Vegetable Quinoa Chickpea and Avocado Grain Bowl with Cilantro-Lime Dressing

Get ready for a mouthwatering vegan and gluten-free Vegetable Quinoa Chickpea and Avocado Grain Bowl with Cilantro-Lime Dressing. Packed with 14 grams of plant-based protein and over 17 grams of fiber in each serving. Your body and gut will be singing after eating this complete and well-balanced meal.

A well-balanced grain bowl contains:

• High-Fiber Whole Grains
• Plant-Based Protein or Protein Source
• Vegetables
• Heart-Healthy Fats

For a complete breakdown of How to Make a Grain Bowl, check out my past post.

Pro-Time-Saving Tip: Make the grain bowl ingredients ahead of time such as

• Cook the quinoa
• Shred the carrots and cut the bell peppers
• Open the canned chickpeas, drain and rinse
• Make the dressing
• Put all the ingredients into separate containers

When you are ready to eat the grain bowl, just pull out the containers, slice the avocado (it’s best when it’s freshly sliced), and follow the directions on how to Make the Bowls.

*I used an Instant Pot to make the rice but you can also use a rice cooker or do it on the stove top.

Vegetable Quinoa Chickpea and Avocado Grain Bowl with Cilantro-Lime Dressing

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

13 mins

Total time

23 mins

 

Get ready for a mouthwatering vegan and gluten-free Vegetable Quinoa Chickpea and Avocado Grain Bowl with Cilantro-Lime Dressing. Packed with 14 grams of plant-based protein and over 17 grams of fiber in each serving. Your body and gut will be singing after eating this complete and well-balanced meal. A well-balanced grain bowl contains: • High-Fiber Whole Grains • Plant-Based Protein or Protein Source • Vegetables • Heart-Healthy Fats For a complete breakdown of How to Make a Grain Bowl, check out my past post. Pro-Time-Saving Tip: Make the grain bowl ingredients ahead of time such as • Cook the quinoa • Shred the carrots and cut the bell peppers • Open the canned chickpeas, drain and rinse • Make the dressing • Put all the ingredients into separate containers When you are ready to eat the grain bowl, just pull out the containers, slice the avocado (it’s best when it’s freshly sliced), and follow the directions on how to Make the Bowls. *I used an Instant Pot to make the rice but you can also use a rice cooker or do it on the stove top.

Author: Sarah Koszyk, MA, RDN

Recipe type: Grain Bowl

Cuisine: American

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• ¾ cup multi-colored quinoa
• 1¼ cups water
• 4 heaping cups mixed greens
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 red bell pepper, stem removed, deseeded, and julienned
• 2 cups canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 avocados, deseeded and sliced
• Dressing:
• 1 bunch cilantro
• ½ cup lime juice
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic, peeled
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook the quinoa:
2. Place quinoa and water in Instant Pot.
3. Lock the lid and set the steam valve to “sealing” position.
4. Pressure Cook at high pressure for 3 minutes. Turn the “Warm” button off. It will take about 5 minutes to warm up.
5. When the cook time is complete, let the pot release the pressure naturally for 10 minutes.
6. After 10 minutes, turn the steam release valve from sealing to venting to release the remainder of the pressure.
7. Once all the pressure is released, open the lid.
8. Fluff quinoa with a fork.
9. Let the quinoa cool. This makes 2 cups cooked quinoa.
10. Prep the vegetables:
11. While the quinoa is cooking, prep the vegetables. Shred the carrots (if using fresh, whole carrots).
12. Remove the stems and seeds from the red bell pepper. Thinly slice the red bell pepper into julienne slices the size of a matchstick.
13. Drain the chickpeas from the can. Rinse the chickpeas to remove excess sodium.
14. Cut the avocados in half. Remove the pits. Remove the avocado skin. Slice the avocados. *If prepping the ingredients ahead of time to make a grain bowl during the week, skip cutting the avocados. Avocados are best when sliced fresh right before you want to eat them. If you cut them too far in advance, they will turn brown.
15. Make the dressing:
16. Peel the garlic.
17. Combine the cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a blender.
18. Blend until smooth. This will make 1 cup of dressing.
19. Make the bowls:
20. Scoop ½ cup cooked quinoa into the bottom of a bowl.
21. Add 1 cup of mixed greens and place over the quinoa in the bowl.
22. Add ¼ cup of shredded carrots and place on the right side of the bowl over the mixed greens.
23. Add ¼ of the red bell peppers and place to the left of the shredded carrots over the mixed greens.
24. Add ½ cup of chickpeas and place on the left side of the red bell peppers in the bowl over the mixed greens.
25. Add ½ an avocado that has been sliced and place on the top side of the bowl in between the chickpeas and carrots over the mixed greens.
26. Scoop 4 Tbsp of the cilantro-lime dressing and drizzle over the entire bowl. Repeat this to make the other 3 bowls.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 bowl Calories: 540 Fat: 31.5 Saturated fat: 4.2 Carbohydrates: 56.7 Sugar: 11.2 Fiber: 17.3 Protein: 14.3 Cholesterol: 0

3.5.3251

By Sarah Koszyk, MA, RDN

**There are affiliate links in this post and I will be compensated if you buy the products using these links BUT there is no extra charge to you!