Red Lentil Bowls with Roasted Cauliflower
These high protein vegetarian bowls feature cozy red lentil curry paired with roasted cauliflower and crispy chickpeas on a bed of quinoa. Don't be afraid of the long ingredient list, it's a relatively simple recipe to make.
Servings: 5 servings
Calories: 545kcal
Ingredients
For the Red Lentils
- 1 inch ginger
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon canola oil or another neutral oil
- 1 small sweet yellow onion diced
- 2 large carrots peeled and diced
- 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds OR ½ teaspoon ground cumin** see note #3
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt adjust to taste
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon gochujang see note #1
- 2 teaspoons garam masala see note #2
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 14.5 ounce can petite diced tomatoes with juices
- 13.5 ounce can coconut milk
- 1 ¼ cup vegetable broth
- ¾ cup red lentils see note #4
- 3-4 handfuls spinach optional
- 1 small lime
- fresh chopped cilantro to taste
- cooked quinoa or rice for serving
Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 large head cauliflower cut into florets
- 15 ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ¾ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
For the roasted cauliflower and chickpeas
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower florets and chickpeas with the oil, garam masala, ground cumin, and salt. Transfer to a sheet pan.
- Roast at 425°F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the florets are golden and tender.
For the red lentils
- While the cauliflower is roasting, use a microplane zester or the small sides of a box grater to grate the ginger and garlic into a paste. The garlic and ginger can be minced if you don't have either of these tools.
- Heat a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil. Once hot, add the yellow onion, carrots, garlic, ginger, optional whole cumin seeds, and salt. If using ground cumin, wait to add until the next step.
- Sauté until the onions are golden and the carrots are softened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, gochujang, garam masala, turmeric, and ground cumin, if using. Cook an additional minute to toast the seasonings, stirring constantly.
- Stir in the canned tomatoes, coconut milk, and vegetable broth. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Stir in the lentils.
- Reduce to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Cover and simmer until the lentils are completely tender, about 10 minutes. Remove the lid and continue cooking on low until the cauliflower is ready.
- Stir in the spinach, cilantro, and lime juice and top with the roasted cauliflower and chickpeas. Serve over quinoa with additional lime wedges.
Video
Notes
- Gochujang: This is a Korean chili paste. It has a complex fermented flavor that is salty, sweet, and umami. Gochujang not available? Experiment with adding other spicy condiments like chili garlic sauce, sriracha, sambal oelek, or harissa. These all have different flavor profiles but add a spicy factor.
- Garam masala: I recommend using a salt-free blend. If salt-free garama masala isn't available, just adjust the added salt to taste.
- Cumin: I know most people don't have cumin seeds on hand, so the recipe has an option for using ½ teaspoon ground cumin instead. However, if cumin seeds are available I highly recommend using those as they are much more flavorful.
- Lentils: Red or orange lentils work here but brown and green do not as they are not a direct swap.
- Quinoa: Cook per package instructions. I typically cook 1 cup quinoa in 2 cups water with ¼ teaspoon salt. Bring to a rapid simmer then cover and cook over a low simmer until the liquid is fully absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
- Nutrition calculations are a guideline and vary based on ingredients used. The nutrition calculations here include an estimated ½ cup of quinoa per serving. Without quinoa, the dish has ~20 grams protein per serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 545kcal | Carbohydrates: 89g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 567mg | Potassium: 1734mg | Fiber: 25g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 6739IU | Vitamin C: 106mg | Calcium: 224mg | Iron: 9mg
