Italian Bowl with Roasted Vegetables and Quinoa

Dig into all the best flavors of Italy with this healthy, vegan Italian Bowl with roasted vegetables and quinoa. This recipe is gluten free, packed with vitamins and plant-based protein, and easy to make in just 30 minutes!

Sweet roasted tomatoes, paired with crunchy kale, crispy chickpeas and a creamy sun dried tomato dressing, this bowl has it all! The balance of flavors and textures is guaranteed to make this your new favorite Italian bowl recipe!

It's easy to make in 30 minutes, perfect for a healthy dinner or meal-prepping for the week. For more protein, try adding vegan meatballs, chicken or salmon.

This delicious bowl is bursting with flavor and so simple to toss together. Try it for dinner tonight!

Jump to:

• Ingredients you'll need
• Step by step instructions
• How to add protein
• Frequently asked questions
• More vegan bowls
• Recipe
• Comments

Ingredients you'll need

• Kale - for this recipe, I used a traditional curly kale. You could also use Italian lacinato kale, also known as Tuscan kale.
• Red bell pepper
• Onion
• Cherry tomatoes
• Chickpeas - also known as garbanzo beans. For this recipe, you'll want to use the canned variety vs. dried beans. The cooked, canned beans will crisp up nicely in the oven with the vegetables.
• Olive oil
• Italian seasoning - I prefer to use a homemade blend of spices (recipe linked to the left). But you can also purchase a pre-made Italian seasoning mix at the grocery store.
• Sea salt
• Lemon - you'll use both the zest and juice from one fresh lemon in this recipe.
• Red pepper flakes
• Cooked quinoa - check out this post on how to cook quinoa 3 ways to learn how to quickly & easily make it in an Instant Pot, rice cooker or on the stove!
• Sun dried tomato sauce - this creamy vegan sauce is so delicious and easy to make with a base of soaked cashews. You'll want to make it ahead of time to use on the bowls. It stores in the refrigerator for 14 days, so you can make it up to 2 weeks in advance!
• Fresh basil leaves

Step by step instructions

1. Roast the veggies, tomatoes and chickpeas. Arrange the kale on a foil-lined baking sheet and toss it with olive oil and sea salt. On another foil-lined baking sheet, add the sliced red bell pepper, onions, cherry tomatoes and chickpeas. Toss everything in olive oil and Italian seasoning. Place both baking sheets in a 400°F oven and roast for 20-25 minutes.
2. Season the roasted vegetables. After everything comes out of the oven, immediately drizzle both the kale and roasted vegetables and chickpeas with lemon juice. Sprinkle with sea salt, lemon zest and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine all of the ingredients.
3. Assemble the bowls. Divide the cooked quinoa between four bowls, then divide the roasted vegetables, tomatoes and chickpeas between the bowls. Drizzle the sun dried tomato sauce over the bowls, or serve it in a small bowl on the side. Garnish with fresh chopped basil leaves and serve the bowls immediately.

How to add protein

Each serving of this bowl is loaded up with 15 grams of plant-based protein. If you'd like to add more plant-based protein, I recommend these vegan meatballs. They're so delicious and the perfect addition to this Italian bowl! Each vegan meatball contains 5 grams of protein, so adding 3 meatballs to each bowl will double the protein!

If you'd like to add a meat-based protein to the bowl, I recommend Italian sausage, chicken breasts, salmon or keto meatballs.

• Italian sausage links can be roasted in the oven with the vegetables at 400°F for 20 minutes. After removing the sausages from the oven, slice them up and add them to the bowls. The amount of protein per sausage will vary based on the brand of sausage you purchase and whether it's chicken or pork sausage. One link of True Story Italian Chicken Sausage will add 11 grams of protein to each bowl.
• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts can also be roasted in the oven with the vegetables. Pound 1-2 chicken breasts until they're 1 inch thick. At this thickness, the chicken will roast at the same time as the vegetables and chickpeas. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and season with Italian seasoning. Place the chicken on a baking sheet and roast in the oven at the same time and temperature as the vegetables and chickpeas. Remove the chicken from the oven, dice it up and add it to the bowls. A 3 ounce serving of roasted chicken will add 26 grams of protein to each bowl.
• Salmon can also be roasted in the oven with the vegetables. You'll want to drizzle the salmon with olive oil, then season it with the Italian seasoning. You could also try this Pesto Salmon recipe. The salmon should roast in the oven at 400°F with the vegetables for 15-20 minutes. Adding a 6 ounce filet of salmon to each bowl will add 40 grams of protein.
• Meatballs can be roasted in the oven with the vegetables, or broiled in another oven for just 5-7 minutes. These keto meatballs are small, but mighty, containing ZERO carbs per meatball and 3 grams of protein. Feel free to add 5 or 6 to the bowls to add 15-18 grams of protein.

Frequently asked questions

• Can you meal prep the bowls? Yes, you can cook the quinoa, roast the vegetables and prepare the sauce in advance. I recommend keeping each part of the bowl separate until you're ready to serve the bowls. The quinoa and roasted vegetables can be reheated in the microwave for 2 minutes. I recommend adding the sauce after reheating the bowls.
• How long will leftovers stay good? Leftover bowls will stay good in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
• Can I make these bowls low-carb? Unfortunately these bowls contain a lot of high-carb ingredients, like quinoa and chickpeas, so without changing the recipe drastically, these bowls are not easily made low-carb. Instead, I recommend checking out our library of low carb recipes!

More vegan bowls

Try all of our most popular plant-based bowls!

• Sweet Potato Burrito Bowl
• Asian Tempeh Bowl with Peanut Sauce
• Tofu Scramble Burrito Bowl
• Harissa Broccoli Bowl
• Kale Sweet Potato Salad
• Low Carb Vegan Fajita Bowl

Recipe