Beet, Quinoa, and Pomegranate Power Bowls - Will Cook For Friends (2024)

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By Willow Arlen on January 2, 2017 19

Simple, healthy, and flavorful — these Beet, Quinoa, and Pomegranate Power Bowls are perfect for weekday lunches, light dinners, or a colorful side. Read on, or jump straight to the recipe, HERE.

This recipe is kind of cheating, because it barely even counts as a recipe… it’s just stuff, in a bowl. Step one: gather stuff. Step two: put it in a bowl. What could be simpler?

But it’s so freakin’ good.

Power bowls (because they need an awesome name) are a great way to get all kinds of healthy foods into your body all at once. And with all the different flavors and textures going on, they’re kind of like the ultimate salad.

This one combines some of my favorite winter ingredients — quinoa (for protein), beets (for all their iron and minerals), and pomegranates (for their awesome antioxidants and flavor). For a bit of crunch, I added a handful of pepitas (little green pumpkin seeds), and chickpeas for even more protein.

There are several cooked ingredients in this bowl — quinoa, beets, and chickpeas — but once you have those things ready, the bowl comes together inabout five minutes flat.

For the chickpeas, I cheated and used canned (you can totally do homemade if you’re up for it, though). As for the quinoa and beets, I’ve got some tips.

Whenever I make quinoa, I make a big batch, and portion any extra into baggies. The baggies get stacked up in the freezer, and viola — quinoa on hand for quick and easy recipes like this one, at a moment’s notice! If quinoa isn’t your thing, you can use any other grain/seed you like instead.

As for the beets, I like mine roasted. You can find myrecipe for roasting beets HERE. Unless I have something else in mind for them, I actually do this right when I bring beets home fro the grocery store. Then I slice or dice ’em, and keep them in a small tupperware in the fridge. (Just make sure it’s a container you don’t mind getting stained pink.)

Having these things already cooked and ready to go makes healthy meals so much easier. It’s all about the prep work.

Now you’re ready for instant power bowls any time!

What ingredients would you add to a power bowl? Let me know in the comments below!

5.0 from 6 reviews

Beet, Quinoa, and Pomegranate Power Bowls

Prep time

10 mins

Total time

10 mins

Author: Willow at Will Cook For Friends

Recipe type: vegan, gluten-free

Serves: makes 1 bowl

Ingredients

Ingredients per bowl:

1 small beet, roasted, peeled, and cut into segments or bite-sized chunks*
1 cup cooked quinoa**
½ cup cooked chickpeas (homemade, or canned and drained)
¼-1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (arils)
2-3 TBSP pepitos or sunflower seeds
drizzle of olive oil, to taste
drizzle of balsamic vinegar, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Place all ingredients into a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar, sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Stir everything together, and enjoy!

Notes

*you can buy beets already cooked in the produce section of most grocers, OR you can roast your own. (Which is what I recommend -- they are one of those foods that just tastes better homemade!) You can find my recipe for roasting beets HERE.

**To cook quinoa:

The ratio for making quinoa is 2:1 (two parts liquid to one part dry quinoa). You can use water, vegetable stock, chicken stock, or most any other liquid for cooking your quinoa. When using stocks, I always prefer to use low-sodium varieties so I can add salt according to my tastes.
To cook, add quinoa and liquid (for example, 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups liquid) to a saucepan. Bring to a simmer, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the quinoa has absorbed the liquid. Remove from the heat and fluff with a fork. Season to taste.

For more flavorful quinoa, you can start by sauteing a bit of onion, garlic, or spices in a TBSP of olive oil, then add the quinoa and liquid to the pot and cook as normal. For this particular recipe, I like to keep the quinoa plain, seasoned very lightly with salt.

