Build-Your-Own Buddha Bowl
This Buddha bowl recipe is super fresh, delicious and versatile! Learn how to turn your extra veggies into a healthy Buddha bowl here.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
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This colorful recipe has been slowly taking shape in my kitchen over the past few months. I’ve seen “Buddha bowls” all over the internet and menus lately, so I set out to make one.
What are Buddha bowls, though? How did whole-grain-and-veggie-bowls-with-tasty-sauce all become abbreviated as “Buddha bowls”?
I found some guidance in this Epicurious article by Katherine Sacks. In summary, Buddha carried a bowl with him on his journeys and accepted food as donations, which he would eat at the end of the day. Katherine also mentioned that Buddha bowls are similar to macrobiotic (macro) bowls with whole grains and steamed or raw veggies.
I created this versatile bowl with those factors in mind. It’s unbelievably tasty and nutritious, too! I love eating leftovers all week long.
How to Make the Best Buddha Bowl
This recipe starts with a base of brown rice with steamed edamame and vegetables. They all miraculously cook together in one pot (this would actually be a super easy meal in itself).
For the vegetables, you can choose from snap peas, snow peas or broccoli. If you have another favorite vegetable that steams well, I bet it will work, too.
Then, add some of your favorite chopped raw veggies to the mix (I can vouch for cabbage, romaine, spinach, and kale).
Top with a generous drizzle of my favorite carrot-ginger dressing, which has also made an appearance in this chopped salad. That dressing is absolutely worth the effort to make. You’ll end up with extra for future salads, and you can make it in advance if you’d like.
The Buddha bowl isn’t quite complete without ripe avocado, which we’ll dress up with toasted sesame oil, sesame seeds and flaky sea salt. I roughly stole that idea from a delicious vegetarian platter that I ordered in Morocco this spring. It’s a great snack on its own, and I’m sure you’ll see that component again soon.
Watch How to Make Buddha Bowls
This bowl isn’t the quickest option around, but it’s brimming with nutrients and fiber, and it makes for great leftovers. Feel free to play around with the vegetables and mix-and-match the various components.
Please let me know how you like this recipe in the comments! I love hearing from you.
More Light & Refreshing Meals
Don’t miss these wholesome recipes on Cookie and Kate:
- Coconut Rice with Brussels Sprouts
- Colorful Veggie Lettuce Wraps
- Extra Vegetable Fried Rice
- Fresh Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce
- Vegetarian Sushi Bowls
Build-Your-Own Buddha Bowl
This buddha bowl recipe is super fresh, delicious and versatile! The rice and veggies and dressing can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Recipe yields 4 meal-sized bowls.
Ingredients
Rice and veggies
- 1 ¼ cups short-grain brown rice or long-grain brown rice, rinsed
- 1 ½ cups frozen shelled edamame, preferably organic
- 1 ½ cups trimmed and roughly chopped snap peas or snow peas, or thinly sliced broccoli florets
- 1 to 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce, to taste
- 4 cups chopped red cabbage or spinach or romaine lettuce or kale (ribs removed)
- 2 ripe avocados, halved, pitted and thinly sliced into long strips (wait to slice just before serving, see details in step 5)
- 1 small cucumber, very thinly sliced
- Carrot ginger dressing*
- Thinly sliced green onion (about ½ small bunch)
- Lime wedges
- Toasted sesame oil, for drizzling
- Sesame seeds
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil (ideally about 4 quarts water). Once the water is boiling, add the rice and continue boiling for 25 minutes. Add the edamame and cook for 3 more minutes (it’s ok if the water doesn’t reach a rapid boil again). Then add the snap peas and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Drain well, and return the rice and veggies to the pot. Season to taste with 1 to 2 tablespoons of tamari or soy sauce, and stir to combine.
- Divide the rice/veggie mixture and raw veggies into 4 bowls. Arrange cucumber slices along the edge of the bowl (see photos). Drizzle lightly with carrot ginger dressing and top with sliced green onion. Place a lime wedge or 2 in each bowl.
