Healthy Thai Coconut Quinoa Bowls
Published 3/15/2020 • Updated 2/4/2025
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A Thai Coconut Quinoa Bowl recipe that’s a vegetarian’s delight! They’re made with roasted veggies, a delicious slaw, homemade coconut quinoa, and a yummy peanut sauce.
Have no fear, the most delicious vegetarian meal is about to hit your screen. This veggie-packed meal has been a Fit Foodie favorite for years, and we’ve reinvented the photos and tweaked the recipe ever-so-slightly so that you’ll love it even more!
It All Starts with Coconut Quinoa
This recipe features one of our favorite grain-like sides, coconut quinoa! Coconut quinoa is similar to our perfect quinoa recipe but better 😛
Why, you ask? Well, it’s made with full-fat coconut milk, making the texture silky smooth and it’s slightly sweet thanks for maple syrup. Here’s what you need:
- quinoa
- coconut milk
- water
- maple syrup
Since this is a quinoa bowl recipe, we thought we’d take it up a notch and add a little Thai flare. Coconut is a popular Thai flavor and it compliments the rest of the dish quite nicely.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Next comes the roasted sweet potatoes. I like how meaty sweet potatoes are. They give any vegetarian meal substance. They’re slightly sweet but savory at the same time and just perfect in every way.
We kept these roasted sweet potatoes simple with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and a little black sesame seeds.
If you’re not a fan of sweet potatoes or would love to add more veggies to your roasting pan. Here are some suggestions:
- russet potato
- onion
- broccoli
- bell pepper
- green beans
- cauliflower
Remember, you can pretty much make any of our buddha bowl recipes your own by choosing what veggies to use and what not to use!
Thai Slaw
Next up is a glorious veggie-packed Thai slaw. The thing I love about slaw is that It’s served cold. The rest of this dish is meant to be eaten hot, so when you mix in a cold slaw, the texture is just the best!
Here’s what you need:
- purple cabbage
- edamame
- red pepper
- carrot
- olive oil
- apple cider vinegar
- lime juice
- spy sauce
- ginger
- salt
Homemade Peanut Sauce
The homemade peanut sauce really is the cherry on top. It’s slightly sweet and salty all at the same time and you must not skip this part!
The base of this sauce is peanut butter. It’s thinned out with water, sweetened with a little maple, and made more savory with some soy sauce (or tamari).
I’m tempted to keep a big jug of this in my fridge at all times because I could literally add it to any and all recipes. How good would this be on top of our sous vide salmon, baked chicken, or ahi tuna poke bowls?!
Amazing Meal Prep!
Quinoa bowls make for amazing meal prep and that’s just a fact. This recipe will get you 4 total meals and you can easily double the entire recipe to make it 8.
So, grab your favorite glass meal prep containers and get prepping.
More Quinoa Bowl Recipes
- Kung Pao Quinoa Bowls
- Tofu Quinoa Burrito Bowls
- Sweet Potato Vegan Buddha Bowls
- Mediterranean Buddha Bowls
Healthy Thai Coconut Quinoa Bowl Recipe
Ingredients
Coconut Quinoa
- 1 cup white quinoa
- 15 oz. full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- 2 large sweet potatoes, cut into bite-sized cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Slaw
- 1 cup purple cabbage, sliced
- 1 cup shelled frozen edamame, thawed
- 1 large red pepper, sliced
- 1 large carrot, cut into thin sticks
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Sauce
- 2.5 tablespoons all-natural peanut butter
- 2.5 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
Toppings
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts, roasted and salted
- Squeeze of lime juice
- Black sesame seeds
Instructions
- Prepare the coconut quinoa. Place all ingredients in a medium size pot.
- Bring to a rolling boil over medium/high heat.
- Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for around 20 minutes or until the liquid has absorbed and the quinoa has fully cooked.
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Then, place diced sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to fully coat.
- Then, season with minced garlic, salt, pepper, and black sesame seeds. Toss to combine.
- Roast sweet potatoes at 400ºF for 25-30 minutes.
- Place purple cabbage, edamame, carrot, and red pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
- Make dressing by whisking together olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, soy sauce, grated ginger, and salt.
- Then, toss veggies in dressing. Set aside.
- To make peanut sauce, place all ingredients into a medium bowl or jar and mix together
- Evenly distribute the coconut quinoa, sweet potatoes, and coleslaw into four bowls or meal prep containers.
- Drizzle with peanut sauce if eating immediately and top with cilantro, chopped peanuts, a lime wedge, and more black sesame seeds.
Tips & Notes
- This recipe was slightly modified on Feb 4, 2025.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Photography: photos taken in this post are by Erin from The Wooden Skillet.
I’m 20 weeks pregnant and haven’t been making the best food choices. I needed something healthy for work lunches. This was beyond delicious! All the flavors blended so well; the coconut quinoa was amazing, and the peanut sauce on top really completed the whole thing. I originally thought I’d have to add some chicken for extra protein/fullness, but ended up skipping it. It was perfect! All I added were some green onions and cucumber.