This Vegan Poke bowl is rich in nutrients, great for meal prep, and fully customizable. You will love the components we have put together and the delicious mint sauce we top it with. This quinoa poke bowl is a delightful, delicious, and visually appealing rainbow poke bowl that is great for meal prep, and you will surely love it.
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🤔 What is a poke bowl?
Poke means cuts in Hawaiian. Originally the Poke Bowl is a Hawaiian dish made from raw fish and seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil, or green onions as the fishermen used to make this dish with the cut-offs from their daily catch.
Asian and American cultures have heavily influenced the dish, and well… now we veganized it to adjust to our food choices!
To make poke bowl vegan, we replace the fish with tossed eggplants to make up for texture and use liquid aminos, or soy sauce for umami.
This Quinoa Poke Bowl and our vegan "tuna" Salad sandwich are among our favorite vegan high-protein meal prep options, along with our sautéed tofu quinoa bowl.
🧾 Ingredients
- Quinoa
- Eggplant
- Liquid aminos (or soy sauce)
- Edamame (soybeans)
- Green beans
- Carrot
- Cherry tomatoes
- Avocado
- Shallot or green onion (optional)
Toppings:
For this edamame poke bowl sauce for this recipe, we use a vegan Mint Pesto.
See quantities and complete instructions in the recipe card.
🔪 Instructions
This vegetarian poke bowl is all about assembling either pre-cooked or ready-store-bought ingredients so that you can make it in a breeze and makes it the perfect summer season recipe. You’ll find the full recipe below. Here are some tips to know before you get started:
- Boil the quinoa.
- To put together this vegan bowl, we first need to cook our base, the quinoa. Wash the quinoa to get rid of the bitter flavor. You can do this either by placing it in a colander under running water or soaking it in a bowl and then straining it.
- In a saucepan with a lid, add a volume of water equal to two times de volume of the quinoa until it is completely absorbed.
Wash quinoa, strain it and add 2 cups water for every cup.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until it dries out.
2. Prepare the legumes and vegetables.
- Cut the shallots into discs and reserve in a glass of water, optionally adding a splash of vinegar. This will help to decrease its intense flavor.
- Add boiling water on top of both the green beans and the edamame and drain in a bowl.
- Dice the avocado.
- Peel the carrot with a potato peeler to have long, beautiful strings.
- In a separate saucepan, cook for 5 minutes the previously diced eggplant, adding the soy sauce.
Make carrot strings with a potato peeler and chop the ingredients that will be added raw to the bowl.
Then make eggplant dice.
pouring soy sauce over the eggplant dice on a heated skillet.
Cook for a couple of minutes until golden brown.
3. Assemble the Edamame Poke Bowl.
- Set a portion of quinoa as the base in a bowl and add the toppings.
- Finalize with your choice of toppings. Sauce poke bowl with this 5-minute Vegan Mint Sauce (Mint Pesto), as it gives a super fresh taste, and its creaminess goes very well with the rest of the ingredients.
🍶 Substitutions
Vegan poke bowls are incredibly versatile; here are a couple of suggestions to spark creativity.
- Quinoa - you can easily substitute the quinoa for brown rice, cooked millet or farro, orzo, brown or wild rice.
- Eggplant - yellow, green, or red bell peppers will work well.
- Liquid aminos - use tamari or soy sauce instead (remember that soy sauce is not gluten-free).
- Edamame beans - use cubed firm tofu instead. You can also use either marinated tofu or crispy tofu cubes as a protein source.
- Green beans - replace with chickpeas, lentils, black beans, snow peas, or split peas.
- Carrot - replace with a bunch of spinach or arugula for a fresh note.
- Cherry tomatoes - and yellow, purple, or red tomatoes work well.
- Avocado - you can substitute for a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil or sesame oil to add some healthy low or unsaturated fat to your vegetarian poke bowl recipe.
- Shallot - use red, green, or spring onions instead. You can choose to use only the green parts from the green onions to top the bowls for a milder onion flavor.
👨🏻🍳 Toppings
Some extra suggestions for your vegetarian poke bowl include
- Sesame seeds
- Shredded dry wakame or nori algae
- Sliced almonds
- Peanuts
- Sprouts: soy, lentils, and broccoli sprouts.
Read on: Recipes using sprouts »
Here are a couple of suggestions for making a Tofu Poke bowl:
- Add raw extra-firm tofu dice as part of the toppings.
- Grill some tofu with a 10-minute marinade and add it on top, grab the recipe.
- Add raw flavored or smoked tofu dice.
- Make a batch of crispy tofu and add it to your vegan poke bowl recipes.
🥢 How to Serve
This quinoa poke bowl makes a yummy main dish on its own, but we love topping it with extra flavor and sauces. Here’s how to add a bunch of flavors to your veggie bowl.
- Top with a fresh poke bowl sauce or condiment, like 5-minutes mint pesto (as shown), which you can store and use in many dishes. Basil or arugula vegan pestos work beautifully.
- If you prefer an oil-free option, try our Green Goddess sauce, which is equally delicious.
- We have also tried our 5-minutes homemade vinaigrette, which is easily put together with kitchen staples. Or you can use a strawberry dressing to add some sweetness.
- Make your grilled chickpea patties, cut them into chunks, and add them to your bowl.
- Finally, hummus is a great companion for everything, including poke bowls! Try the pumpkin hummus, which is a great addition to buddha bowls.
Remember that you can sprinkle with paprika, onion powder, freshly minced ginger, or extra liquid aminos or soy sauce for even more flavor.
