Curried Tempeh and Roasted Cauliflower Meal Prep Bowls with Coconut-Turmeric Rice
Sheet-pan curried tempeh and cauliflower over coconut-turmeric brown rice, finished with a lime-cilantro drizzle. Four vegan meal prep bowls that reheat well.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Rest
- 10 min
- Serves
- 4
Curried Tempeh and Roasted Cauliflower Meal Prep Bowls with Coconut-Turmeric Rice is a vegan lunch recipe made with tempeh, curry powder, tamari. It takes 65 minutes of hands-on time, plus 10 minutes resting, serves 4, and each serving has 803 calories, 34 g of protein and 8 g of fiber.
Steaming the tempeh for 10 minutes before it meets the marinade is the step that makes this bowl work: it softens the cake's bitter edge and opens it up so the curry, lime and tamari soak in instead of sitting on the surface. Tempeh and cauliflower share one sheet pan at 425°F, which is hot enough to caramelize the florets in the time the tempeh needs to crisp. The rice simmers in coconut milk with turmeric and a smashed garlic clove so every component is seasoned on its own and still tastes like something after three days in the fridge.
A cuisine (Indian curry-spiced tempeh with roasted cauliflower and coconut-turmeric rice instead of maple-dijon American) take on our Maple Dijon Tempeh Meal Prep Bowls with Sweet Potato and Broccoli.
Ingredients
Curried tempeh
- 16 oz454 gtempeh, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1 tbsp6 gcurry powder
- 2 tbsp36 gtamari
- 1 tbsp15 glime juice
- 1 tbsp20 gmaple syrup
- 2 tbsp28 gneutral oil
- 2 cloves6 ggarlic, grated
- 1 tbsp6 gfresh ginger, grated
Roasted cauliflower
- 1 medium575 gcauliflower, cut into small florets
- 2 tbsp27 golive oil
- 2 tsp4 gcurry powder
- 1 tsp2.1 gground cumin
- ½ tsp3 gfine sea salt
- ¼ tsp0.6 gblack pepper
Coconut-turmeric rice
- 1½ cups278 glong-grain brown rice, rinsed
- 1 cup226 gfull-fat canned coconut milk, stirred
- 2¼ cups533 gwater
- ¾ tsp2.3 gground turmeric
- 1 clove3 ggarlic, smashed
- ¾ tsp4.5 gfine sea salt
Lime-cilantro drizzle
- ¾ cup170 gunsweetened coconut yogurt
- ½ cup8 gcilantro leaves and tender stems, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp31 glime juice
- ¼ tsp0.5 gground cumin
- ¼ tsp1.5 gfine sea salt
To finish
- ½ medium55 gred onion, very thinly sliced (optional)
- ¼ cup32 gpumpkin seeds, toasted (optional)
- 1 67 glime, cut into wedges (optional)
Kit: large rimmed sheet pan, steamer basket or saucepan with lid, medium saucepan with tight-fitting lid, 4 airtight meal prep containers
Tips
- Cut the florets small (about 1 inch) so they finish in the same window as the tempeh; big florets will still be squeaky when the tempeh is done.
- Crowding is the enemy of browning. If your sheet pan is smaller than 13x18 inches, use two pans and rotate them halfway through.
- Curry powders vary a lot in salt and heat. Taste yours first and adjust the salt in the cauliflower and rice accordingly.
- No steamer basket? Simmer the tempeh cubes in an inch of water in a covered saucepan for 10 minutes, then drain well.
Swap ideas
- Use cooked basmati or white rice and simmer it in the same coconut-turmeric liquid, reduced to 1/2 cup coconut milk plus 1 1/4 cups water for 1 1/2 cups rice
- Cuts the rice cooking time to about 15 minutes with a softer, more fragrant grain.
- Swap the cauliflower for broccoli florets or butternut squash cubes
- Broccoli roasts in about 20 minutes total; squash gives a sweeter bowl and needs the full 30.
- Replace the coconut yogurt drizzle with 1/4 cup tahini whisked with lime juice and water
- Nuttier and richer, and it holds up better if you plan to dress the bowls in advance.
