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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.

Table of Contents hide
Ingredients
Step by Step
Recipe Notes
More Lentil Recipes
Roasted Broccoli and Sweet Potato Lentil Bowls

Ingredients

Broccoli sweet potato bowl ingredients with labels.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

  • 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. 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.
  • Broccoli: regular (Calabrese) broccoli or purple sprouting, if you have it in late winter, will both work well.
  • Onion: red is my preference, but any type of onion (or shallot) will work here.
  • Spices: 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.
  • Lemon: this is a lemon vinaigrette, but you could sub a splash of apple cider or white wine vinegar.

Step by Step

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.

Broccoli lentil bowl steps 1 and 2.

Step 1: add the vegetables to a baking sheet and toss with the oil and spices.
Step 2: roast until lightly golden, mix with the lentils and vinaigrette, and serve.

Recipe Notes

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.

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.

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More Lentil Recipes

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

If you make these Lentil Bowls or any other vegetarian main dishes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.

Yield: 2

Roasted Broccoli and Sweet Potato Lentil Bowls

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes minutes
Total Time 40 minutes minutes
4.73 from 18 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
  • 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 hot pepper onto the baking sheet. Mix to coat the vegetables in the spices.
    1 large sweet potato, 1 head of broccoli, 1 small onion, 4 large cloves of garlic, 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon ground sumac*, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes
  • 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.
    4 cloves roasted garlic, 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, Juice of a lemon, 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • Split the cooked lentils and roasted vegetables between two bowls. Top with the vinaigrette, nuts, and pomegranate seeds, and serve immediately.
    150 grams cooked brown, black, or green lentils, Nuts and pomegranate seeds

Notes

* If you don’t have sumac, add the zest of a lemon to the vinaigrette instead.

* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.


Nutrition

Serving: 2people Calories: 539kcal Carbohydrates: 54g Protein: 13g Fat: 24g Saturated Fat: 4g Polyunsaturated Fat: 18g Sodium: 918mg Fiber: 16g Sugar: 12g

Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.

© Alexandra Daum
Course: Autumn, Main Course, Mains, Winter
Cuisine: American
Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Print

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.

Woman in garden adjusting peas growing on bamboo.

Occasionally Eggs

by Alexandra Daum

If you’re looking for approachable, seasonal vegetarian recipes, you’re in the right place! Occasionally Eggs is all about healthier plant based recipes that follow the seasons.

Find vegetarian staples, refined sugar free desserts, and hundreds of vegan recipes. All OE recipes are vegetarian, dairy free, and refined sugar free.

More Mains:

Pasta with mushroom sauce on two plates with drinks.Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff
Three rice-stuffed pumpkins on plates.Vegetarian Stuffed Pumpkins
Plates with pieces of puff pastry pie on them.Roasted Vegetable Pie with Puff Pastry
Bowls of pumpkin curry with naan and small pumpkins around.Chickpea Pumpkin Curry

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

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Comments

  1. Vicki says

    December 29, 2022 at 4:35 am

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious. So flavorful. The best thing I’ve made in a long time.

    Reply
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. Ant says

    February 23, 2022 at 7:00 pm

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

    Reply
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. Britney Paulsen says

    July 17, 2020 at 11:51 am

    4 stars

    Reply
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. 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

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