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Roasted Broccoli and Sweet Potato Lentil Bowl

September 17, 2021 by Alexandra Daum
This vegan lentil bowl is filled with seasonal goodness - roasted broccoli, sweet potato, and onion, with a lemony roasted garlic dressing. 
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A broccoli and sweet potato lentil bowl with pomegranate seeds.

A long-time favourite lentil bowl, this simple dinner is made up of cooked lentils mixed with roasted broccoli, sweet potato, and onion. Cloves of garlic are roasted alongside the other vegetables, skin on, to make a sweet roasted garlic vinaigrette for topping.

This is a great low effort meal, ideal for weeknights or after work. If you cook and refrigerate or freeze lentils in advance (I recommend it – a jar of frozen lentils is a lifesaver), it’s as easy as roasting a pan of veg.

The lemony garlic vinaigrette steals the show here. Roasting garlic in single cloves is must faster and you still get that great flavour, without using up a whole head. You can use this trick in other recipes like my Moroccan roasted vegetable salad.

Ingredients

  • Brown Lentils: or green, or black – as long as they hold their texture after cooking. Salt the lentil cooking water for a better overall flavour, like you would for pasta or rice.
  • Sweet Potato: be sure to cut to the recommended size to avoid the broccoli charring before the sweet potato is cooked.
  • Broccoli: regular (Calabrese) broccoli or purple sprouting, if you have it in late winter.
  • Onion: red is my preference, but any type of onion (or shallot) will work here.
  • Garlic: roasted, skin on, for a sweet roasted garlic addition to the lentil bowl.
  • Olive Oil: for roasting the vegetables and for the vinaigrette.
  • Spices: sumac, cumin, hot pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
  • Lemon: this is a lemon vinaigrette, but you could sub a splash of apple cider or white wine vinegar.
Roasted broccoli and sweet potato lentil bowl ingredients.

Method

This is very simple – if you have cooked lentils already on hand, it’s as easy as roasting some vegetables and whipping up a dressing.

  • Vegetables on a baking sheet before cooking.
    Add the vegetables to a pan with the oil and spices.
  • Roasted broccoli, sweet potato, red onion, and garlic on a sheet tray.
    Roast until golden.
  • Roasted garlic in a small dish, skins removed.
    Individual cloves of roasted garlic.

Notes and Substitutions

If you don’t have sweet potato on hand, carrots or pumpkin make a good substitution. Both tend to take a bit longer to cook, so you may want to add them to the oven slightly in advance of the broccoli.

Try mixing some hardy greens in with the vegetables right after they come out of the oven. If you like kale chips, you can also cook kale alongside the other veg right in the tray and it’ll crisp right up.

Change up the spices based on your preference. Coriander is excellent here. If you don’t have sumac, simply add the zest of the lemon to substitute.

The size for the sweet potato slices is quite specific because otherwise they cook too slowly compared to the broccoli. Large pieces of broccoli and small slices of sweet potato are needed here.

Top with any seeds or nuts you like. Pomegranate adds a bit of sweetness, but dates, raisins, or dried cranberries are all good too.

More Lentil Recipes

Lentil and Greens Patties
Lentil and Potato Stew
Rice, Lentil, and Butternut Squash Soup
Lentil Bolognese

More Bowl Food

Summer Harvest Burrito Bowl
Moroccan Chickpea, Sweet Potato, and Quinoa Bowls
Summer Greek Chickpea Salad
Winter Goodness Bowl

Let’s connect! For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email. If you make this recipe, I’d love to see! Tag your instagram versions with @occasionallyeggs.

Yield: 2

Roasted Broccoli and Sweet Potato Lentil Bowls

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
4.67 from 15 votes

Ingredients

Lentil Bowls

  • 1 large sweet potato halved and very thinly sliced (5 mm / 1/5 in.)
  • 1 head of broccoli cut into large florets
  • 1 small onion halved and thinly sliced
  • 4 large cloves of garlic skin on
  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil oil
  • ½ teaspoon ground sumac*
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt to taste
  • ½ teaspoon hot pepper flakes to taste
  • 150 grams cooked brown black, or green lentils
  • Nuts and pomegranate seeds for topping (optional)

Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

  • 4 cloves roasted garlic skin removed
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Juice of a lemon ~3 tablespoons
  • ½ teaspoon maple syrup
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Place the sweet potato, broccoli, onion, garlic, 2 teaspoons olive oil, sumac, cumin, salt, and pepper onto the baking sheet. Mix to coat the vegetables in the spices.
  • Roasted for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
  • Carefully remove the garlic cloves from the sheet and peel them. Mash the garlic with a fork, then whisk together with the 3 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, salt, and pepper.
  • Split the cooked lentils and roasted vegetables between two bowls. Top with the vinaigrette, nuts, and pomegranate seeds, and serve immediately.

Notes

* If you don’t have sumac, add the zest of a lemon to the vinaigrette instead.
The size for the sweet potato slices is quite specific because otherwise they cook too slowly compared to the broccoli. Large pieces of broccoli and small slices of sweet potato are needed here.
Top with any seeds or nuts you like. Pomegranate adds a bit of sweetness, but dates, raisins, or dried cranberries are all good too.
Try mixing some hardy greens in with the vegetables right after they come out of the oven. If you like kale chips, you can also cook kale alongside the other veg right in the tray and it’ll crisp right up.

