In this recipe roundup, you’ll find 25 of my favorite protein bowls recipes from my last ten years of running a high protein food blog.
Okay, cool. But what are protein bowls?
They come in many forms like burrito bowls, stir fry or rice bowls, noodle bowls, or some kind of carbohydrate base topped with a protein and usually veggies. Most of the recipes on this roundup use lower carb options like veggie rice and include lots of veggies to increase the volume of meals.
I think you’ll find plenty of inspiration. Just keep in mind, you can always customize the starch or carbohydrate to fit your nutrient needs. There are plenty of rice and potato substitutes available these days!
Ground Turkey Sweet Potato Protein Bowls
Crispy Ground Beef and Baby Broccoli Bowls
Fall Harvest Protein Bowls
Thai Basil Beef Bowls
High Protein Breakfast Sausage Bowls
Crispy Beef and Rice Broth Bowls
Ground Chicken Shawarma Bowls
Crispy Ground Beef and Rice with Creamy Gochujang Broth
Peanut Butter Noodle Bowls
Street Corn Chicken Bowls
Ground Beef and Zucchini Street Corn Bowls
Chicken and Brothy Rice Bowls
Loaded Burger Bowls
Honey Chipotle Turkey Burger Bowls
Thai Peanut Brothy Rice Bowls
Gochujang Steak Protein Bowls
Garlic Butter Ground Beef Power Bowls with Roasted Veggies
Creamy Chipotle Broth Bowls
Greek Yogurt Breakfast Bowls
Black Pepper Beef and Broccoli
Korean BBQ Rotisserie Chicken
Breakfast Meal Prep Bowls
Firecracker Ground Bison and Rice Bowls
Mediterranean Ground Chicken
Orange Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Wrapping Up
I hope this list has given you plenty of inspiration for making homemade protein bowls! Remember, you can easily customize components.
Proteins
Proteins like lean ground chicken, turkey, beef all work great and reheat really well. But classic proteins like chicken breast or thighs, pork tenderloin, and even leaner cuts of beef work great in power bowls.
I really like using things like Mexican pulled chicken or slow cooked pulled beef in meal prep bowls, since they reheat better than their larger counterparts. If you do go the grilled chicken or steak route, I like to chop them into small pieces. Again, to make reheating easier.
Carbohydrate Base
Rice is the most classic choice, and you can find things like chickpea or veggie rice, cauliflower rice, and hearts of palm rice to greatly reduce the carb load of your protein bowls. Like I mentioned in the recipe roundup above, I like to use a blend of veggie rice and “real” rice to appease picky eaters.
Other than rice, there are tons of macro balanced options for pasta, noodles and ramen, potato substitutes, and even things like tortilla chips. I didn’t include any enchilada skillets, but a protein tortilla works great in something like my beef enchilada casserole. And that makes excellent meal prep bowls.
Veggies for Volume
Of course vegetables can be a primary component of protein bowls like in stir fry or casseroles, but I like to point out ways to add even more volume to bowls with garnishes.
Things like pickled onions and peppers, kimchi and other fermented vegetables, sliced radishes and tomatoes, and other fresh ingredients like cucumbers and fruits add a ton of texture and brightness to dishes without many calories.
All right, time to get cooking. Have fun and be sure to let me know in the comments below if you have any questions about making protein bowls at home!
And if you enjoyed this roundup, you’ll definitely want to check out my roundups for fiber rich recipes, ground chicken, and high protein meal prep.
Thank you for these recipes, it’s my favorite compilation of protein bowls! Going to work thru them all, had the egg roll bowl and it was very good! Going Greek tonight!