Protein bowls are one of my favorite healthy dishes, and there are so many options out there! Everything from Buddha bowls to healthy grain bowls, it’s the perfect meal! You get your veggies, healthy proteins and carbs all in one dish. This post will showcase 15 healthy protein bowl recipes, one of them will be mine (obviously!) and the other 14 will be some tasty renditions from fellow food bloggers. Let’s get this round up started shall we?
Many of the protein bowls I have seen on the internet usually have a lot of healthy grains, seeds, and many times a lot of raw ingredients. I’ll be sharing with you 14 other tasty options for protein bowls , but I figured we would start with my version. I am a big fan of Italian ingredients and I also love spaghetti squash. This tasty dish has fresh garlic, good olive oil, fresh produce, sweet and tangy balsamic vinegar, a quick and tasty homemade bruschetta and Italian herbs. The chicken thighs are cooked simply and glazed with balsamic to finish off this healthy protein bowl.
Spaghetti squash is such a tasty vegetable. It’s easy to prepare, and can be used in many different ways. It’s a great substitute for pasta (like in this dish!) and can also work as a great potato pancake substitute (recipe upcoming!) For a great step by step on how to prepare this tasty squash, head over to my Blackened Salmon and Spaghetti Squash Recipe
I love making my own homemade balsamic drizzle. It’s a great little condiment to add into pasta or on top of a tasty caprese salad. It’s also a very cheap way of getting a similar flavor and consistency to the really expensive balsamic vinegars. I remember when I was a chef first starting out, I wanted to have all of these fancy things in my kitchen. I had truffle oil, expensive herbs, and I also purchased award winning gold medal balsamic vinegar. This was really expensive vinegar that was aged for over 10 years. It seemed cool at first to have this stuff, but after making these balsamic reductions countless times the flavor and consistency is quite similar to the expensive stuff. Shhhhhh It’s our little secret. The key is to make sure not to over cook the vinegar. Just reduce one cup by half and you will be left with a delicious sweet and tangy syrup that makes this protein bowl extra tasty!
For the vegetables I went with broccolini, yellow bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini and Brussel sprouts. Not only were these super colorful options, but of course they were really healthy too! For the boccolini and the Brussel Sprouts I roasted together with just some olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. For the peppers, zucchini and mushrooms I added in a touch of balsamic vinegar. Adding in the vinegar glazes the vegetables and adds a touch of sweetness. I skipped the vinegar with the green vegetables as it would turn the color brown. That wouldn’t look good for the photos now will it? To make things easier though, you certainly could roast everything together and leave out the balsamic, and just add more drizzle instead! I topped off this dish with a home made bruschetta that only has 6 ingredients. There’s freshly chopped tomatoes and onions, with thinly sliced basil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil. That’s it! Nice and simple.
- 3 each Roma tomatoes, 1/4" dice
- 1/4 each red onion, 1/4" dice
- 2 tbsp basil, chiffonade
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 each lemon juice, fresh
- 2 each green zucchini, cut into sticks
- 2 cups broccolini, chopped in half
- 2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cups Brussel sprouts, quartered
- 1 each yellow pepper, cut into strips
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 each spaghetti squash, halved, cooked and the flesh scraped out
- 1 ea salt and pepper to taste
- 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, for glazing
- 1 ea salt and pepper to taste
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mix together all ingredients and season well with salt and pepper, set aside
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Toss together the broccolini and Brussel sprouts with salt, pepper garlic powder, and olive oil and put on a large baking tray.
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Toss together the peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms with salt, pepper, garlic powder, balsamic vinegar and olive oil and add to the same baking sheet as the green veggies
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Roast in a 400 degree oven until there is lots of color on the vegetables. Should take about 12-15 minutes. Set aside
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Take 1 cup of balsamic vinegar and put into a pot. Heat up to a slow simmer and let reduce by half. Keep an eye on the pot and use a spoon to stir occasionally. The reduction should coat the back of a spoon. Don't boil!
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Heat up extra virgin olive oil in a pan until just below the smoking point. Season the chicken thighs with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and cook both sides of the thighs until just about done. Should take 5-7 minutes.
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Add in the balsamic vinegar on medium heat so the vinegar doesn't boil away rapidly. Let the reduction happen slowly and get the chicken nice and glazed. There should be no vinegar left in the pan. Set aside to rest before slicing.
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Serve everything in a bowl and top with balsamic drizzle. Enjoy!
