This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
Bowl meals are the secret weapon of weeknight cooking. Cook a base, add a protein, toss in whatever vegetables you’ve got, and spoon a glorious sauce over the top. Everything comes together, and dinner is served (in the most beautiful way).
Bowl meals are the closest thing weeknight cooking has to a cheat code: one base, one protein, whatever vegetables you have, and glorious drizzles that pull it all together. (Check out my collection of sauces for rice bowls for some delicious ideas!)
Below are 35+ bowls sorted by protein—from chicken to plant proteins like tempeh—so you can start with what’s actually in your fridge. Each one lists its parts so you can swap freely, since that’s the whole point of a bowl.
Table of Contents
- What Are Good Bases for Bowl Meals?
- Invent Your Own Bowl Meal!
- Jump to Your Preferred Protein
- Quinoa & Rice Bowls With Chicken
- Bowls With Beef or Pork
- Rice Bowls With Salmon & Seafood
- Rice Bowls With Shrimp
- Tempeh & Tofu Rice Bowls
- Bean & Legume Bowls
- Meal Prep & Storage Tips
- Ideal Containers for Meal Prep
- 35+ Bowl Meals for Every Night of the Week Recipe
- Some Sauces for Bowl Meals
What Are Good Bases for Bowl Meals?
- Rice: Jasmin, sticky rice, basmati, brown rice, forbidden rice, or wild blend.
- Other grains: quinoa, farro, bulgur, and barley.
- Noodles: Ramen, udon, soba, vermicilli/rice noodles, and glass noodles.
- Veggies: Cauliflower rice, spiralized veggies, and roasted sweet potatoes or butternut squash.
Invent Your Own Bowl Meal!
If you’re the creative type and want to create your own bowl, it’s so easy. Bowl meals tend to follow the same five-slot formula: base, protein, vegetable, sauce, and crunch.
Here’s a chart to get you started:
Jump to Your Preferred Protein
Chicken · Beef & Pork · Salmon & Seafood · Shrimp · Tofu & Tempeh · Beans & Legumes
Quinoa & Rice Bowls With Chicken
Healthy Burrito Bowl
Everything you love about a burrito, piled into a bowl you can take to the couch without making a mess. This is a great recipe for making swaps and turning it into your own creation—though it’s delicious as is.
Buffalo Chicken Bowls
The essence of wing night in a bowl: spicy, saucy ground chicken plus the necessary carrots, celery, and blue cheese to make it all feel real—then served over rice to soak up every drop. Ready in under 30 minutes.
Street Corn Chicken Bowls
Grilled chicken, rice, and everything that makes elote worth eating in the first place. High protein, big flavor, and just as good for dinner tonight as for lunch all week.
Greek Quinoa Bowls With Chicken
All of the salty, briny flavors you love about Greek food, plus some crisp vegetables and seared chicken. This recipe serves it all on a fluffy bed of quinoa, but rice also works.
Ground Chicken Teriyaki Bowl
Saucy chicken in a sweet-savory teriyaki glaze, rice, and vegetables: a complete meal in under 30 minutes.
Sheet Pan Chicken Fajita Bowl
This bowl combines two of the best dinner styles: sheet-pan and bowl meals. Easy prep, fast cleanup, and big flavors piled high.
California Chicken Rice Bowl
Spice-rubbed grilled chicken, served bowl-style with charred peppers and zucchini, smashed avocado, juicy tomatoes, and a generous crumble of cheese. Because everything is better with a crumble of cheese.
Crispy Chicken Tikka Bowls
Chicken tikka bowls, and yes, they’re as addictive as they sound. Crispy bits of chicken, crunchy cucumber, and briny pickled onion are piled over fluffy quinoa (or rice, whatever you have) and finished with a big swoop of cool mint sauce. You really can’t mess this up.
Bowls With Beef or Pork
Thai Basil Pork Bowl
In just 20 minutes, you’ve got rice, deeply flavorful meat, tangy pickled vegetables, and a fried egg on top. What more could you want?
Mongolian Ground Beef Bowls
These Mongolian ground beef bowls are fast, easy, and on the table in 20 minutes. Sweet-savory sauce, plenty of protein, and just right for a busy weeknight or a week of meal prep.
Egg Roll in a Bowl
This egg roll in a bowl has become one of my most popular dinner recipes. It’s on the table in 15 to 20 minutes, and it’s about to be your new weeknight go-to.
