rainbow plate with roasted chickpeas and citrus garlic tahini sauce (vegan, gluten free)

As a food blogger, I want to believe that everyone will absolutely love what I create and share. One hundred percent. All the time.

This, of course, is not realistic…as my family frequently reminds me.

Take this rainbow plate, for example. Yum, right?!

Except if you don’t like red peppers, sweet potato, chickpeas, kale and/or eggplant, roasted, seasoned or dressed but not disguised in a soup or sauce. Since I happen to love all these veggies, this is a plate I want to dive into on repeat. I was hoping my family would want to do the same.

My youngest, however, “didn’t like that dinner” and it was like pulling teeth to get my other three to finish (they ate their favorite veggies first, but that is different for each of them)). Even my husband didn’t give it glowing reviews, because, well, right now I’m the only die-hard veggie lover in my family.

But despite the ho-hum, yuck reviews from my dearest ones, I’m still sharing this rainbow plate because I loved it and I know there are other veggie-lovers out there that will love it too.

It’s simple to make and balanced with protein from the chickpeas plus it gives you all the vitamins and antioxidants your body is really craving. It’s simply dressed with a citrus garlic tahini sauce (more protein +tang) and the veggies could be roasted up on the weekend to prep for a busy week ahead.

If you absolutely dislike one or more of the veggies I’ve included on this plate, just switch it up for a different vegetable of the same color. Because that’s the beauty of cooking and recipe sharing.

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rainbow plate with roasted chickpeas

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

35 mins

Total Time

50 mins

 

An easy, delicious way to "eat all the colors," this rainbow plate combines roasted veggies with raw kale to give you all the nutrients and is dressed with a tangy garlic tahini sauce.

Course: Entree, Main Course

Servings: 2 people

Author: Andrea Anderson

Ingredients

For the Rainbow Plate

• 1-2 red pepper, cut in strips
• 2 large sweet potato, cubed
• 2 15-oz can chickpeas
• kale, rinsed and chopped
• 1 medium eggplant, diced
• 2 tsp avocado oil
• 1/8 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• freshly ground pepper

For the Citrus Garlic-Tahini Dressing

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp nutritional yeast

Instructions

For the veggies:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 as you prepare the veggies. Add sweet potato and eggplant cubes to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired.
   

2. Meanwhile, prepare the chickpeas by combining them in a bowl with the seasonings and toss to coat well. Spread on a baking sheet.
   

3. When the sweet potatoes have cooked for 15 minutes, remove from oven and rotate for even cooking. Add the eggplant and red peppers to the baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired and return to the oven for another 25-30 minutes or until all the veggies are tender and roasted.
   

4. At the same time, add the pan of chickpeas to a different rack in the oven and roast for 20-25 minutes or until they are slightly crispy. It's helpful to stir them a couple times during baking for even crisping.
   

For the dressing:

1. While the veggies are roasting, mix all the dressing ingredients in a blender or small food processor, blending until thoroughly combined. Dressing can be stored in an air tight jar in the fridge for one week.
   

To assemble the rainbow plate:

1. Add veggies and chickpeas in rainbow order to each plate, using as much kale as desired. Drizzle dressing over each serving.