Crispy Quinoa Chickpea Bowls with Roasted Broccoli and Meyer Lemon Tahini Sauce

These Crispy Quinoa Chickpea Bowls with Roasted Broccoli and Meyer Lemon Tahini Sauce are a hearty, wholesome meal that are perfect to make for meal prep! The quinoa gets crisped up in a pan which makes for such incredible texture, and the chickpeas are roasted with harissa seasoning until crispy! The tahini sauce is absolutely delicious, citrusy, and slightly sweet – such a perfect bowl of healthy goodness!

I don’t know about you, but I’m READY for vegetables. Holidays are always so much fun, but they don’t always leave me feeling the best. Between all the Christmas cookies, abundance of sweets, carbs on carbs, and wine, I’m in need of some green things in my life. Now don’t get me wrong, I always try to get in as many veggies as I can, regardless of the season, but even if I have my usual green smoothie or avocado toast for breakfast and a salad for lunch during the month of December, the nightly holiday indulgence still catches up to ya. You know?

Hence why I’m sharing these super delicious vegetable and whole food goodness packed bowls on this lovely January 2nd. These are SO good you guys. They’re super simple, just some grains, legumes, veggies, and tahini sauce – but that combo never, ever fails.

Many of my meals come in the form of something that looks like this – a grain, some kind of protein (in this case, chickpeas), loads of vegetables (whatever is in season), and a SAUCE.

Sauces make everything infinitely better. I truly can’t really really enjoy a meal unless it has some kind of incredible sauce, dressing, pesto, etc. They’re just such game changers!

The sauce in this case is a meyer lemon tahini sauce! And oh my goodness is it good. I always look forward to winter citrus season, mostly because of blood oranges (duh), but meyer lemons are also a favorite of mine! They’re sweeter and not quite as tart and “lemony” as regular lemons, if that makes any sense!

They add the perfect amount of tart and sweet to this tahini sauce and it’s incredible on just about anything you want to add it to!

The other game changer here: CRISPY QUINOA! I love quinoa as it is, and I think it has a great texture in it’s natural state, but here I crisped it up in a pan with a little olive oil and it’s SO good. It gets extra nutty too! Basically the only way I want to eat quinoa now!

These are also super customizable. I know a lot of people are doing Whole 30 this month or people who follow a more paleo lifestyle in general, so you could totally use cauliflower rice instead of quinoa, or whatever vegetable rice you like!

Same goes for the veggies, and the spices on the chickpeas too! You could sub cauliflower or whatever other veg you have on hand for the broccoli, and use whatever spices you like on the chickpeas. I happen to be obsessed with this dry harissa seasoning I found at Whole Foods, but you can use a mixture of garlic powder, smoked paprika, or even some curry powder! Basically, anything will work!

My only requirement is that you make the tahini sauce and be generous with it. It’s soooo good! And this tahini is the only tahini worth buying, in my opinion. It’s absolutely insane. Super creamy, and it has incredible flavor. And no bitterness at all. Do yourself a favor and get some!

Also! I forgot to mention – I’ll be sharing mostly plant based recipes on the blog this month, as a way to kick off the New Year eating lots of super fun meals, loaded with vegetables. Definitely not sacrificing any flavor here. Mostly plant based is actually the way I eat most of the time in real life, and you guys made it clear that you wanted to see more of that this year!

So excited to share 2019 with you guys! Thank you as always for being here. <3

4.67 from 6 votes

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Crispy Quinoa Chickpea Bowls with Roasted Broccoli and Meyer Lemon Tahini Sauce

These Crispy Quinoa Chickpea Bowls with Roasted Broccoli and Meyer Lemon Tahini Sauce are a hearty, wholesome meal that are perfect to make for meal prep! The quinoa gets crisped up in a pan which makes for such incredible texture, and the chickpeas are roasted with harissa seasoning until crispy! The tahini sauce is absolutely delicious, citrusy, and slightly sweet - such a perfect bowl of healthy goodness!

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main

Cuisine Gluten Free, Healthy, Plant Based, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword crispy quinoa chickpea bowls

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 3 -4

Author Molly | Spices in My DNA

Ingredients

For the roasted broccoli

• 2 medium heads broccoli, cut into small florets
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

For the crispy chickpeas

• 1 (15.5 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon harissa seasoning*
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

For the tahini sauce

• 1/2 cup tahini*
• zest of 1 meyer lemon*
• juice of 1 meyer lemon*
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon coconut aminos*
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup hot water

For the crispy quinoa

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cups cooked quinoa*

For serving

• 1 avocado, sliced
• a handful of chopped fresh parsley and chives
• lemon wedges

Instructions

1. Begin by making the roasted broccoli and crispy chickpeas (they can be roasted on one sheet pan). Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Place the broccoli on half of the pan, and the chickpeas on the other half. Drizzle the olive oil on the broccoli, and the olive oil on the chickpeas. Add salt and pepper to the broccoli and toss. Add the harissa seasoning and salt and pepper to the chickpeas and toss to coat. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until chickpeas are golden and crispy, and the broccoli is golden on the edges.

2. While the broccoli and chickpeas are roasting, make the tahini sauce. Whisk together the tahini, lemon zest, lemon juice, maple syrup, coconut aminos, garlic, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add the hot water and whisk again until completely smooth and creamy.

3. Make the crispy quinoa. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the quinoa in a single layer and press down to flatten it into the pan. Cook for 2 minutes (don't touch!), then toss it around, and press it down into the pan again. Cook for another 2 minutes, then toss it around, and repeat 1-2 more times until quinoa is crispy and golden.

4. To serve, top the crispy quinoa with the roasted broccoli and chickpeas, sliced avocado, a generous drizzle of tahini sauce, and a handful of chopped parsley and chives. Serve with lemon wedges if desired!

Recipe Notes

*If you can't find dry harissa seasoning (it's usually with all of the spices) you can use a mixture of smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder, or you can use curry powder, or whatever spices you like!
*This is the tahini I recommend and can't live without. It's incredible!
*You can sub meyer lemons for regular lemons if you can't find them.
*You can sub soy sauce or tamari for the coconut aminos.
*3/4 cup of dry quinoa yields about 3 cups cooked.
*Extra tahini sauce will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week!

There may be an affiliate link(s) in this post, which means that if you click on a product link above and complete a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you! As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you SO much for reading!