14 Best Bowl Recipes For A Delicious Fall Meal
There are a lot of reasons to love a meal in a bowl, from the wide variety to the comforting format. Not to mention, if you're the type to enjoy mixing the foods on your plate, curved edges make it much easier to do so without causing a mess. With fall underway, it makes sense to reach for hearty dishes that keep your insides warm and your tastebuds satisfied. Soup is the obvious contender, but if you'd rather skip the liquid component, serving your meal in a bowl is an excellent option.
Bowls offer a suitable vessel for layering flavor upon flavor. Start with a grain, add protein, veggies, and fun garnishes to finish it off. If you're cooking for picky eaters, there's plenty of flexibility to add or remove ingredients, too. We've rounded up our best bowl recipes courtesy of Tasting Table recipe developers to whet your appetite this fall. From ginger pork to ahi tuna poke bowls, there's something for all tastes. Even better, most of these recipes are ready around the 30-minute mark. With evenings becoming seemingly shorter, every extra bit of time is welcome.
1. California Roll Bowl
This California roll bowl is pretty much a deconstructed version of your favorite sushi roll. Prep some sushi rice then layer on the toppings to complete the dish. Since the rice needs to cool before assembling the bowl, go ahead and cook it in advance to save time when dinner comes around.
You'll definitely want soy sauce and wasabi on the side, as well as a sprinkling of sesame seeds to add a gourmet touch. Serve your favorite sushi flavors in a bowl format for an easy dinner that requires zero fancy techniques.
Recipe: California Roll Bowl
2. Gyudon (Beef Rice Bowl)
Japanese cuisine entails more than just sushi, as this beef rice bowl, gyudon, proves. Simmer thinly sliced ribeye in a rich broth and then serve it with rice and garnishes. The broth mainly consists of onion, dashi, soy sauce, sake, and mirin, infusing plenty of flavor without a time-consuming marinade.
Serve this with leftover white rice and top it with a poached egg, scallions, sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes if desired. This tasty dish comes together in under 30 minutes, providing cozy fall vibes in no time.
Recipe: Gyudon (Beef Rice Bowl)
3. Buckwheat Soba Noodle Veggie Bowl
Cook the buckwheat soba noodles while you whisk together a soy, sesame, chili, lime, and ginger dressing. Prep an array of toppings, like purple cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, cucumber, and edamame, then add them to the chilled noodles along with a drizzling of dressing. Chilling soba keeps the noodles light and springy, offering a delightfully chewy texture.
Add fun garnishes like scallions and sesame seeds to customize this bowl to your liking. When fall is in the air but the sun is out, this soba veggie bowl is the perfect match.
4. California Avocado Grain Bowl
Combine red quinoa with roasted corn and zucchini for the base of this grain bowl. Make an avocado, lime, and turmeric sauce, then assemble the bowls with a drizzle of dressing, radishes, arugula, tomatoes, and extra avocado.
This tasty grain bowl offers protein from the quinoa and avocado, but feel free to serve it with grilled chicken, fish, or your favorite legume for an extra boost. The creamy tangy dressing is the perfect way to add fresh flavors to a roast vegetable grain bowl.
Recipe: California Avocado Grain Bowl
5. Thai Ginger Pork Bowls
Cook ground pork with ginger, scallions, and a dressing made with lemongrass, soy, and sesame. Layer cooked white rice with pork, carrots, mint, scallions, chiles, and cucumbers, and serve it with a rich peanut, soy, and ginger sauce.
These flavor-packed Thai ginger pork bowls are an excellent alternative to takeout. This complete meal comes together in minimal time, especially if you're using leftover cooked white rice. Ginger provides just the right amount of zing to warm you up on a crisp fall day.
Recipe: Thai Ginger Pork Bowls
6. Roasted Garlic Tomato Lentil Bowls
Roast plenty of garlic, cherry tomatoes, and red onion while simmering green lentils. Mash the roasted garlic and combine it with the tomatoes, onion, and lentils to infuse this dish with a sweet taste. Finish the bowl off with diced bell peppers and a lemon and olive oil vinaigrette, and add arugula or parsley to garnish.
If you're still enjoying the abundance of your end-of-summer cherry tomato harvest, take them into fall territory with this earthy bowl. It's packed with hearty protein yet light enough to enjoy midday.
