These Moroccan Chickpea Bowls with Herb Tahini Sauce are healthy, flavourful, and satisfying. Moroccan-spiced chickpeas, quinoa, turmeric-roasted cauliflower, kale, olives, and a herb tahini sauce combine to make a nutritious and delicious meal.
We eat a lot of bowls at our house. They’re somewhat of a weeknight staple, and while they’re often a smorgasbord of what we have on hand, they share a few things in common. They always have a green, an additional vegetable, a grain, and a vegan protein, as well as a sauce to tie everything together.
This particular number–Moroccan Chickpea Bowls with Herb Tahini Sauce–checks off all of the aforementioned boxes. Chickpeas cooked with onions, garlic, and Moroccan spices are nestled in bowls along with quinoa, turmeric-roasted cauliflower, lightly dressed kale, olives, and lemony herb tahini sauce. You might look at the components and balk at how involved the prep might be, but everything comes together quite quickly! You can definitely make these bowls on a weeknight as long as you have 45 minutes to spare. They are just as special as a healthy weekend dinner.
recipe features
- Complex flavours: Moroccan spices–cumin, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric, smoked paprika, and cayenne–along with the lemon and herbs in the tahini sauce–produce complex flavours that you’ll go wild for.
- Balance of all macronutrients: Protein from the chickpeas, quinoa, and sauce; carbs from the chickpeas and quinoa; fat from the olives and tahini sauce.
- Plenty of micronutrients: Kale is packed with beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin K1, and calcium; quinoa is high in folate and magnesium; and tahini is rich in calcium, iron, and magnesium.
ingredients you need
- For the roasted cauliflower: Cauliflower, olive oil, turmeric, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- For the Moroccan chickpeas: Olive oil, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, smoked paprika, and cayenne.
- For the kale: Kale, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
- For the tahini sauce: Parsley, cilantro, and/or mint, avocado, tahini, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, maple syrup, salt, pepper, and water.
- For serving: Cooked quinoa (or grain of choice) and olives.
step by step instructions
- Prepare the turmeric-roasted cauliflower: Toss cauliflower florets with some olive oil, turmeric, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and roast for 30 minutes.
- While the cauliflower is in the oven, make the Moroccan-spiced chickpeas: Saute onions and garlic in a skillet and add the spices, followed by the chickpeas. Remove from heat and cover until ready to use. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa.
- Next, prepare the simply dressed kale and, finally, the tahini sauce.
- To serve, place some Moroccan chickpeas, quinoa, cauliflower, kale, olives, and tahini sauce in a bowl!
more healthy bowl recipes
I hope you love these Moroccan Chickpea Bowls! Leave a comment and review below to let me know how you liked them, and if you share a photo to Instagram, tag @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love sharing your creations in my stories. 🙂
Enjoy!
PrintMoroccan Chickpea Bowls with Herb Tahini Sauce
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Healthy vegan Moroccan chickpea bowls with quinoa, kale, roasted cauliflower, and herb tahini sauce.
Ingredients
Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower
- 1 medium head of cauliflower, chopped into florets
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp each fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Moroccan Chickpeas
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp coriander
- ¼ tsp cayenne, or to taste
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 15-oz cans, drained and rinsed)
Simple Massaged Kale
- 1 medium bunch green kale, chopped
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ½ tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- Pinch each fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Avocado Herb Tahini Sauce
- 1 cup fresh herbs (I used a combination of parsley, cilantro, and mint)
- 1 ripe avocado
- ¼ cup tahini
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 medium garlic cloves
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup water, plus more as desired to thin
For Serving
- Cooked quinoa, couscous, brown rice, buckwheat, etc.
- Olives
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the cauliflower florets in a bowl and drizzle with the olive oil, then sprinkle on the turmeric, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat and transfer to the baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the Moroccan chickpeas: Warm the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Add all of the spices, a couple more pinches of sea salt, and the chickpeas. Cook for a few minutes to allow the chickpeas to crisp up slightly, then remove from the heat and cover until ready to serve.
- Make the simple massaged kale: Place the chopped kale in a bowl. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, dijon, salt, and pepper in a small dish and pour over the kale. Use your hands to massage the dressing into the kale until it becomes bright green and tender.
- Make the tahini sauce: Place the herbs, avocado, tahini, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, maple syrup, garlic, salt, pepper, and water in an upright blender and blend until smooth. Add more water, a tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. I like a somewhat thick sauce, but you can thin it out as you like.
- To serve, divide the chickpeas, cauliflower, kale, and quinoa between 4 bowls. Top with olives and tahini sauce.
Notes
If you’re cooking quinoa or other grains, be sure to put them on right after you put the cauliflower into the oven to ensure that they’re ready in time to eat.
The sauce makes a good amount, so you’ll likely have plenty left over. It’s really good on sandwiches, wraps, and tofu scrambles!
Here’s another serving idea: Instead of serving as bowls, pile all the fillings onto tortillas or pitas!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Bowls, Supper, Lunch
- Cuisine: Moroccan
Keywords: moroccan chickpea bowls, lemon herb tahini sauce
Kelli
Super tasty!! I added a little sprinkle of chili powder to the cauliflower. Didn’t have an avocado for the sauce, but it was good without! The kale dressing was SO good. Going to use it every time I make kale salad. This will definitely be a staple vegetarian meal for our family!
Allison
Amazing, Kelli! Thank you so much. I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Sue
So much.great flavor in one bowl. That thick avo-tahini sauce pulled it all together. Thanks Allison,
★★★★★
Allison
Thank you, Sue!! 🙂
Melanie
My family LOVES this dish! It is hard to balance 2 people who prefer to eat vegetarian with 2 people who don’t, but my whole family is happy when I make this dish!
★★★★★
Allison
I am beyond happy to hear that, Melanie! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
Zach
A wonderful bowl!
★★★★★
Caroline
If I massage the kale in advance for meal prepping do you think it will last a few days?
Allison
Hi Caroline, yes, definitely! I am so sorry for the late reply; I wasn’t blogging during the winter and missed out on many comments! Enjoy!