Vegan Tofu Buddha Bowl

Cassie Benzinger
by Cassie Benzinger
2 Servings
20 min

I know it may seem like everyone is on a health kick, but I think anytime is the perfect time to start! Whipping up quick and healthy meals that can be prepped ahead of time for the week has been a life-saver.

You’ll love this “Buddha Bowl” recipe that can be made to fit however you like. Now, for those of you who were as clueless as I was about the name…buddha bowls aren’t really about Buddha, they’ve just become a popular name for any kind of grain bowl meal with lots of yummy and good-for-you ingredients.


In this recipe, we’ve included quinoa, sauteed veggies, garlic chili tofu, and fresh tomatoes and cilantro!


How do you feel about cooking tofu? Joseph and I get a lot of questions about the best ways to cook tofu since we tend to use it in a lot of our recipes. My recommendation is to purchase the extra firm tofu, slice the block into three long sheets, roughly 3/4 inch thick each, place side-by-side in between a few paper towels on a cutting board and place another cutting board on top with something heavy to weigh it down for more than thirty minutes. This will get all of the extra water out that you don’t need and will make you enjoy tofu a whole lot more.


You can purchase a  tofu press on Amazon for roughly $20.00 that works great as well.


I know there are several methods , but that is just what works well for us for this particular buddha bowl recipe.


If you have any questions you can always shoot me an email and I’ll be happy to help!


So, another awesome kitchen gadget I used was an  Instant Pot to make the quinoa. It was the first time I tried it on the rice setting for 10 minutes and it was so perfect and fluffy. I don’t know if I’ll ever cook it in a regular pot again!


Everything else is easy, just season the tofu, begin cooking it in a saute pan for a few minutes, add your vegetables to the pan, top with your homemade sauce, tomatoes, and cilantro. And you’re done!


Recipe details
  • 2  Servings
  • Prep time: 5 Minutes Cook time: 15 Minutes Total time: 20 min
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Ingredients
Bowl
  • 1 pack extra firm tofu
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 colored peppers sliced or 5 mini sweet peppers
  • 1 cup chopped mushrooms
  • 1/2 onion
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
  • 1/4 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
Sauce
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions

Begin by heating olive oil in a pan, add tofu and season with chili powder, garlic powder, and salt. Saute and chop apart for 5 minutes.
While the tofu is sauteing, begin cooking quinoa in a separate pot with 1 part quinoa, 2 parts water or vegetable stock.
Add peppers, onion, and mushrooms to your pan of tofu and saute for 10 minutes.
Mix your sauce together and slice the cherry tomatoes.
Serve the quinoa in a bowl, add the tofu and veggie stir fry, and top with the sauce, cherry tomatoes, and cilantro.
Tips
  • The sauce can be adjusted to your liking.
Cassie Benzinger
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Comments
  • Caj17523550 Caj17523550 on Jul 24, 2021

    you do not list the quinoa in ingredients nor the amount to cook????

  • Janice Janice on Jul 01, 2022

    I'm like Tom Hanks in 'Cast Away'....I give it a squeeze and cook it!

    All the gadgets suggested to press tofu shouldn't deter those wanting to try it. Just squeeze out the excess water with a clean tower (impeccably clean, as Julia Child would say) or a couple of paper towels, cut it up in cubes and that's really all that's needed!

    I've been cooking tofu for so many years, even Wilson doesn't care how I make it!

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