Nutrition

Serving: 2people Calories: 539kcal Carbohydrates: 54g Protein: 13g Fat: 24g Saturated Fat: 4g Polyunsaturated Fat: 18g Sodium: 918mg Fiber: 16g Sugar: 12g
© Alexandra Daum
Course: Mains
Cuisine: American
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This post was first published in February 2016, under the title of ‘Late Winter Buddha Bowl’. It has been updated with some slight improvements to the recipe as of September 2021.

More Mains:

Peanut butter noodle bowl in a large ceramic serving dish.Ten Minute Peanut Butter Noodle Salad
Kale topped pizza on two sheets of parchment paper.Winter Pizza
Mushroom pot pie with a serving on a separate plate.Mushroom Pot Pie (Vegan)
Three potato tacos in a shallow bowl.Roasted Potato Tacos

Previous Post: « End of Summer Spicy Black Bean Soup
Next Post: Vegan Banana Milkshake »

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Comments

  1. Linda | The Baker Who Kerns says

    March 1, 2016 at 9:44 pm

    I love the look of this buddha bowl! Those roasted sweet potatoes look so yummy and I really like the idea of adding dates to your bowl. I have some leftover I'm not sure what to do with so I'm gonna give it a shot!

    Reply
  2. Alexandra Daum says

    March 1, 2016 at 11:16 pm

    Thanks, Linda! I think I eat roasted sweet potatoes 3+ times a week, ha. Everything's better with dates, right? Yay, let me know how it turns out!

    Reply
  3. Traci | Vanilla And Bean says

    March 4, 2016 at 3:28 pm

    I don't understand why anyone wouldn't LOVE lentils, Alexandra! Rob's not much of a fan either unless they're hidden in something like a soup or mashed with quinoa or mushrooms. They are SO good! My fave are the green or French lentils. Milo is adorable and I love how you are fostering. So important to help out. Shelters are stuffed to the gills here too. It's a problem worldwide especially because so many cats are dumped or are allowed to free roam (including feral cats). Their impact on wildlife is tremendous. As cute and cuddly as they are, they are ferocious hunters. Few people realize that the domestic cat is the #1 invasive species (I'm not blaming the cats, humans created this mess) anywhere. Anyway, hopefully sweet Milo will find a home soon (and he'll be an indoor cat!). I would have a hard time letting him go.. he is soo sweet. Now, this bowl! Just so tasty, nourishing and easy to make! My kind of meal. I could see your magic green sauce on this too, Alexandra! So good!

    Reply
  4. Alexandra Daum says

    March 4, 2016 at 8:52 pm

    Ahh, right?! They're the perfect food in every way. Men. Me too, French lentils are by far my favourite – although I like the smoothness of red split lentils sometimes, too. Milo would for sure be upsetting the ecosystem as a feral cat! She is a crazy hunter, and I'm positive she'd be hunting birds in the city. We have indoor/outdoor cats at my parents' farm, but they are deeply spoiled and unsuccessful hunters. They like to watch, but that's about it. Ugh I'm already struggling with the idea of giving Milo up 🙁 Glad you like it, Traci! That green sauce would be great with this, thanks for the idea!

    Reply
  5. laurasmess says

    March 14, 2016 at 12:21 pm

    This is so beautiful. I love buddha bowls and making a deliciously warm version like this is perfect for cool days (whether late winter or, like me, heading into the months of autumn). I cannot wait to try your dressing. I've got sweet potato and broccoli in the fridge and might switch up the lentils for the adzuki beans I've got in the cupboard 🙂 Thanks lovely! Perfect inspiration x

    Reply
  6. Alexandra Daum says

    March 14, 2016 at 11:51 pm

    I saw that you live in Australia! It is perfect for fall weather, too. I think it'd be great with adzuki beans, I hope you like it!

    Reply
  7. Ali says

    January 8, 2019 at 2:38 pm

    Thank you for a lovely recipe. This was my first Buddha bowl and it was delicious! I am looking forward to gaining confidence and trying my own ideas.

    Reply
    • Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says

      January 10, 2019 at 1:07 pm

      So happy to hear that, Ali! Buddha bowls are so flexible, I wish you happy experimenting!

      Reply
  8. Britney Paulsen says

    July 17, 2020 at 11:51 am

    4 stars

    Reply
  9. Jaime Whittiemore says

    December 11, 2020 at 5:27 pm

    5 stars
    Loved this recipe; however I don’t care for sweet potatoes so I replaced them with butternut squash and it was amazing! I also sautéed up a red pepper and a yellow onion I had on hand. My whole family loved it!

    Reply
  10. Jaime Whittiemore says

    December 11, 2020 at 5:31 pm

    Loved this recipe; however I don’t care for sweet potatoes so I replaced them with butternut squash and it was amazing! I also sautéed up a red pepper and a yellow onion I had on hand. My whole family loved it!

    Reply
    • Alexandra says

      December 12, 2020 at 7:28 pm

      Sounds delicious!

      Reply
  11. Ant says

    February 23, 2022 at 6:59 pm

    That was stunning! I had to devour three bowls in a row! So easy and practical but still nutritious, it was perfect for a stressed weekday dinner.

    Reply
  12. Ant says

    February 23, 2022 at 7:00 pm

    5 stars
    Easy and delicious! Perfect for a busy weeknight dinner.

    Reply
  13. Carol says

    May 7, 2022 at 6:11 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious!! I used lemon zest instead of sumac and sweet onions. Highly recommend this recipe!!

    Reply
  14. Teresa Carolina mercado says

    June 20, 2022 at 6:31 pm

    5 stars
    Es una reseña súper deliciosa y saludable y fácil de cocinar

    Reply

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