While I may not be following Whole30, I AM an ultra enthusiastic supporter of anyone and everyone looking to make positive changes in their diet. These Whole30 Vegetarian Power Bowls are flexible, can be prepped in advance, and give you every food group in ONE PAN.
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I’ve heard from many of you who plan to tackle Whole30 this month, or who are looking to go meat free for more of your meals.
- I have a stellar collection of easy healthy vegetarian recipes that meat-eaters and plant-based eaters will both adore.
- I have a list of Whole30 recipes on my site. These are either already Whole30, or can easily be tweaked to be made Whole30 compliant.
Today, I’m highlighting breakfast with a wholesome recipe for vegetarian Whole30 power bowls.
- Since high protein vegetarian foods like beans and tofu are off-limits on Whole30, vegetarian Whole30 recipes that are still filling and satisfying can be harder to find.
- Whole30 vegetarian breakfast recipes are a challenge, especially if you don’t crave meat-heavy dishes in the morning (this is me).
Today’s Whole30 power bowl breakfast is completely vegetarian, and it will keep you full and satisfied.
What Is a Power Bowl?
For those of you wondering what I mean by “power bowl”: think of it as a giant collection of goodness, all piled together in a single dish with a yummy sauce on top.
This power bowl is part roasted vegetable bowl, part creamy dressing, and part lean protein.
5 Star Review
“This is phenomenal. This is the best recipe and dish that I have made.”
— Klarissa —
How to Make Whole30 Vegetarian Power Bowls
This recipe is perfect for you if…
- You’re seeking more whole foods, want to get ahead on meal prep during the week, and rely less on takeout. <—Me!
- You’re looking for a healthy reset after the holidays. <— Also, me. (These Whole30 Breakfast Bowls are another go-to right now.)
- You’re hoping to wash fewer dishes this year. AMEN. (If this is you, be sure to check out the section of one-pan recipes in my recipe index.)
These bowls are fiber rich, high in protein, and offer a myriad of nutritious food groups, making them a wonderful addition to your weekly meal lineup!
The Ingredients
- Veggies. Roasting the vegetables makes them lightly crispy on the outside and caramelized and tender on the inside. If you are a bit vegetable shy, roasting is the way to go. Roasted veggies have a completely different character than raw and will not make you think of salad.
- Seasoning. In the spice arena, we have the usual suspects salt and pepper, along with a good amount of chili powder for some smoky heat that’s heavenly with the sweet potatoes and red onion.
- Dressing. For the veggie bowl sauce, I used a delicious mixture of lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, and salt. Power bowls call for sauce, and this nutty, zippy lemon tahini dressing is the perfect complement to the smoky roasted vegetables.
- Eggs. Say hello to lean protein. Adding eggs makes these Whole30 vegetarian power bowls filling, without the need for meat. I opted for hardboiled eggs because I wanted to prep the entire meal in advance (and my Instant Pot Boiled Eggs, or Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs are easy recipes).
The Directions
- Bake the onions and potatoes with oil and spices for 10 minutes at 400 degrees F.
- Flip the sweet potatoes over, then add the broccoli and cauliflower. Bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes.
- Add the kale. Bake for 5 additional minutes.
- Prepare the dressing.
- Cut the vegetables into pieces, and divide them among bowls. Add the eggs. Drizzle with tahini dressing and ENJOY!
Topping Ideas
- Avocado. Always a good choice. Always.
- Bacon. OK, I realize that the recipe won’t be a Whole30 vegetarian power bowl any more, but if keeping the recipe meatless isn’t a concern or you want to make this a more clear-cut Whole30 breakfast recipe, it’s a good option. (If you are doing Whole30, make sure your bacon is compliant and doesn’t have any added sugars.)
- Fresh Herbs. Cilantro, parsley, or green onions lurking in your refrigerator? Add ‘em here!
- Nuts. Try adding a handful of toasted almonds, pumpkin seeds, or walnuts for a pleasing crunch and healthy fats.
Storage Tips
- To Store. Refrigerate roasted vegetables in an airtight storage container for up to 4 days. Refrigerate the dressing and eggs for up to 1 week.
- To Reheat. Reheat the vegetables gently in the microwave or on a baking sheet in the oven at 350 degrees F, and then top with the egg and dressing just before serving.
- Can you freeze power bowls? While the final bowl will not freeze well, you can prep the roasted vegetables ahead of time and freeze them for up to 3 months.
Meal Prep Tip
Up to 1 day in advance, chop the vegetables as directed. Refrigerate in separate airtight storage containers until you’re ready to finish the recipe.
What Can Vegetarians Eat on Whole30?
A complaint I’ve heard about Whole30 from friends who have done it is that by the end of 30 days, it feels like a total meat overload and there aren’t enough vegetarian recipes.
