A yummy dessert bowl with crunchy chocolate-toasted buckwheat, figs, and a dusting of cocoa from the Nourishing Superfood Bowls cookbook!
Doesn’t just the name make you feel instantly more fabulous somehow?
Part smoothie bowl. Part yogurt bowl. Part dessert bowl. Part could be breakfast bowl. All swanky sweet bowl-like-you’ve-never-had-before bowl. And there is a whole lot more bowl goodness where that came from.
Record for using the word bowl the most times in one paragraph = BROKEN.
Before I get too lost telling you all the details of this classy creation, we need to talk about something very exciting. This book. Seventy-five recipes for bowls of all kinds written and beautifully photographed (seriously I could stare ALL DAY) by the amazing blogger behind Cotter Crunch, Lindsay Cotter. A.k.a. Nourishing Superfood Bowls! I am so grateful to be friends with this super talented lady who is forever enchanting me with her photo lighting and inspiring me with her kitchen creativity.
Not gonna lie I kinda fan-girled her from a distance for a while, before we ever connected. Yeah she’s that cool…or I’m that weird.
The book is just as enchanting and insanely creative. Every recipe is gluten free, but there’s vegan, paleo, grain-free, dairy-free – there are bowls for everybody. While I have spent an especially great amount of time in the breakfast and dessert sections, the in-between is full of any kind of meal bowl you could imagine. And there is an entire section of only plant based bowls, so my vegan friends she has you covered.
Plus there’s the superfoods part, with a note at the top of each recipe highlighting the super ingredient(s) in each bowl too. Think: matcha, lentils, berries, sweet potatoes, fermented foods, etc. This is a real foods, vibrant foods, feel good foods, all the enticing foods kinda book.
Narrowing it down to just one to share with you today was tricky. But once I saw figs and chocolate together it was a done deal. Two of my favorite things in crunchy, creamy, fruity dessert form.
Others on my gotta try soon list are:
- Creamy Chocolate Streusel Bowls
- Mint Almond Matcha Smoothie Bowl
- Sticky Mongolian Beef Broccoli Rice Bowls
- Loaded Sweet Potato Nacho Salad Bowls
- Sticky Date Cake Yogurt Bowls
See, she has me wanting to cook actual savory food even – crazy, right!?
So like I said figs + chocolate. But what I didn’t tell you about was the addictively crunchy toasted buckwheat topping that truly makes this bowl. Just 4 ingredients and 5-ish minutes of cooking time, and oh my goodness do you have the most delicious crispy compliment to the creamy bowl base.
Which is also kind of genius. Instead of your typical smoothie or nice cream she used a mix of banana + greek or non-dairy yogurt (HOORAY for options). So it’s naturally sweet from the fruit, but with some good probiotic stuff going on too. And if you use a frozen banana like I did the texture is very froyo-esque.
Combine all that with dried figs and a dusting of cocoa…yeah it tastes just as good as you are imagining.
For breakfast, lunch, or dinner. For prepping ahead or a quick snack. For one or a family. For vegan or paleo or gluten-free. For just gawking at stunning photos of crave-worthy bowl food. For any and all of the above, this book is your book.
All the deets and where to snag your own copy HERE.
Prep Time:
Yield:
Print
PinDescription
A yummy dessert bowl with crunchy chocolate-toasted buckwheat, figs, and a dusting of cocoa from the Nourishing Superfood Bowls cookbook!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (85g) dried figs, stems removed
- 1–1 1/2 cups (240-355ml) purified water
- 1/4–1/3 cup (45-60g) buckwheat groats
- 2–3 tsps (5-7g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsps (10ml) coconut oil
- 1 tbsp (12g) coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 1 medium banana (fresh or frozen)
- 1 1/4 cups (310g) Greek or nondairy yogurt
- Cocoa nibs or dark chocolate chips
- Optional: extra cocoa powder
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350F (177C).
Soak the figs in water for 30 minutes to soften. Soaking will expand the figs and create a smoother texture for the dessert bowls. Discard the water after soaking. Slice the soaked figs and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine the buckwheat groats with the cocoa powder, coconut oil, and sugar, mixing well. Spread the coated buckwheat groats on a cookie sheet and toast for 5-6 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
In a blender, combine the banana and yogurt, blending well. For an extra-thick consistency, use a frozen banana (I did!)
