The first time I saw a recipe for a Mediterranean Bowl my initial thought was “WTF is a Mediterranean Bowl?”.
Not much has changed since then.
But here it is, my version of a delicious Mediterranean Bowl.
So, so good.
Seriously, WTF is it?
Well, it’s a bowl with all my favorite things.
This healthy vegan recipe has got some salad in there, some hummus in there, some chickpeas, some paleo & vegan tzatziki and then some quinoa, which we all agree is very Mediterranean, alright?
One thing I know about this recipe: It’s freakin amazin and it’s the perfect vegan meal prep recipe.
It’s super healthy and can be made in 5 minutes.
Well, if you have the hummus, the tzatziki, + the quinoa ready of course.
Other than that – the salad takes a second, but not too long.
Now, this is the kind of recipe that I would meal prep all the different parts for (except the salad).
I make the hummus, the tzatziki, the quinoa – and keep them in separate containers in the fridge.
Usually not longer than 3 days, because after that
Hello, food poisoning. Okay, not food poisoning, but a little gross.
As you might know – I’m not great at arranging anything, so the hummus and tzatziki look like they’ve just been slapped on top of everything else. Probably because that’s what I did.
So, there – you have my permission to not arrange everything perfectly.
How To Make The 5-Minute Mediterranean Lunch Bowl
Here’s the overly complicated process I went through:
First I chopped a cucumber, some tomatoes, some spring onions, some parsley, mixed those in a bowl with some salt and added olive oil, no vinegar (but if you like vinegar – feel free like a bird to add some). Here’s the recipe for a similar salad with feta cheese from a while ago.
Then I grabbed a bowl and started arranging as if I know what I’m doing.
I put in the salad I just made, then added some olives, opened a can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained them – added like 1/3 cup, then 2-3 tbsp of cooked quinoa, and then slapped around 2 very generous tbsp hummus and a little bit, about a tsp, tzatziki (I had made a paleo version with sunflower sauce like this one but you can also use regular tzatziki).
At last, I ground some black pepper and that was it.
Mmmmm garlic’s in the air.
Sometimes I really wonder why I eat anything else. I felt awesome while & after eating this.
Health Benefits
Obviously this vegan bowl is healthy, but let’s take a look at some of the ingredients:
tomatoes. the most famous source of lycopene – a powerful antioxidant that prevents cancer and cardiovascular disease. Tomatoes are also one of the 8 best foods for healthy skin.
cucumber. cucumber might seem like nothing, but it’s highly alkaline which is important to prevent muscle and bone loss.
parsley. rich in vitamin C and carotenoids, fights diabetes and boosts your immune system. Parsley is also one of the 15 vegan foods that are high-protein, but low-carb.
chickpeas. great source of fiber for a healthy gut + plant protein, help control blood sugar and are good for weight loss.
quinoa. great source of plant protein, magnesium and contains anti-cancer phytochemicals. Quinoa also can support weight loss.
Meal Prep For The Week
If you don’t have much time to cook on weekdays, it’s a good idea to make this recipe ahead. And if you need more ideas – I have an entire list of meal prep-friendly Mediterranean recipes like this one right here, if you want to check it out.
Now, for these bowls: prepare the hummus, tzatziki, quinoa and chickpeas – these will be good for 3-4 days. Make sure to use airtight meal prep containers. Add the salad ingredients separately, because they do spoil pretty quickly, so don’t make the salad ahead.
This delicious Mediterranean bowl is vegan, gluten-free, full of fiber and antioxidants.
More Mediterranean Diet Recipes
I hope you enjoy this 5-Minute Mediterranean Lunch Bowl, it has become one of the most popular recipes on my blog since sharing it 5 years ago! It is also one of my favorite things to eat, because it’s so easy and tastes really good! But if sometimes you need something different, check out these:
5-Minute Mediterranean Bowl – Healthy Lunch Meal Prep Recipe
5-Minute Mediterranean Bowl! This is a quick and easy clean eating lunch recipe that you can assemble in 5 minutes. This delicious Mediterranean recipe is easy to meal prep, vegan and gluten-free!
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 small cucumber, cubed
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- small bunch of parsley, chopped
- 1-2 spring onions, thinly chopped
- olive oil
For the bowl
- 7-8 olives
- 1/3 cup chickpeas, canned, rinsed & drained
- 1 tbsp tzatziki
- 2 tbsp hummus
- 2-3 tbsp quinoa, cooked
- black pepper, freshly ground
Instructions
- Salad: Wash the vegetables, chop them, place in a mixing bowl. Add olive oil, vinegar, and salt to taste.
- Assemble your bowl: Salad, rinsed and drained chickpeas, the olives, quinoa. In the middle/on top: 2 tbsp hummus and 1 tbsp tzatziki + freshly ground black pepper. Ready.
Notes
Instead of tzatziki, here I used this recipe.
