These vegan wild rice and tofu buddha bowls feature roasted beets, sweet potatoes, braised cabbage, and a tantalizing rose-hued cranberry sunflower seed sauce.
Most nights of the week, dinner looks something like this! I love throwing together bowls with whatever plant protein, vegetable, and grain I have on hand. Add an inventive sauce/dressing, and you have a healthy and delicious meal on the table that doesn’t break the bank or take too much time to make.
This vegan wild rice and tofu buddha bowl is a celebration of all that winter vegetables have to offer. Sweet potatoes, beets, and cabbage are all packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and when prepared well, they are also delicious. In this bowl, the sweet potatoes and beets are roasted, while the purple cabbage is braised with some balsamic vinegar until tender.
The cranberry sunflower seed sauce is unique, to be sure, but really tasty! It has a bit of freshly squeezed orange juice to balance out the tartness of the cranberries. If you’ve only ever made stovetop cranberry sauce for the holidays, here is your chance to diversify your cranberry recipe repertoire. 🙂 And, of course, the anchors of this bowl are wild rice and my crispy tofu. I love wild rice for its grassy flavour and aroma and toothsome texture. While it does take about an hour to cook, it is absolutely worth the time in this recipe.
how to make vegan wild rice and tofu buddha bowls
Start by cooking the wild rice. It will need to cook for about an hour.
Next, prepare the crispy tofu.
Chop the beets and drizzle some olive oil, salt, and pepper over them. Place them on a baking sheet and roast at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes. Chop the sweet potatoes and drizzle some olive oil, salt, and pepper over them. Place them on another baking sheet and roast them for the same amount of time.
While the vegetables are in the oven, make the braised red cabbage in a skillet. Saute onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil, and add salt, pepper, and shredded purple cabbage. Cook for 10 minutes, add balsamic vinegar, and cook 10 minutes more.
Finally, make the cranberry sunflower seed sauce by blending together soaked sunflower seeds, fresh cranberries, freshly squeezed orange juice, apple cider vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, Dijon mustard, and water in an upright blender. Blend until smooth.
Once all the components are ready, you can assemble your vegan wild rice and tofu buddha bowls!
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These bowls are wonderful for dinner, but they are just as fabulous for weekday lunches! Just pack the sauce in a separate small glass jar and add it right before eating.
These bowls are so healthy! They’re bursting with protein, fibre, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and healthy fat. I debated about calling them “Winter Glow Bowls,” but opted to go for something more descriptive. You are welcome to think of them as such, though–I know I do!
more bowl recipes
If you enjoy these vegan wild rice and tofu buddha bowls, you might also like these other bowl recipes:
- Barbecue Chickpea Bowls with Creamy Cabbage Slaw
- Vegan Macro Bowls
- Vegan Tempeh and Squash Buddha Bowls
I hope that you love this recipe. If you make it, leave a comment and rating below, and if you share a photo to Instagram, tag it @upbeet.kitchen and hashtag it #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing your tasty recreations.
Enjoy!
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Vegan Wild Rice and Tofu Buddha Bowls with Cranberry Sunflower Seed Sauce
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
These vegan wild rice and tofu buddha bowls feature roasted beets, sweet potatoes, braised cabbage, and a tantalizing rose-hued cranberry sunflower seed sauce. They’re simple, healthy, and nourishing. Get your late winter glow on with this delicious meal.
Ingredients
- 1 cup wild rice
- 1 ¾ cups water
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 batch Crispy Tofu
Roasted Beets and Sweet Potatoes
- 3 medium beets, peeled
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
- 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Braised Purple Cabbage
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium red or yellow onion, diced
- 3 medium cloves of garlic, minced
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 5 cups shredded purple cabbage
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Cranberry Sunflower Seed Sauce
- ½ cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked for at least 2 hours and drained
- 1 cup fresh cranberries (or thawed from frozen)
- ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 medium cloves of garlic
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ⅓ cup – ½ cup water (start with ⅓ cup and add more as needed)
Instructions
- To cook the wild rice, rinse the wild rice through a fine mesh sieve and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the wild rice and salt. Turn down heat to low, stir, and cover with the pot lid. Cook for 60 minutes, or until no water remains in the pot and the rice is tender.
- Prepare the crispy tofu using this recipe and instructions. Leave the oven on.
- Chop the beets into ½-inch cubes. Place in a bowl and drizzle with ¾ tablespoon of olive oil plus a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer the beets to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast for 40-45 minutes, or until tender.
- Follow the directions from step 3 for the sweet potatoes, too.
- While the beets and sweet potato are in the oven, make the braised purple cabbage. Warm the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a small pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Then add the cabbage and additional salt and pepper. (I used about ½ teaspoon of salt and about 20 twists of pepper.) Cook for about 10 minutes, then add the balsamic vinegar and cook 10 minutes more. The cabbage should be nice and tender at this point.
- Make the sauce: Place the sunflower seeds, cranberries, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, Dijon mustard, and water in an upright blender and blend until smooth. If you have a Vitamix or Blendtec, it won’t take long for it to get smooth; if not, it will take a bit more time.
Notes
Quinoa, brown rice, and buckwheat are good alternatives to the wild rice.
You can make the crispy tofu and sauce a day ahead to cut down on the number of components to prepare at one time!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
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