I am kinda obsessed with the new vegan salad dressings at Trader Joe’s. The Almond Butter Turmeric dressing has me experimenting in the kitchen with lots of different dishes to pour it over. This Carrot Noodle Bowl is my latest.
Vegetable noodles are a great replacement for pasta if you are watching calories or just want to add more veggies to your diet. I used my spiralizer to make my carrot noodles for this bowl, but you could also easily swap shredded carrots if you don’t want to spiralize (but it’s so much fun!).
Snap peas and peanuts are crunchy toppings that taste great with the dressing. I piled it all on top of a bed of kale, because I can never get too many leafy greens.
Now, for the dressing. All you have to do is shake and pour for this one. It’s all natural and plant-based with just a few ingredients: almond butter, cold-pressed lemon juice, ginger, turmeric, and black pepper. I usually like to make my own dressings to control the sugar, salt and fat, but with only 60 calories for two tablespoons and 2g of sugar and 4g of fat per serving, I am taking some help from Trader Joe’s and enjoying it!
Roasted vegetables are one of my favorite things to batch cook each Sunday. I eat them all week long as a dinner side dish, tossed in tofu scrambles… and my favorite, piled into vegan bowls. This Italian Roasted Vegetable Bowl is a delicious way to eat up leftover veggies or roast a pan especially for this bowl like I do! I prefer plump, juicy tomatoes and cauliflower for the veg mix, but sub your favorites. The key is to roast them with whole garlic cloves and herbs. I use the Italian seasoning blend from Penzey’s Spices (my favorite local spice store).
A good bowl is full of layers, so in addition to the roasted vegetables, you’ll find a mound of lacinato kale, cannellini beans, and orzo. I sauted the canned beans with garlic, olive oil, and thyme for taste bud pleasing results. Sure, you could just rinse and drain a handful of beans directly into the bowl, but I find that it’s the bursts of flavor from each component in the bowl that take an average bowl to wow status. Lentils would also be a great sub for the beans. I used orzo instead of a grain in this recipe because of its Italian status and similarity in texture to rice, but risotto would be a nice swap if you want a grain.
Drizzled on top is a luscious, dairy-free Caesar dressing that adds just the right amount of tangy to each bite. Soaked cashews are the creamy base for this otherwise, quick and easy sauce that comes together in less than 5 minutes in your high-powered blender. Dijon mustard and capers add bright, vibrant flavors to this traditional recipe.
You can cook and prepare all of the ingredients, as well as the dressing ahead of time and store them for the week, making it quick and easy to throw this meal together all week long. Lunch is served! Give it a taste and let me know what you think.
This Italian Roasted Vegetable Bowl is full of flavor. Topped with a creamy, dairy-free dressing, it's a complete meal to lunch on all week long.
Prep Time30minutes
Cook Time45minutes
Total Time1hour15minutes
Ingredients
For the Creamy Caesar Dressing:
¼cupcashewssoaked for 2 hours or overnight and drained
2garlic clovesminced
1tablespoonshoyu or tamari
1tablespoontahini
2tablespoonslemon juice
¼cupwater
1tablespooncapers
1tablespoonDijon mustard
For the Bowl:
1pintcherry tomatoes
1head cauliflowerbroken into florets
10garlic clovespeeled
3tablespoonsolive oildivided
1tablespoonItalian seasoning
salt and pepperto taste
1can cannellini beansdrained and rinsed
3garlic clovesminced
1tablespoonfresh thyme
6leaveslacinato kalechopped
1cuporzodried
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Toss the vegetables, garlic cloves, olive oil, and herbs on a sheet pan until coated. Roast for about 30 minutes until the cauliflower is fork tender.
While the vegetables are roasting, bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the orzo and drain.
Heat a saucepan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the minced garlic and saute for 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in the beans and thyme. Cook for 3-4 minutes until heated through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
For the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a high-speed blender and mix until smooth.
To assemble the bowl, start with a layer of kale on the bottom. Top with the orzo, beans, and vegetables. Drizzle the dressing on top.
Vegan bowls are one of my favorite lunch meals. They are easy to prepare and quick for the lunch rush I am inevitably juggling as I race to get my work and to-do list completed before I pick up the kids from school. Most times I make a bowl, I just pull together whatever ingredients, leftover veggies, or legumes I have in the fridge or pantry (it’s a really great way to eat up your leftovers!). Sometimes, I will put a little more thought into my bowl obsession and plan my veggies and proteins ahead of time, like my BBQ Tofu Bowl. Today’s Green Goddess Zucchini Noodle Bowl recipe is one of those bowls, but it won’t take you more than 15 minutes to throw together.
In my opinion, the secret to any great vegan bowl is the dressing or sauce. The new Green Goddess Salad Dressing from Trader Joe’s is the inspiration for this bowl. It’s all natural and vegan, containing just a few ingredients: avocado, green onion, cold pressed lemon juice, chives, parsley, basil, garlic, water, apple cider vinegar, and an olive oil blend. Two tablespoons are only 20 calories so indulge in a generous pour over the rest of this bowl’s ingredients.
I chose spiralized zucchini noodles for the base of this bowl and topped them with sliced radishes, chopped chives and tomatoes (I was out of cherry, so I used roma instead). That’s it! Super easy. Super healthy. Super delicious! Give it a try and let me know what you think!