Pour the banana and yogurt mixture into a serving bowl and top with the cocoa crispy toasted buckwheat and sliced figs. Top with the cocoa nibs or dark chocolate chips. Feel free to add a bit of dark cocoa powder for dusting, if desired.
CLICK BELOW TO PIN
I love the crunch from buckwheat groats! This looks delicious Natalie!
Me too now that I rediscovered buckwheat! Thanks Jess 🙂
This is beyond beautiful! What a fun and delicious recipe. When I saw greek goddess, I thought it said “green” goddess and was expecting an avocado salad or something, but then my eyes were treated to this chocolaty bowl! And all of those other recipes sound to die for!
Haha let’s not get too carried away and think Natalie actually posted a SAVORY recipe😱 Although I do love GREEN goddess things too, I got room in my life for all the goddess things😊 Thanks Nisha!
I must say the idea of making cocoa crunchy buckwheat groats alone sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing another fun vegan treat!
Right!? I have been putting those crunchy leftovers on my smoothies and loving it😋 Thanks Heidi!
Well now I am your fan girl and TOTALLY CRUSHING on all things here. I should say, I’m feasting on it. Hehe! I truly appreciate that you’ve gone above and beyond. Please let me know how I can repay the favor or support you in any way friend.
★★★★★
I am truly happy to do it! I had lots of fun with that video–one of my faves I’ve shot in a while🤗 I’m just happy you liked it and happy we connected❤️
Love your video of this bowl Natalie! And the bowl recipe itself looks amazing. I’m not a smoothie bowl type of eater, but this I could get on board with! I absolutely love her idea of the chocolate buckwheat groats, yum, yum. I bet the crunch factor is off the chain for that and the smell as well! Looks like such a fun book. I love reviewing cookbooks that get me all excited. I reviewed Gena’s The Full Helping’s book last week and it was without a doubt one of the best books ever to cross my hands and it’s one I keep cooking out of and I could totally see how this would be one for you as well since you are big on doing all these beautiful bowls and smoothies! It was made for you, haha! I’m just salivating at this whole idea of chocolate groats and more chocolate chips on top…one can never have too much chocolate, even if it’s breakfast! Lovely review Natalie!
I didn’t even realize how much I love doing cookbook reviews too haha! I’ve only done it a few times, but it’s so much fun to a) get to focus truly on the video without having to worry about the recipe and b) explore and admire other people’s creativity! Oh yes, this book is just my style 🙂 And I try not to do ginormous TONS OF FRUIT smoothies anymore either so discovering this yogurt + fruit combo thing has been kind of a game changer. Thanks for reading Brandi!
This bowl looks so delicious! You did such a great job recreating Lindsay’s recipe, just bought the book and already have so many favorites. 🙂
Love that she uses buckwheat groats instead of quinoa, oats, etc; much more original!
★★★★★
Woohoo!! I am so happy you got it too, she is so so creative and this book is a huge delicious testament to that😊 Happy bowl making to you too!
Hi, I like your recipe. I’ve never made this kind bowl before. I’m new to make superfood bowls 🙂 I’m wondering which blender is better to make that kind of texture for blending yogurt and frozen banana. I only have nutribullet blender, but when I tried to blend them, it didn’t come out that thick like yours. Please advice. Thank you~~
I love love love my Vitamix blender and highly recommend it for these kinds of bowls (and everything else!) The nutribullet is tricky since the food tends to get stuck at the top, so I don’t recommend it for blending something as thick as this. Here is the exact one I used: http://amzn.to/2HFRmBS Hope that helps!
Thanks. I’ll check that out 🙂
Could Bulger wheat be subbed for the buckwheat?
Hmm this isn’t my recipe, it’s from a cookbook, so I’m not sure, but I don’t think so. Buckwheat isn’t actually wheat it’s a seed, I don’t think bulgur wheat would taste or digest very well in this form😕
Shame I couldn’t find any buckwheat and want this for my breakfast tomorrow! It looks so good… Maybe I could try using nuts, or seeds?
Nuts or seeds would totally work! Since you are going to toast them with the chocolate coating, I would suggest using raw nuts/seeds to start with 🙂 Enjoy!