Korean BBQ chickpea bento bowls are packed full of plant-based deliciousness and make a delicious meal prep lunch!
Does anyone else love Korean barbecue? Meeeee!
Let’s take those delicious Korean BBQ flavors and add them to this healthy vegan recipe that is perfect served as dinner or as a meal prep lunch.
This Korean BBQ Chickpea Bento Bowl recipe is from Lindsay Cotter’s cookbook Nourishing Superfood Bowls
If you are looking to add more superfoods to your diet, I highly recommend checking out Lindsay’s cookbook! There are 75 delicious gluten-free bowl recipes in the book, each of which has it’s own beautiful photo and concise instructions. Lots of these recipes are perfect for meal prep, too!
I have bookmarked a whole bunch of recipes to try for our family, including Midnight Mocha Oatmeal Bowls (page 31), Honey Miso Salad Bowls (page 50) and the Southern Caesar Salad Power Bowls (page 145).
We love these Korean BBQ Chickpea Bento Bowls because
- the chickpeas taste fantastic
- they are packed full of superfoods
- they are so pretty to look at!
How to make Korean BBQ chickpea bowls
There are a few components to this meal, but if you multitask you can have it ready in under 30 minutes.
- get your rice cooking (I used a rice cooker so I can set and forget!)
- shake together the Korean BBQ sauce for the chickpeas. Don’t forget to set aside 2 tablespoons to spoon over the bowls after they are cooked.
- roast chickpeas in the oven 15-20 minutes
- while chickpeas are roasting, prep your veggies: zucchini and carrot ribbons, shredded brussels sprouts and grape tomatoes
- portion everything out! I got four portions from this recipe.
How to store these BBQ Chickpea Bento Bowls? We kept ours in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat or enjoy cold, it’s up to you!
Can I swap the vegetables? I bet a number of veggies would work in this bowl! Lindsay lists shredded cabbage as an alternative to the brussels sprouts, and I bet you could also use broccoli. Microgreens were also included in the ingredients list but we couldn’t find them in our grocery store. I would add them fresh if you are meal prepping this recipe!
Can I swap the chickpeas? I bet Lindsay’s Korean BBQ sauce would be great on a number of different proteins! I can’t say for sure if you could swap for chicken without re-testing.
Tips & equipment for Korean BBQ Chickpea Bento Bowls
- you can pick up a copy of Lindsay’s cookbook Nourishing Superfood Bowls on Amazon
- these are my favorite meal prep containers
- looking for more Vegan Meal Prep Recipes? Check out these Vegan Roasted Vegetable Meal Prep Bowls, these Pineapple BBQ Meal Prep Bowls, or this round up with more than 65 Vegan Meal Prep Recipes
Korean BBQ Chickpea Bento Bowls
Ingredients
Marinade
- 3 tablespoons tamari
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar (or honey)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped red onion (or green onion)
Korean Chickpea Bento Bowls
- 3/4 cup uncooked rice
- 15 oz can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1 cup brussels sprouts (shredded)
- 1 zucchini (cut into ribbons)
- 1 carrot (cut into ribbons)
- 1 cup grape tomatoes (cut in half or leave whole for meal prep)
Toppings
- 1/2 lime (juiced)
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- fine sea salt
- pepper
- 1 cup microgreens (or sprouts; add fresh for meal prep)
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package directions. Set aside to cool.
- Heat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, stir together all marinade ingredients. Mix well with the chickpeas, then reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade for later.
- Spread the chickpeas & remaining marinade out on the baking sheet and roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, stirring once halfway.
- Divide all ingredients evenly between four 2 cup capacity storage containers or enjoy immediately! Don't forget to drizzle with reserved marinade.
Storage
- Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Enjoy cold or reheat in the microwave.
Anne
I have made this recipe before and it was delicious. Now I was thinking if I could put the chickpeas in the airfryer. What do you think?
Denise
Hi Anne! Great question. I am not 100% sure, as the chickpeas cook in a pretty wet mixture. I do worry it might burn with the coconut sugar? Let me know if you give it a try!
Anne
I decided to cook them in the oven!
Alan
Hi! Are the zucchini, carrot, and brussel sprouts left raw?
Denise
Hi Alan! Yes they are left raw, however I’m sure you could give them a quick sautee if you’d like them cooked. 🙂
Connie Sue Lorraine
If you please… Are the chickpeas canned, to begin with or dried? Thank you so much. Love your recipes!!
Denise
Hi Connie! They are canned chickpeas…I’ll modify the recipe to be more clear!