- When you’re ready to serve, divide the avocado into the bowls. Lightly drizzle sesame oil over the avocado, followed by a generous sprinkle of sesame seeds and flaky sea salt. Serve promptly.
- If you intend to have leftovers, wait to complete step 4 just before serving (otherwise the avocado will brown too soon). Leftover bowls keep well (avocado excluded) for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Notes
*Carrot ginger dressing note: You’re probably only going to need ½ batch of the dressing for 4 bowls. I recommend making the full batch since blenders require a decent volume of liquid to blend. Just use the leftover dressing on salads within 1 to 2 weeks of making.
*Make it quick: If you’re in a hurry, you can skip the dressing and drizzle tamari and toasted sesame oil lightly over the bowls instead.
Make it vegan: Be sure to follow the vegan option while making the carrot-ginger dressing.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to use certified gluten-free tamari, instead of soy sauce. Or, omit the soy sauce altogether and season the rice with salt, to taste.
Make it soy free: Omit the tamari/soy sauce and season the rice with salt, to taste.
Recommended equipment: I love my Vitamix blender for making the dressing and this colander for draining the rice and veggies (those are affiliate links).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Oh my goodness this recipe and the carrot ginger dressing is amazing!! We just discovered your site and will be making many more of your recipes. Thank you for helping us on our whole food/vegan journey!
I loved this! Refreshing and filling! Simply delicious! Next time I may add tof of shrimp or chicken. So versatile!!
I added chickpeas lightly sautéed in a tiny bit of oil with some salt and chili powder for protein. I also think that you could make the rice in your rice cooker, put the veggies in the microwave with a TBSP of water for a minute and then mix together and season.
My family raved when we had it last night and wants me to make it again next week. My son was especially surprised at what the drizzle of sesame oil did for it. Thanks Cookie, although I know Kate probably helped a bit. ;)
Thanks for sharing how you got creative, Susie! I appreciate you taking the time tor review.
I’ve been looking forward to experimenting with buddha bowls and yours is the first I’ve tried. I swapped the brown rice for organic red rice that was on hand and added in some leftovers that needed using: red onion, grated carrot and a little bit of tricolour quinoa. It was a delicious and satisfying meal that I’ll be making again.
Hello! Thanks for recipe, would this be better cold or is it supposed to br warmed up? i am making for meal prep for work lunches.
You could serve this cold and makes great lunches for the week!
Kate, this recipe was absolutely DELICIOUS! Everything worked perfectly together, and the dressing was tangy and flavourful.
Thank you so so much! :)))
Jenna
We make these regularly – a household favorite! We like to add mushrooms. Delicious!!
I made this dressing, which is wonderful, but it is not as smooth as I had envisioned. I don’t have a blender, only a Ninja food processor. I’ve used the puree option twice and then the smoothie option twice. It is smoother than it was, but still kind of lumpy. Any suggestions? I was thinking of straining it in a mesh strainer.
Hi Michael! Yes, straining out the carrot bits is a great idea. My blender blends them all up, but it’s an expensive one. Some others have tried steaming their carrots first, which would likely change the flavor a bit, but might be worth trying. Hope that helps!
We brought all of the ingredients over to our friend’s house tonight for dinner, we had a build it yourself buddha bowl night and it was a perfect dinner for a hot summer night. The carrot ginger dressing really ties everything together and is the most vibrant, glorious color. Thanks Kate!
This was 100% amazing. I was expecting it to taste “pretty good for something healthy.” I was mostly worried about the raw cabbage being…well, too raw. I was blown away. So many great flavors and textures. I ate my first one after it sat in the fridge for 12 hours. I didn’t heat it up or anything. Can’t wait for lunch tomorrow.
This was amazing! I was really worried about all that water used to boil the rice, but as soon as it was drained, and the soy sauce added, the rice/edamame/snow pea mixture was SO good! Everyone raved about this buddha bowl and we are making them again this weekend! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing! I’m excited you loved it.
