Lately I’ve been noticing that bowls are all the rage! It makes complete sense to me. They’re easy, portable, and generally delicious ways to build a complete meal. I realized that the last time I shared such a recipe was this spring vegetable barley bowl way back in March 2014. (Meaning that March 2014 is now considered to be a long time ago… yikes). At the moment I’m looking for something a little warmer and more comforting, so I settled on making teriyaki cauliflower rice bowls featuring those luscious teriyaki sweet potatoes from earlier this week.
Because today is all about finally bandwagoning on trends that have already been around for a while, I decided to try my hand recently at making cauliflower rice. I have to say, I really really like it! I consider it extremely different in both taste and texture from actual rice. I mean, it tastes like cauliflower. However, it IS similar in a key way: it does a great job of standing up to a robust sauce like teriyaki. You can get my more detailed guide to making cauliflower rice here.
I’m certainly not discontinuing my grain consumption. More than anything else, I just want to eat as many vegetables as possible. Our CSA ended in late November and since then my vegetable intake hasn’t been what it used to be. I think I’m still getting a passing grade on the veggies, but during CSA season it feels like an A+. =P
So anyway, my playful way of making these teriyaki cauliflower rice bowls not-so-grain-free-after-all was to add a whole bunch of fire-roasted corn. But if you avoid grains for any reason, just swap the corn with a veggie of your choice! I thought corn was a vegetable until probably like two years ago. Maybe even more recently than that. Oops! It’s a whole grain, though 🙂
By the by, I do have quite a few grain-free recipes on my site. You can view all of them via the grain-free tag. I even have some vegan and paleo recipes (which are a subset of the grain-free recipes)! The current tag and category label system starts from July 2014. I am working on going back in time to also correctly tag and categorize the earlier posts. Whenever I finally finish I will revamp the recipe index to show them all. Man do I wish I had started doing these from the outset!
This ends (for now) the teriyaki phase on my blog. Next we are going into comfort food territory… with BBQ!
Teriyaki Cauliflower Rice Bowls
Teriyaki cauliflower rice bowls, made with sweet and tender teriyaki-glazed sweet potatoes, stovetop cauliflower rice, fresh avocado, and edamame. A lovely Asian-inspired, vegan and gluten-free lunch bowl!
Ingredients
For the cauliflower rice:
- 1 head of cauliflower leaves and tough stems removed, roughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 inch ginger root peeled and minced or grated
For the teriyaki cauliflower rice bowls (ingredients are enough for about 4 bowls):
- 1 recipe cauliflower rice (ingredients above)
- 1 recipe teriyaki sweet potatoes
- 2 cups shelled cooked edamame (I used frozen & thawed)
- 2 cups cooked corn kernels (optional) (I used frozen & thawed fire-roasted corn)
- 1 avocado sliced or cubed (see notes)
- 3 green onions or scallions sliced
- sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
- extra teriyaki sauce for serving (optional)
Instructions
For the cauliflower rice:
- Make cauliflower rice according to these instructions, with one modification: saute the garlic and ginger in the oil first until soft, before adding the cauliflower.
For the teriyaki cauliflower rice bowls:
- To a bowl, add about a quarter of the cauliflower rice (approximately 1 heaping cup), teriyaki sweet potatoes, 1/2 cup edamame, 1/2 cup corn, and a quarter of the avocado. Drizzle with additional teriyaki sauce if desired, and top with green onions and (optional) sesame seeds.
Recipe Notes
I personally divided all of my ingredients into only 3 servings, and added extra avocado, because I prefer higher calorie meals. Feel free to divvy up the ingredients into whatever portions work best for you.
If you aren't going to be eating the bowls right away, prep the avocado to serve, instead of pre-mixing it into the bowls. It held up okay for a few hours when I took one of the bowls to work for lunch, but freshly sliced avocado is much much better.
Nutrition facts exclude the sweet potatoes. Apologies for the inconvenience.
Try more of my vegan, Asian-inspired recipes:
I'm Shannon, the writer and photographer of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. My mission is to create healthy plant-based recipes that anyone would enjoy, using seasonal produce with inspiration from global flavors.
Steph says
This look amazing, and looks like a healthy lunch I could take to work. Out of curiosity, have you ever eaten this cold or does it taste better if heated up?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Personally, this tastes better heated up. Cold teriyaki sweet potatoes are not for everyone 😀
Vanessa says
Made this the other night and my 9 year old daughter loved it! So pretty and appetizing to serve. She wants me to make cauliflower rice all the time now instead of regular rice. Next time I may do something to spice the corn up a little.
Danielle says
What is the caloric count for this divided into three servings?
