Caribbean-Style, Island Bowls– with roasted cabbage, sweet potatoes and your choice of tofu (or chicken), baked in the most flavorful Caribbean-style marinade ever! Serve over a bed of seasoned black beans with fresh juicy mango and lime juice! Yum!
We have forgotten what rocks, plants and animals still know. We have forgotten how to be-to be still, to be ourselves, to be where life is: Here and Now.
~E. Tolle~
This flavorful, Caribbean-inspired, Island Bowl is easily made on a sheet pan, with roasted purple cabbage, sweet potatoes, roasted peppers, and your choice of tofu or chicken (or both), bathed in the most delicious Caribbean-infused marinade.
Serve over seasoned black beans and top with fresh mango slices (imperative!) and a squeeze of lime. Feel your spirits lift. Sunshine for the soul!
So many of you keep telling me how challenging it is cooking for mixed households with vegans, gluten-free, and meat-eaters all living under the same roof. I’m creating a new recipe category for you called “Adaptable” with recipes that can be adapted easily at the time of cooking, to fit many needs at once. What I love about this recipe is how easy it is to put together ( all on one sheet pan in the oven) and how easy it is to clean up. Super convenient and fast. Oh, and did I mention healthy??? And, oh ya, yummy!
Island Bowl Ingredients
- Tofu or chicken (or both!)
- Sweet potatoes, yams (or plantains)
- Bell peppers
- Cabbage
- Onions
- Mango
- Rice or beans
- Citrusy Island marinade- with allspice and cinnamon,
Like I mentioned…this recipe works well for mixed households where some are vegetarian/ vegan and others prefer meat. You can make both on one sheet pan like you see below.
or
How to make Island Bowls
Make the quick Caribbean-style marinade in the blender and lather it over the chicken and tofu.
Drizzle a little over the veggies and toss. Make sure veggies are in a single layer, and not overlapping too much.
Place in a hot oven and roast until done.
Serve over a bowl of warm seasoned black beans or rice or grains.
And add the freshly sliced mango, a squeeze of lime, and scallions….the best part!
Inhale a little tropical Island sunshine! ☀️
It’s crazy to me how much this helps with the winter blues. Yes, I get them too.
Hope you love the refreshing sunny flavors of this Caribean-style, Island Bowl – a little tropical magic for you this week!
xoxo
More recipes you may like:
- 20 Buddha Bowls (Vegan & Plant Based!)
- Bali Bowls with Peanut Tofu
- Miso Mushroom Bowl
- Seoul Bowl (Vegan Bibimbap!)
- Coconut Rice Bowls
- Beet Bliss Bowl
Island Bowls
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
- Yield: 2-4 1x
- Category: Main, vegan bowl, buddha bowl, sheet pan dinner
- Method: roasted
- Cuisine: Caribbean
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Caribbean-Style Island Bowl with roasted cabbage, sweet potatoes and tofu ( or chicken) baked in the most flavorful Caribbean-style marinade, served over a bed of seasoned black beans with fresh mango and lime!
Ingredients
- 16 ounces chicken breast or tofu filets ( or use half of each)
- 1 diced sweet potato or yam ( 3/4 inch dice), or try sliced plantains!
- 1 sliced onion
- 1 red or yellow bell pepper -cut into one-inch wedges
- 1/2 cabbage ( cut into wedges) or sub parsnips or carrots!
- 1 can black beans ( or sub-cooked rice or grains)
- 1 ripe mango
- 1 lime
- 2 scallions, sliced
Island Marinade:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice, plus 1 teaspoon zest
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce or Gluten free Braggs Liquid Amino Acids
- 2 teaspoons honey, maple or agave
- 5 fat garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste ( after)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground clove ( or sub nutmeg)
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne or chili flakes or Aleppo ( optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F
- Place marinade ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Place tofu and/or chicken on a parchment lined sheet pan and season with salt and pepper. Pour some marinade over top, brushing and turning them over to get both sides coated well.
- Prep the veggies and place on the sheet pan in a single layer alongside the tofu/ chicken ( or use another sheet pan) and either use any extra marinade to lightly coat the veggies, or season with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. You may have extra marinade depending on how many servings you make.
- Place sheet pan in a hot oven and roast until the chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender, about 20-25 minutes. Give the veggies a quick toss after 15 minutes , for more even cooking.
- Slice the mango and scallions and heat the beans in a small pot.
- Season the beans with salt, pepper and a teaspoon of cumin.
- Divide the seasoned warm beans among 2-4 bowls, arrange with the roasted veggies and tofu or chicken. Add sliced fresh mango, squeeze with lime and sprinkle with scallions.
Notes
Leftovers will keep up to four days in the fridge. Don’t skip the mango!!!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: -with 4 ounces tofu
- Calories: 449
- Sugar: 16.6 g
- Sodium: 518.3 mg
- Fat: 20.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 54.6 g
- Fiber: 13.3 g
- Protein: 18.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
2
I love all your recipes, even when there is a lot of chopping of veggies and mixing of sauces. I made this last evening with chicken and the veggies and black beans. I forgot to buy the cabbage, so I used carrots instead. I used two sheet pans to spread out the veggies. It was amazing! I didn’t think it needed a dressing. The mango and lime were perfect additions to allow the veggies to shine. (A dressing would drown out the flavors.) I will make it again!
