Vegan Power Bowl

4.48

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This vegan power bowl is loaded with roasted sweet potatoes, kale, spicy chickpeas and topped with a creamy white bean and apple cider vinegar dressing. Vegan + Gluten-free

I love bowl recipes. If there’s a bowl on the menu at a restaurant, there’s a good chance I’m getting it! I love that they are typically packed with vegetables and amazing flavor. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad “bowl” but this has got to be one of my all time faves!

A bowl with roasted sweet potatoes and kale, drizzled with creamy white bean dressing. A gold fork rests in the bowl.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • The kale and sweet potatoes are roasted on the same pan to save on time and clean up. #winwin Plus, the kale gets crispy, almost like kale chips. I love the texture this adds to the bowl!
  • The dressing is made from white beans and apple cider vinegar so it’s super creamy with a subtle flavor. Once blended, you’d never guess that there are white beans in the sauce.
  • The chickpeas are sautéed with a little brown sugar, chili powder, salt and pepper. It gives them a marvelous semi-crunchy texture and a sweet and spicy flavor.
Ingredients measured out to make vegan power bowls: apple cider vinegar, pepper, cumin, chili powder, brown sugar, sea salt, olive oil, red onion, curly kale, cannellini beans, sweet potato and chickpeas.

Here’s What You Need

  • sweet potato – 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.
  • curly kale – any type of kale will work here but I like using curly kale!
  • red onion – adds a ton of savory flavor to this dish! You’ll roast the onion and sweet potato together.
  • chickpeas – after draining and rinsing your canned chickpeas, you’ll coat with a little brown sugar, chili powder, salt and pepper. Then you’ll sauté them in a hot skillet for a delicious crunchy texture.
  • cannellini beans – these beans are actually part of the dressing! After draining and rinsing, you’ll blend the beans with a few other ingredients to make the creamiest dressing ever.
  • apple cider vinegar – part of the dressing. When shopping for ACV, look for a brand that’s unpasteurized with the “mother” included. This is where all the nutrients are. I personally recommend Bragg’s apple cider vinegar. It’s organic, raw and the best of the best.
  • olive oil – for roasting the vegetables and for the dressing. Avocado oil would work as well.
  • brown sugar – adds a little sweetness to the chickpeas. You could also use coconut sugar.
  • cumin – roast the sweet potatoes with a little cumin for added flavor depth.
  • chili powder – add a hint of spice to the chickpeas for a savory-sweet flavor combination!
  • salt and pepper – to season the vegetables and bring all of the ingredients together.
Collage of six photos showing steps for making vegan power bowls: roasting sweet potatoes, onion and kale on a sheet pan, sautéing chickpeas in a skillet, and making a creamy cannellini bean dressing in a blender.

How to Make Vegan Power Bowls

There are a few steps to this recipe. Let’s start with the vegetables! Start by chopping the sweet potatoes, onion and kale. Spread the sweet potatoes and onion onto a baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and cumin. Spread out on an even layer and roast at 400ºF for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, flip the potatoes and move them to one side of the tray. Add the kale to the other side and drizzle with olive, salt and pepper. Roast for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.

While the veggies roast, it’s time to focus on the chickpeas. Start by draining and rinsing the chickpeas and then coat with brown sugar, chili powder, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Use your hands to mix and make sure the chickpeas are well coated. Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the seasoned chickpeas and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. If they look like they’re browning, they aren’t! It’s the spices!

The last step is to make the dressing. Add the drained and rinsed cannellini beans, water, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth and creamy. If you prefer a thinner dressing, you can add more water.

It’s assembly time! Divide the roasted vegetables between two bowls, top with the chickpeas and drizzle with dressing. Enjoy!

Hands holding up a bowl containing kale, chickpeas and roasted vegetables, drizzled with a creamy white bean dressing.

