Rice Bowl Recipes
Easy and delicious rice bowl recipes are a fun way to get creative and customize your lunch and dinner! Simply, pop Minute Rice Cups in the microwave for 60 seconds and combine with other favorite ingredients for a flavorful, flexible meal that’s ready-to-go in a hurry. Perfect for meal prep and build-your-own-bowl entertaining!
Customizable rice bowl recipes are so convenient for quick lunches or weeknight dinners when you need something that doesn’t take much effort but will still be tasty and satisfying! These are my family’s go-to meals for a hearty, healthy dish that’s loaded with flavor and texture. Plus, with Minute Rice Cups, we all get to choose the flavor of rice we want to combine with our favorite ingredients to make incredible rice bowls at home.
Build-Your-Own-Bowl
While recently attending the Fresh Air Retreat in Miami, I had the amazing opportunity to enjoy a gorgeous build-your-own-bowl spread provided by one of the sponsors of the retreat, Minute Rice. The fabulous Chef Trimell Hawkins (who created many mouth-watering meals for us at the retreat) set up an assortment of toppings and sauces along with the individually portioned Minute Rice Cups in all different varieties. Then, we quickly whipped up our own rice bowl recipes for lunch! I went with the jalapeño rice and made a Mexican-inspired rice bowl. It was SO good, I’ve been recreating my Tex-Mex burrito bowl and many other flavored rice bowls since being back at home!
Scroll all the way to the bottom for a simple, yet very tasty Mexican rice bowl recipe!
One of the best things about these sensational rice bowl recipes, is that they’re so versatile and cater to a variety of dietary needs. They’re all naturally gluten free, and you can easily create vegetarian rice bowls with beans or tofu and veggies, or add plenty of meaty protein like ground turkey, beef, chicken sausage or shredded chicken. Seafood options like shrimp work great, too!
Fresh Air Retreat
We’ll get back to the rice bowl recipes, but I want to share more about the fun, inspiring time I had at the Fresh Air Retreat!
If you are a creator in the food space, I highly recommend this incredible experience of coming together with other bloggers and content creators for learning, with plenty of yummy food to eat! They are currently accepting applications for the fall 2024 retreat! Apply HERE!
The Hosts
Our hosts and the creators of the Fresh Air Retreat were fellow food bloggers, Liz Della Croce from The Lemon Bowl and Lauren Grier from The Curious Plate. I cannot say enough good things about the way everything was organized and ran like a tight ship; however, we had plenty of time for making connections, learning, eating, talking, laughing and having the best time ever! Along with our fabulous hosts, we had Chef Trimell there to cook us delicious meals and Amanda Kamppinen, the immensely talented photographer to capture pictures of the food and all of the fun times we had. The beautiful photos in this post are credited to her!
The Attendees
We also had the best group of attendees! I hadn’t spent any time with any of the bloggers before the retreat, but now I would call them all friends. It was fun to be able to share our experiences and learn from each other.
Other attendees included:
- Kylie Mazon-Chambers from Cooking with Cocktail Rings
- Lexi Harrison from Crowded Kitchen
- MacKenzie Smith from Grilled Cheese Social
- Shannon Epstein from Fit Slow Cooker Queen
- Aleka Shunk from Aleka’s Get-Together
- Michelle Hoover from Unbound Well
- Brita Britnell from Food with Feeling
Sponsors
The retreat was sponsored by some really great companies that brought so much to the experience. We had the opportunity to learn more about Grocer’s List, Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, Minute Rice, Flor de Caña, and Current.
Flora de Caña
We started out with a happy hour around the pool with Flor de Caña, who makes delicious aged rum. I’m not normally a rum drinker but I have to say, the Aperol Spritz (or Flor Spritz) made with rum was SO good! The Flor de Caña rums are wonderfully smooth with rich flavors from aging in bourbon barrel aged rum. They’re also made with no artificial ingredients or added sugar. I’m going to be recreating the Flor Spritz very soon!
Chef Trimell also incorporated the rum into some incredible appetizers. We enjoyed glazed chicken wings, saucy pork belly and fresh shrimp ceviche. The pork belly was honestly one of the best things I ate during the retreat! It was melt-in-your-mouth delicious! Then, lakeside, we did a tasting with Flor de Caña’s 25 year old rum, paired with dark chocolate to bring out its flavors. Last, but certainly not least, Chef made us bananas foster with rum infused chunks of banana served over scoops of vanilla ice cream. It did not disappoint!
