If you haven’t discovered the grain bowl yet, I think you’ll find them a great choice for a plant-based lifestyle and this Green Goddess Grain Bowl is a great one to try first.
It’s really a meal that would traditionally be served separately on your plate. However, in this concept, everything is tossed into a bowl. The presentation is lovely and the combinations are endless.
You’ll notice the recipe calls for 2 cups of cooked grains and it allows you to choose the type of grain you want. Grains have different textures and flavors and vary just slightly from each other.
If you want to learn more about the “top 4 healthiest grains” we have included a nice article that goes into details.
Take a look at these plant-based recipes:
- Barley Bean Salad with Cauliflower Rice
- Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Mushroom Quinoa Pilaf
- Mushroom Veggie Tacos
This recipe also allows you to choose the types of seeds you like most. Sunflower, chia, hemp and the list goes on but how much do you really know about these tiny powerhouses?
These little seeds contain BIG benefits and flavor too, read more here.
When I mentioned above the combinations were endless, I wasn’t kidding. You can make so many variations by just changing up the grains and seeds each time you make a bowl. You can also play with herbs and veggies that suit your taste or the season.
One more thing I’d like to point out is this recipe calls for bread crumbs, store bought or homemade. It is so simple to make your own bread crumbs you really should do it. This way you can control what goes into “the breadcrumbs” and pick the type of bread you wish to use.
I’ve included this simple video tutorial on how to make homemade breadcrumbs.
I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below for this Green Goddess Grain Bowl! If you have a photo, post it on my Facebook page, tag me using the hashtag #plantbasedcooking
This recipe is Certified Plantricious because it meets the following guidelines.
The Trusted Seal for
Plant-Based Nutrition
- Must be whole food plant-based, contains no animal products
- May be minimally processed
- No added oil
- No added sugars
- No artificial additives or preservatives
- Sodium (mg) to Calories ratio, 1 ≤ 1
- Total Fiber to Calories, 2g ≥ 100 calories
Green Goddess Grain Bowl
Equipment
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 2 cups cooked grains (quinoa, brown rice, farro, buckwheat)
- 2 cups tomatoes chopped
- 2 cups cucumber chopped
- ½ cup olives sliced
- 1 cup roasted bell peppers chopped (optionally use fresh bell pepper)
- 1 cup artichoke hearts chopped
- 1 large avocado sliced
- ¼ cup fresh mixed herbs like mint, parsley, dill, or basil chopped
- 3 tbsp seeds (use any combination of pine nuts, sunflower, sesame, flax or hemp)
For the Baked Zucchini Breading
- 2 medium zucchini sliced into rounds or sticks
- 2 cups whole wheat breadcrumbs (homemade or store-bought)
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp salt
Other Ingredient for Dipping
- ¾ cup whole wheat or oat flour
For the Zucchini Batter
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 clove garlic pressed or diced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- 1-1/2 cup water
Dressing
- ¼ cup tahini
- ¼ cup avocado
- 2-4 tbsp lemon juice
- 4-6 tbsp water
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ¼ cup fresh basil (or other fresh herbs like cilantro or parsley)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cook the grains per your package directions, making enough for 2 cups.
Toast the seeds
- Place in a dry non-stick pan over medium heat and toast until lightly browned. Watch carefully.
For the Zucchini
- Place the breading ingredients, breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, garlic, oregano parsley and salt into a wide bowl.
- Place the oat flour in another bowl.
- Make the batter by blending the oats, 1 cup water, garlic, salt & pepper in a high-speed blender until smooth. Add more water as needed to create a smooth batter that's not too thin. Pour into a 3rd bowl.
- Place the zucchini rounds, a few at a time, first into the oat flour and coat lightly. Then place each into the batter bowl. With your other hand, coat with the batter, lift and allow excess to drip off.
- Lastly, place the zucchini into the breading. With your dry hand, press the breading into the zucchini.
- Place on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and crisp, turning after 15 minutes.
For the Dressing
- Place all ingredients, starting with 4 tablespoons water, into a blender and blend until creamy, adding more water as needed to create a dressing consistency.
For the Bowl
- Use 1 large bowl or 4 individual ones.
- Place the grains on the bottom of the bowl.
- Around the edges, top with zucchini slices, olives, artichokes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. Sprinkler the herbs and seeds overall.
- Place the avocado in the center and drizzle the dressing. Serve extra dressing on the side.
How much water do you blend with the oats for the batter? Also, you state to mix the garlic in with the breadcrumbs (in addition to blending with the oats) – I think you just meant to include it with the oats blend.
We made these last night and they are pretty yummy. I had to add 3-4 more tablespoons of water to the dressing than what the recipe calls for to get it to blend. To me, the baked zucchini was more work than it was worth and I’d probably skip that next time in order to make this more suitable for a weeknight meal (also, if you are doing the zucchini, doing spears instead of rounds will save a lot of time!!). I loved the artichokes and olives in it!
Hi, thanks for the suggestions and feedback. Breading and baking the zucchini is a bit of work, and you’re right, you could just bake or pan-fry the zucchini for the recipe. I’ll put that suggestion in the notes. 👍 I went through the recipe and changed the order a bit. I also fixed where you had questions, and I hope it makes more sense now. Glad you enjoyed the recipe.