Even if you aren’t vegetarian, it’s nice to go meatless once in a while.
In addition to these vegetarian power bowls, here are a few other of the best vegetarian recipes you can enjoy on Whole30:
- Cauliflower Fried Rice. One of my fave vegetarian main meals. This Healthy Fried Rice is a delicious option. With some tweaks, such as using cauliflower rice in place of brown rice, coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, swapping a Whole30 compliant hot sauce for the Sriracha, and omitting the edamame (use extra eggs for more protein instead), you can make a vegetarian fried rice that is Whole30 friendly.
- Salad. Take your salad game from drab to fab! Mexican Salad and Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad are packed with flavor and will keep you full for hours. If you need these salads to be Whole30, omit the cheese and honey.
- Soup. For a hearty and delicious vegetarian Whole30 meal, try a bowl of this Vegan Pumpkin Soup. To make the soup Whole30 compliant, omit the maple syrup.
Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
- Extra Large Cutting Board. Plenty of room to chop all those delicious veggies.
- Baking Sheet. If you plan to make lots of healthy bowls for weight loss, a set of baking sheets are essential.
- Fish Spatula. My go-to tool for easily flipping vegetables.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tahini is a sesame seed paste used in Middle Eastern cooking and recipes like hummus. You can find it at most grocery stores. If you can’t find tahini or don’t enjoy the taste of it, natural almond butter works too.
These Whole30 vegetarian power bowls are gluten free as written. However, I recommend double-checking that your tahini doesn’t contain any gluten.
This recipe is easy, delicious, and healthy, even if you’re not following the Whole30 diet. If you prefer, you certainly can adapt this recipe to your liking. I think making this into a quinoa power bowl would be tasty.
Whole30 Vegetarian Power Bowls
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Ingredients
For the Vegetables:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or melted coconut oil, divided
- 1 small red onion cut into 1-inch wedges
- 2 large sweet potatoes scrubbed with skins on, halved lengthwise
- 2 teaspoons chili powder divided
- ¾ teaspoon salt divided
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper divided
- 1 small head broccoli or cauliflower
- 1 small bunch kale large stems removed
For the Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice about 1 small lemon
- 3 tablespoons tahini or swap natural almond butter
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2-1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 hard-boiled eggs or soft-boiled, see recipe notes
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Liberally coat a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Place the onions and sweet potatoes on the baking sheet, turning the sweet potatoes cut sides up. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons olive oil, making sure the flesh of the sweet potatoes is well coated. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Rub and toss to coat, and then arrange on the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.
- While the sweet potatoes cook, chop the broccoli or cauliflower into florets (you should have about 5 cups total). Remove the baking sheet from the oven and flip the sweet potatoes so that they are cut sides down. Push the sweet potatoes and onions to one side and add the cauliflower or broccoli to the open side of the pan. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons olive oil and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and the remaining 1 teaspoon chili powder. Carefully toss to coat, and then return the baking sheet to the oven. The pan will be very crowded, and the veggies will overlap somewhat. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are soft and the other vegetables are crisp-tender.
- Remove the sheet pan from the oven and place the kale on top of the vegetables. Drizzle the kale with the remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Lightly rub the kale to coat, and then arrange the kale in a single layer over the whole pan. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 5 additional minutes, until the kale is very lightly crisp and softened. Remove the whole pan from the oven and set it aside to cool.
- While vegetables finish roasting, prepare the dressing: Add the lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, and salt in a small mixing bowl. Add 2 tablespoons hot water. Whisk to combine. Taste and add additional salt and up to 1/2 teaspoon additional cumin as desired.
- To serve: Once the vegetables are cool enough to handle, cut the sweet potatoes into bite-size pieces. Roughly chop the kale. Divide the vegetables among serving bowls. Slice the hardboiled eggs in half and place 2 halves on top of each bowl. Drizzle with tahini dressing and enjoy immediately.
Video
Notes
- This recipe is ultra flexible. Feel free to swap out any of the roasted veggies for others you like. Brussels sprouts are another of my favorite additions.
- TO COOK HARDBOILED EGGS: you can make these in your Instant Pot (this is a great tutorial) or on your stove by following the directions in step 3 of this post.
- TO STORE: Refrigerate roasted vegetables in an airtight storage container for up to 4 days. Refrigerate the dressing and eggs for up to 1 week.
- TO REHEAT: Reheat the vegetables gently in the microwave or on a baking sheet in the oven at 350 degrees F, and then top with the egg and dressing just before serving.
Nutrition
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Sitting here eating this in my hotel room as we speak. I’m a flight attendant and this recipe has really changed my meal prep game. There’s a sneaky amount of flavor packed into it and I love how easy it is to make! Thank you for this one!!
