Coconut Millet Bowl with Berbere-Spiced Kabocha Squash, chickpeas, shallots, and spinach drizzled with coconut lime mint sauce. A vegan, plant-based meal, full of vibrant flavor and spice.
Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive.~ Hafiz
Another nourishing veggie bowl! This time featuring millet cooked in coconut milk with a little turmeric for a golden glow. Kabocha, chickpeas, and shallots are roasted with richly spiced aromatic Ethiopian berbere paste. The bowl is finished with a cool cucumber coconut lime sauce balancing out the heat and adding a lovely brightness. Colorful, tasty and easy to make!
Millet has all kinds of good stuff going for it! High in nutrients and vitamins, millet is a mild-flavored, gluten-free grain. The flavor hints of corn with a slightly sweet nuttiness. Cooking up fast, tender and fluffy, millet is also very economical, versatile and easy to incorporate into your favorite dishes. By adjusting the liquid you can cook it more like rice or quinoa, or make it more like a porridge or soft polenta.
Growing up, my mom used to make a creamy breakfast porridge with millet, cinnamon sticks and dates cooked overnight in a slow cooker- so good!! It lends itself perfectly to both savory and sweet flavor influences.
Scoop 1/2 cup of the thick cream off of the top of the canned coconut milk for the drizzle sauce and set aside.
Using the remaining coconut milk and water we are going for a grain-like texture with the millet here.
Bring liquid to a simmer, add millet, turmeric and salt.
Let simmer covered. Don’t peak! Very important to leave the lid on so the steam does not escape.
Mix Berbere spice with oil and water to create a paste. This also heightens the flavors bringing out the volatile oils as the spices hydrate. Let sit for 10 minutes before using.
You can make the Berbere Spice from scratch or buy it at most upscale grocery stores, or online.
I really encourage you to look for red kabocha squash because it is so uniquely delicious! You might check with your local farmers- it is a hot item here in the Pacific Northwest. The skin is thin, no need to peel. Yams, butternut, or delicata would all be delicious as well.
The berbere gets thick after soaking, making a beautiful paste.
Liberally coat squash, shallots and chickpeas with the paste. (You could easily add chicken breasts or thighs to the roast too- see recipe notes!). Give a sprinkling of salt and pop into the oven to roast.
Prepare the sauce while everything is cooking.
Blend until creamy.
Assemble the bowls with millet on the bottom, topping with the warm squash, shallots and chickpeas.
Add fresh spinach and drizzle with the creamy sauce.
Sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes.
Hope you enjoy!
More recipes you may like:
- Homemade Berbere Spice Blend
- 20 Buddha Bowls (Vegan & Plant-Based!)
- Berbere Chicken with Ethiopian Lentils
- Kale Caesar Salad with Millet Croutons
Coconut Millet Bowl with Berbere Spiced Squash & Chickpeas
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: vegan, main, buddha bowl,
- Method: roasted, stovetop
- Cuisine: Ethiopian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Coconut Millet Bowl with Berbere-Spiced Kabocha Squash, chickpeas, shallots, and spinach drizzled with coconut lime mint sauce. A vegan, plant-based meal, full of vibrant flavor and spice.
Ingredients
Sheet Pan Roast
- 2 tablespoons Berbere spice
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil (or other neutral-flavored oil)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 1/2 lb kabocha squash 3/4 ” slices (substitute yams, butternut or delicata)
- 15 oz can chickpeas, drained or 1 1/2 cups cooked
- 2 large shallots, peeled and thickly sliced (I cut in half and then cut each half in thirds)
Coconut Millet
- 1 cup millet
- 1 cup from a 1 15 oz can coconut milk (not lite!) divided, see instructions
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Drizzle Sauce
- 1/2 cup coconut cream (from the divided can)
- 1/4 cup lime juice (1–2 limes worth)
- zest of one lime (about 1 teaspoon)
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 cup cucumber chunks, peeled and deseeded
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger or a few thin slices
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped stems and leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
3 cups fresh spinach
Instructions
- Set oven to 400 degrees.
Make the Berbere Paste
- Mix together berbere, oil and water in a bowl set aside to hydrate for 10 minutes.
Cook the Millet
- Reserve 1/2 cup of the thick cream part of the coconut milk and set aside.
- Bring the remaining coconut milk, water, turmeric and salt to a simmer in a sauce pan. Add coconut oil and millet bring to a gentle boil and then turn down to lowest simmer leave covered for 15 minutes. Without lifting the lid. Leave covered (no peaking!) turn off heat and let sit at least 10 minutes more.
