5-Minute Plant-Based Meals for One

These two plant-based bowls start with cooked grains and cooked beans or lentils. Open, drain, measure and combine. The five-minute estimate depends on that starting point, so check it before you buy the ingredients.

Five-minute chickpea hummus bowl

For one person, base portion. Estimated full preparation: 5 minutes. 542 kcal; protein 23 g; carbohydrate 77.7 g; fat 17.5 g.

• 150 g canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 150 g quinoa, ready-cooked
• 40 g baby spinach
• 60 g ready-made hummus
• 15 g lemon juice

1. Use prewashed baby spinach, drained and rinsed canned chickpeas and ready-cooked quinoa suitable for eating cold.
2. Mix everything in a bowl, folding the hummus and lemon juice through as a dressing.

The hummus acts as part of the dressing, so you do not need a separate long sauce recipe. Fold it through rather than leaving the spinach dry underneath. If your hummus is thicker than expected, adjust the consistency with a little drinking water; extra oil would change the nutrition calculation.

Five-minute lentil avocado bowl

For one person, base portion. Estimated full preparation: 5 minutes. 518 kcal; protein 22.9 g; carbohydrate 83.1 g; fat 12.6 g.

• 180 g lentils, ready-cooked
• 150 g brown rice, ready-cooked
• 70 g avocado flesh
• 40 g baby spinach
• 15 g lemon juice

1. Scoop avocado flesh into a bowl and roughly break it up with a fork.
2. Add ready-cooked lentils and rice suitable for eating cold, prewashed spinach and lemon juice. Toss together.

Before serving either bowl cold

Ready-cooked does not always mean a product is intended to be eaten cold. Choose grains and legumes with suitable serving instructions. Tofu is not needed for these two bowls, so they also give you alternatives when you do not want to prepare it.

The estimates assume prewashed spinach and cooked grains and legumes. Washing a bundle of leaves or cooking lentils adds work. Neither recipe has been timed in a home kitchen.

Different bowls, different portions

Both bowls contain plant protein, but the printed amounts are descriptions of the recipes, not claims that they meet every person's daily requirements. They also differ in fat and carbohydrate because avocado, hummus, rice and quinoa have different compositions.

If you want a larger or smaller portion, scale the ingredient weights together and recalculate. Do not double only the avocado and keep the same totals. For more variety, move to a lentil pita or a ready-to-eat tofu bowl on another day rather than adding several unrelated ingredients to this one.

Note the time the first time you make a bowl. Use it on a rushed day only if the preparation fits your routine.

Using prepared grains and beans

Do I need to cook the beans first?

The examples use canned or otherwise cooked beans. Drain and rinse as instructed; do not substitute dry beans without separately preparing them.

Are all plant-based bowls high in protein?

No. Protein depends on the ingredients and amounts. Compare the calculated totals for the full portion rather than the name of the dish.

Related reading: What a 10-Minute Meal Really Includes · Five-Ingredient Meals for One: Count Everything You Use

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Recipe times are planning estimates, not kitchen-tested guarantees. They assume the prepared ingredients named in each recipe. Nutrition is calculated from our local USDA SR Legacy ingredient references; your package labels and actual portions can differ.