Hot Honey Ground Beef Bowls
42 grams of protein and an absurd amount of flavor: these viral bowls might be the best healthy dinner going right now. Ready in 35 minutes, with minimal effort.
Sticky Glazed Pork Rice Bowls
These sticky glazed pork rice bowls are pure heaven: 25 minutes flat, a sticky-sweet honey-chili glaze, fluffy white rice, and just enough crunchy garnish to make it feel like a real dish.
Korean Beef Bowl
Ground beef, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, a touch of honey, and plenty of green onions: this Korean beef bowl is built for piling over rice and vegetables, easy and wholesome. Best part? It’s on the table in 20 minutes flat.
Ginger Pork Rice Bowls
A quick, healthy dinner of pork, rice, and loads of crunchy vegetables. Make it your own with whatever you’ve got; it’s also a great way to clean out the fridge.
Rice Bowls With Salmon & Seafood
Healthy Rice Bowl With Salmon
This one’s perfect for lunch or a quick weeknight dinner: fresh, flavorful, and surprisingly satisfying, with plenty of protein and omega-3s. It’s the easiest way to get more fish into your week.
California Roll Rice Bowls
A bigger, better way to enjoy the flavor of our favorite gateway sushi roll. These California rice bowls are packed with fresh ingredients and sweet, salty, and spicy flavors. It’ll easily become a favorite!
High-Protein Canned Tuna Bowl
With 40 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber, this canned tuna bowl keeps you full with heart-healthy fish, good fats, veggies, and loads of flavor. It’s a great high-protein lunch or a lighter dinner.
Grilled Cajun Fish Bowls
These grilled Cajun fish bowls bring all the bold, zesty flavor of a classic po’ boy, minus the bread. It’s a fresh new way to enjoy a Southern favorite.
Amazing Bang Bang Salmon Bowls
These craveable Bang Bang salmon bowls are a complete meal: rice, tender salmon bites, and crunchy veggies, all drizzled with creamy, sweet, tangy Bang Bang sauce. Great for dinner or meal prep.
Fish Taco Bowls
Everything you love about fish tacos, minus the tortilla. Flaky cod (or whatever white fish you’ve got) gets rubbed with zesty taco spices, then pan-seared for a spicy golden crust. No deep frying required.
Blackened Fish Bowls
I love a meal you can prep ahead, then throw together in five minutes so it looks like it came from a restaurant. These blackened fish bowls with cilantro pepita sauce fit the bill exactly.
Rice Bowls With Shrimp
Fiesta Shrimp Rice Bowls
These Mexican-inspired shrimp rice bowls hit all the right notes: sweet peppers, red onion, and plump, juicy shrimp over rice, plus whatever else you’re craving. A full meal in one bowl, ready in under 30 minutes.
Hot Honey Shrimp Bowls
These hot honey shrimp bowls are sweet, spicy, and seriously satisfying. Juicy shrimp get a crispy coating, a toss in bold hot honey sauce, and a spot over jasmine rice with fresh vegetables and crunchy toppings.
Sticky Garlic Sesame Shrimp Bowls
The shrimp cook up tender and juicy in minutes, the vegetables bring the crunch, and a quick sauce ties it all together: sweet, savory, deeply umami, and completely irresistible.
Shrimp Rice Bowls With Mango Salsa
Garlicky sautéed shrimp, juicy mango salsa, and cilantro-lime rice, all layered into one quick, flavor-packed dinner. These bowls deliver everything you’re craving.
Shrimp Sushi Bowls
This shrimp sushi bowl has all the fresh, vibrant flavor of sushi, deconstructed. Seasoned brown rice is topped with tender shrimp, creamy avocado, crisp cucumber, and a drizzle of spicy wasabi mayo, with every texture doing its job.
Tempeh & Tofu Rice Bowls
Spicy Peanut Tofu Bowls
These spicy peanut tofu bowls are a lifesaver for meal prep and busy weeknights. Crispy tofu, roasted vegetables, and fluffy rice, all finished with a spicy-sweet peanut sauce spooned over the top.
Maple Balsamic Tempeh Bowls
These maple balsamic tempeh bowls pair creamy pumpkin rice with glazed tempeh and steamed broccoli: cozy, autumnal, and exactly what you want right now. Vegan and gluten-free.
Miso Tofu Bowl
This hearty bowl starts with brown rice seasoned with homemade furikake, then piles on edamame, stir-fried kale, radishes, carrots, spring onion, pickled ginger, and miso tofu (pan-fried or baked, your call). Finish it with an extra drizzle of miso dressing.
