We love yogurt around here. Kevin is more into the thin, sweetened, fruit-filled varieties, whereas I’m all about the unsweetened, thick, creamy, tangy kind. Sometimes I make it myself, other times I just grab a tub of whole milk yogurt from the store (grass fed + organic is my go-to for store bought).
We usually enjoy it for breakfast with fruit and granola, but I have been known to blend it up into smoothies, dollop it on top of pancakes and waffles, use it instead of sour cream in burrito bowls and tacos, and swirl it into creamy soups for an extra hit of tang and creaminess (to clarify: It’s usually just me doing most of this yogurt-dolloping; Kevin is not swirling his favorite cherry-vanilla yogurt into soup, rest assured).
Yogurt works so well with both sweet and savory flavors, but for some reason it never occurred to me that I could build an entire savory meal on top of a bowl of yogurt. 
Until now. After making a few batches of this Kabocha Squash with Chili, Lime, & Honey I knew it would be the perfect element to add to my very first savory yogurt bowls. I ate a few bowls of yogurt with chunks of squash and a drizzle of olive oil, and couldn’t help but thinking that something was missing. It was still satisfying, yes, but not exactly the savory yogurt bowl of my dreams. 
After eating savory yogurt bowls for several days in a row, I finally struck gold: the key to making the bowl just as enjoyable as it’s breakfast counterpart is – as with breakfast – nuts and seeds. I tried nearly every different nut and seed in my pantry, but finally settled on pistachios, pumpkin seeds, and hemp seeds for their beautiful green color and savory flavor. I also think roasted hazelnuts and sunflower seeds would be great here, but despite having nearly a dozen different types of nuts and seeds in my kitchen, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds were nowhere to be found. I also ended up adding some avocado because, well, there’s really nothing I won’t add it to. And it’s rich, creamy texture and boost of healthy fats made the yogurt bowls extra filling.
The end result of all this savory yogurt experimentation was a bowl of warm and spicy Kabocha on a bed of cold, thick, tangy yogurt, sprinkled with salty pistachios, crunchy seeds, chunks of avocado, and a handful of scallions and cilantro, for good measure. I finished it off with a tiny drizzle of honey and a generous glug of olive oil, a pinch of salt, pepper, and chili flakes, and dug in.
Every bite is filled with creamy yogurt, chili-lime roasted squash, avocado, salty, crunchy nuts, a hint of sweetness, and a bit of earthy, grassy flavor from the olive oil. If a more perfect yogurt bowl exists, I do not know of it. 
I’m sure there are savory yogurt bowls all over the internet, but this one is finally in my kitchen, and I think it’s here to stay. While I loved this specific combination of roasted squash, herbs and nuts, you can definitely feel free to experiment with whatever is in your pantry. Leftover roasted root vegetables like beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, or parsnips would all work just as well as the squash- as would any other winter squash like Butternut, Acorn, Delicata, etc. You could even try making a savory granola to go on top, if your favorite part of the yogurt experience is the granola.
Whatever you do, you need to get some savory yogurt bowls in your life, ASAP. If you’re feeling savory first thing in the morning, this could certainly work for breakfast, though I find it most satisfying as a simple lunch or dinner. If you already have leftover roasted squash in the fridge, assembling this meal is as easy as doling out a serving of yogurt in each bowl, adding all the toppings, and gently warming up a few slices of squash to go on top. I’m talking dinner in less than 10 minutes- if that’s not a weeknight win, I don’t know what is.
If you try out this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment below or take a picture and share it with me on Instagram!
Don’t forget to check out my PANTRY STAPLES page to stock up on ingredients for this recipe!
Savory Yogurt Bowls with Roasted Kabocha and Pistachios
Ingredients
- 2 cups full fat Greek Yogurt or other favorite thick yogurt
- 4-6 wedges of leftover roasted Kabocha Squash*
- 1/2 an avocado
- 1/4 cup roasted salted pistachios
- 2 Tablespoons hemp seeds sometimes sold as 'hemp hearts'
- 2 Tablespoons pumpkin seeds sometimes sold as 'pepitas'
- a small handful of cilantro roughly chopped
- 1 scallion thinly sliced
- olive oil and honey for drizzling
- a pinch of salt pepper, and chili flakes, for topping
Instructions
- 1. If desired, slightly warm the leftover roasted squash in the microwave (20-30 seconds) or in a small skillet over medium-low heat (5 minutes). The squash is also tasty cold- sometimes I warm it, sometimes I don't.
- 2. Divide the yogurt into 2 large bowls. Top each bowl of yogurt with half of the squash, avocado, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, cilantro, and scallion. Drizzle each bowl with a little bit of olive oil and honey (I use about a teaspoon of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of honey per bowl, if you want to measure it out), then add pinches of salt, pepper, and chili flakes on top. Eat immediately. Alternately, you could pack this for lunch at work by assembling the bowls in containers without the nuts and seeds (keep them in a little container on the side), then dump them on when ready to eat.