Grocer’s List
The next morning, we enjoyed a tasty breakfast with Ben, the founder of Grocer’s List. He explained his app which allows Instagram followers to receive and bookmark recipes in their DM history. I have recently started utilizing Grocer’s List and I’m loving how easy it is to use!
We then took the conversation down to the lake for a beautiful view while we had a chance to get down to business with brainstorming, learning and just simply chatting.
Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau
Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau sponsored a happy hour out on the town at The Social Club on Collins Avenue, which was amazing! Then, for dinner, they spoiled us with a heavenly 9 course dinner at Sérêvène, which is also located on South Beach in Miami. This is truly a meal I will never forget! Executive Chef Pawan Pinisetti knocked it out of the park with unique creations that were out of this world. Below, is a picture of one of my favorite dishes, which was a spiralized beet salad. All of the dishes were plated so beautifully!
Current
On our final night of the retreat, we enjoyed a really special dinner sponsored by Current, a high-tech grill company that produces outdoor electric grills! One of the neatest things about this grill is that you can connect it to your Wi-Fi, so you’re able to monitor and control the grill from anywhere. No more overcooked meat!
We were even able to test out their new dual-zone electric grill. You can conveniently cook meat and veggies at the same time. Chef Trimell used the grill to prepare the meat and vegetables for a build-your-own taco bar. It was so good!
Final Thoughts
The Fresh Air Retreat was one of the best experiences I’ve had getting together with other food bloggers and content creators. I feel like I learned so much and had such a great time in the process. I left the retreat feeling super inspired and ready to put new ideas into action. If you have a food website, I highly recommend attending The Fresh Air Retreat!
Now back to the rice bowl recipes!
You’re going to love this vegetarian Mexican rice bowl made with ingredients like corn, black beans and salsa. You can choose from the variety of flavors of Minute Rice cups and add tasty toppings. For this particular rice bowl, I really like the Jalapeño Rice Cups that include a blend of onion, green peppers and mild jalapeños or the Cilantro & Lime Jasmine Rice Cups, which include natural flavors, such as lime juice, cilantro and sea salt.
How to Make This Recipe
You can either make this recipe to serve one or 6 side servings. Each Minute Rice Cup contains 1 cup of rice. To just make one serving, simply remove the plastic top and microwave one of the Minute Rice Cups for 1 minute. Then, you can combine it in a bowl with about 1/4 cup black beans, 1/4 cup corn, salsa and any other toppings you’d like. See the recipe card at the bottom for making 6 side servings.
Helpful Tips and Variations
Here are some tips and tricks to keep in mind when creating your rice bowl recipes:
- Prep ahead: I recommend having some add-in components ready-to-go in the fridge. For example, if you’re making extra taco meat or roasted veggies, double the recipe so that you can use them in your rice bowls throughout the week.
- Add some heat: For a spicy Mexican rice, use hot salsa or a drizzle of Sriracha or hot sauce. You can also add a dash of cayenne pepper.
- Add protein: To make this even more hearty, stir in some pre-cooked ground beef or shredded chicken.
- Serving size: Minute Rice Cups have about 1 cup of rice in each one. Depending on the add-ins and toppings, you might want to enjoy the full cup or only have about half of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Choose your favorite rice flavor from the various rice cup options, then add in some veggies and a protein. The options are endless!
Any type of rice will work! My favorites include white rice, jasmine rice and brown rice. And the Minute Rice Cups are so convenient for making rice bowl recipes!
To assemble, I typically layer the rice at the bottom of the bowl, then add any vegetables and meat followed by toppings, including herbs and sauces.
Ways to Serve
You can enjoy this Mexican rice bowl as a stand-alone vegetarian meal or pair it with your favorite Mexican dish. Serve it on the side with tacos or make it into a burrito bowl with some taco-seasoned ground turkey, avocado and pico de gallo! Here are some other delicious pairing options:
If you try this, let me know! Leave a comment and if your family loves it as much as mine does, be sure to give it a five star ⭐️ rating! Also, tag @kimscravings on Instagram with a picture of your creation. Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy delicious recipes straight to your inbox.
Rice Bowl Recipes
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups corn, frozen or fresh
- 1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 Minute Rice Cups, any variety
- 1/2 – 1 cup salsa, jarred or homemade works
- Optional to garnish; fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and/or diced avocado or guacamole
Instructions
- Add corn and black beans to a saucepan or small pot over medium heat on the stovetop. Stir frequently until warm, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, microwave each Minute Rice Cup per package instructions.
- Once everything is warm, combine corn and black beans with the rice and salsa in a large serving bowl. Add desired garnishes, if you’d like and serve.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Love these great ideas and I’m always a fan of minute rice cups!