinkled skins. There’s no need to peel your sweet potato for this recipe, just make sure to scrub your potato well and then cut into cubes.
- kale – any type of kale will work here but I like using curly kale!
- peanut sauce – a delicious and simple combination of peanut butter, rice vinegar, tamari (or soy sauce), garlic, ginger, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. The recipe makes about 3/4 cup so you’ll have plenty to store in the fridge for later. It seriously tastes good on everything!
How to Make
Roast sweet potatoes – Chop 1 large sweet potato into 1/4 inch chunks, drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil or avocado oil and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Bake in the oven at 400°F for 30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are fork tender.
Cook rice – While sweet potatoes are roasting cook brown rice according to package instructions.
Steam kale – Prepare kale by washing, de-stemming and chopping. Then steam in a steamer basket for 3-5 mins or until tender. You can blanch or sauté the kale if you’d rather.
Make sauce – Make peanut sauce by blending all the sauce ingredients in a blender until smooth. Add water to thin sauce and create desired consistency.
Assemble and serve – Once all ingredients are prepped, grab two bowls and evenly distribute brown rice, kale, chickpeas and sweet potato chunks between both. Drizzle each with as much peanut sauce as you’d like. Serve warm or at room-temp.
Variations
What we love about this brown rice bowl is that it is sooo easy and versatile. You could totally add or switch up ingredients and it would still taste lovely. Although, I must say that the blend of kale, chickpeas, sweet potatoes and peanut sauce is amazing and makes for a lovely, protein-packed plant-based meal, but if you want to switch it up here are some ideas:
- Grain: Feel free to swap the rice for any grain of choice. This bowl would be delicious with white rice, wild rice, quinoa, cauliflower rice or farro.
- Greens: Swap out kale for spinach, Swiss chard, or collard greens if you’d like a different leafy companion. Each green brings its unique nutritional profile and flavor.
- Protein: Though chickpeas provide a plant-based protein kick, you could also use grilled chicken, tofu, or tempeh for a change of pace and additional protein. You could also swap the chickpeas with another legume like lentils, black beans or cannelloni beans.
- Vegetables: If you’re not a fan of sweet potatoes, try roasted butternut squash, roasted cauliflower, zucchini, broccoli or bell peppers for a different yet equally delicious experience.
- Sauce: I love this creamy peanut sauce but you can switch it up! If you have a peanut allergy swap the peanut butter with almond butter or sunflower seed butter or make this tahini sauce or garlic tahini dressing instead.
- Toppings: Consider sprinkling some sesame seeds, crushed nuts, or even a handful of pomegranate arils for added texture and a burst of flavor.
How to Meal Prep in Advance
This is the ultimate meal prep bowl. You can prep all of the components in advance and have a delicious, filling meal in minutes! Here’s what I would do:
- Roast the sweet potatoes and steam the kale and store in an airtight container.
- Cook the rice and store in an airtight container.
- Make the sauce and store in a mason jar or airtight container.
Then when you’re ready to eat all you have to do is assemble all the components and add the chickpeas!
How to Store Leftovers
In the Fridge: Store individual components separately in airtight containers for up to 4 days. The peanut sauce can be stored in a separate jar and should be given a good stir before using.
Reheating: Warm up the rice, kale, and sweet potatoes in a microwave-safe dish for 2-3 minutes. The peanut sauce can be gently reheated in a saucepan over low heat. Add a bit of water to adjust consistency if needed.
Serving Suggestions: When ready to eat, simply assemble your bowl, reheat if necessary, and enjoy!
More Bowl Recipes to Try
- Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Greens and Grains Bowl
- Falafel Bowls
- Vegan Burrito Bowl
- Maple Mustard Tempeh Meal Prep Bowls
- Pesto Salmon Bowl
- Acai Bowl
- Roasted Harvest Bowls
- Asian Noodle Bowl (for Meal Prep)
- Buddha Bowl
- Poke Bowl
- Mashed Avocado Bowl
- Coconut Curry SunButter Noodle Bowl
- Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl
- Mother Earth Bowl (Flower Child Copycat)
- Salmon Burrito Bowl
Be sure to check out all of the vegan recipes as well as the full collection of dinner recipes on EBF!
