It's 5 o'clock and you're wandering around your kitchen trying to decide how to toss the ingredients on hand into an edible meal. Let me help! I've got 5 rice bowl recipes to share that will make dinner time a breeze. These bowls don't need fancy ingredients, just use the veggies you already have, and mix + match the sauces to fit your preferences. Let's make dinner easy as well as enjoyable for everyone.
White rice vs brown rice
The first question I get when sharing a rice bowl recipe is, which is better, white or brown rice? Aside from taste preferences, here's what I know:
First, brown rice is a whole grain. This means it includes all parts of the grain. Meanwhile, white rice removes the bran and nutritious germ, leaving it with a very limited amount of nutrients.
Brown rice contains more fiber. 100 oz of brown rice (1 serving) contains 1.4 grams of fiber compared to just .4 grams of the same serving of white rice.
High consumption of rice may lead to higher levels of arsenic in the body, and brown rice seems to have higher levels than white. Note that moderate consumption of rice should be fine.
These rice bowl recipes have a mix of white and brown rice, so just use whatever is your preference.
Rice bowl sauces
In my opinion, any rice bowl isn't complete without the perfect sauce. Often times store bought sauces just don't do it for me (plus they're typically full of not great ingredients), so I really get into creating my own. Sometimes a simple guacamole or salsa does the trick, yet when I really want flavor in my rice bowl, I go with one of these:
Bonus, all these recipes are dairy free! I want a topping that not only tastes good, but also adds nutrition to the recipe. So these sauces add in essential healthy fats, protein, and flavor to my meals. The sauces included in the rice bowl recipes below are great, yet don't be afraid to swap out that yummy topping listed for one of these, you won't regret it!
5 Rice bowl recipes
Here are my top 5 fav rice bowl recipes. All plant based, all easy to make, and all insanely delicious. If your family is full of picky eaters, then let them assemble their own bowls! I'm not above roasting a pan of veggies, then letting my kids pick the ones they want to add to their personal bowls.
Chipotle veggie bowl- This is a nutrient-dense bowl with a rainbow of veggies in it. Feel free to swap in your go-to peppers and spices to make this your own.
Simple teriyaki bowl- this sweet n' spicy bowl is inspired by my fav take out, and the coconut milk rice takes it to a whole new level of good.
Coconut curry- This bowl was created for my Fresh Start 21 day Spring Cleanse. And yeah, cleanse food CAN be that incredibly tasty + filling.
Asparagus stir-fry- The sauce alone from this rice bowl recipe is 100% worth it every time. This is another amazing recipe from the Fresh Start Spring cleanse, which makes it both filling and healthy.... and entirely plant based.
Simple broccoli bowl- If you're looking for a winner, this rice bowl is definitely it. I love roasted broccoli, and the other fresh ingredients in this bowl work seamlessly together. Check out the recipe below, and get ready to cook!
Prep ahead ingredients
I love any meal I can prep ahead, and the more I don't have to prepare at dinner time, the better.
Rice is an easy ingredient to prep ahead. The next time you make rice, go ahead and double or triple your normal recipe. That way you have rice in the fridge, perfectly chilled for stir fry, or another one of these delicious rice bowl recipes.
Onions + garlic are also easy to prep ahead. Chop 2-3 cups of onion at a time, and several cloves of garlic. Be sure to secure them in air-tight containers to ensure the fridge doesn't start to smell, then grab whatever amounts you need per recipe throughout the week.
What are your fav rice bowl ingredients? I'd love to hear about them in the comments section below. Don't forget to rate + review this delicious Simple Broccoli Bowl as well as share any tweaks you made to it.
Rice bowl with broccoli
Rate this Recipe Print RecipeIngredients
- 1 cup brown rice (uncooked)
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Salt + pepper to taste
- 6 cups broccoli (small florets)
- 1 cup carrot (julienne)
- 1 cup walnuts
- 4 tablespoons tamari
- 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
Toppings
- sesame seeds
- green onions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the rinsed rice, water, and olive oil in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove from heat. Leave covered until ready to serve.
- While rice is cooking, toss the broccoli florets with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and spread evenly on the baking sheet.
- Roast 10 minutes. Add in carrots and roast for an additional 5 minutes. Next, add in 1 cup of walnuts and roast an additional 7-10 minutes, until lightly toasted.
- Prepare the sauce: in a small bowl, combine tamari and red chili sauce.
- Once the vegetables are done, fluff the rice with a fork and serve 1 cup of rice with veggies, divided evenly. Drizzle sauce on top. Add sesame seeds and green onions.
Kim
Yum! I love the variety here. Such great ideas for weeknight dinners. I like to prep my rice on the weekend, so the rice is ready when I need it.
Kat B.
Love how easy this makes it to use whatever is on hand in my fridge! And thank you for the different combo suggestions to pull me out of my flavor ruts.
Ryann
I could LIVE off of Rice Bowls— they are so easy to build a meal that my whole family will eat. I usually add some meat for my husband and kids, but I always pack them with veggies. The broccoli one in the video looks really good.
Erin
This made for an easy and quick dinner. Used frozen pineapple and frozen broccoli and it still turned out great.