8 Quick and Easy Rice Bowl Dinner Recipes
Rice bowls settled an argument in my house that had been running for years.
Everyone wants something slightly different and nobody wants to cook twice.
You make one thing, put the toppings on the table, and let people build what they actually want to eat.
I have not gone back to plating dinners since.
1. Soy Sauce Egg Rice Bowl
Soy-marinated jammy eggs over sushi rice with avocado, green onion, chili oil and toasted sesame seeds.
Fifteen minutes, serves two.
The eggs want six or seven minutes in boiling water, then an ice bath, so the yolk stays soft when you halve them.
This is the cheapest dinner on the list by a wide margin.
2. Shrimp Bowl with Spicy Mayo
Seared shrimp over rice with edamame, cucumber, carrot and green onion, under a gochujang mayo.
Twenty-five minutes, serves four.
Shrimp cook in two or three minutes and then keep going downhill.
Pull them the moment they curl and turn opaque.
Gochujang keeps for months in the fridge and earns its shelf space quickly.
3. Chicken Burrito Bowl
Chicken thigh cooked with adobo and chicken broth, served over rice with black beans, corn, tomato, avocado, lime and cilantro.
Twenty minutes, serves two.
Thigh is the right call for a cook this fast, since it stays juicy when the pan is hot and breast does not.
4. Korean Beef Rice Bowls
Ground beef in soy, chili paste, brown sugar, ginger and garlic over jasmine rice, with carrot, cucumber and green onion.
Twenty minutes, serves four.
Drain the fat off the beef before the sauce goes in.
Skip it and the sauce sits on top in an oily layer, never coating the meat.
The raw carrot and cucumber are not a garnish, they are what keeps the bowl from being heavy.
5. Salmon Rice Bowl
Flaked salmon stirred through basmati rice with mayonnaise, sriracha, soy sauce and honey, plus green onion and cavolo nero.
Fifteen minutes, serves four.
This is the one that went around online a few years ago, and it holds up.
Leftover cooked salmon works perfectly here, which makes it a good Tuesday after a Monday of baked fish.
6. Mediterranean Rice Bowl
Brown rice with hummus, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, olives, arugula and feta, dressed with tahini, lemon and honey.
Fifteen minutes, serves two, no cooking beyond the rice.
Loosen the tahini with a splash of water and a squeeze of lemon until it drizzles.
Straight from the jar it sits in a lump on top of the rice.
7. 30-Minute Crispy Sesame Tofu Bowls
Tofu tossed in cornstarch and crisped, then glazed with soy, maple syrup and sesame, over jasmine rice with avocado, carrot and cucumber.
Thirty minutes, serves four.
Press the tofu before it goes anywhere near the cornstarch.
Wet tofu steams in the pan and the coating slides straight off.
8. Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl
Homemade teriyaki from mirin, soy sauce, honey and chicken broth, thickened with cornstarch.
Twenty-five minutes.
Add the cornstarch slurry with the pan at a simmer.
Dump it into something boiling and you get lumps.
It takes about two minutes longer than opening a bottle and tastes nothing like one.
Tips for Building a Rice Bowl
Season the rice, even if it is only salt and a squeeze of lime.
Plain rice under a well-seasoned topping is the most common way these go wrong.
Aim for one hot element, one crunchy element, and one sauce, and the bowl will work whatever is in it.
Day-old rice from the fridge beats fresh for anything fried, because the grains stay separate.
Set the toppings out in bowls and let people assemble their own, especially with kids.
Meal Prep Notes
Rice, protein, and sauce all keep well separately for three to four days.
Store them apart and assemble when you eat, so the rice does not go soggy under the sauce.
Avocado, cucumber, and anything crunchy go in fresh.
Cooked rice reheats best with a tablespoon of water and a lid on, which steams it back to life.
The beef, chicken and tofu all freeze for a month, though the egg and salmon bowls are better eaten fresh.