Here’s everything you need to know to prepare and enjoy a Buddha bowl.
First off…just what is a Buddha bowl?
Buddha bowl is a catchy name for a simple concept: a one-dish meal that’s made by piling a healthy combination of whole grains, vegetables, legumes, and a luscious sauce in a large, single-serving bowl.
Where did it get its name?
Ever since Buddha bowls began popping up on restaurant menus and food blogs, there has been a lot of speculation about how the term came about. One oft-quoted article on Epicurious tied the name to how the Buddha would carry a bowl with him and fill it with food that was given to him given by people he met on his travels. Other sources point to how the mounded top of the filled bowl looks like a Buddha statue’s belly. The truth is, “bowl cuisine” as we know it has been around for decades and Buddha bowl-type meals with it. They’ve just been called different names—such as “grain bowls,” “hippie bowls,” “macro bowls,” and “nourish bowls.”
Just as there’s no one name for one-bowl meals, there’s no one recipe either. They can be eaten hot or cold, made ahead or assembled at the last minute, prepared according to a recipe or thrown together with whatever’s on hand. The main thing is that the bowl should have a balanced mix of ingredients that look good, taste good, and are good for you.
How do you make a Buddha bowl?
Balance is key when assembling a Buddha bowl; after that, anything goes. Many restaurants offer build-your-own bowl options, which gives you an idea of how versatile the dish can be. Some of the best Buddha bowls tend to be the ones made from leftovers or whatever you have on hand in the fridge. Here’s a quick rundown on how to make your own:
1. Choose a grainy base.
Fill the bottom of a large (2- to 3-cups is ideal) bowl ⅓ of the way with hot or cold whole grains, like brown rice, bulgur, barley, quinoa, or polenta. Whole grains are the most common Buddha bowl foundations, but you can also branch out to other complex carbs like potatoes, whole grain pasta, and noodles, which also absorb flavors well.
2. Pile on the veggies.
Arrange an assortment of vegetables in clusters overtop the base. Choose veggies with colors and consistencies that will play off each other, like crisp steamed broccoli with tender cubes of butternut squash, creamy avocado slices with crunchy corn kernels, or juicy red beets with light, bright green peas. Use as many as you like—or as many as will fit! And don’t forget greens! When prepping, keep all toppings bite-sized so they’re easy to stir together and eat with a fork or spoon.
Fill out the bowl with ½ to 1 cup of super satiating plant-based ingredients, such as lentils, black beans, chickpeas, edamame, and other legumes.
4. Sprinkle with crunch and flavor.
Nuts, seeds, diced fruit (fresh or dried), chopped onion, and herbs all go on the nearly finished Buddha bowl now. Keep add-ons to a tablespoon or two, and limit herbs to about a teaspoon so they don’t overpower the other bowl components.
5. Drizzle with sauce.
The sauce you use to season your Buddha bowl brings together all the flavors of the base and toppings. Pestos, pasta sauces, peanut sauce, miso sauce, salad dressings, and dips all make great Buddha bowl options, and sometimes just a squeeze of lemon juice is all you need.
Got a blah Buddha bowl? Here’s how to fix it!
Sometimes a luscious-sounding combo of your favorite ingredients ends up needing a little something to bring all those fabulous flavors together. Here are 10 quick-fix ideas to try:
Squeeze of citrus juice
Sprinkle of nutritional yeast
Shake of hemp, chia, sesame, or flaxseeds
Dash of hot sauce
Drizzle of maple syrup
Pinch of curry or chili powder
Few drops of soy sauce
Drizzle of vegetable broth
Dollop of barbecue sauce
Squeeze of mustard
Swirl of tahini, tahini sauce, or nut butter
How long will a Buddha bowl keep in the fridge?
Since there are no highly perishable items in plant-based Buddha bowls, most of them will keep in the fridge for up to three days. Just be sure to leave off extra-juicy toppings, such as tomatoes, and fruits that may brown, such as apples and pears, until ready to serve.
Buddha Bowl Recipes
Don’t want to freestyle your way through building a Buddha bowl, or just looking for some fresh inspiration for flavor combinations? You can’t go wrong with these Buddha bowl recipes from Forks Over Knives.
