Dragon bowls are a filling, veggie-focused meal with a creamy (dairy-free) sauce. Plus, they're super easy to customize and get creative or use up the ingredients you already have on hand.
What is a Dragon Bowl?
A dragon bowl is often also called a nourish bowl or a buddha bowl. Regardless of the silly names, they're a veg-heavy meal with a grain, protein, and a sauce to tie it all together.
Maybe some of the sauces have lots of garlic in them so you have dragon breath afterward?
I don't really know where the name comes from.
What I do know is that they're the perfect solution to the random assortment of leftover veggies and other foods in your fridge that you had no idea what to do with, until now.
You're welcome.
Ingredient Ideas
For my bowls, I used roasted red peppers from a jar, marinated mushrooms, sumac roasted carrots, white basmati rice, avocado, shrimp, mixed greens, and dragon sauce (recipe below).
Vegetables
You want to aim for a variety of 3-4 vegetables. Choose some roasted, some raw or quick-pickled vegetables, or different seasonings to achieve a variety of textures and flavors.
Here are some more ideas:
- roasted beets
- carrots
- sweet & spicy butternut squash
- sweet potatoes
- pickled red onions
- blanched broccoli
- thinly sliced raw vegetables for a crunch like in this fennel salad
- marinated portobello mushrooms
- avocado (technically a fruit) is also a great addition
- look at the seasonal produce guide to see what's currently in season
Leafy greens (optional)
Any leafy greens of choice, but here are some ideas:
- mixed greens
- baby spinach
- sprouts
- fresh herbs
- chard
Grains
- rice: (brown or white) jasmine, basmati, wild rice
- quinoa
- farro
- millet
- orzo
- couscous
Proteins
- eggs: hard or soft boiled, fried, poached, etc.
- seafood: shrimp or salmon
- chicken or beef
- tofu, tempeh, beans, or lentils for plant-based options
Sauce
Any sauce or dressing will do, but a creamy-based one works really well. Here are the ingredients for the dragon sauce:
- extra virgin olive oil
- tahini
- lemon juice
- nutritional yeast
- dijon mustard
- raw honey
- black pepper
- salt
- water
How to Make Dragon Bowls
Prep your veg, grain, and protein
Cut, roast, blanch, etc. your vegetables of choice, cook your protein and your grain. Assemble in a bowl.
Make the dressing
Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix with a spoon or fork until smooth. If needed, thin by adding more water until your desired consistency is reached. You'll likely need to adjust the salt and pepper as well. Taste as you go.
FYI: To thin the sauce, add no more than 1 tablespoon of water at a time and mix before adding any more water.
Assemble Your Dragon Bowl
Pour on the sauce, mix, and enjoy!
Helpful Tips
Make extra sauce
No one complains about having leftover sauce. It's great on everything.
Get creative
These bowls are a great way to 'play with your food'. Cutting the vegetables into different shapes will also help to create some contrast in the bowl.
Avoid using a small bowl
The magic happens when you pour the sauce on and mix all your ingredients together. It's obviously more challenging to do this if your bowl is really small.
More Recipes You'll Love
Dragon Bowls with Sauce
Ingredients
Dragon Bowls
- 3-4 vegetables of choice
- a cooked grain
- cooked protein of choice
Dragon Sauce
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon tahini
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon raw honey
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon water + more to thin if needed
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- Prepare (or pull out) your vegetables, grain, and protein. Assemble in a bowl.
- Make the sauce by adding all the ingredients to a bowl. Mix with a spoon or fork until smooth.
- To thin the sauce, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. You'll likely need to adjust the salt and pepper as well. Taste as you go.
- Pour on the sauce, mix, and enjoy!
Notes
- Make extra sauce. No one complains about having leftover sauce. It's great on everything.
- Get creative. These bowls are a great way to 'play with your food'. Cutting the vegetables into different shapes will also help to create some contrast in the bowl.
- Avoid using a small bowl. The magic happens when you pour the sauce on and mix all your ingredients together. It's obviously more challenging to do this if your bowl is really small.
Serena says
Yum. Both dishes look so good. I want to try making dragon sauce, sounds awesome! 👍
Suzie says
I made the dragon bowls tonight for dinner. I used fresh spinach, sautéed mushrooms, steamed sweet potato, avocado, brown rice, fresh red pepper, and leftover turkey meatballs. I didn’t add any water to the sauce as it was of a good consistency. The bowls were just delicious - so much flavor and freshness. I would highly recommend this recipe. Be adventurous!
P.S. I will admit that I looked at the picture to try to simulate the beautiful bowl with all of the different colors!