Enjoy FOUR different kinds of vegan meal prep bowls for an entire month! There's an Italian bowl, a Mexican quinoa bowl, a tofu broccoli bowl, and a buffalo sweet potato bowl, and they're all dairy free, gluten free and SO flavorful!
I'm pretty pumped to bring you these vegan meal prep bowls! See, sometimes it's nice to have your meals prepped and ready to go for the week ahead, and that's where these come in handy.
I know plenty of people have a goal to eat less meat in 2020. Not no meat, but less. Maybe you're trying to only eat meat during dinner, or avoid meat at breakfast, or simply partake in "meatless Monday" every week. Whatever it is, these meal prep bowls are sure to come in handy.
I originally planned on creating one recipe, but then got a little carried away and decided to create FOUR vegan meal prep recipes for you. I mean I don't know about you, but I tend to get bored eating the same thing over and over, but with these bowls, you'll be able to switch it up every week.
WHY YOU'LL LOVE THESE MEAL PREP BOWLS
- All four recipes are quick to prep, so you won't be spending hours upon hours making food for the week ahead
- There are four different flavor options depending on your personal prefer (or, try them all!)
- Each bowls contains a good amount protein, so you'll stay full and content all afternoon
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN MEAL PREP BOWLS
Three out of the four meal prep bowls start with a base, either pasta, quinoa or rice, and those are generally a good starting point.
START BY PREPPING THE BASE
For the tofu bowl: Bake the tofu, then roast the broccoli. Ideally, the rice, tofu and broccoli will all be done around the same time, but no worries if not, especially if you're prepping these bowls ahead of time. Simply add all of the ingredients to one of the meal prep containers, drizzle with a little sriracha and place it in the refrigerator.
For the lentil bolognese: While the pasta is cooking, make the lentil bolognese. Again, this recipe is fairly simply because it's a one skillet meal, so you'll eventually add everything to a skillet them simmer for 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft. Then, you can pour everything into your meal prep containers.
Out of all the meal prep bowls, the quinoa bowls might be the quickest to prepare. While the quinoa is cooking, heat the beans in a saucepan over the stove, and cook the peppers with the seasoning in a skillet. You can cook the tomatoes as well, but I chose to keep them raw. Next, add the quinoa, tomatoes, beans, and peppers to a container. I recommend waiting to cut the avocado until right before you're going to eat! But if/when you do have half an avocado left, simply place it in a small plastic bag and into the container and it should stay fresh for at least 24 hours.
The sweet potato bowl just requires you to roast the sweet potatoes and heat up the peas over the stove. Depending on your personal preference, you can either leave the skin on the potatoes or peel it (I left it on). But, make sure you rinse the chickpeas to remove the liquid that was on them from the can.
INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS
Though these bowls are good to go, you're more than welcome to make substitutions as needed and/or customize them to your liking. Some examples include:
- switching up the base
- using a different vegetable in the sweet potato bowl and/or roasting the chickpeas
- adding tempeh/seitan to the quinoa bowl
- including vegan cheese in the lentil bolognese
- and so many more!
Honestly, there are a LOT of possibilities when it comes to vegan meal prep bowls, so feel free to get as creative as you'd like! They're also a great way to use up ingredients that have been in your refrigerator for awhile.
MORE HEALTHY VEGAN RECIPES
Vegan Meal Prep Bowls
Ingredients
for the tofu rice bowl
- see below
for the lentil bolognese
- see below
for the Mexican quinoa bowls
- 4 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 can (14 oz.) black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1 cup grape tomatoes sliced
- 2 bell peppers sliced, seeds removed
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- cilantro for garnish
for the sweet potato bowls
- 4 sweet potatoes roasted
- 2 cans (14 oz. each) chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 3 cups peas
- sauce or dressing of choice (I used a mild buffalo sauce)
Instructions
for the Mexican quinoa bowls:
- Cook quinoa over the stove as you normally would. Meanwhile, drain and rinse the black beans, then pour them into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for a few minutes.
- Add sliced peppers to a bowl, then drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil overtop, along with the garlic powder and smoked paprika and stir to combine. Pour peppers into a skillet and cook for a few minutes until they're soft. While the peppers are cooking, slice the tomatoes.
- To assemble: divide cooked quinoa into 4 meal prep containers (linked below), then top it with the black beans, tomatoes, cooked peppers, and avocado. Optional: top everything with cilantro.
for the sweet potato bowls:
- Preheat oven to 400°. Slice sweet potatoes into wedges, then place then on a lined baking sheet. Roast the sweet potatoes for 8 minutes, then flip them over and roast for 8 more minutes or until they're soft.
- While potatoes are roasting, cook the peas. Once the potatoes are done, add them to the bowl, along with the cooked peas. Last, pour the chickpeas into a strainer and rinse them well, then add them to the meal prep bowl. Drizzle everything with your favorite dressing or condiment (I used buffalo sauce) and enjoy!
Julia says
Are these meant to be eaten cold or heated up when time to eat?
Erin says
Heated up!
Amber says
I can't find the link for the containers. What size of containers do you use?
Erin says
You can find them on Amazon -- they're Bayco brand and I believe 30 oz. each. Hope this helps!
Ed says
Can these meals be frozen?
Erin says
Yes! The lentil bolognese, Mexican quinoa bowl and sweet potato bowls definitely can be -- store them in a glass container in the freezer for up to 2 months (approximately). The tofu rice bowl can be as well, though the texture of the tofu won't be quite the same once it's been frozen.
Allen L Appell says
I like easy and tasty recipes. Thanks.