Spring Roll Bowl
Italian Roasted Vegetable and Wheat Berry Buddha Bowl
Thai Rice Salad Bowls
Quinoa Curry Bowl
Blueberry Spinach Salad Bowl with Orange Vinaigrette
Forbidden Rice Bowl with Quick-Pickled Cabbage
Orzo Bowl with Kidney Beans and Sautéed Veggies
Hollywood Bowl Brown Rice Salad
Rice Bowls with Kidney Beans, Spinach, and Mixed Veggies
Frequently asked questions. What are the 5 key components of a buddha bowl? A buddha bowl should contain a grain, a vegetable, a fat, a protein, and a sauce.
Choose a grainy base. Fill the bottom of a large (2- to 3-cups is ideal) bowl ⅓ of the way with hot or cold whole grains, like brown rice, bulgur, barley, quinoa, or polenta. ...
A Buddha bowl is a vegetarian meal, served on a single bowl or high-rimmed plate, which consists of small portions of several foods, served cold. These may include whole grains such as quinoa or brown rice, plant proteins such as chickpeas or tofu, and vegetables.
While one is a healthy one-bowl meal inspired by a Buddhist tradition, the other is a marketing salad with dubious eco-friendly credentials. Here's everything you need to know about these two popular dishes. It's Sunday evening and you don't feel much like cooking.
Buddha bowls are filling, healthy and fun meals that pack most of the nutrients your body needs. Preparing Buddha bowls can be a relaxing activity with a very rewarding payoff: you get a delicious and balanced meal that will enrich your day, body and soul, overall health and your Instagram/Pinterest feed.
Buddha bowls are similar to another type of dish called nourish bowls – however, the main difference is nourish bowls can include animal protein. Buddha bowls are also known as grain bowls, hippie bowls, macro bowls or power bowls.
There were no processed foods at this time, so it was likely to be simple and healthy – maybe a few beans, grains, vegetables, or stew. Buddha bowls are based on this principle of simplicity – a nutritionally and energetically balanced meal based on what is available, with fairly minimal prep.
Macro Bowls: Nourish Bowl: also called Nourishment Bowls, are filled with simple, nutrient-dense ingredients to make a filling meal. Buddha Bowls: also called Hippie, Glory, or Sunshine Bowls, are often vegan or vegetarian (think: plant-based proteins), but meat is included in some recipes.
Struck bowls are used in some Buddhist religious practices to accompany periods of meditation and chanting. Struck and singing bowls are widely used for music making, meditation and relaxation, as well for personal spirituality. They have become popular with music therapists, sound healers and yoga practitioners.
What is a Buddha Bowl? Legend has it, Buddha would wake before dawn, carrying a bowl through roads and paths, and let villagers fill his bowl with different kinds of food for him to devour.
Crafted from high-density cast stone and finished with a hand-applied tonal patina, it can be used as a planter, birdbath, stone garden and more. Handcrafted from a high-density cast stone mix for durability.
The evolved Buddha Bowl is still vegetarian (though nobody's going to call the food police if you add meat or fish to the mix), an artistic endeavor on a canvas of whole grains. Veggies, lean protein like tofu and nuts are beautifully arranged, a tangy dressing drizzled on each masterpiece.
There's nothing like biting down on a mouthful of poke and hearing the satisfying crunch of tempura flakes, chia seeds, crispy beets, or crispy onions. Alternatively, you can keep it green and top off your poke bowl with cilantro and scallions.
DRAGON BOWL 🐉 Giving us the perfect combination of ingredients, this. delicious bowl is made with eel, shrimp, edamame,cucumber, pineapple, green onion, sesame yuzu, crab. salad, avocado, furikake, eel sauce, garlic crisps, onion.
As a guest is said to have been received and offered water to drink, water to wash the feet, flower garlands, incense, lamps, perfume and food, it is common to find similar offerings of the seven items in Buddhist rituals of deity worship.
At their core, Lein said, Buddha bowls are about “balancing the different types of food that you eat,” and not eating too much of any one thing. Buddha bowls were starting to sound a lot like grain bowls to me, though it seems they don't necessarily have to have a grain.
“The origin of the Buddha Bowl is quite literal – it is said that Buddha would carry a large bowl through the village and individuals would generously place food in the bowl as a donation,” says Martin Knaubert, Director of Food & Beverage, and former executive chef at Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina.
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