- Add 1/2 tsp garam masala to the tempeh marinade along with the curry powder
- Warmer, more aromatic finish without extra heat.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
803kcal per serving
Everything else · 4 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 16.9 g 85%
- Sugars
- 7 g
- Sodium
- 1458 mg 63%
- Potassium
- 1319 mg 28%
- Calcium
- 319 mg 25%
- Iron
- 8.1 mg 45%
- Vitamin C
- 75 mg 83%
- Vitamin B12
- 0.59 µg 25%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Tempeh, Spices, curry powder, Soy sauce made from soy (tamari), Lime juice, raw, Syrups, maple, Oil, canola, Garlic, raw, Ginger root, raw, Cauliflower, raw, Oil, olive, salad or cooking, Spices, cumin seed, Salt, table, Spices, pepper, black, Rice, brown, long-grain, raw (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), Nuts, coconut milk, canned (liquid expressed from grated meat and water), Beverages, water, tap, drinking, Spices, turmeric, ground, So Delicious Dairy Free Unsweetened Plain Coconutmilk Yogurt (manufacturer label; serving 3/4 cup = 170 g, converted to per 100 g), Coriander (cilantro) leaves, raw
Method
Set a steamer basket over an inch of simmering water, add the cubed tempeh, cover and steam 10 minutes. This mellows tempeh's bitterness and lets it absorb the marinade. Tip the cubes into a bowl and let the surface steam evaporate, about 2 minutes.
Whisk the 1 tbsp curry powder, tamari, 1 tbsp lime juice, maple syrup, neutral oil, grated garlic and ginger together, pour over the warm tempeh and toss until every cube is coated. Let it sit while the oven heats. Heat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
Rinse the brown rice and combine it in a medium saucepan with the coconut milk, water, turmeric, smashed garlic and 3/4 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and cook at the barest simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the grains are tender, 40–45 minutes.
Meanwhile, pat the cauliflower florets dry and toss them on a large rimmed sheet pan with the olive oil, 2 tsp curry powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. Push the cauliflower to one half of the pan and spread the marinated tempeh in a single layer on the other half, scraping in any marinade left in the bowl.
Roast for 20 minutes, then flip the tempeh and toss the cauliflower with a spatula. Return to the oven until the cauliflower is deeply browned at the edges and tender at the stem and the tempeh is firm and crisped, 8–12 minutes more.
Stir the coconut yogurt, cilantro, 2 tbsp lime juice, 1/4 tsp cumin and 1/4 tsp salt together in a small bowl. Thin with a teaspoon or two of water until it pours off the spoon in a ribbon.
When the rice is done, pull the saucepan off the heat and let it stand covered for 10 minutes, then discard the garlic clove and fluff with a fork.
Divide the rice among 4 bowls or containers and top each with tempeh and cauliflower. Serve right away with the drizzle, red onion, pumpkin seeds and a lime wedge, or cool completely before sealing the containers and keeping the drizzle separate.
Storage: Cool everything to room temperature, then pack rice, tempeh and cauliflower into 4 airtight containers and refrigerate up to 4 days. Keep the lime-cilantro drizzle in a separate small jar (up to 4 days) and spoon it on after reheating. Reheat covered in the microwave for 2–3 minutes, adding a splash of water to loosen the rice. The cooked components also freeze for up to 2 months, though the cauliflower softens.
Questions
- How much protein is in curried tempeh and roasted cauliflower meal prep bowls with coconut-turmeric rice?
- Each of the 4 servings has 34 g of protein, 8 g of fiber and 803 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is curried tempeh and roasted cauliflower meal prep bowls with coconut-turmeric rice vegan?
- Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
- How long does curried tempeh and roasted cauliflower meal prep bowls with coconut-turmeric rice take to make?
- 20 minutes of prep and 45 minutes of cooking, so 65 minutes of hands-on time, plus 10 minutes of unattended resting.
- Can you make curried tempeh and roasted cauliflower meal prep bowls with coconut-turmeric rice ahead?
- Cool everything to room temperature, then pack rice, tempeh and cauliflower into 4 airtight containers and refrigerate up to 4 days. Keep the lime-cilantro drizzle in a separate small jar (up to 4 days) and spoon it on after reheating. Reheat covered in the microwave for 2–3 minutes, adding a splash of water to loosen the rice. The cooked components also freeze for up to 2 months, though the cauliflower softens.
- What can I substitute in curried tempeh and roasted cauliflower meal prep bowls with coconut-turmeric rice?
- Use cooked basmati or white rice and simmer it in the same coconut-turmeric liquid, reduced to 1/2 cup coconut milk plus 1 1/4 cups water for 1 1/2 cups rice — cuts the rice cooking time to about 15 minutes with a softer, more fragrant grain.. Swap the cauliflower for broccoli florets or butternut squash cubes — broccoli roasts in about 20 minutes total; squash gives a sweeter bowl and needs the full 30.. Replace the coconut yogurt drizzle with 1/4 cup tahini whisked with lime juice and water — nuttier and richer, and it holds up better if you plan to dress the bowls in advance.. Add 1/2 tsp garam masala to the tempeh marinade along with the curry powder — warmer, more aromatic finish without extra heat..
- Does curried tempeh and roasted cauliflower meal prep bowls with coconut-turmeric rice contain gluten or nuts?
- None of the ingredients are a source of gluten, tree nuts or peanuts. That is a statement about the ingredient list, not a guarantee about the brands you buy — always read the labels if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published September 20, 2026 ·Indian
