Wild Rice Bowl Recipe

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ByJi-hyun

Everyone can relate to the dilemma of not knowing what food to eat for dinner. There can be numerous ideas for recipes or none at all. One of the best ways to solve this dilemma is to meal prep food, which is a process of making batches of meals ahead of time and storing them in the fridge. Another way to solve this meal problem to have something that’s both easy to make and be filling. 

Here’s the solution you’re looking for: make a wild rice bowl! This bowl is quick to make, healthy, filling, and can also be stored in the refrigerator in batches as a make-ahead meal! Check out the recipe below!

What are Wild Rice Bowls?

A wild rice bowl is named as such as the grains used in this kind of bowl are usually a wild and brown rice blend. In general, wild rice bowls are also known as grain bowls, power bowls, superfood bowls, veggie bowls, and Buddha bowls. These are pretty much your build-you-own-meal recipes and they’re very easy, fun, and nutritious to make. 

As the ingredients of this bowl are up to the person’s preference, it can contain a mix of any veggies, grains, proteins, and a sauce. You can use vegetables such as butternut squash, baby spinach, arugula, kale, and even sweet potatoes. For proteins, you can mix in salmon, shrimp, chicken, or steak as you desire. Being meat-free is an option too with walnuts, cashews, beans, and more. As for the vinaigrette or dressing, the possibilities are endless as well. 

Rice bowls are a great way to have versatility during mealtimes and to incorporate healthier food items in one’s diet.

Wild Rice Power Bowl Ingredients

To make this wild rice bowl, you’ll need the following ingredients. We used already-cooked rice in this recipe so that it’s easier to make, but of course, you can make your own rice as you wish. You can use wild rice only or a combo of brown and wild rice if you’re up for it. 

As for the vegetables, if the vegetables in the ingredients list are not to your liking, you can always switch them up with something else such as squash, radishes, and cherry tomatoes. In this recipe, we used cooked shredded chicken as our protein, but if you’re not a fan, you’re welcome to switch it to tofu, seafood, or steak.

  • 1 cup wild rice, cooked (wild rice/brown rice mixture)
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped red onion
  • 2 cups cooked shredded chicken breasts (or rotisserie chicken)
  • 1 large red bell pepper
  • 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 large avocado
  • 3 to 4 leaves baby arugula
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 
  • Kosher Salt
  • Pepper

Vinaigrette:

  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup apple cider or champagne vinegar
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • Kosher salt and pepper for taste

How to Make a Wild Rice Power Bowl

With this wild rice recipe, dinners don’t have to be complicated anymore. Wear your apron and let’s get cooking! 

Step 1. Place the cooked rice, wild rice or a wild/brown rice mix, in a bowl. Toss in the dried cranberries, chopped onion, and feta cheese in a mixing bowl. If you have nuts such as walnuts or pistachios, toss them in as well. If you are using uncooked rice, cook the grain according to the directions and heat on the package afterwards, do the same procedure. One tip we have if you’re cooking your own wild rice, you can soak it in chicken broth for additional flavor. Set aside.

Step 2. Place the chopped carrots and bell pepper on a foil lined baking sheet. Drizzle it with a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper for flavor. If you have other vegetables you’d like to add and roast, place them on the baking sheet as well, don’t forget to coat with olive oil and seasoning. Roast the vegetables at a heat of 425 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Stir the carrots occasionally. 

Step 3. To make the vinaigrette, put the olive oil, Dijon mustard, apple cider or champagne vinegar, maple syrup, and lemon juice in a tight-fitting jar. Shake until combined. Season it with salt and pepper for flavor. 

Step 4. Remove the veggies from the oven. Peel the skin from the bell pepper, remove the seeds, and slice it into strips. 

Step 5. Divide the wild rice mix and the veggies into separate bowls. Top with the cooked shredded chicken, avocado slices, baby arugula, parsley, and mint. Drizzle the vinaigrette dressing on top. Garnish if desired. 

You can always load up your bowl with as many veggies and proteins as you’d like! You can add a cup of cherry tomatoes, another cup of feta cheese, olives, and more to amp up the flavors. Our choice of dressing for this recipe is a vinaigrette, but you can always switch it up to your preference. For any leftovers, simply store them in the fridge. As mentioned, this recipe can also be used for make-ahead meal prep for the lunch or dinner table. 

How was that easy-to-make recipe? We’re sure that with this recipe, you’ll be having a more filling lunch or dinner any time you want! If you’re interested in making other meal bowls, check out our Buddha bowl recipes here.

Hailing from California, USA. Ji-hyun is a Korean American 🇰🇷🇺🇸 with two growing boys who eat their weight in rice each week. After graduating UCLA & becoming a mom she started We Know Rice as a guide for all the students and moms out there looking to cook healthy and filling meals.