Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Tahini Bowls
When I first bought tahini it was to make my Pumpkin Hummus. For those of you that aren’t familiar with tahini, it is made from ground sesame seeds and is one of the main components in hummus, along with chickpeas. After that first experiment with the Pumpkin Hummus, I used it purely to make homemade hummus and never ventured beyond that.
Then last year I was Googling healthy lunch ideas for Matt and I and came across a quinoa bowl that called for a tahini dressing. My version of the recipe is incredibly simple – tahini, lemon juice, water and garlic powder. I mixed it up completely skeptical, but as soon as I tried it poured over my bowl of roasted veggies and quinoa I was completely hooked.
It was tart, nutty and really creamy. The acidic punch complements the earthy vegetables really well. We have these Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Tahini Bowls all year round and I love that you can swap out the vegetables to your preferences or the season.
This version is my favorite, though, because I love the meatiness that the eggplant and mushrooms bring to the bowl. Matt and I are also mushroom obsessed if I haven’t mentioned that before. Then the zucchinis bring some brightness and the bell pepper adds some sweetness. Perfection in a bowl!
- 2 zucchinis
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 eggplant
- 8 ounces whole cremini mushrooms
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Salt and pepper
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- ¼ cup tahini
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a half sheet baking pan with nonstick aluminum foil or lightly spray with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Prep the veggies. Cut the ends off the zucchini then cut it into thick rounds. Slice the rounds in half. Remove the seeds and stem from the bell pepper then chop into a big dice. Remove the ends from the eggplant then cut into a small dice. The eggplant takes the longest to roast so you want the pieces smaller. Remove the stems from the mushrooms then quarter them.
- Place the vegetables on the prepared baking sheet then toss with just enough olive oil to lightly coat them. Sprinkle with the garlic powder, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 20 minutes, or until the veggies roasted and lightly browned.
- While the veggies are roasting, make the tahini dressing. In a bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, water and garlic powder until incorporated. Keep separate until ready to eat.
- To prepare the bowls, put ½ cup cooked quinoa in each bowl. Divide the roasted veggies between the 4 bowls then divide the dressing between each of the bowls.
For the quinoa, I used a super grains mix that I picked up at my local Whole Foods. It is a mix of red quinoa, white quinoa, millet and buckwheat. It is actually cheaper than the bag of just quinoa and I like the variety for our quinoa bowls.
Dressing recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.