30 High Protein Vegan Power Bowls That Taste Amazing

This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, please read our full disclosure here

Call them whatever you like. Buddha bowls, power bowls, grain bowls, macro bowls etc.

They basically refer to the same thing. An (often vegetarian), nutritious bowl, filled with grains, veggies, and legumes, and drizzled with a nice dressing of choice.

Buddha/power bowls have grown a lot in popularity, and for really good reason. Apart from being super easy to prepare, they also pack a nice nutritional punch, not to mention they come out really delicious once you make them right.

Even though a large number of Buddha or power bowls tend to be vegetarian, it’s also possible, and super-duper easy too, to make them vegan-friendly as well.

Even with eggs, cheese and other animal-based options out of the equation, you can still get a decent amount of plant-based protein from your Buddha bowls, without stress.

Here, you’ll discover how to make a Buddha bowl, as well as 30 delicious vegan Buddha bowl recipes that are high in protein, and taste really, really good.

If you’re not in love with them already, you’re about to be.

How To Build A Vegan Power Bowl

One good thing about Buddha bowls, is that there’s hardly any ‘wrong’ way to make them.

Sure, a certain chosen combination of ingredients may not come out as good as you might have expected, which honestly, I don’t think happens very often. And even if it does, it could be due to a lot of factors.

But overall, Buddha bowls are super easy to make and quite versatile. So now let’s get to the basics.

What ingredients go into your vegan power bowl? Well, overall, it goes a bit like this.

Grains
Vegetables
Legumes
Dressing
Le final toppings

Grains

It’s literally in the name (grain bowls). Grains are pretty much the first things to consider when building your vegan power bowls. And luckily, there are lots to choose from.

The most popular ones you’ll find are rice (brown and white), quinoa, barley etc. In terms of nutrients, brown rice surpasses white rice, although it tends to be a bit higher in calories as well.

Quinoa is also super nutritious, and higher in protein as well, which helps if you’re trying to give your vegan Buddha bowl a protein boost. Wild rice contains less calories, and more protein than brown or white rice.

Other yummy grains include; freekeh, farro, sorghum, buckwheat and millet.

Your choice of grains is really up to you. Feel free to experiment with any one or a combination of them.

Vegetables

Of course after your grains, next thing to think about is your veggies. As you know, they’re a good source of nutrients, super filling and yadi yadi yada. You know how it goes.

From leafy greens like kale, spinach and arugula, to juicy rainbow veggies like zucchini, carrots, butternut squash, cucumber, bell peppers, etc. and even others like steamed broccoli, beets and mushrooms.

You essentially have a really long list to choose from, which is good. Feel free to experiment here as well. Your only limit here is your imagination (insert awkward wink).

Legumes

This is where the bulk of your protein will probably come from. Legumes are a good source of plant-based proteins, as well as fiber, and other essential nutrients.

Popular legumes you’ll find in Buddha bowls are lentils, beans (white, black, pinto, kidney, etc.), chickpeas, soybeans and so on. Processed soy products like tofu and tempeh are also very popular, are rich in protein as well.

Mixing up the legumes contributes to a yummier and a more protein-rich vegan power bowl.

Dressing

This is where you get to add your favorite flavors to the bowl.

You can choose from really simple dressings, like a drizzle of olive oil or lemon juice, to more complex (and tastier) ones like tahini sauce, garlic lemon dressings or even creamy avocado dressings.

It’s really up to you. As always, feel free to experiment here.

Final Toppings

Any other thing you’d like to add to your vegan Buddha bowl goes here. And you still have a lot of options to choose from.

You could throw in some nuts and/or seeds, avocado slices, a few chopped veggies, or even a sprinkle of some vegan cheese.

Nuts and seeds not only add a bit more crunchiness to your bowl, they’re also a good source of healthy fats, and a bit of protein, which will help keep you satisfied. Avocado are creamy, delicious and a good source of healthy fats too.

Some people also like to throw in some fruits, like lemon slices, pomegranate seeds, tomatoes (yes, I like to call them ‘fruits’) and even mangoes.

Feel free to let your inner chef run wild.