Roasted Summer Squash Quinoa Bowls

These quinoa bowls are a delicious way to use up all of the summer vegetables in your garden! Oven roasted summer squash, zucchini and cherry tomatoes are topped with the most delicious lemon tahini dressing in these healthy, vegan bowls!

This summer I was blessed with a generous neighbor that grew an incredible amount of summer squash! Paired with the zucchini and cherry tomatoes from my own garden, our dinner table has been full of fresh, colorful veggies!

Always looking for new ways to eat our favorite summer vegetables, I decided to roast them and top them with the best tahini sauce! The fresh lemon tahini dressing paired perfectly with the fresh roasted summer vegetables.

And these bowls couldn't be easier to toss together! Get the quinoa cooking on the stove, in an instant pot or in a rice cooker, then toss the veggies in the oven. While the veggies are roasting, whip up the lemon tahini sauce in a blender.

In just 30 minutes, these bowls are ready to eat!

What You'll Need

• Summer Veggies - I used a combination of summer squash, zucchini and cherry tomatoes to make these bowls. If you have an abundance of zucchini or squash, you can simply use one or the other, instead of both.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt
• Coarse Ground Black Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Smoked Paprika
• Quinoa - cooked in an Instant Pot, on the stove or in a rice cooker. Follow this easy how to cook quinoa guide, to learn how to make it each way!
• Canned Chickpeas - these chickpeas are already cooked, so they just need to be drained and rinsed from the can, then tossed in the bowls!
• Lemon Tahini Dressing - this dressing is easy to make in 5 minutes and will stay good in the refrigerator for up to 10 days, so you can easily make it ahead of time!

Step by Step Instructions

1. Prepare the quinoa. If you don't already have cooked quinoa on hand, use an Instant Pot, rice cooker or saucepan on the stove to prepare the quinoa.
2. Roast the vegetables. Slice the zucchini and summer squash into half circle shapes. Toss the sliced zucchini, squash and whole cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and smoked paprika. Arrange the vegetables in an even layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in a 425°F oven to roast for 15-18 minutes.
3. Assemble the bowls. Divide the quinoa between two bowls. Remove the vegetables from the oven and toss with chickpeas. Divide the vegetables between the two bowls on top of the quinoa. Drizzle lemon tahini dressing over the bowls or serve the dressing on the side.

Frequently Asked Quesions

• Do I need to peel summer squash before cooking? Nope! Just scrub the summer squash clean right before slicing it. There's no need to peel the squash because of the soft, thin skin.
• What is the difference between zucchini and summer squash? Zucchini is a type of summer squash. The difference between the zucchini and yellow summer squash pictured in this recipe is the color and shape of the vegetable. The texture and taste are very similar and they can be interchangeable in the recipe if one or the other is not available.
• How do you cut summer squash? To make half-circle slices, as seen in this recipe, start by cutting the ends off of each squash. Cut the squash lengthwise down the middle, then cut the squash in approximately ¼" slices.

Easy Bowl Modifications

Make It Vegan

• This bowl is already vegan, so no modifications need to be made.

Make It Low Carb

• Replace the quinoa with cauliflower rice to make these bowls low carb. Making this substitution will reduce the overall carbohydrates in the bowl from 60 carbs, down to 25 total carbs per serving and 17 net carbs per serving.

Meal Prep It

• For Storage: roast the vegetables, prepare the quinoa and prepare the lemon tahini dressing. Divide the quinoa between two storage containers, then divide the roasted vegetables and chickpeas between the two containers. Place the lemon tahini dressing in two small salad dressing containers and place one in each of the larger containers with the quinoa and vegetables. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
• To Reheat and Eat: remove the lemon tahini dressing from the storage containers. Reheat the quinoa and vegetables in the microwave for 2 minutes. Remove from the microwave and top with the lemon tahini dressing.
  • Alternatively, these bowls can be eaten cold.

Add A Protein

• For more plant based protein, add another ¼ cup chickpeas to each bowl.
  • This will add an additional 3 grams of protein per bowl for a total of 19 grams of protein in each bowl.
• For a meat based protein option, add roasted chicken to the bowls.
  • To prepare: Combine ½ teaspoon each salt, pepper, garlic powder and smoked paprika in a small bowl. Pound 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts until they're 1 inch thick. Rub the spice mix on the chicken, then place it on a sheet pan and into the oven with the roasted vegetables. Roast the chicken in the oven for 20 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Slice or dice the chicken and divide it between the bowls.
  • Adding ½ pound of chicken to each bowl will add an additional 50 grams of protein per bowl for a total of 66 grams of protein per bowl.

Looking for more easy vegan bowls? Check out these 7 recipes!

1. Kale Beet Salad
2. Low Carb Vegan Fajita Bowl
3. Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Salad
4. Za'atar Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Bowl
5. Quinoa Bowl with Grilled Vegetables
6. Chipotle Cauliflower Vegan Taco Bowl
7. Sweet Potato Vegan Burrito Bowl

Recipe