Taste the rainbow with this colorful Buddha Bowl! Easy to prep, nutritious and super fulfilling, here’s a recipe you won’t want to miss.
We’ve been social distancing for a little over two months here in Charlotte. While it’s been an eye-opening experience, I’m 100% ready for things to go back to normal. Well, the new normal… whatever that will look like. Until then, I’ll just be over here making up recipes and sharing them with you on my own little corner of the internet (safely from home).
As most of you know, I’m not a big seafood person. I’ll have an occasional bite of fish here and there if someone swears up-and-down that it’s super delicious. However, I’m totally here for shellfish and enjoy cooking with shrimp, lobster and crab on a regular basis. This recipe is completely customizable, so if you’re not a fan of shrimp you can substitute it with chicken, beef or add more veggies for a vegetarian option.
So… What is a Buddha Bowl, anyway?
Long story short, a Buddha bowl is a one dish meal that consists of small portions of several foods. Remember piling a bunch of items onto your plate at those all-you-can-eat-buffets? Yup… just like that. So, technically, you’ve been crafting your own Buddha Bowls since you were a kid!
New-age bowls typically consist of the following items: Grains + Vegetables + Protein + Dressing. This isn’t a hard rule, but you get the idea! Have fun with it and feel free to make the swaps that put a smile on your face. 🙂
OTHER RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:
Jalapeño Popper Savory Oatmeal with Maple Bacon
Sandwiches Stuffed With Maryland Crab Cakes
How To Make Air Fryer Potato Wedges
- 1 cup Coconut Milk
- 3 tbsp. Fresh Lime Juice
- 1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp. Fish Sauce
- 1 tbsp. Ginger Purée, or more to taste
- 1 tbsp. Basil Purée, or more to taste
- 1 tbsp. Garlic Purée, or more to taste
- ½ tsp. Chili Flakes
- 12 Shrimp (or protein of choice), cooked
- 4 cups Vegetables (your choice), sautéed
- Sesame or Olive Oil, for sautéing
- 2 tbsp. Beans (we used chickpeas)
- Cooked Brown Rice or Lettuce (for your base)
- 1 Jalapeno Pepper, sliced (optional for garnish)
- Whisk all stir-fry sauce ingredients together in a large bowl. Adjust the flavors to suit your preference, adding more purée to taste.
- Place shrimp (or protein of choice) in a bowl and pour over roughly ¼ cup of the stir-fry sauce as a marinade. Set aside.
- Sauté your four-cup vegetable mixture over medium high heat in a large wok or frying pan with sesame or olive oil. Add stir-fry sauce, as needed, to keep vegetables moist. Alternatively, you can roast your veggies on a sheet pan instead. To intensify flavor, simply marinade them in the stir-fry sauce before draining & roasting.
- Add protein (with stir-fry sauce it’s marinating in) to the frying vessel and sauté until fully cooked.
- To assemble your buddha bowl, layer the bottom of your bowl with cooked brown rice or lettuce, then top with the cooked vegetables, beans and protein. Serve with additional stir-fry sauce on the side and desired garnishes.
NOTES ON ASSEMBLING BUDDHA BOWLS:
- Our four cups of vegetables included: 2 mini bell peppers, 1/2 small red onion, 8 – 10 shiitake mushrooms, 1/2 sweet potato that was spiralized, 8 Brussels sprouts that were sliced then roasted and fresh zucchini that was cut into thin slices.
- For Keto diets, skip the beans and swap the sweet potato noodles for zucchini.
- Shrimp cooks very fast, so that’s why I added them straight to the pan with the vegetables. If you are substituting with chicken or beef, you may need to remove the vegetables from the pan so they don’t overcook.
- Other names that you’ll find for buddha bowls include “grain bowls”, “power bowls” or my personal favorite… “hippy bowls”.
This recipe and all photography was developed exclusively for That’s Tasty. If you’d like to learn more about my recipe development for food and beverage brands, please check out my Recipe Development and Photography tabs for more details.
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