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Sorry Danielle, I don’t calculate nutrition info for my recipes, but I’m told there are lots of good nutritional calculators online that you could use.
jess says
This is such a creative way to use Cauliflower! Looks so delicious!
Adam says
Thank you so much for this recipe! Made it tonight, and it was delicious. The flavors complement one another so nicely, and the cauliflower rice was excellent. I used Japanese sweet potatoes, and I highly recommend them.
Missy says
Wow, I guess I did use a sweet potato which is what it is labeled as, however, it’s white on the inside. Apparently there is a naming problem in this country and sweet potatoes are mislabeled yams regularly.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Missy, I used orange sweet potatoes in this recipe. I only occasionally buy white sweet potatoes and it is safe to assume all of my sweet potato recipes were created and tested using the orange kind. I can’t actually remember the last time I saw genuine yams for sale at the grocery store. You can expect yours to come out a little firmer and starchier than mine did but I’m 90% sure it will still be delicious.
Missy says
Shoot! The recipe calls for sweet potatoes but a closer look at the photo shows you actually used yams which are much different. I hope it works with the sweet potatoes; I’ll know in about 30 minutes!
kerri mcgrail says
Omg, drooling. I’ve never thought to make teriyaki sweet potatoes before- sounds amazing! i love delicious veggie bowls like these. YUM!
Zero says
Fuck you. Nobody wants to exit the recipe three or more times to be able to make everything for the damn dish. It’s a big fucking recipe, just put it all in one page, nobody will freak out. Thanks for wasting my time and patience.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Anna, I think my regular readers will agree that I’m generally very welcoming of critical comments because it’s helpful to me in improving my recipes and content. But I simply can’t reward a comment that is so aggressively profane and vitriolic for no reason, with a helpful response. It’s a great recipe so I’m sorry that you’re going to miss out!
Courtney says
I’m a new reader- can’t wait to try this dish! I also am a new follower because I love how you handled this comment so well! I guess you can’t please everybody 😉
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Isn’t that the truth! Thanks for reading and for your support 🙂
Susan says
Is it full fat canned coconut milk or light?
Thank you
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Hi Susan, either kind would work fine!
Amber says
I made this dish tonight as our family’s first vegan dinner. I have three extremely picky girls (3, 4, and 7) plus a veggie-unsure husband, so I was apprehensive. Oh my gosh, I could almost cry. My husband devoured the bowl in minutes. My 7 year old kept saying how good it was. My 3 year old, who eats nothing new, ate every type of thing in her bowl happily. I’ve never seen anything like it. My 4 year old wouldn’t even taste it, but you can’t win them all 🙂
Ashley says
I have made this bowl twice now. It’s super good and super easy. I do have to say though that a decent brand of teriyaki sauce does make a difference. Thumbs up!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Yay, I am glad you’re loving the recipe! And yes, I definitely agree about the teriyaki sauce, always worth splurging on the better stuff 🙂
Leslie @ flora foodie says
Oh goodness, this looks incredible. Those sweet potatoes are seriously making me drool. I’m with you, sometimes a grain-free recipe is awesome not because it’s grain free but because it leaves more room for some much-needed veggies! First I’ve got to try those meatballs these recipes link to… YUM! 🙂
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Thanks so much, Leslie! =]
janet @ the taste space says
Looks delicious, Shannon. I haven’t had teriyaki anything in such a long time. I feel the need to track down some mirin now. 🙂
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Thanks, Janet! Yea, I think it’s worth tracking down some mirin since it lasts forever and most recipes only call for a little bit!
ｒｉｋａ＠ｖｍ says
What a gorgeous rice bowl…My beau and I love doing rice bowls and topping them with little side dishes!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Thank you! It’s great being able to mix and match/”build your own” with someone who might have slightly different tastes 🙂
Caeli @ Little Vegan Bear says
Delicious looking bowl! I haven’t made a bowl in a while, this is just what I need to get back into it!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Thank you! I’ve been slacking in the bowl department too.. but they’re so satisfying and great for leftovers, I need to make them more often 🙂
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
Love anything teriyaki chicken related – I can never get enough of the sweet and sticky sauce. These bowls look great and I have to make these for dinner tonight.
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
Thank you, Thalia!
Cadry says
That looks very tasty! We just had bowls for dinner last night. They’re such a fun way to enjoy lots of complimentary flavors together. You know, I still haven’t tried cauliflower rice! I’m way late on that trend!
Shannon @ Yup, it's Vegan says
I felt like I was the last person to try cauliflower rice! I do recommend it though – not so filling as regular rice, but a fun and very tasty alternative 🙂