recipes

These 27 Rice Bowl Recipes Are Our Weeknight Saviors

Satisfying, unfussy meals. What’s not to love?
Image may contain Dish Food Meal Plant and Platter
Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Sue Li

These rice bowl recipes all reflect three qualities we love to see in a weeknight dinner. They’re relatively unfussy (read: they won’t take all night to make); you can prep most of the components ahead of time, which means you’ll have more hours to spend, oh, sipping wine by the fireplace; and they’re all a suuuupper satisfying combo of carby-crunchy-chewy elements. We’re talking about this saucy picadillo-inspired taco tofu bowl you’ll hardly notice is vegetarian. A chicken and crispy cucumber riff covered in a spicy, green kick-in-your-pants sauce. Pork meatballs topped with a zippy mojo sauce and crunchy plantain chips. Or Khai Jiao, an ultralight and fluffy Thai omelet that’s served on a pile of (drumroll) rice. Here are 27 rice bowl recipes to inspire all of your dinner time—or anytime—needs.

  • Image may contain Dish Food Meal Plant Platter Vegetable Produce and Bowl
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Anna Stockwell
    1/27

    Citrus Shrimp Rice Bowls

    Why make a marinade and a dressing when you can make one tangy, spicy-sweet sauce that works as both?

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  • Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou
    2/27

    Rice Bowls with Flaky Cod

    Kedgeree often calls for smoked fish, but for a light weeknight meal, we prefer steaming fresh fish right on top of the rice.

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  • Photo by Laura Murray, FOOD STYLING BY CHRISTINA CHAEY
    3/27

    Farmers Market Farro Bowls

    A little bit of prep work has a big payoff—a tasty, versatile lunch just waiting for its gochujang-lime dressing.

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  • Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Sue Li
    4/27

    Vegetarian Taco Bowls

    We took inspiration from picadillo, a saucy spiced ground meat dish packed with flavor, and thought, Why not give tofu a similar treatment?

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  • Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Pearl Jones
    5/27

    Pork Meatball Rice Bowls

    In this weeknight recipe, magical, salty, umami-packed fish sauce is doing double-duty as a seasoning in the meatball mixture and as a part of the finishing sauce.

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  • Photo by TED+CHELSEA CAVANAUGH, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou
    6/27

    Chicken and Cucumber Rice Bowls

    Protein, whole grains, crunchy vegetables, and a kick-in-your-pants sauce—yep, this packable lunch has it all.

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  • Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    9/27

    Vegetable Nasi Goreng

    Lara Lee’s vegetable nasi goreng combines the beloved Indonesian fried rice dish with sambal matah and a citrusy relish fragrant with lemongrass, ginger, and makrut lime leaf.

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  • Photo by Emma Fishman
    10/27

    Khai Jiao

    An ultralight and puffy Thai omelet with crispy golden brown edges.

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  • Photo and Food Styling by Sarah Jampel
    11/27

    Crispy Rice Bowl With Spring Vegetables

    This recipe was directly inspired by the wonderland of flavors and textures that is Korean bibimbap, a bowl or pot of rice topped with an assortment of vegetables, an egg, and (sometimes) meat that's mixed up right before it's eaten.

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  • Photo by David Malosh, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Cindy Diprima
    12/27

    One-Pot Gingery Chicken and Rice With Peanut Sauce

    We took loose inspiration from Hainanese chicken rice to create this weeknight-friendly dish.

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  • Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Sue Li 
    13/27

    Egg Korma With Frizzled Onions

    Whole jammy eggs are seared in ghee until blistered and crispy, then smothered in a gently spiced coconut sauce. 

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  • Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott
    14/27

    Sorrel Rice Bowls with Poached Eggs

    This “put an egg on it” dream dish is a must-order menu item at Sqirl. If using kale, you may want to add more lemon juice to mimic sorrel’s tart sharpness.

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  • Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Pearl Jones, props by Nicole Louie
    27/27

    Mojo Meatballs

    The fun and flavor of Cuban-style slow-cooked pork in zippy mojo sauce transformed into quick, weeknight-able meatballs. 

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Ali is a writer and editor at Bon Appétit whose culture and lifestyle work includes reporting on the health claims behind fake meats, interviews with opinionated chefs about the evolution of restaurants, personal essays on the intersection of work and identity, and subtle attempts to propagate her favorite Australian foods.... Read more
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