Hi Meredith! So happy to hear that! THANK YOU!
I make this 2 times a week! We love it!!!
Hi Ann! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
It made me happy! Enjoyed the prepping, cooking and eating. Ate the whole thing! Second bowl I just about licked it clean. Usually CalorieKing shows me at 1000-1500 in potassium. After lunch today my K+ was 3100+!
Think I’ve found my way to drop 60 lbs.
I did half sweet potato, red onion and half yellow. Love the chili powder and citrus squeezer . Then cup of broccoli and 5 colored sweet peppers, and about 2 cups of kale that I massaged in bowl with drizzled olive oil, s&p.
Didn’t have lemon so used lime in tahini. And first time made soft boiled eggs. 9 minutes in boiling water. Perfection is the word I have for this meal! Already shared your site with a friend
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Regina! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
This is a delicious recipe and very easy to make. The tahini dressing is the top 🔝 I will be using it again for my salad
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Alice! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Another AMAZING meal full of flavor! Only thing I subbed was TJ’s Chili Lime seasoning for the chili powder just to be a little more family friendly (3 generations enjoyed and approved of this meal!).
You are my go-to for any recipe starting place when I’m craving something specific or if I am in a rut and need something new! Your recipes have never failed me and I especially love how you use healthy sources of carbs rather than fear/omit them. You are truly gifted and so many of us are very grateful you are sharing your creations. Thank you SO much, Erin!!
Hi Siobhan! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
This recipe is awesome! It was so delicious and filling. My 7 year old even loved it.
Hi Cindy! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Love the recipe and it was so well that I can still feel the taste.
Hi! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Just so good…on all levels! I plan to keep this recipe in regular rotation even when I’m finished with my Whole30 journey!!!
Hi Ingrid! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
This is versatile. I decreased sweet potato to one and added delicata squash and carrots. I used a lot of whole garlic cloves (4 or 5, and could have used more) but roasted them with the veggies so! they came out sweet and soft. I can only for one sheet pan in my oven so I fully cooked the hard veggies, took them out, cooked the broccoli for 20, and over that the kale for 5..
Hi Karen! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
AMAZING 🔥🔥
So glad you enjoyed it Monica!
I’m just at the cusp on considering a vegan shift in nutrition and chose this after numerous bowl recipes. I am SO glad I did! This is such a beautiful meal, absolutely delicious, and provides numerous meals for prepping. I can not thank you enough! It was easy to cook and flowed well. I did both broccoli and cauliflower, and added a bit of quinoa I had from prior. I was also able to whip up the chocolate PB energy balls while I was letting the veggie pan cool!!! And those are equally incredible. I did not have lemons (store had no organic ones) so I used limes and the sauce is wonderful. I will definitely make this again and maybe add in brussels and bell peppers. Very grateful to you for making, sharing, and posting this!
Hi Stephanie! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
This recipe is pretty amazing! I just want to say thank you for sharing. I have some dessert recipes to lose weight. Do you want to try some?
Hi! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Hi!
I don’t have lemon or even lime juice, will apple cider vinegar or vinegar work?
Hi Susan! It likely could work, I just haven’t tested it out myself. If you decide to experiment with it, let me know how it goes! Hope you enjoy it!
This has been a well plated week for us and I’m happy about it. Tonight we had this for the first time and it was delicious. I had some Brussels sprouts so I added them cut in half when I added the broccoli. Thank you for sharing
This made my day, thank you!! And thanks for the review. It is SO HELPFUL!
As a college student who is vegetarian, I’m constantly looking for satisfying and good for you recipes! This recipe is nothing short of that, I made it exactly as it said. And it turned out phenomenal! I will definitely be adding this to my recipe book. I’m obsessed with all the yummy flavors and love how you can interchange the veggies. Thank you so much, 10/10!
Hooray, so happy to hear it!
I roasted the vegetables to go with chicken breast for supper and it was delicious and easy! The seasoning was perfect and I loved the dressing too. I will definitely be making this again soon and use the boiled eggs for meal prep.
So glad to hear you enjoyed it, AJ!
What would you add to this meal to get the protein up to 30grams?
Hi Amy! I’d add salmon! Enjoy!
Love these so much
Have made them 2 weeks in a row for lunches for the week. I have been adding leftover chicken tenders and one day some mini chicken meatballs for extra protein.
Great to hear, thank you Juli!
Absolutely delicious! Will be adding to my regular dinner recipe collection. The dressing was just perfect.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Sarah!
I enjoyed the bowl but the tahini dressing did not turn out for me. I followed the directions exactly but it was not creamy enough to pour at all; turned out quite thick. Not sure what to think!
Glad you enjoyed the bowl, Lisa. Sorry to hear about the tahini dressing, not sure why it didn’t turn out for you.