‘BLT’ Quinoa Bowl
The bacon in this BLT is 84 grams of chickpeas, tossed in soy sauce, honey, and paprika, then roasted at 400°F until they crackle. They come off the sheet pan with that smoky, salty crunch most plant-based bowls promise and rarely deliver.
Pile them onto quinoa alongside roasted bell pepper strips, cherry tomatoes, half an avocado, crumbled feta, and shredded iceberg, then hit everything with lemon juice. 883 calories, 28g of protein, and 20g of fiber in a single 25-minute vegetarian bowl.
The bacon in this BLT is 84 grams of chickpeas, tossed in soy sauce, honey, and paprika, then roasted at 400°F until they crackle. They come off the sheet pan with that smoky, salty crunch most plant-based bowls promise and rarely deliver.
Pile them onto quinoa alongside roasted bell pepper strips, cherry tomatoes, half an avocado, crumbled feta, and shredded iceberg, then hit everything with lemon juice. 883 calories, 28g of protein, and 20g of fiber in a single 25-minute vegetarian bowl.
Ingredients
- chickpeas 84 g
- olive oil 23 ml
- paprika (ground spice) 1 g
- soy sauce 8 ml
- honey 7 g
- bell pepper 1
- quinoa 84 g
- cherry tomatoes 5
- avocado 0.5
- iceberg lettuce, shredded 30 g
- feta cheese, crumbled 28 g
- lemon juice 5 ml
Method
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Preheat the oven to 400°F (210°C).
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Rinse the chickpeas in a colander with cold water. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.
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In a small bowl, mix half of the oil, paprika, soy sauce, and honey. Toss the chickpeas in this mixture until they are evenly coated.
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Halve the bell pepper lengthwise, remove the seeds, and cut the pepper into thin strips.
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the bell pepper strips on one side of the baking sheet and brush them with the remaining oil. Spread the marinated chickpeas on the other side. Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast for 20 minutes.
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Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to the package instructions in a pot of water. Drain when done.
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Halve the cherry tomatoes. Slice the avocado crosswise.
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Divide the quinoa, roasted bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, and cheese in a bowl. Top with the roasted chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with lemon juice.
Swap regular paprika for smoked paprika in the chickpea marinade. The smokiness mimics cured bacon more convincingly than regular paprika, and the soy-honey glaze caramelizes around it during the 20-minute roast. A pinch of garlic powder in the same marinade pushes the savory depth further without adding a separate step.
The soy sauce in the chickpea marinade is fermented. Research compared fermented soy sauce against a non-fermented version and found the fermented kind enhanced non-heme iron absorption 3.3 times more. Chickpeas and quinoa are both non-heme iron sources, so the marinade is doing quiet work beyond flavor.
Behind this recipe
What makes this a BLT?
The chickpeas stand in for bacon. Tossed in soy sauce, honey, and paprika, then roasted at high heat, they develop the same salty-smoky crunch. The cherry tomatoes are the T, the shredded iceberg is the L. The quinoa and the rest of the bowl are the upgrade.
Can I make the roasted chickpeas ahead of time?
You can, but they lose their crunch within a few hours. If you meal prep, store the roasted chickpeas separately in an airtight container at room temperature and add them to the bowl right before eating. Everything else holds fine in the fridge for a day.
Is quinoa actually a complete protein?
Yes. Quinoa contains all nine essential amino acids, which most grains lack. The typical limiting amino acid in wheat, rice, and corn is lysine. Quinoa has substantially more of it, which is why it qualifies as a complete protein source.
