Coconut Quinoa Bowl with Roasted Broccoli & Hummus
Coconut milk simmered into the quinoa, frozen broccoli roasted until the edges blacken, radishes and cucumber quick-pickled in lime and sriracha, edamame tossed warm on top, and a thick scoop of hummus pulling everything together.
One bowl, 25 minutes, and 32 grams of protein from three plant sources without a single gram of meat or dairy. The kind of dinner that looks like it took effort but mostly just took a sheet pan and good timing.
Ingredients
- quinoa 3 oz
- coconut milk 3 fl oz
- carrot 1
- radishes 6
- cucumber 0.5
- broccoli florets frozen 4 oz
- olive oil 1 tbsp
- edamame 3 oz
- lime juice 1 squeeze
- honey 1 tsp
- soy sauce 1 tbsp
- sriracha 1 tsp
- hummus 2 oz
Method
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Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F). Cook the quinoa according to the package instructions, but replace part of the water with coconut milk.
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Cook the edamame according to the instructions on the package.
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In the meantime, slice the radishes and cucumber thinly. Put them in a small bowl and mix with the lime juice, honey, soy sauce, and sriracha.
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Place the frozen broccoli florets on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
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Roast the broccoli in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes until crispy and golden brown.
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Cut the carrot into thin ribbons using a peeler.
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Divide the coconut quinoa into a bowl. Top with the roasted broccoli, pickled radish and cucumber, carrot ribbons, and edamame.
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Add a generous dollop of hummus. Drizzle any remaining pickling liquid over the bowl.
Replace part of the lime juice with rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar. For a more subtle radish and cucumber flavor, rinse the slices briefly after marinating and pat them dry before adding to the bowl. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
The frozen broccoli in this bowl still contains glucoraphanin — the precursor to sulforaphane, a compound linked to cellular protective mechanisms. But blanching before freezing destroyed the enzyme (myrosinase) needed to unlock it. Research by Dosz and Jeffery found that raw cruciferous vegetables provide a backup: their own myrosinase picks up where the broccoli's left off. The raw radishes in this recipe happen to be exactly that kind of backup.
Dosz & Jeffery, 2013 — Journal of Food Science · DOIBehind this recipe
Is frozen broccoli less nutritious than fresh?
Most nutrients survive freezing just fine. But one thing does change: the blanching step before freezing destroys myrosinase, an enzyme broccoli needs to produce sulforaphane. The glucoraphanin (the raw material) is still there — it just cannot be converted without the enzyme. Research found that adding a raw cruciferous vegetable like radish restores this conversion by roughly 10-fold, because radish carries its own myrosinase (Dosz & Jeffery, 2013). In this recipe, the pickled radishes serve that role.
Can I get enough protein from a plant-based meal like this?
This bowl delivers 32 grams of protein from three complementary plant sources: quinoa (a complete protein with all essential amino acids), edamame (whole soybeans), and hummus (chickpea-based). Two studies comparing plant and animal protein for muscle-building found that total daily protein intake matters more than the source — plant protein supported muscle protein synthesis when the overall target was met.
Read the full evidence reviewWhy cook quinoa with coconut milk?
Replacing part of the cooking water with coconut milk gives the quinoa a richer, slightly sweet base that complements the sriracha-lime pickled vegetables. It also adds medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) — a fat type that is absorbed more directly than most dietary fats. The result is a creamier grain base without adding a separate sauce.
23 grams of fiber in one meal — is that a lot?
Most adults eat about 15 grams of fiber per day total. This bowl packs 23 grams into a single sitting, from quinoa, broccoli, edamame, and hummus combined. A meta-analysis of 62 trials found that higher fiber intake was independently associated with greater fat loss, even when calories were matched. This bowl covers more fiber than most people eat all day.
Read the full evidence review
