This yummy gluten free buddha bowl is a brilliant healthy recipe to try for lunch or dinner. It features a bed of brown rice, topped with lovely crunchy veggies, soy sesame fried kale and avocado, all drizzled with a delicious maple lemon dressing. The finishing touch – your choice of protein, whether it be salmon, chicken, eggs or nuts.
We’ve always called this rainbow rice buddha bowl “Amy’s Rice Bowl” in our house, after our friend from Australia introduced us to a similar recipe a couple of years ago.
Over the dozens of times that we have made these dish, we gradually changed some of the ingredients and we have finally hit on our perfect recipe. You’ll find the full recipe below.
We still often switch around the final topping on the dish, depending on what we have in the fridge or are in the mood for. Fried egg is our default, but, as I mentioned at the start, the bowl can also be topped with a portion of protein such as salmon, chicken or toasted nuts.
Pictured above you’ll see the fried egg variety, which is a vegetarian version of the bowl, and below is a picture of the version topped with a hot smoked salmon fillet. I bought these from Lidl, but you’ll find most supermarkets sell hot smoked salmon or precooked salmon fillets in the chiller section.
For the crunchy vegetable element of the bowl you can absolutely switch this up and use any types you like. I use grated carrot and very finely sliced red cabbage, but you could use sliced radishes, white cabbage, grated beetroot, sliced peppers, thinly sliced cucumber and much more.
Kale is our staple for the sauteed element, as it carried the salty tamari sauce and sesame seeds so well, but you could try using broccoli, spring greens or spinach instead.
Then of course the base can be switched up too. We use brown rice, because of the lovely nutty flavour it brings. You could also use any other rice variety, quinoa, gluten free cous cous or even roasted sweet potatoes.
Right, let’s get to that recipe! Scroll on down for the good stuff.
Rainbow Rice Buddha Bowl (Serves 2)
Rainbow Rice Buddha Bowl
Ingredients
Base:
- 150g (5oz) brown rice
Dressing:
- Juice and zest 1 lemon
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp tamari
Sesame kale:
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp tamari
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- 120g (4.5oz) kale
Crunchy veg:
- 70g (2.5oz) carrot
- 80g (3oz) red cabbage
To top:
- one egg or portion of protein per person (e.g. cooked salmon fillet/chicken breast)
Instructions
- Rinse the brown rice and cook per the instructions on the packet.
- While the rice is cooking, you can prepare some of the other bowl elements. First, the crunchy veg - peel and grate the carrot, then finely slice/shred the red cabbage. Next, destone and peel the avocado, and cut into thin slices. Set these elements aside.
- To make the dressing for the bowl, combine the lemon juice and zest with 2 tsp maple syrup, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil and 1 tsp tamari. Set aside.
- Once the rice is cooked, strain off the water and them leave the rice in the saucepan with the lid off. It will stay slightly warm and give any residual water the chance to evaporate as steam.
- For the sesame kale, toast the sesame seeds lightly in dry frying pan, then the shredded kale leaves to the pan along with 1 tsp sesame oil and 1 tsp olive oil. Turn the heat to medium and sautee for a few minutes until bright green and nicely cooked. Add 2 tsp tamari and turn the heat down - cook for 1 minute to reduce the liquid then turn the heat off.
- To assemble the bowls, cover the base of the bowl 2/3 with rice, add the carrot, red cabbage and sesame kale to the remaining third. Place half an avocado on each, then drizzle the dressing over the rice, carrot and cabbage.
- Sprinkle some sesame seeds on the avocado and them finish the bowl by placing a fried egg or fillet of cooked/hot smoked salmon on top.
I hope you’ve enjoyed making this gluten free rainbow rice buddha bowl! Click the pin below if you want to save this recipe to Pinterest and make again in the future.
For more yummy gluten free lunch and dinner ideas, why not try some of these tasty ideas:
- Teriyaki Salmon Sushi Bowl
- Healthy Chicken Kebabs
- Greek Salad
- Crispy Spiced Chickpea Bowl
- Mac n Cheese with Hidden Veggies
Enjoy! x