Still hungry? Try these:

: Southwest Quinoa And Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

: Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic Tahini Sauce and Pomegranate

: Maple Pomegranate Glazed Carrots

Easy And Addictive Roasted Green Beans

19 Responses to Beet, Quinoa, and Pomegranate Power Bowls

Kara @ Byte Sized Nutrition January 2, 2017 at 10:17 am #

So many of my favorite ingredients in one bowl! Looks like the perfect way to kick off the new year

Reply
- Willow Arlen January 2, 2017 at 10:42 am #
  
  Sounds like we have pretty similar tastes! :)
  
  Reply
shelby January 2, 2017 at 10:18 am #

So colorful and sounds delicious!

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- Willow Arlen January 2, 2017 at 10:42 am #
  
  Thanks Shelby!
  
  Reply
Sarah @ Champagne Tastes January 2, 2017 at 10:30 am #

This looks gorgeous!!! I’m still trying to make myself love beets.. so far it’s not working (I can’t even make myself swallow them), but I’d be up for trying it again! If that doesn’t work, I bet this is delicious without them too– chickpeas and pomegranate seeds are the BEST!

Reply
- Willow Arlen January 2, 2017 at 10:45 am #
  See Also
  Roasted Garlic Butter Parmesan Potatoes
  
  Thanks, Sarah! I’ve converted a lot of beet-haters with roasted beets, but if you’ve tried that and still aren’t a fan, no worries! This would still be great without them, or you could sub in any other ingredient you like. Sweet potato, butternut squash, roasted cauliflower… the possibilities are endless.
  
  Reply
Christine | Vermilion Roots January 2, 2017 at 10:44 am #

Love this! I’d add a spoon of hummus like how I add hummus to my salads. Recently I’ve developed a liking for gomasio and sprinkle that on everything!

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Kim @ Three Olives Branch January 2, 2017 at 11:44 am #

I am also a big fan of roasted beets! Love all the flavors you have here, it sounds amazing!

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- Willow Arlen January 2, 2017 at 3:17 pm #
  
  Thanks Kim! Always nice to meet another beet lover… sometimes I fear we’re a dying breed. But beets are sooooo good!
  
  Reply
valentina January 2, 2017 at 12:10 pm #

Such a beautiful bowl! Love the colors. My 12-yr old just decided he likes quinoa. YAY! :-)

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- Willow Arlen January 2, 2017 at 3:18 pm #
  
  Haha, yay! That’s wonderful!
  
  Reply
Aysegul Sanford January 2, 2017 at 9:59 pm #

I can have this bowl all day every day. Pomegranates are the bomb-digitty. I love all the sweet and salty combination here.
This will be lunch for me this week. :))

Reply
- Willow Arlen January 3, 2017 at 10:35 am #
  
  Yay, thank you! Glad you’re diggin’ this combo. It’s hard to beat so many good things all in one bowl!
  
  Reply
Deanna :) January 4, 2017 at 10:12 pm #

Do you recommend serving this warm or cold? Which do you prefer?

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- Willow Arlen January 5, 2017 at 9:35 am #
  
  I personally prefer it with the quinoa and beets warm (if you’ve made them in advance, you can add those to the bowl first and warm them in the microwave a bit), but it works well as a cold salad, too. I tend to be averse to cold things in the winter, but maybe that’s just me. :)
  
  Reply
Lauren @ Lauren Caris Cooks January 9, 2017 at 9:23 am #

Absolutely loving this! These kinds of bowls are so great because you can use up so many things, and basically pack on all the nutrients you want! I love the idea of the beets and pomegranate, must try this one out!

Reply
- Willow Arlen January 9, 2017 at 10:07 am #
  
  Thanks, Lauren! You’re totally right, anything goes with a bowl like this. I do love the beets and poms together, definitely give it a try!
  
  Reply
mayra Espino March 4, 2019 at 4:33 am #

What would you recommend to use instead of pomegranate?

Reply
Pam A Frankforther November 6, 2021 at 12:38 pm #

This.is.FANTASTIC! Thanks so much for sharing.

Reply