vegan pesto tofu buddha bowls

Looking for a delicious, Mediterranean-inspired dinner? These Vegan Pesto Tofu Buddha Bowls are made with quinoa topped with baby tomatoes, marinated artichokes, cucumbers, hummus, and tofu tossed with flavorful homemade pesto.

Hiiii friends and happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend with friends and family and probably a few extra treats 😉 But let's hear it for a FOUR day week! Yassss. Today, I am sharing these absolutely amazing Vegan Pesto Tofu Buddha Bowls, which are healthy and hearty and perfect to reset after a few days of indulging. These start with a base of quinoa and are topped with marinated artichokes, baby tomatoes, cucumber, and a scoop of hummus. The star of the show, of course, is this super flavorful pesto tofu!! I baked my little tofu cubes until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and then tossed them with my 5-second vegan pesto. It's seriously so good!

So there are a few reasons I wanted to share these pesto tofu bowls today! First, I have noticed that I have been very dessert heavy on the blog lately and I can't even remember the time I posted something that wasn't sweet. I just checked. It was A MONTH AGO! Wah. What an embarrassment. The second reason is that I've noticed that since I've been eating a more vegan diet, I am eating tons of Indian, Tex-Mex, and Thai food and I've been lacking in the Italian and Mediterranean department. Most of the time, I just find recipes from other bloggers and make them but honestly, there's just not very many vegan Italian recipes out there! Unless you count pasta. There is TONS of pasta.

I wanted to stay away from pasta and boost the protein but still enjoy those Mediterranean flavors I know and love, and that's how these pesto tofu bowls were born! Sure, tofu is usually paired with Asian flavors but... technically it's rather flavorless so you can make it taste like anything you want. It's the perfect vehicle to soak up all that garlicky pesto goodness! The tomatoes and artichokes are quintessentially Italian, but then I threw on some hummus for added creaminess so this really just ends up being a hodgepodge of things I like. 😉

I hope you guys enjoy these vegan pesto tofu buddha bowls as much as I did! They are fresh, delicious, healthy, and so flavorful! Happy cooking 🙂

Looking for more veggie meal ideas? Check out my Roasted Ratatouille Sheet Pan Meal, Charred Caesar Salad with Crispy Chickpeas, Vegan Chickpea Mushroom Tomato Stew, and Vegan Sausage Sheet Pan Meal with Sweet Potatoes & Kale!

5.0 from 1 reviews

vegan pesto tofu buddha bowls

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

 

Looking for a delicious, Mediterranean-inspired dinner? These Vegan Pesto Tofu Buddha Bowls are made with quinoa topped with baby tomatoes, marinated artichokes, cucumbers, hummus, and tofu tossed with flavorful homemade pesto.

Author: Valentina | The Baking Fairy

Recipe type: Vegetarian

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• *for the pesto*
• 1 cup basil leaves
• 1 cup spinach
• 3-4 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoon pine nuts
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• salt to taste
• *for the bowl*
• 14oz extra firm tofu
• garlic salt to taste
• 1½ cups uncooked quinoa
• ½ cup marinated artichokes in olive oil
• ½ cup cucumber slices
• ¾ cup cherry tomatoes
• 4 tablespoon hummus

Instructions

1. First, prepare the tofu. Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
2. Press all excess water from tofu and cut into ½ inch cubes. Toss with the garlic salt and lay in a single layer on your prepared sheet.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping halfway, until tofu is golden brown on the outside and crisp.
4. While the tofu bakes, prepare the quinoa according to package directions.
5. Rinse and slice the cucumber and cherry tomatoes and set aside.
6. To prepare the pesto, combine all pesto ingredients in a food processor, and pulse until smooth and creamy.
7. When tofu is ready, transfer to a medium bowl and add in the pesto. Toss until all pieces are evenly coated.
8. To make the bowls, divide the quinoa into 4 dishes. Top with equal amounts of artichokes, tomatoes, and cucumber. Divide the tofu among the bowls, and top each with a large spoonful of hummus. Serve immediately!

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