It is an excellent way to pack tasty and nourishing ingredients into one flavorful and gorgeous dish.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Sauce for Buddha Bowl
How to make a Buddha bowl
Variations
Serving Suggestions
Storage
More Grain Bowls
More Tofu Recipes
They are like grain bowls and very similar to poke bowls, except they don’t contain fish or meat and favor plant-based protein. There are three main components to Buddha bowls: Take our recipe as a guideline and make Buddha bowls with your favorite ingredients, depending on your local and seasonal availability. Here are a couple of tips to remember when making Buddha bowls: Substitute farro, barley, millet, buckwheat, quinoa, amaranth, and even couscous for rice. Some like to make this with cauliflower rice, but we think that wouldn’t make a balanced meal (and you will get hungry a lot faster without a whole grain).
Protein
Our favorite protein is quick-grilled tofu. Substitute marinated tofu, pan-fried crispy tofu, air-fryer tofu, chickpeas, crispy roasted chickpeas, hummus, falafel, edamame beans, black beans or other beans, and even tempeh. Buddha bowls are generally vegan or vegetarian (like the diet of Buddhist monks) and don’t include chicken or fish.
Vegetables and Fruit
You can add your favorite vegetables and fruit. You can add them raw, grilled, steamed, or oven-baked. Think about the colors of the rainbow, and add three to seven vegetables:
RED: We add thinly sliced red onion pickled in lemon juice and salt for 10 minutes. Substitute tomatoes, red bell pepper, radish, red chili pepper, or red leaf lettuce for red onion. ORANGE: We add carrot ribbons sliced with a vegetable peeler. Substitute orange bell pepper, roasted butternut squash, microwaved sweet potato or roasted sweet potatoes, roasted kabocha squash, pumpkin, and even cantaloupe melon for carrots. YELLOW: We add juicy mango. Substitute pineapple, yellow bell pepper, corn, cauliflower, golden tomatoes, yellow carrots, and yellow squash for mango. GREEN: We add spinach, cucumber, and avocado. Substitute kale, arugula, collard greens, green cabbage, watercress, romaine lettuce, zucchini, broccoli, shaved or roasted Brussels sprouts, steamed artichokes, green beans, steamed asparagus, roasted asparagus, and green peas for spinach and cucumber. PURPLE: We add thinly sliced red cabbage. Substitute roasted eggplant, beets, purple sweet potatoes, purple cauliflower, radicchio, and purple carrots for red cabbage.
Peanut butter: smooth or chunky; both work. Substitute almond butter or other nut butter. Tahini: optional; substitute more peanut butter or other nut butter. Sesame oil: keep out if you don’t have it. Rice vinegar: substitute with fresh lime juice or apple cider vinegar. Brown sugar: substitute maple syrup, agave syrup, palm sugar, or coconut sugar. Soy sauce: substitute tamari or coconut aminos for gluten-free. Garlic and ginger: substitute garlic and ginger paste. Sriracha sauce: substitute red pepper flakes, hot sauce, or another spicy ingredient.
You can substitute cilantro lime dressing, green goddess dressing, tahini sauce, carrot ginger dressing, and chipotle sauce for the sesame peanut sauce. Spread the cooked rice on a baking sheet to cool down without overcooking. Tip: Avoid rinsing rice under cold water to cool it down.
Prep quick pickled red onions
Thinly slice the red onion and add it to a bowl with freshly squeezed lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, salt, and red pepper flakes. Mix well and set aside for 10 minutes.
Grill the tofu
Pat the tofu dry with kitchen paper and slice it into 1/4 inch (0.7 cm) slices. Toss tofu slices in olive oil, salt, and black pepper until well coated in oil. Warm up your grill pan, add the tofu slices, and grill for 3 minutes on medium heat. Turn around with the help of a flat spatula and grill for 3 more minutes.
Make the peanut sauce
Whisk or blend peanut butter, tahini, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, sugar, grated ginger, grated garlic, and sriracha sauce.
Chop the vegetables
Cut mango and cucumber into dice. Thinly slice the carrot with a vegetable peeler. Thinly chop the red cabbage.
Build the Buddha Bowl
To a large serving bowl, add boiled rice, spinach, diced mango, carrot ribbons, sliced cabbage, diced cucumber, sliced avocado, and grilled tofu. Top with pickled red onion and a generous drizzle of peanut sauce. Optionally, sprinkle with sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds. We make it with tomatoes, cucumber, olives, parsley, feta cheese, falafel, hummus, warm pita bread, lemon wedges, and a delicious tahini sauce as dressing. Check out our Mediterranean bowl recipe.
Choose a different dressing
Tahini sauce
A creamy, nutty, and delicious sauce with tahini, lemon juice, garlic, water, and salt. It’s delicious with all veggies, rice, and tofu and an excellent choice for Buddha bowls. Check out our tahini sauce recipe.
Cilantro lime dressing
A Mexican-inspired dressing with fresh and zesty flavors. You can make it with fresh cilantro, lime juice, maple syrup, olive oil, salt, garlic, and ginger. Check out our cilantro lime dressing recipe.
Green goddess dressing
A swirl of fresh herbs and tangy flavors, this green goddess dressing is packed with herby aromas and an irresistibly creamy texture. You can make it with our vegan mayo, yogurt, garlic, olive oil, parsley, basil, dill, chives, mint, capers, salt, and pepper. Check out our green goddess dressing recipe. We usually make one giant bowl and share it among the two of us, and we keep the leftover for the next day. You can have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It’s also excellent for meal prep since you can grill the tofu, pickle the onions, make the sauce, and boil the rice up to 3-4 days in advance. Refrigerator: keep the bowl in the fridge, covered with plastic, for a day or two. The components can last up to 4 days if stored in separate airtight containers. Freezer: this recipe is not suitable for freezing.
Mediterranean barley salad (roasted vegetables, barley, sundried tomatoes, etc.) Mediterranean bowl (hummus, falafel, tahini, olives, feta, etc.) Rice salad (whole-grain rice, cherry tomato, olives, cucumber, olive oil, etc.) Couscous salad (couscous, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, lemon, etc.) 25 best grain bowl recipes (falafel bowl, Mediterranean bowl, and more)
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Fried tofu (tofu cubes, paprika, garlic powder, olive oil, salt, etc.) Tofu salad (romaine lettuce, fried tofu, cherry tomatoes, tahini sauce, etc.) Marinated tofu (cornstarch, tofu, soy sauce, mustard, apple cider vinegar, etc.) Air fryer tofu (paprika, tofu, olive oil, garlic powder, cornstarch, etc.)
For many more tofu ideas, check out our tofu category page.
Fried Tofu
Tofu Salad
Air Fryer Tofu
Marinated Tofu
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