A nourishing, flavorful bowl that comes together fast with minimal cleanup? That’s our kind of meal! These Mediterranean-inspired veggie bowls combine spicy roasted chickpeas, vibrant roasted veggies, and optional grains with an herby green tahini sauce. Prepare to fall in love!
Plant-based, gluten-free, and just 10 ingredients required. Let’s make this thing!
First up on the nourish bowl agenda: chickpeas! We toss them with olive oil to help them crisp up, cumin for smokiness, cinnamon for sweetness, and a touch of cayenne for heat.
Joining the spiced chickpeas on the baking sheet are some colorful veggies: eggplant, red onion, red bell pepper, and zucchini. The result: fresh, sweet, and savory. Hungry yet?
After roasting, the veggies and chickpeas are crispy, caramelized, and ready for becoming veggie bowls! They’re divine with a drizzle of green tahini sauce and especially delicious served atop quinoa or rice (optional)!
We hope you LOVE these bowls! They’re:
Vibrant
Savory
Herby
Subtly spicy + smoky
Comforting yet light
Fiber-packed
& SO perfect for meal prep!
If you’re into meal prep, you can make the sauce and grains up to 2-3 days ahead. The zucchini, bell pepper, and onion could all be chopped in advance, too! The chickpeas and veggies are best when freshly roasted but can be reheated in a skillet to help them crisp back up slightly as needed.
More Nourishing Plant-Based Bowls
- Spring Buddha Bowl with Quinoa & Lemony White Beans
- Vegan Sushi Bowls with Ginger Marinated Tofu
- Garlic & Herb Sweet Potato Nourish Bowl (30 Minutes!)
- Greek Goddess Bowl (30 Minutes!)
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo @minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Roasted Chickpea & Veggie Bowls with Green Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
VEGGIES
- 4-5 cups eggplant and/or zucchini, eggplant cut into 1-inch cubes and zucchini thinly sliced (we used both, ~1/2 large eggplant + 1 small zucchini)
- 1/2 small red bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1/2 small red onion, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved (optional)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp sea salt
CHICKPEAS
- 1 (15.5 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or ~1 ½ cups homemade)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne
FOR SERVING
- Herby Green Tahini Sauce
- Quinoa or rice (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 F (218 C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- OPTIONAL: Spread the drained chickpeas out on a clean, absorbent towel and use your hands to gently roll and dry the chickpeas. Some of the skins should start coming off. You can opt to peel all of the chickpeas — which can help achieve extra crispiness! — or simply remove the skins that come off.
- VEGGIES: Add the eggplant and/or zucchini, bell pepper, onion, and olives (optional) to the parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to evenly distribute the oil. Sprinkle evenly with salt and toss once more. Push the veggies toward one side of the pan slightly to make room for the chickpeas. It’s okay if they overlap a bit, or you can opt to use an additional baking sheet if you prefer to spread them out.
- CHICKPEAS: In a small bowl (or directly on the baking sheet) combine the chickpeas, olive oil, salt, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne. Toss to evenly coat the chickpeas in the oil and spices, then transfer to the open space on the baking sheet.
- Roast the veggies and chickpeas on the center rack for 25-30 minutes, tossing halfway through, until the veggies are tender and the chickpeas are golden and slightly crispy. While your veggies roast, make the green tahini sauce and (optionally) quinoa or rice for serving.
- To serve, divide grains (optional), veggies, and chickpeas between bowls and top with green tahini sauce (there will be leftover sauce*). Leftovers will keep separately in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Not freezer friendly.
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with the lesser amount of salt, ~2 Tbsp green tahini sauce per serving, and without optional ingredients.
Anna says
I love this recipe! So flavourful and interesting without being time consuming or difficult. Serve with the herby tahini dressing and it’s perfect. Thank you so much!
We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe and found it to be approachable, Anna! Thank you for the lovely review! xo
Anne says
Popped on to find a recipe that fit what I had in my fridge and here it is! Only had eggplant (not zucchini), but delicious. The spice flavors of both the veggies and chickpeas were great separately and combined. I’ll admit I had leftover hummus I had mad, so I took a chance and used a couple scoops of that with more garlic, water, lemon juice, parsley and maple syrup (sauce recipe).I’m sure the original recipe is amazing but this was a tasty hack anyway!
Amazing! Love your creativity in working with what you had, Anne. Thank you for sharing! xo
Katie Sullivan says
My daughter and I decided to test the waters on veganism last week, and honestly, finding this site has been huge. The recipes are simple and easy to follow and basically helped me decide that it’s NOT too challenging to go vegan. This recipe, in particular, was really good. I’m probably going to be saying that on a lot of them as I make my way through them, but it was just so tasty and satisfying!