Variations & Tips

The best thing about bowl meals is that they are completely customizable! I love this recipe as is but if you want to switch it up, here are some ideas:

  • Add grains – if you feel like you need grains to make your meal more filling, feel free to add them in as a base! I would recommend brown rice, quinoa or farro for this recipe.
  • Swap vegetables – want to use different vegetables or add in more? Go for it! Any vegetable that roasts well (carrots, beets, brussels sprouts, etc.) would all be delicious.
  • Add protein – add more protein if you’d like by adding in tofu or tempeh if you want to keep this vegan. If you don’t need this recipe to be vegan my apple cider vinegar chicken would be delicious.
  • Swap dressing – I’m completely hooked on this creamy dressing but if you have another one on hand, that will work! If you’re looking for different dressing recipes, my garlic tahini dressing or nutritional yeast dressing would both be delicious!
A gold spoon drizzling creamy white bean dressing on top of a bowl with roasted sweet potatoes and kale.

How to Meal Prep This Vegan Power Bowl

This recipe is great for meal prep! Here’s what I would do:

  • Roast the sweet potatoes and kale and store in an airtight container.
  • Sauté the chickpeas until crispy and allow to cool before storing in an airtight container.
  • Blend the dressing and store in a mason jar or airtight container.

When you’re ready to enjoy this meal, I would reheat the potatoes and kale in a toaster oven or conventional oven. Assemble the bowls and drizzle with dressing!

A vegan power bowl composed of kale, chickpeas and roasted veggies drizzled with a creamy white bean dressing. A gold fork rests in the bowl.

More Bowl Recipes You Might Enjoy

Be sure to check out all the vegan recipes here on EBF!

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4.48 from 40 votes

Vegan Power Bowl

This vegan power bowl is loaded with roasted sweet potatoes and kale, spicy chickpeas and a creamy white bean and apple cider vinegar dressing.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 28 minutes
Total Time: 38 minutes
Servings: 2

Ingredients  

  • 3 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 lb sweet potato, peeled and chopped into chunks
  • ¼ cup diced red onion
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin
  • 3 oz chopped curly kale (about 1 ¼ cup)
  • ¾ cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • ½ Tablespoon brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • ¾ cup cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon ground pepper, divided
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon sea salt, divided

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment.
  • Chop sweet potatoes and kale.
    Chopping kale and sweet potatoes. A bowl of chopped red onion is nearby.
  • Spread sweet potatoes and onion onto the baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and ¼ teaspoon cumin. Spread out in an even layer and roast for 10 minutes. Use a spatula to flip over and push to one side of the tray. Add kale to the empty side of the baking sheet and drizzle with 2 teaspoons olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes more.
    A parchment lined sheet pan. One half contains the chopped sweet potatoes and red onion, the other half contains the chopped kale. Olive oil is being poured overtop of the kale.
  • While vegetables are roasting, heat a skillet (we like cast iron) to medium.
    A cast iron skillet with various spices laid around it as well as a bowl of chickpeas.
  • Add the chickpeas to a mixing bowl with the brown sugar, ½ teaspoon chili powder, ¼ teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Use your hands to coat the chickpeas well.
    Two hands are coating chickpeas in a bowl with brown sugar, chili powder, salt and pepper.
  • Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the hot skillet. When oil starts to shimmer, add seasoned chickpeas and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned (about 8 minutes). Note: Don’t be alarmed if they look like they are burning…they aren’t!
    Seasoned chickpeas sautéing in a cast iron skillet.
  • Into a blender, add beans, 2 tablespoons warm water, 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 Tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and a pinch of ground cumin if desired. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add more water if necessary for a thinner dressing.
    A high powered blender containing cannellini beans, water, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and cumin.
  • Divide roasted vegetables between two bowls, top with chickpeas and drizzle with dressing (or serve dressing on the side).
    All the ingredients to build a vegan protein bowl displayed together. A sheet pan with roasted sweet potatoes, red onion and kale, a cast iron skilled with sautéed chick peas and a mason jar filled with creamy homemade white bean dressing.