This similar salad would also go well in this bowl (not vegan).
Meal Prep option: Keep all parts of this Mediterranean Bowl in separate containers in the fridge and assemble just before serving. Instead of the fresh salad you can also pre-cut a cucumber and use whole cherry tomatoes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 380Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 247mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 10gSugar: 9gProtein: 11g
First published in April 2018, last updated July 2025.
Great post. Can’t wait to make this bowl, and love the name of your blog! Looking forward to checking out your other posts!
Looks good – but what is the nutrition info?
Looks amazing…im making this tonight for dinner (and then lunch tomorrow!!)
One question….how much olive oil?
thanks Esther! I didn’t measure, but around 1 tsp
Thank you!
This really was delicious!! Looking forward to checking out some of your other recipes.
Why does your ingredients call for deli salad and then you make one? Confused! Looks and sounds so good I could live on it.
I see what you mean…the ingredients you see on Pinterest are different – somehow it says Deli: Salad, but this here is the original recipe and ingredients. It’s a very quick and easy salad. You can also just slice a cucumber and add some cherry tomatoes!
This looks great and I’m going to make it this week. But I’m calling shenannigans on your 5 minute claim, especially if you make your own hummus and tzatziki sauce
As I mentioned – if you want to make everything (esp. cook quinoa) it would take longer, but it’s just the one time. Then you only need to make the salad
Do you happen to have nutrition information for this bowl?
I don’t have it, but you can calculate it using something like myfitnesspal
This was great! I bought hummus—my fave! and tzatziki which I’ve been eyeing but didn’t really have a reason to buy since I didn’t know what it tasted like. So glad I found your recipe. Delicious ? thank you so much for sharing your website—it’s exactly what I need!
Glad you liked it Jenn, thank you so much! And I hope you liked the tzatziki, it’s one of my favorite sides.
Hi there!
Wondering if you had any suggestions other than quinoa? Unfortunately, I can’t eat it 🙁 looks delicious!
Hey Jaclyn, thank you! You can just leave it out and add more chickpeas, or brown rice, avocado would also be good here, maybe also roasted vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, sweet potato) – I think it might even make it better! Hope that helps 🙂
You don’t get food poisoning after 3 days! Try 6, 7 or 8 days. You can keep sides like hummus and tzaziki much longer than 3 days if you add preservatives like lemon and oil. Also, the only thing that’s going to give you actual food poisoning is old meat or dairy – things that actually carry things like salmonella. And even then, dry-aged meat, etc. has been lying around for weeks aging. Quinoa would never cause you to have food poison – it would just get gross with time and not taste good.
This was delicious. I made your Tazatziki Sauce and it was wonderful, better than the real thing. Also added a touch of vinegar to salad which was so refreshing. I will definitely be making this again. Oh I also got lazy and used a Whole Foods barley and lentils in 90 seconds. But it seemed to fit in nicely. Thanks for posting.
Glad you liked it, Diane! Thanks for coming back to leave me a comment 🙂
This was delicious! Made this for meal prep for the week. I left out the tzatziki and put a tablespoon of oil and vinegar dressing… Delicious!!!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Made this for lunch today and it was super tasty! I used microwave instant grains, so it really did only take 5 minutes to throw together. I decided to roast my chickpeas because I like the crunch. Overall really yummy, and I felt healthy eating it. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Glad you liked it!
Doesn’t say how much oil or vinegar to use.
around a tbsp of each
Wow! Thanks for the wonderful recipes. Trying to eat healthier and this is a great tasty way to do it. I had the 5 min. Mediterranean bowl tonight. Added a couple ounces of chicken breast and decreased hummus to one tablespoon and squeezed half a lemon. It was fantastic. Thanks for the inspiration.
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for leaving a comment!
This was very yummy & filling! Definitely would make again.
The Print and email buttons aren’t working on you page.
Hi Kim, thanks for letting me know! I checked, the print button works and opens to another window, maybe you have a pop-up blocker activated?
the print won’t work if it is a duplicate recipe! Go in order from the first recipe on day 1…if it won’t click, its because you already downloaded it. I had the same issue.
hello! I noticed that there is vinegar in the directions but not in the ingredients….? what vinegar did you use and how much?
This is delicious! to the salad: I added winter radish which is really good. then I added balsamic vinegar with the olive oil and I used feta cheese also. Love it
Hello!
This recipe is amazing, I love it! I do have a question though. I JUST realized that in the directions you mention adding vinegar to the salad. There is no call for vinegar under the salad section with just the ingredients. I would love to try it like this! What kind of vinegar?
I mentioned it, because some people (some of my family) enjoy the salad with a little bit of vinegar. I personally don’t add any, because of the tomatoes. But if you’d like to try it, just add a little bit of whatever type of vinegar you usually use (like 1/2 tsp or to taste)