Oh, you think I’m done with this post right?? Let’s not forget I’ve found 14 other tasty protein bowl recipes from some other very talented bloggers! Check out these other tasty options! Just click on the pictures to head right over to the recipes.
1. Sweet Potato Chickpea Buddha Bowl
Dana from the Minimalist Baker does a great job in creating plant based, and tasty meals and this vegetarian Buddha bowl is no exception!
2. Mexican Rice Rainbow Bowl
Marina at Yummy Mummy Kitchen also does a great job on a healthy vegetarian protein bowl with lots of delicious beans and rice. Looking great!
3. Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl with Shrimp
Emily at A Nutritionist Eats came up with this awesome protein bowl with lots of healthy quinoa and tasty prawns!
4. Chocolate Quinoa Breakfast Bowl
Don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about breakfast too! Lacey over at A Sweet Pea Chef came up with this delicious chocolate quinoa breakfast bowl. What a great way to start your day!
5. Healthy Hamburger Bowl
Kim over at Kims Cravings cam up with this awesome hamburger bowl with spiralized potato. Such a cool creative dish!
Check out these other options too!
6. Healthy Earth Bowls – by Ev’s Eats
7. Shrimp and Avocado Zoodle Salad Bowl – by The Kitchen Prep Blog
8. Greek Meatball Souvlaki Bowls – by Salted Mint
9. Caramelized Banana Quinoa Breakast Bowl – by The Kitchen of Danielle
10. Salmon Poke Bowl with Spicy Sauce – by Eat Spin Run Repeat
11. Pulled Pork Pulse Protein Bowl – by Eazy Peazy Mealz
12. Southwestern Steak Bowl – by The Unmanly Chef
13. Chicken Burrito Bowl Meal Prep – by Damn Delicious
14. BBQ Chicken Power Bowl – by Jar of Lemons
Nice round up Matt! Thanks so much for including me. Pinned!
Thanks Debs! I saw those souvlaki meatballs and I couldn’t resist! =-)
These looks so tasty! would love to try the chickpea bowl and the balsamic chicken one
Thanks for stopping by Lola! Definitely try the balsamic chicken =-)
There are so many recipes I’d like to try here!! Awesome post, definitely pinning this for later!
Thanks Rachel! I figure there are enough options for everyone on here. Thanks for stopping by!
Definitely worth trying recipes! Healthy, flavorful and filling. Quinoa and chicken bowl recipes are my personal favorites. Thanks for the round up, Matt!
Thanks Nancy! I appreciate the kind words!
So many options in this awesome round up! I like protein bowls, they are nutritious, delicious and also pretty!
Thanks Nicoletta! I try to make things as pretty as possible!
I’ve got chicken thawing in the fridge at this very moment. I’m pretty sure that Chicken Burrito Bowl is calling my name!
I know right? SO many tasty options! Thanks for the kind words Abby!
I would eat EVERY ONE of these (not all on the same day). What a great collection. Lots of flavours, textures and you have a great selection to meet any meal of the day. Besides….I love food in bowls too.
I know there are so many options when it comes to protein bowls! Thanks for the kind words Gloria!
I am totally with you. I love making bowl recipes too. So versatile, healthy, and delicious!
Thanks for stopping by Kate! Bowls for life! Haha
i eat 9/10 of my meals in a bowl so this is right up my alley.
Excellent! Bowls rock!
Wow, what an awesome round up of protein bowls!
Thanks for checking out the post Jenni!
Such a great list of recipes! I’m a sucker for a healthy protein bowl, will make my way through this!
Me too Carrie! Let me know which ones are your favorites!
All of these look so, so good but I really love your Balsamic Chicken Bowl recipe. I would love to be able to eat this for lunch during the week.
Thanks Sharon! I hope you get to try it sometime!
Great research ! I love the bowl with spaghetti squash, I think I could eat if for every meal, so good !
Thanks Tara! Definitely some great recipes out there!!
Love the use of spaghetti squash — we use it all the time but I’ve never thought to pair it with chicken before. Delicious and healthy!
Yeah I use spaghetti squash in so many things! It’s so delicious! Thanks for the comment Julie!
ALL of these, oh my goodness I love them all! Your balsamic chicken protein bowl is stunning!
Thanks Stacey! Your kind words mean a lot =-)
Definitely going to save this page and try a few recipes later) everything looks sooo delicious 😉
Right?? There sure are some talented food bloggers out there!