Mung Bean Yoga Bowl
The kind of power bowl that keeps you strong - herb-packed yogurt dolloped over a hearty bowl of mung beans and quinoa, finished with toasted nuts and a simple paprika oil.
I thought I'd show you how I take a favorite component of a recent recipe, make a minor tweak, and turn it into something completely different. Do you remember the herb-packed coconut milk from this green curry porridge? Well, it's good. Good in its own right. And if you have some on hand, it's a nice jumping off point for a meal. It has a luxe, cilantro-ginger creaminess that makes for a brilliant component in dressings, drizzles, and sandwich spreads. Add some eggs and you have an easy tart filling.
For today's recipe I made a version with yogurt in place of the coconut milk, and it did not disappoint. Lobbing dollops over a simple bowl of mung beans and quinoa made for the sort of easy, nutritious lunch I aim for. Some toasted nuts and a drizzle of paprika oil bring a bit of flair and textural contrast. It'll keep you strong for whatever you afternoon has in store - yoga class, a bike ride, work meetings, or whatever.
This is the sort of thing that you can pack in layers in a wide-mouthed mason jar as a portable lunch or picnic go-to. It's good at room temperature and doesn't require much fuss at all once you have the components prepared. And really, don't get too hung up on the base ingredients - like I mentioned, I used mung beans and black quinoa, but if you have lentils and/or brown rice on hand, you're set. Try to work in a substantial protein component though like some sort of bean or lentil. It'll keep you strong and less hungry compared to, say, a rice-only version. xo Enjoy! -h
More lunch ideas:
- Feel-good Lunch Ideas
- Baked Quinoa Patties
- Quinoa Salad
- Chickpea Salad Sandwich
- Egg Salad Sandwich
- Vegan Sushi
- More quinoa recipes
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Mung Bean Yoga Bowl
To cook mung beans, cover with a couple inches of water, cook until tender, drain and season with salt.
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/2 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1/2 small serrano chile, seeded
- 1/2 cup cilantro, plus more for serving
- 1/4 cup green onion tops
- 1/2 cup spinach
- scant 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 5-6 cups cooked mung beans
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/3 cup toasted almonds and/or pepitas
- 3 tablespoons warmed olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- lots of freshly squeezed lime juice
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Combine the yogurt, ginger, chile, cilantro, green onion tops, spinach, and salt in a blender. Alternately, you can use a hand blender here. Blend until smooth, taste and adjust, if needed.
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Just before serving, combine the mung beans, and quinoa in a large bowl, and sprinkle with the nuts. Dollop generously with the yogurt, and then whisk together the warmed olive oil and paprika. Drizzle this across the bowl. Finish with a good amount of lime juice, and mort salt, if needed. The lime juice really pulls this whole bowl together, so do your best not to skimp.
Serves 4-6.
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Feel-good Lunch Ideas
Leveling up lunch ideas with lots of color, clever use of leftovers, and feel-good ingredients. These are two lunchboxes I packed recently.
How To Cook Quinoa (and 20 Quinoa Recipes)
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Baked Quinoa Patties
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Comments
OMG…I’ve just made this for lunch and it is amazing. Thank you Heidi, your recipes are a true inspiration…yet so simple to make. The flavour combinations are perfect.
This looks amazing. I love creamy dressings with quinoa and have a whole mason jar full of mung beans that I’ve been looking to use up somehow. Would make a great lunch for work too!
This is a great recipe. I love the ingredients and how portable it is. I definitely will be doing something like this during the summer as I move about a lot during that season. Thanks! 🙂
This mung yoga bowl looks delicious! Do you typically eat it for breakfast or a snack?
Culinary genius! I have finished eating it two seconds ago (still chewing to be honest) and although I was a bit skeptical when I read the recipe (my Italian mouth is very traditional) I ended up loving it!
Thank you again, your website is always the best!
The sauce and toppings really dress up lentils and brown rice. Great combination of flavors even though I used dill instead of cilantro which I always avoid. Like so many other dishes you put together, this is another keeper! Thanks.
I love this! These are the kinds of recipes that keep me checking this site every week for inspiring ideas of how to eat healthy out of my own kitchen.
I am no doubt the biggest fan of this sauce – I’ve made the green curry porridge four times and I only discovered the recipe two weeks ago – so I will definitely be adding this variation into my rotation. I’ve been daydreaming of other ways to incorporate this flavor combo into dinner, so thanks for doing the work for me, Heidi! 🙂
This was a HUGE hit in my household, even with overcooked mung beans. Loved the combination of ingredients, loved the simplicity and big flavor. Thanks! (First time cooking mung beans, how long do you soak them for?)
HS: HI Judith – with dried mung beans, I (honestly) soak them for however much time I have – sometimes that means not at all, sometimes it means thirty minutes, other times, overnight (and I’ll add a splash of whey to the soaking water)…So happy you enjoyed it!
This looks so comforting and healthy at the same time. Unfortunately, I can’t stand cilantro (apparently it’s a genetic thing, to us cilantro-haters, it just tastes like soap) and was wondering if I could substitute it with fresh parsley? Or maybe Thai basil? What would you suggest? Thanks!