If I only had white rice available, would you adjust anything?
Hi Emma, you can use white rice if that is all you have available.
This bowl is delicious and was perfect for my anti-parasite diet. My family loves it. The carrot ginger dressing is a must make. I added pumpkin seeds to mine for a little extra crunch and health benefits.
This recipe is a winner! Simple and incredibly tasty. The ginger carrot dressing is heavenly!
Where is the recipe for CARROT GINGER DRESSING??
Hi! It’s linked to in the post or you can click on Carrot Ginger Dressing.
Where does the red cabbage come in???
Hi! See step 3 – you will divide it between the bowls.
I really liked the recipe and am glad I came here to see it I told all my friends too
thanks KATE
Omg…made this tonight! A bowl of heaven!!! It was incredible. Thanks for the recipe!!
I am a #chefintraining always and have been searching for a rice bowl that is healthy and tastes good. This Buddha Bowl was family approve. Can’t wait to make more of your recipes. Thanks so much. Robyn @coffeechatgirl
This was really outstanding, and quite easy to make. And that dressing… oh my! Thanks for a winner.
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Teresa!
Another great recipe we loved it the carrot and ginger dressing is fabulous. Thanks again Karman
You’re welcome! Thank you for your review.
I want to try this. But first I need bowls this size. What are the measurements and how many ounzes do they hold? Thank you.
How would you change cooking instructions if using basmati rice?
Hi Holly, I would follow my How to Cook Perfect Brown Rice method and check to see what the packaging suggests too.
Hi Kate,
I wanted to point out that where you suggested making this dish soy-free by leaving out the tamari, you missed that edamame are immature soybeans! People would need to substitute another legume or maybe quinoa for them.
Hi Debra, Thank you for your comment. Yes, if others need to adapt that ingredient, that would be a great option.
Holy guacamole— that dressing is the best thing ever. I originally made these when my husband was out of town a couple years ago and recently rediscovered them. So so good!!
Hooray! I’m happy you rediscovered them. I appreciate your review, Jennifer.
I don’t often leave reviews BUT this one was too good not too! It is so fresh and zippy – I made it exact to the instructions and it was a perfect lunch, I honestly can’t wait to eat it again – delicious and so nutritious, I will for sure be bookmarking this site for future recipes!
I’m glad you did, Nicole! Thank you for your review.
Love this recipe. Would it made much of a difference subbing the red cabbage for green cabbage?
You can use green cabbage too. I hope you love it!
Thank you for your clean, fresh recipe platform- not to mention your so tasty recipes. This is one of my favs. I sometimes make it for friends and they ask for it again! So there you go…
You’re welcome! I’m excited you are enjoying it.
Made this today and it was GREAT! My husband and I are newly following the WFPBNO way of eating and I lean on your recipes frequently. Today I made the Carrot Ginger Dressing without oil by substituting aquafaba for the olive oil and tahini for the sesame oil. We really liked the dressing—though I imagine I’d have loved your version with the oil. But so happy with the adaptation.
Thank you for sharing, Gay! I appreciate your review.
When I click on the link to the dressing it just shows a picture of it but no recipe appears.
Hi Mary, try this Carrot Ginger Dressing.
Wow! This recipe was loved by the whole family. I made the rice exactly as in the recipe even though package said simmer for 40 min and it turned out perfect. Served grilled salmon with it. Sooo good. Thank you
I’m glad you loved it, Teena!
You should feature this recipe again! It is SO good!
I’m happy to hear that!
This was phenomenal! I didn’t have edamame or snow peas. I used red peppers, carrots, cucumbers, avocado, sesame seeds and added tofu. The dressing was out of this world. If I had this at a restaurant I would be so impressed. A+
Once again you nailed it, Kate!! Great recipe and so quick and easy. Love the vibrancy!
I have been following you for many years. I love this & all your recipes! I have given your book as gifts and am making this salad again for a friend tomorrow.
I’ve always wondered where the name came from too! The recipe looks delicious, by the way!
Great to hear!