7. Grilled Greek Chicken Grain Bowl
Marinate chicken breast in a lemon, garlic, and herb dressing and prep a yogurt, dill, and garlic sauce. Grill the chicken, then assemble it with cooked grains, chickpeas, pine nuts, olives, tomatoes, cucumber, and feta cheese. Serve the bowl with the yogurt dressing to make everything nice and creamy.
This is a great way to use up leftover grains in the fridge, by pairing them with grilled chicken, assorted pantry staples, and fresh vegetables. If the short fall days are getting you down, dream up your Mediterranean getaway with these flavors.
Recipe: Grilled Greek Chicken Grain Bowl
8. Oyakodon (Chicken And Egg Rice Bowl)
What came first, the chicken or the egg? They're both present in oyakodon, a Japanese chicken and egg rice bowl. Chop chicken thighs and simmer them in a soy, sake, mirin, and shiitake dashi broth with onions and mushrooms. Pour beaten eggs over top and cook them with the chicken and chopped scallion until set.
Serve the chicken and egg mixture with rice and pickled ginger for a spicy touch. This hearty bowl offers all the comforting flavors you're craving as the temperature starts to cool.
9. Middle Eastern-Spiced Beef Shawarma Bowls
Thinly slice flank steak, then marinate it with olive oil, lemon, garlic, and assorted Middle-Eastern spices. Cook the meat on high heat, and then assemble shwarma bowls, starting with cooked rice, steak, hummus, and a lemon, garlic, yogurt, and tahini dressing. Finish it off with an onion, parsley, and other add-ons like cucumber, tomato, and pickles.
Enjoy the flavors of a beef shawarma wrap minus the mess with this deconstructed bowl. The aromatic spices add a warming quality to this hearty bowl, making it optimal for the fall season.
10. Steak And Vermicelli Noodle Bowl With Nuoc Cham
Prep some pickled carrots and marinate sliced sirloin steak in a soy, fish sauce, lemongrass, garlic, and shallot sauce. Sauté the steak and make a nuoc cham dressing by combining garlic, fish sauce, lime juice, chili garlic sauce, sugar, and water.
Assemble bowls with cooked vermicelli, steak, nuoc cham, pickled carrots, cucumber, fresh herbs, and fried onions. If you marinate the meat and pickle the carrots in advance, you'll be getting dinner on the table in a jiffy.
11. Kimchi Ramen Bowl
Sauté sliced mushrooms and prep a broth for the ramen by combining miso paste, maple syrup, kimchi juice, Korean chili powder, and vegetable broth. Cook the ramen noodles in the broth along with shelled edamame. Assemble the bowl by adding sautéed mushrooms, carrots, kimchi, and scallions.
This shortcut ramen broth is an excellent alternative to options that require a day or two of simmering. You'll get all the savory flavors and a hearty fall meal ready in a breeze. Add leftover meat or a soft-boiled egg to round this out if desired.
Recipe: Kimchi Ramen Bowl
12. Tuna Donburi Rice Bowl
Considering "don" means "bowl" in Japanese, this tuna donburi definitely deserves a spot in our selection. This quasi-deconstructed sushi bowl can easily be customized with other toppings such as sliced avocado or edamame.
Marinate sushi-grade tuna in a mix of soy sauce, sake, mirin, sesame oil, and bonito flakes. Assemble the bowls with cooked sushi rice, marinated tuna, sliced scallions, sesame seeds, shredded nori (seaweed), and extra soy sauce on the side.
Recipe: Tuna Donburi Rice Bowl
13. Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl
Briefly marinate cubed ahi tuna in soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. Add a layer of cooked sushi rice to the bottom of a bowl, along with sliced cucumber, red onion, and jalapeño. Once the tuna is seasoned, add it to the bowl with extra marinade drizzled on top.
If you're yearning for the long days of summer, this refreshing ahi tuna poke bowl will revive your palate with a burst of flavor. Customize this bowl with your favorite grain and extra toppings such as avocado or edamame.
Recipe: Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl
14. At-Home Açaí Bowl
Blend frozen açaí berries, banana, and coconut milk until smooth. Pour the mixture into a bowl and top it with sliced bananas, strawberries, blueberries, granola, almonds, sunflower seeds, shredded coconut, and chia seeds.
This chilled açaí bowl is an invigorating meal to boost your energy on a brisk fall morning. Or, serve it as a snack to get over an afternoon slump. Customize this bowl with your favorite combination of toppings to make it your own.
Recipe: At-Home Açaí Bowl