HS: Basil would be delicious! It just needs something bright and green to finish, so, whatever you like!
I think I’ll have to finally put my jar of dried mung beans to use for this one — looks hearty, healthy, and easy enough to put together even for me 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the tip Heidi! I’ve never tried coconut with smoked paprika – my concern is that it won’t work!
I have never tried mung beans before, but with the look of this recipe, it seems they’re worth a try. I’m always looking for new and exciting ingredients. Thanks!
This looks amazing! It’ll be a perfect post-workout meal for this week: delicious and healthy!
I love the unique flavors going on here, Heidi. That paprika oil is so pretty, and I too am loving that beautiful ceramic bowl. I will have to make a trip to the Ferry building soon!
Ginger and cilantro? I’m intrigued. I like coconut milk in my dishes occasionally and love that yogurt is a good sub. I’ve had some mung beans in my pantry for longer than I care to admit (wonder what their shelf life is?) so gotta make this quick.
Will give this a shot, I have a glass jars full of a variety of beans but mung are the least used–I reckon they will make the top of my pickings now with this recipe. Happy Nesting.
This salad looks amazing! It’s definitely a great idea to keep it in mind as the weather changes and the beach season approaches!
I love this! Simple, nutritious and quick! I am thinking of keeping some boiled grains in the freezer to use for such recipes quickly. Another idea is to add a pinch of curry powder and it just adds so much flavor. Variations with walnut oil also adds to the flavor. Thanks so much for sharing !!
Great recipe!
Mmm looks good! For a vegan version do you think avocado would work instead of the yoghurt? I’m LOVING mung beans at the moment, had a great salad recently with an orange juice-tahini-cumin-cilantro dressing
Sounds delicious Hannah – You could perhaps do an avocado version of the dressing – or, simply use coconut milk in place of the yogurt.
This looks absolutely delish!! I love mung beans.
Thank you! Your recipes are different and so much fun!
I have seen mung beans at my local farmers market. I have never used them before so I was wondering if you have to cook them before or do you eat them raw?
HS: those are likely sprouted mung beans – which you eat raw. And you could absolutely substitute those here.
Love this yoga bowl and will be trying it soon! The paprika oil is a great idea. I’m really glad you mentioned the green curry porridge because I made it last night with rice and mung beans, and it was a hit. Thank you!!
Interesting! Your mung doesn’t looked cooked…how do you keep it so well-formed? It’s like your spin on kitchari 😉
HS: I love kitchari Adena :)….re: cooking strategy, I’m just careful to not overcook?…In this case I soaked them first, then treated them like a vegetable that I wanted to cook until bright.
My gosh this looks rather fab. Jus what I need right now especially as I want to cook more with quinoa.
I love your philosophy when it comes to food. So clean, so simple, so appreciative of natural foods. It’s inspiring!
just about to start an ayurvedic cleanse for spring- this will be perfect.
This looks really tasty, definitely not something I’d have thought of myself, will be bookmarking this and trying it out 🙂 Sophie xxx
Saw it this morning so I made it for lunch. Used puy lentils and quinoa with almonds. Loved the paprika oil on top and the cilantro in it. I personally did not care for the sauce, but found that I liked it with just the plain Greek yogurt instead. Thanks for the recipe.
Looks delicious. One question… Do you have a suggestion for a mung bean substitute? It’s the one thing I don’t have on hand.
HS: Hi Danette – you can substitute cooked yellow split peas, or green split peas, Umbrian/Beluga/or French Lentils…essentially, a pulse that holds its shape when cooked.
The recipe sounds lovely, but I’m super curious about the actual bowl in the photo. Can you tell us where it came from and/or what it’s made from? I’m loving the handles and the texture of it.
HS: Hi Anne! I bought it at the Rancho Gordo shop at the Ferry Building in SF. They come in other sizes too.
This looks fabulous! Loving all the earthy colours, and I can only imagine it tastes absolutely amazing! I love “salads” that are different ^ ^ So many lovely flavours! x
This reminds me of an Indian dish I grew up eating and loving– makes me want to run to the grocery store right now to pick up ingredients! The only thing I would consider adding is some cumin powder. (and maybe some tamarind chutney) Can’t wait to make this! Thanks, Heidi!
Am very taken with the idea of a healthy portable picnic. All that goodness in one jar. Gorgeous.
This dish looks amazing! I have cooked with quinoa for quite some time now, but never tried the black one. I think it is time now! 🙂
Very interesting and healthy combination.. thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Mung beans and black quinoa are an interesting combination. This looks very healthy and I will give it a try! thanks!
This dinner is fabulously unique and totally lovely!! Yum!
I made nearly the same thing for dinner tonight, thinking I was being very 101 Cookbooksesque! I served it up in corn tortillas, skipped the quinoa/grain, and made the green sauce with homemade cashew cream. I even tossed toasted almonds in olive oil and smoked paprika… It was yum. Threw a layer of the leftover cream in a jar with a splash of olive oil, greens, red bell pepper, and the leftover beans and nuts for lunch tomorrow, too. I guess all the cooking over done from this site has gone to my head!
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