💡 Top tip
You can buy frozen green beans and edamame and simply defrost them with warm water in minutes to make it super convenient.
You can use any kind of canned beans to replace the green beans.; we recommend buying them both salt and BPA-free (affiliate link).
✅ Health benefits of edamame
Edamame beans are immature soybeans that differ from regular soybeans in color, texture, and cooking.
If you are wondering How to cook edamame? The answer is super simple; you can find edamame beans regularly frozen, which can be quickly heated by microwaving, steaming, or briefly boiling them (2-3 minutes).
You can also find frozen and unshelled to make dishes like this 10 minutes spicy garlic edamame, and have them as an appetizer.
- Protein content. Edamame beans are high in protein. 11 grams per every 100 grams serving, meaning 36% of the calories of one portion come from protein.
- High in fiber. 29% of their content is fiber
- Low in fat and may lower your cholesterol.
- Diabetic friendly. Doesn’t raise your blood sugar.
- Nutritious. They are rich in vitamins and minerals.
Try out our delicious chickpea and avocado salad bowl.
🥗 More healthy dishes and salads
⭐ If you try this recipe, let us know! 💬 Leave a comment, rate it, and don't forget to tag us @ourplantbasedworld on Instagram. Cheers!
📋 Recipe
Vegan Quinoa Poke Bowl with Mint Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 carrot medium (sliced with a potato peeler)
- 1 eggplant medium (diced)
- 7 ounces edamame immature shelled soybeans pods
- 4 ounces green beans cut
- 7 ounces quinoa tri-color, boiled in 21 ounces of water (3x)
- 4 cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 avocado diced
- 3 tablespoons liquid aminos or soy sauce (avoid if gluten-free)
- 1 shallot optional
- 1 teaspoon vinegar optional
Toppings:
Directions
Cook the Quinoa.
- Wash the quinoa to get rid of the bitter flavor. You can do this, either placing it in a colander under running water or soaking it in a bowl and then strain it.
- Boil the quinoa at medium heat in a saucepan with a lid, and add a volume of water equal to 2 times de volume of the quinoa until it is completely absorbed. It should take 15 mins on medium heat.
Prepare the legumes and vegetables.
- Cut the shallots in discs and reserve in a glass of water, optionally adding a splash of vinegar (optional). This will help to decrease its intense flavor.
- Steam or boil the edamame and green beans. Add boiling water on top of both the green beans and the edamame and drain in a bowl. Alternatively, cook in the microwave or boil for 2 minutes.
- Cook eggplant. In a separate saucepan, cook for 3-5 minutes the previously diced eggplant, adding the soy sauce, until tender. You can place the lid to accelerate the process. It will take just a couple of minutes.
- Dice the avocado and cut tomatoes in half.
- Peel the carrot with a potato peeler, so you have long, beautiful strings.
Assemble the Poke Bowl.
- In a bowl, set a portion of quinoa as the base and start adding the toppings.
Video
Notes
- Quinoa: you can easily substitute the quinoa for brown rice, cooked millet or farro, orzo, brown or wild rice.Eggplant: yellow, green, or red bell peppers will work well.
- Liquid aminos: use tamari or soy sauce instead (remember that soy sauce is not gluten-free).
- Edamame: use cubed firm tofu instead. You can also use either marinated tofu or crispy tofu cubes as a protein source.
- Green beans: replace with chickpeas, lentils, black beans, snow peas, or split peas.
- Carrot: replace with a bunch of spinach or arugula for a fresh note.
- Cherry tomatoes: any yellow, purple, or red tomatoes work well.
- Avocado: you can substitute for a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil or sesame oil to add some healthy low or unsaturated fat to your vegetarian poke bowl.
- Shallot: use green or spring onions instead. You can choose to use only the green parts from the green onions to top the bowls for a milder onion flavor.
Nutrition Facts
The Poke Bowl Calories:
🌡️ Food safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with a high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Nutritional Disclaimer
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice. See our full Nutritional Disclosure here.
Affiliate Disclaimer
Please note that some of the links here are affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. I recommend all of the products listed because they are companies I have found helpful and trustworthy.
Megan Stevens says
What a delicious variety of veggies and legumes, plus so pretty. I love putting these bowls together, and the eggplant is my favorite part. Such a yummy easy recipe.
Gus says
I am totally with you on the eggplants. I usually change the combination of my bowls for a change for I never miss the eggplant!
Annissa says
That is one pretty bowl! Great combination of flavors and textures!
Kristen says
This turned out delicious! Thank you so much for the great recipe!
Gus says
am glad to hear that Kristen! you are welcome!
Anjali says
This poke bowl recipe looks so healthy and delicious!! I feel like it would be the perfect weekday lunch to take with me to work - can't wait to make it this week!
Denay DeGuzman says
My husband and I loved everything about this delicious healthy recipe! We enjoyed it for lunch. The vibrant colors and flavors were so delightful!
Gus says
we are delighted you guys loved it! It is one of those dishes that are super healthy and still feel like a treat!
Mirlene says
I've had quite a few poke bowls but this vegan poke bowl wins! I love all the veggies especially the edamames. Making this again to pack for lunch!
Anjali says
This made the perfect weekday lunch and kept me satisfied all the way through dinner! Love how it's packed with plant protein!
Sara Welch says
This was equally light, delicious and healthy! Easily, a new favorite recipe; loved every bite!
Tayler says
I made these poke bowls for dinner last night and the whole family loved them. Kids included!
Gus says
that's great Tayler! Thanks for your review! I guess the kids loved all those colors, hard to resist!