Thanks Sabrina! Appreciate this!
One of my favorite recipes from this blog! I don’t eat meat, and the tofu version is delicious. I always double the marinade so I can drench the veggies with it also….so so good, especially on these hot summer days!
Sounds great Amanda!
Beautiful colors and easy to put together. We garnished with cilantro since it needed some green. Delicious!
Thanks, Joan- do you feel it needed a “sauce” or dressing?
This was a good recipe but not my favorite bowl. I liked the marinade for the chicken and I did it on the grill. It was delicious and I would make the chicken again. But the bowl – I felt like it was missing something, even with the mango and lime. I might try to conjure up a mango relish/salsa-ish thing for the leftovers. Good solid recipe, but not great. Sylvia, you have me spoiled with great recipes.
Thanks for the feedback Mert- so maybe better with a sauce, or dressing?
I made this last night and it was wonderful and easy! If you’re craving sunshine this will help ☀️. The marinade made enough for 4 chicken thighs and a perfect amount left over for the veggies. Definitely use 2 sheet pans so you spread the veggies out . I didn’t 😊
Thanks so much Jackie!
So tasty, healthy and easy! We have a winner!
Great to hear!
Delicious and so easy to make. Plenty left overs for lunch bowls.
Thanks Jeana, yay for leftover lunches!
Hello Sylvia: would napa cabbage work here (instead of green cabbage)? Thank you.
I think that should work fine!
Looks delicious! Can I make it ahead of time, reheat and garnish
I think that would work just fine Tracey. Just add the fresh mango at serving time. 🙂
WOW WOW WOW. My husband and I made this and it is literally one of the most flavorful and restaurant quality meals we have ever made! I doubled the sauce so everything could be coated and we used plantains in addition to all the other veggies listed. Absolutely incredible- we seriously can’t stop talking about this recipe! Thank you for sharing your talents!! Plus this is so easy to make!
Sounds delicious with the plantains- glad you liked it!
Delicious. The whole family enjoyed it.
I have a family of eaters that never like the same things, and we’ve been in a food rut. I was looking for something with a few different ingredients, which could have easily spelled disaster at the table. The mango caught my eye, so I took a chance and made this with the only changes being adding chicken and not using cayenne. I thought there’d be pushback from the kids, but I was surprised it went over so well with everyone. Though my 14yo son only poked at the cabbage, my 10yo daughter wanted seconds of it. Other than that, entire plates were cleaned and it was requested again. It was a tasty—and colorful!—meal. Thanks!
Sounds delish, will try this.
Delicious and so healthy!
The Caribbean marinade came out delicious! Thank you for this awesome recipe. It’s perfect for dinner especially when the weather is cooling down.
So happy you enjoyed this Janani!
Planning to make this for dinner one night this week but we are already heavy on chicken dishes and don’t eat soy. Could we substitute pork or shrimp? How light cooking times change?
Yes, shrimp would would here, or even pulled pork? You’d need to pull the shrimp sooner than the veggies, not sure of exact time, because it is size dependant, but pull when pink and curling.
This is one of our household’s favorite recipes, and it’s so easy to keep all of the ingredients on hand. Purple cabbage, sweet potatoes, peppers, and sealed packages of tofu all last a pretty long time as well so during this time when we’re trying to shop less (social distancing) and stock up on healthy, long lasting ingredients this kind of recipe is an invaluable asset. Not to mention delicious!
So glad you like it!
I made this bowl yesterday and both me and my husband really enjoyed it. At first I was afraid, that the spices would be overpowering. Especially allspice and cloves in these amounts aren’t so common in german cuisine. But the combination of flavours works really really well!I left out the oil in the marinade because we eat oilfree most of the time for health reasons. The tofu looked a llittle dry but tasted absolutely delicious. I didn‘t rinse the black beans, so they served as something like a sauce and made up for the somewhat dry tofu. While eating, I already thought about when I could make this bowl again. And I think that‘s the biggest compliment for a new recipe 😉
Oh Good, glad you liked it, even with out the oil!
Really flavorful marinade, fast and easy to put this dinner together! Next time I will double the marinade recipe to ensure I have plenty to cover all the veggies. I roasted chicken breasts, tofu, yam, onion, red bell pepper and carrot. I served it all with the seasoned black beans and mango. Everyone enjoyed it! Another great Feasting at Home recipe that satisfies both meat eaters and vegetarians!
Perfect Teresa, yes feel free to double the marinade!
I nonchalantly made this meal for my family on an ordinary Monday night, not expecting any feedback, especially not positive feedback. My 14-year old son ate his bowl at 9:00 pm after returning from a soccer game and exclaimed, “This is the best vegan meal you have ever made!” (I made the recipe with tofu.) We’ve been vegan for 3 years, so that’s saying a lot. My husband chimed in, “I agree!” We all were pleasantly surprised with how well the mango complimented all of the other ingredients! I added cabbage but left it raw for a little crunch. Thank you for sharing your talent and making our lives better!
I am eating a heaping bowl of this delicious, ultra-spicy meal right now, and I am totally smitten. This is the third recipe I have tried from your site, and every one has smashed it out of the park. Thank you for sharing your creative and healthy meal ideas!
Yay Rachel!!!! Glad you are liking it! xoxo
Made this tonight and LOVED IT! Many thanks for yet another wonderful recipe. Cheers!
Awesome…Im so happy you liked it!