These are the best grain bowl recipes on the internet! Use your favourite grains like rice, quinoa and farro to make these meal prep lunches.
Healthy Grain Bowl Recipes
Grain bowls are a great option for meal prep – they're healthy, filling, delicious and super customizable! You can make them with any kind of grain of your choice like rice, quinoa or farro. To help you get started, I rounded up some of my favourite healthy grain bowl recipes you're sure to love.
Tips for the best grain bowl
Here are some of my top tips for making the best bowls:
- Cook your grains in the Instant Pot: To cut down on prep time, you can make rice, quinoa or farro in the Instant Pot.
- Use broth instead of water: For extra flavour, you can cook your grains in chicken or vegetable broth instead of water.
- Fluff after cooking: When your grains are done cooking, fluff with a fork to separate the grains and ensure they have the best texture.
- Get creative: Grain bowls are super customizable, so feel free to throw in whatever you have in your fridge! Experiment with different flavours and add-ins until you find a combo you love.
How to make a grain bowl
Here's how to make a grain bowl:
- Cook your grains: The grain is the base of your bowl. You can use white rice, brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, farro or couscous. Make it in a pot on the stovetop, in the rice cooker or the Instant Pot.
- Cook your protein: Choose what protein you're going to add to your bowl and cook it using the method of your choice. You can use chicken, steak, ground beef, ground turkey, sausage, shrimp, tofu, beans, lentils or eggs – the options are endless!
- Prep your veggies: Chop up any veggies you're adding to your bowls and cook if desired. Popular veggies include sweet potatoes, squash, broccoli, carrots, parsnips, bell peppers, carrots, brussels sprouts, corn, jalapenos, tomato, avocado or cucumber.
- Make your sauce: You can add any sauce of your choice to your grain bowl like hot sauce, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, spicy mayo, guacamole, salsa or pico de gallo.
- Assemble your bowls: Add the grains to the bottom of your bowl followed by the veggies and protein, sauce and any toppings of your choice like green onions, red onions, sesame seeds, cilantro, wonton strips or nuts.
Frequently Asked Questions
All these grain bowl recipes are healthy, but if you want to stick to the healthiest grains, I'd recommend using barley, quinoa, farro, wild rice or brown rice.
Whether you enjoy your grain bowls hot or cold is all a matter of preference. If you're making them fresh, you can enjoy them warm, but if you're meal prepping your bowls, you can eat them straight out of the fridge.
You can prep your bowls up to 5 days in advance – they're a great option for meal prep! Store individual serving sizes in glass bowls in the fridge. Keep in mind that certain toppings, like avocado, won't keep well for that long, so you should leave those off and add them fresh right before serving.
Rice Bowls
If you're new to making grain bowls, try one of these rice bowls! Rice is one of the most popular grains for a reason – it's delicious, nutritious and affordable. These recipes are all great!
Korean Inspired Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls {Oven + BBQ}
Sweet Chili Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Instant Pot Barbacoa Beef {Chipotle Copycat}
Honey Sriracha Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Meal Prep Dynamite Shrimp Sushi Bowl
The Easiest 30-Minute Ahi Poke Bowl
Meal Prep Fiesta Chicken Rice Bowls
Chicken & Butternut Squash Harvest Bowls
Quinoa Bowls
Quinoa is a wonderful superfood that is a great base for any bowl. Customize your bowl by swapping out toppings and dressings.
Easy Mediterranean Bowl {Meal Prep}
Meal Prep Chicken Souvlaki Bowls {+ Video!}
Build Your Own Buddha Bowl {Vegan}
Sheet Pan Buddha Bowls with Turmeric Tahini Dressing
Summer Buddha Bowls with Turmeric Chickpeas
Warm Tahini Kale and Quinoa Bowl
Chicken Ranch Kale & Quinoa Bowls {Gluten-Free}
Steak Quinoa Burrito Bowl
Instant Pot Quinoa Burrito Bowl via Eating Instantly
Other Grain Bowls
There are so many different grains you can use in bowls. Experiment with farro, couscous and more!
Instant Pot Farro Bowl via Eating Instantly
Roasted Broccoli and Farro Bowls via Gimme Some Oven
Jennifer Aniston Greek-Inspired Grain Bowl via Food by Maria
Couscous Bowls via Forks Over Knives
Lunchtime Southwest Couscous Bowls via How Sweet Eats
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