Notes

  • Recipe from Terra’s Kitchen.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 630kcal | Carbohydrates: 86g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Sodium: 2059mg | Potassium: 1208mg | Fiber: 16g | Sugar: 16g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Lunch/Dinner
Cuisine: American
Keyword: vegan power bowl
Did you make this recipe?Mention @eatingbirdfood and tag #eatingbirdfood!

About Brittany

Hey there, I’m Brittany, the creator of Eating Bird Food, cookbook author, health coach and mama of two littles. Here you’ll find quick and easy recipes that make healthy fun and enjoyable for you and your family!

More about Brittany
Chicken fajita filling on a sheet pan with a wooden spoon. Tortillas are resting on the bottom of the sheet pan.
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Recipe Rating




38 Comments

  1. This looks wonderful…I am a huge sweet potato and kale fan. Do you have any suggestions on how to make it more While 30 dressing wise as beans are out (as are chick peas)? Enjoy Telum

  2. 5 stars
    Found you from the new foodie comment pod on FB! But I know you from Alyssa’s blog and from being in the blogosphere for years! I’ve made a few of your recipes in the past too. I’m all about this dressing! Feel free to stop by my blog sometime! 🙂xo, Christina – Hungry Meets Healthy

    1. Hi Christina! I feel like I know you as well… maybe we met a conference way back in the day? Did you have a different blog name previously? And what is the new foodie comment pod?

  3. This recipe looks great!

    How much vinegar should be used? It just says “1 apple cider vinegar” Is that teaspoon or tablespoon?

    Thanks!

    1. Yes! The chickpeas should be drained and rinsed. Sorry that was listed in the recipe ingredients/notes.

  4. Hi! Looks great, trying this recipe right now! Where does the onion go? Can’t find it mentioned in the directions.

  5. Just made this the other night and it was DELICIOUS!! One of the best vegan meals I’ve had. Meat-eating husband loved it too 🙂 Next time I’ll have to make more batches to save for leftovers!

  6. 5 stars
    Delicious! Was easy to make, and came out better than I was expecting. Thanks for this recipe, will be a weekly staple for sure 🙂

    1. Yay, that makes me so happy to hear, Anne! So glad you loved this recipe. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment + star rating, I so appreciate it! <3

  7. 5 stars
    I made these for my husband and I last night and we loved it! Any suggestions on how best to preserve the leftovers? Thanks!

    1. Hey Sonya, sorry I am just seeing your note! For leftovers I would just store everything separately in airtight containers in the fridge and assemble before serving. So glad this recipe was a hit!

  8. Very curious…I’ve been looking into vegan and vegetarian recipes and previous learned you need beans w/ rice or quinoa to make a complete protein for the body. Legumes alone don’t cut it. Do you know if this is true? I could ask a nutritionist but was curious if you knew. Thank you!

    1. Hey Jen! While it is true that most plant-based proteins are incomplete (meaning they don’t contain all 9 essential aminos acids), it’s an old myth that you need to worry about combining them at the same meal. As long as you’re eating a wide variety of protein-rich foods throughout the day you’ll likely be getting all the essential essential acids you need! And there are a couple plant-based foods that are complete proteins like quinoa (I know you mentioned this one) and soy (so edamame, tofu, tempeh, etc). Hope this helps!

  9. 5 stars
    Thank you for this recipe!
    But I’m having trouble finding cannellini beans. Is there a substitute that would be good to use instead?

    1. Hi Nisha – I would recommend reheating the potatoes and kale in a toaster oven or conventional oven. The assemble the bowls with the chickpeas and dressing. Enjoy!

  10. 5 stars
    Really loved this, it came out so so well! For my personal taste I would do slightly less apple cider vinegar in the dressing next time but it was a hit in our home!

    1. Aw yay! I am so glad this recipe turned out great for you, Jess. Thank you so much for sharing your review & star rating, I really appreciate it!