Crispy Sesame Tempeh Bowls
A chef’s dialed-in recipe for crispy sesame tempeh: easy, flavorful, and genuinely crunchy. Pile it over brown rice with vegetables, and dinner’s done.
Sticky Glazed Tofu Bowl
This vegan tofu bowl is protein-packed and meal-prep-friendly: sticky glazed tofu, edamame, cucumber, avocado, and sushi rice, finished with crispy onions, cilantro, and a drizzle of Yum Yum sauce.
Tandoori Tempeh Bowls
This tandoori tempeh bowl is light, fresh, and full of good-for-you ingredients like quinoa and cucumber. It’s a perfect summer lunch or weeknight dinner, ready in 30 minutes.
Bean & Legume Bowls
Black Bean Burrito Bowl
Colorful and satisfying, this vegetarian burrito bowl is loaded with roasted vegetables, coconut rice, seasoned black beans, and a drizzle of chipotle crema. Big on flavor and endlessly customizable.
Spiced Chickpea & Couscous Bowls
These spiced chickpea bowls are healthy, delicious, and done in 30 minutes. They’re a solid weeknight staple that holds up just as well as leftovers.
Moroccan-Spiced Lentil Bowls
These vegan lentil bowls are hearty and so satisfying: roasted vegetables, crunchy cashews, creamy avocado, and Moroccan-spiced lentils piled over rice or whatever grain you’ve got. Great for meal prep, too.
Kale & White Bean Power Bowls
These kale and white bean power bowls bring big flavor, great texture, and a solid hit of protein and fiber. Perfect for meal prep.
Meal Prep & Storage Tips
- Let it cool first. Don’t pack anything hot or warm. Give cooked food time to cool completely before it goes into a container, or the steam will turn everything soggy and spoil things quickly.
- Go airtight. Tight-fitting lids keep food fresh longer and prevent fridge odors from sneaking in. (See below for good options.)
- Pack compatible items together. Cooked protein, grains, and vegetables can happily share a container, which means fewer dishes to wash.
- Keep raw vegetables separate. Cucumbers, greens, and other raw veg stay crisper when they’re not sitting against cooked food.
- Give sauces their own container. A small jar or lidded cup keeps dressings from making everything soggy before you’re ready to eat.
- Save the avocado for the day of. Anything that browns quickly should stay whole until you’re ready to eat. Slice it fresh and it tastes so much better.
Ideal Containers for Meal Prep
- Leak-Proof Glass Storage Containers—these have a silicone sleeve to prevent the glass from chipping or cracking, which I love.
- Compartment Glass Containers—great for storing crunchy toppings and crisp, raw veggies separately in one single container.
- Sauce Containers—the perfect size for storing sauces and dressings to drizzle over your bowls.
Need sauce ideas? Check out my collection of sauces for rice bowls.
35+ Bowl Meals for Every Night of the Week
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 2/3 cup dry jasmine rice, Or long-grain white rice
- Sea salt, To taste
- 2 scallions, Thinly slice; divide the white and green parts., The thinner green parts of the scallions will be used as garnish.
- 3 cloves of garlic, Minced
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce, More if desired
- 2 cup broccoli florets
- 1 cup grated or julienned carrots
- Sesame seeds, For garnish
Instructions
- Start by cooking the rice according to the package directions. When it’s done, take it off the heat and set it aside.
- While the rice cooks, steam the broccoli. Bring 1 to 2 inches of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Set the broccoli in a steamer basket, lower it into the pot, and cover. Steam for 3 to 4 minutes if you like it tender-crisp, or 5 to 6 minutes for fully tender. Set it aside.
- Now for the chicken. Heat the sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the ground chicken, breaking it into crumbles with a spatula as it cooks, and season with a little salt.
- Once the chicken is about halfway cooked, add the white parts of the scallions, the ginger, and the garlic. Give everything a good stir, then pour in the teriyaki sauce and stir until the chicken is evenly coated. Let it simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly. Take it off the heat.
- To serve, spoon rice into each bowl and top with the teriyaki chicken. Add the steamed broccoli, julienned carrots, chopped bell pepper, and the sliced green parts of the scallions. Finish with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.
Nutrition
Some Sauces for Bowl Meals
Dressings and Spices
Bang Bang Sauce With Greek Yogurt
Dressings and Spices
Parsley & Cilantro Chimichurri
Dressings and Spices
Mint Yogurt Sauce for Chicken
Dressings and Spices