Prepare Sheet Pan Roast
- Place prepared squash, shallots and chickpeas on sheet pan with parchment. Liberally spread berbere paste with a brush. Sprinkle with salt and place in the oven for 30 minutes or until everything is cooked and roasty.
Make the Drizzle
- Blend together the reserved coconut cream, lime juice & zest, salt, honey, cucumber, and fresh ginger until smooth. Add in cilantro and mint and blend just another few seconds, enough to break up the herbs but still keeping pieces and flecks.
Assemble the bowls with the veggies on top of the warm millet. Add fresh spinach and drizzle with the sauce.
Top with toasted coconut.
Notes
Keywords: Coconut Millet Bowl , Millet bowl, millet recipes, how to cook millet, vegan buddha bowl, vegan millet bowl, Berbere squash
Love the spice combo and so easy to make, as always. AMAZING. We love you!
I subbed the millet for quinoa and it worked beautifully however portions were a little small- would have liked 2 cups of quinoa to make it a hearty meal however for 4 people. Do you think the Millet would have gone further?
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed! Millet is definitely a heartier grain then quinoa. Maybe the same amount but much more density.
This is so delicious!! I had never tried millet before but I am for sure hooked now.
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed this Faye!
another winner! I made the berbere spice without fenugreek because I’m pregnant but was still delicious! I was slightly concerned for a second with the millet because I didn’t peak at all but when I went to look at it, after the squash had cooked it was still mushy and in quite a bit of liquid so I quickly turned the burner on medium and cooked until the liquid had been cooked off. Still delicious. Never had millet before and I thought it was delicious, everything paired so well together. I did also bake two chicken breasts with the veggies and then shredded and did another batch of squash because I didn’t have a large enough pan to cook all at once. Will be making this many times, this recipe is a keeper. So glad I found this blog!!
★★★★★
So glad you liked this Nicole! and yay for trying new things! Chicken sounds perfect.
This sounds great, except I really don’t care for coconut (it makes me nauseous). Can I sub something for the coconut cream & milk? Thanks!
It plays such a big part in the dish, but I guess you could use another nut milk? Give it a try.
This was a lovely way to combine two ingredients I’ve had on hand for a while but wasn’t sure how to use best – berbere and millet! Everything came together so nicely, I found it to be a satisfying meal while being wholesome and nutritious at the same time.
★★★★★
Great to hear Nicole!
The family loved this!
★★★★★
This was delicious! I changed a couple of things like using buckwheat groats instead of millet and taking away the mint and cucumber but It was still amazing. I also ended up using light coconut milk.
★★★★★
The flavors of this dish are so incredibly delicious and come together perfectly for this bowl. I’ve made it a few different times and with variations in veg ingredients but the core flavors remain and no matter what I put in the bowl, it is absolutely divine. This recipe is now a regular in the weekly rotation of meals.
★★★★★
Easy and so delicious. The hardest thing about this recipe was finding fenugreek, oddly enough. I really liked this dish—but no one else in my family did. It’s a battle… When I was in college in the early 90s, my roommate and I made millet as a breakfast cereal. It has a slight cream of wheat flavor. I loved the coconut millet here but the tough customers in my house didn’t dig it. Rice might go over better if you have less adventurous palates in your family. The roasted squash and crunchy chickpeas—so good! The drizzle sauce is genius. Thanks for another great recipe.
★★★★★
I’m wondering why my drizzle sauce could have curdled? It’s green and chunky from the coconut milk!
★★★★★
did your coconut milk have any additives?
Mine curdled too when I added some cold ingredients. Just heat it up a little.
Thank you! I didn’t think about that. I’ll try again it was very tasty even without the sauce.
Super delicious combination of flavors and textures. I especially loved the tender sweet kabocha squash with the berebere spices. Crunchy, spiced and salty chick peas were a great contrast, along with the fresh spinach. Another winner Sylvia!
★★★★★
This was delicious. Will definitely make again. Hadn’t cooked with millet so it was a great way to get introduced to this grain. Thank you!
★★★★★
so glad you liked it!
Cant wait to try this one! I just ordered a surinam cooking book so probably will be cooking from that for dinner, but perhaps ill try this tomorrow. You never disappoint with your recipes and im very curious to try millet as I never had it before.
let us know how you like it!
Delicious! I added thinly sliced chicken for the protein-heads in the family, and it came out so tender and juicy from the berbere paste! I made it with butternut squash, and I added tomatoes to the drizzle sauce (for no real reason except I had an extra tomato and needed to get rid of it) – it was all fabulous.
★★★★★
wonderful! love your adaptations!
Husband just declared this one of the best vegetarian meals he has ever eaten. Delicious and creative and the instructions worked perfectly. Will be making this regularly.Thank you!
★★★★★
so happy it worked so well for you!!