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Kale and Sweet Potato Brown Rice Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato, cut into ¼ inch chunks
- 1 teaspoon olive oil , or avocado oil
- 1 cup cooked brown rice, or quinoa
- 2 cups steamed kale
- ½ cup cooked chickpeas
Creamy Peanut Sauce
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons low sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- a pinch of cayenne pepper, optional
- water, to thin
Instructions
- Chop 1 large sweet potato into ¼ inch chunks, drizzle 1 teaspoon of oil and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Bake at 400° F for 30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are fork tender.
- Cook brown rice according to package instructions while sweet potatoes are roasting.
- Prepare kale by washing, de-stemming and chopping. Then steam in a steamer basket for 3-5 mins or until tender. You can blanch or sauté the kale if you’d rather.
- Make peanut sauce by blending all the sauce ingredients in a blender until smooth. Add water to thin sauce and create desired consistency.
- Once all ingredients are prepped, grab two bowls and evenly distribute brown rice, kale, chickpeas and sweet potato chunks between both. Drizzle each with as much peanut sauce as you'd like. Serve warm or at room-temp.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I really loved this dish. A LOT. So much so that I sent it to my sister and she really loved it. I just wanted to make one note that this dish is marked “Gluten Free” however, a lot of soy sauces are not gluten free, so if you are needing this to be gluten free, you need to make sure to get gluten free soy sauce.
Hi Melissa – I am so excited to hear that you are loving this recipe. Yes, I always choose gluten free soy sauces. Thank you for mentioning that. I appreciate your review + star rating, it means so much!
Finally made this! My daughter and I LOVED it! I sent her to work with one and she just texted me how delicious it was 🙂 I didn’t have sweet potatoes but had a whole butternut squash so I used that instead. The dressing is AMAZING! Thank you Brittany!
Yay!! So glad this recipe was a hit, Catherine! Thanks for making it and for the review. I so appreciate it. 🙂
I have never made a comment on a recipe post before but I had to drop a note to say this is one of my all time favorite things I’ve ever made! I made this on a recommendation from my sister and ate it for dinner the first night, lunch the second day and dinner the second day – I just couldn’t get enough!! I have never done that! This was amazing and so healthy. I loved the pinch of cayenne and I added some roasted carrots and beets to it too. SO good!! Thank you for a filling and delicious vegan meal!
Oh yay!! This makes me so happy to hear, Shey. I’m so glad you loved this recipe. Thanks so much for making it and for the review. It means the world to me. 🙂
This was so easy to make and very tasty, even my husband who doesn’t “love eating meatless meals” enjoyed it. I roasted the chickpeas and served with cauliflower/jasmine rice. Will definitely be making again, thanks for the recipe!
Woo! So glad this recipe was a hit! Thanks for the review, Colleen. I so appreciate it!
I loved this Kale and Sweet Potato Bowl. I used Forbidden rice instead of brown and is was delish!!! One question though..can you substitute something else in place of the soy sauce? I lessened the amount and added more peanut butter but it was still overpowering.
So glad you loved this recipe, Tara. You could use tamari or coconut aminos (which is soy-free).
I made this with quinoa instead of rice and it was really good. When I tasted the sauce, it didn’t taste that sweet so I was worried this recipe wouldn’t taste good but magically everything came together. My husband loved it too! Not much luck with my 3yo tho. I’ll definitely make this again!
Ahh yay!! So glad this dish was a hit with you and your husband! I so appreciate you making my recipe and coming back to leave a comment + star rating, Rachel. 🙂
AHH OMG!! I love!!! I made the sauce without ginger because I didnt have any on hand. I also didn’t have kale and chickpeas but tomatoes and i mashed some canned kidney beans and everything came out incredible still! I almost couldn’t stop eating everything haha! The sauce is also perfect and It is definitely my new fresh sauce addiction. Thanks so much for this recipe Brit!!<3333
Xoxo
-Giselle.
Ahh this makes me so happy to hear!! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Giselle. Thanks for trying it and for coming back to leave a comment and star rating. It means the world to me. <3
The peanut sauce is phenomenal! I didn’t think something this easy could be so extraordinary! Thank you!
So glad you love this sauce, Michelle! It’s definitely my favorite sauce of all-time. 🙂 Thanks for coming back to leave a comment + star rating. I so appreciate it. <3
This recipe is unreal. SUPER tasty and easy to prepare. Definitely going to be a staple in our house from now on!!!
Healthy, super clean and tasty. Definitely going to have this for breakfast