We’re SO happy to hear you enjoy our recipes! Thank you for sharing, Katie! xoxo
Hana says
I made this today, it was super easy and very tasty! I added in sweet potato to the roasted veg. The sauce in particular got lots of compliments. Would definitely make again!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Hana. Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Meredith Becker says
This was amazingly delish. My kids really liked the sauce. I served it over rice because that was what we had. I would easily recommend this recipe. I tripled it so we would have enough for us and some leftovers. Thanks for what will be one of my new staples for dinner! :)
Woohoo! Thanks so much for the great review, Meredith, we’re so glad you all enjoyed this!
The Vegan Goddess says
Add me to the list of rave reviews for this dish! Veggies FTW (for the win)!
I made this with quinoa which was cooked in my homemade veggie broth so that added to the nutritional value of this high-protein meal.
The chickpeas turned out nice and crispy. I removed the skins prior to baking them. The combination of chickpeas with roasted veggies (love the mix of veggies!) and the sauce is a win!
Luckily, there is a little leftover for tomorrow.
The Vegan Goddess says
I should add that I made the sauce with spinach instead of parsley since I didn’t have any and it turned out great.
Love it!
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Janet says
Every recipe I have made so far from your website has been fantastic. I just made this one tonight for dinner. It was so easy to do and very yummy. I cut back on the olives due to some of the comments remarking on the saltiness (I rarely use salt in any of my recipes, including this one – I substitute freshly ground pepper in its place). I added eight small pitted olives halfway through. I will most definitely be making this recipe again. It would even make a nice side dish, and the sauce is beautiful. Thank you for the recipe.
Woohoo! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Janet. So glad you enjoyed!
Merle says
Made this as written but with all zucchini since my husband is allergic to eggplant. Delish!
Yay, yum! Thanks so much for the great review, Merle!
Jess says
This was delicious! I subbed in some extra veggies I had like broccoli and carrot, this is a great “use up what’s in the fridge” meal!! I ended up adding a lot more parsley, garlic, and lemon to the sauce, mine never took on the pretty green hue, but it was tasty regardless. Will be making this again with different bean + veg combos.
Love your modifications, Jess! Thank you for sharing! xo
JoAnna says
Beware. This is so good, you might eat the whole sheet pan by yourself 😂
Ha, thanks so much for the lovely review, JoAnna!
Liz says
Made this with quinoa and got rave reviews. Added cauliflower to the roasted veg. I didn’t have green onions and the sauce is still amazing. Thanks for a great recipe!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Liz! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Karen R says
This recipe was phenomenal! The green tahini sauce makes it. I made a quick marinade for the eggplant and zucchini from red wine vinegar, olive oil, cumin and oregano. This was very filling over a bed of quinoa. Thank you for another delicious recipe I can put into my rotation!
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Karen. Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Alexa says
Delicious! The sauce is wonderful, and to get a very complete protein we served it with basmati rice into which we stirred a little orange juice and grated rind near the end – a very colourful and tasty dish!
Lovely! Thanks so much for sharing, Alexa!
Leslie says
So yummy! I loved the combination of veggies and the chickpea seasoning was so delicious! I’d make the chickpeas just for snacking sometime. The dressing was awesome too and I’m glad I have leftovers for fresh veggies. Thanks for the recipe!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Leslie. Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Kassie says
My kid has a severe sesame allergy. Can you recommend a tahini substitute or a different sauce/dressing?
Hi Kassie, the flavor would be slightly different but you could use cashew butter (or raw cashews + water) in the sauce for a similar result! Alternatively, our
magic green sauce could be a tasty option!
Lora says
Wow! Amazing recipe. Thank you for helping me out of my recipe slump! I subbed the parsley in the green tahini sauce with cilantro I had on hand and it turned out delicious. I could put that sauce on everything!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Lora. Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Indra Sian says
The sodium content is very high. The healthy bowl becomes not that healthy anymore.
Hi Indra, the nutrition info is a rough estimate and will vary based on ingredients used. It looks like the nutrition calculation was including the optional kalamata olives, so we’ve updated it to not include optional ingredients, which did reduce the sodium. To make it lower sodium, we’d suggest serving with grains, in which case it will make more like 3-4 serving vs. 2 so the sodium content will be much lower. You could also reduce the salt on the veggies and/or chickpeas, but it won’t be as flavorful.
Jalesha Uppal says
This recipe looks amazing. Do you think I could replace the tahini with a nut butter?
Hi Jalesha, we haven’t tried this recipe with another nut butter, but let us know if you give it a go! We think a more neutral nut butter like cashew would be best!
Jalesha Uppal says
All I had in hand was peanut butter so I used that and swapped the parsley out for cilantro and it was delicious!
Tiggywinkle says
This looks so yummy 😋 I can’t stand aubergines though, think I might try it with butternut squash instead 🤔 Thanks for some good vegan ideas.
We hope you enjoy! xo