These Dragon Bowls are a healthy vegan and gluten-free buddha bowl recipe that is loaded with fresh veggies, brown rice, tofu and the most delicious sauce! You’ll love making these bowls for meal prep and to have on hand for a healthy lunch or dinner.
What is a Dragon Bowl?
Many of us have heard of buddha bowls before. For those who haven’t, it’s basically just a bowl of whole grains, raw veggies, roasted veggies, various greens, and other nutritious toppings. It’s a wonderful vegan option that will keep you full and satisfied. (You’ll also get in your veggie goals for the day!)
This recipe goes one step further than a buddha bowl, with a special sauce…dragon sauce! There’s a restaurant here in Montreal called Aux Vivres that serves up a hearty bowl with this sauce called “a dragon bowl”. This recipe is inspired by their dragon bowl. is
Why you’ll love this recipe
- These dragon bowls are the perfect healthy vegan and gluten-free meal and are loaded with fibre, protein and tons of nutrients.
- This recipe is great to make for food prep. All of the ingredients can be made and stored in separate containers in the fridge and be put together quickly when you’re ready to eat!
- The sauce for this recipe is the secret ingredient that will bring these bowls to the next level!
How to make Dragon Bowls
Dragon bowls can be put together in a few very simple steps. Cook the rice according to package directions, chop, grate, or slice the veggies how you like, and pan-fry the tofu. While the tofu is cooking, whisk together the ingredients for the sauce. Then make piles of all the ingredients into your bowl.
Tips for making this recipe perfectly
- Make sure to use firm tofu for this recipe if you want crispy cubes of tofu. Don’t rush cooking the tofu either, give it time to brown on each side as you fry up the cubes in a pan.
- Cut the veggies in different ways to add texture to the bowl. I like to grate the beets, peel the carrots, thinly slice the cabbage, and slice the avocado. You can cut these in any way you like.
- Make a double batch of dragon sauce to have some on hand in the fridge for the week. It’s delicious on salads and in bowls.
More vegan bowls to try
If you tried these Dragon Bowls or any other recipe on the blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment/rating below! Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for even more deliciousness!
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These dragon bowls are loaded with brown rice, tofu, veggies and topped off with dragon sauce for a delicious and healthy meal!
Ingredients
Bowl
- 1/2 block firm tofu, cut into cubes
- 1 tbsp avocado oil, or any other high heating oil
- 1 cup brown rice, cooked according to package directoins
- 1/2 cup cabbage, shredded
- 1 beet, shredded
- 1 large carrot, sliced
- alfalfa sprouts (or any other sprouts)
- 1 avocado, sliced
Sauce
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 3 tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 3 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp tamari
- 1 garlic clove, minced
Instructions
- Heat a pan with your olive oil. Cut tofu into cubes and place them in the pan, on medium heat. Let eat side cook for about 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown on each side. then remove from heat.
- To make your sauce, whisk all ingredients in a bowl until well combined.
- To assemble your bowl, spoon some brown rice the bottom of your bowl. Place your cabbage, beets, carrots, and sprouts, avocado, and tofu in little piles on top. Drizzle dragon sauce on top and enjoy!
Notes
Make sure to use firm tofu for this recipe if you want crispy cubes of tofu. Don’t rush cooking the tofu either, give it time to brown on each side as you fry up the cubes in a pan.
Cut the veggies in different ways to add texture to the bowl. I like to grate the beets, peel the carrots, thinly slice the cabbage, and slice the avocado. You can cut these in any way you like.
Make a double batch of dragon sauce to have some on hand in the fridge for the week. It’s delicious on salads and in bowls.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 550
- Sugar: 9g
- Sodium: 250mg
- Fat: 25g
- Saturated Fat: 6g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Fiber: 14g
- Protein: 15g
Keywords: healthy buddha bowl, vegan bowl
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Wow…I had this last night and it was so good! Can’t wait to have it again today. The sauce is truly addictive.There are so many different types of veggies that go with this Asian style sauce. For my husband who prefers cooked to non-cooked foods I use semi cooked (kept the crunch in) matchstick carrots, broccoli and snow peas. I chopped the cooked tofu into small pieces and put everything over brown rice and sprinkled toasted sesame seeds on top. For my bowl I kept it raw with a thinly sliced sweet pepper, chopped kale and green onions. You can also use black beans instead of tofu, if you prefer. This would be a great meal to have before grocery shopping day, it lets you use up any left over veggies in your crisper.
★★★★★
Hi Colleen, thank you so much for the review! So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe, cheers!
Thanks for these tips Colleen, they help a lot! I was wondering about cooked vs non cooked. I cant wait to try this bowl 🙂
★★★★★
Hi Jess, thank you so much for this recipe. It’s a staple for me now. I was just wondering if you know what the calorie count is on the dressing?
★★★★★
Hi Hannah, thank you for the review! I don’t have an exact count of the dressing but I believe it is about 50-60 calories in a tablespoon. (similar to the calories in a salad dressing!)
Wow, I’m so glad I found this recipe! I also love the bowls at Aux Vivres (I’m from Montreal) but I’ve never tried to make them myself. I’m vegan and really needed to try something new for dinner. This was delicious – the sauce was even better than the original at Aux Vivres (because I could regulate how much garlic and other ingredients to put in). Love it, love it, love it!!! Thanks so much for sharing this. I can’t wait to make this for my next dinner party. Mmmmmm!!!!!!
★★★★★
Hi Patricia, SO happy to hear you loved this recipe! I have the same feelings as well! Great restaurant in Montreal but also fun to make this bowl at home (saves money too 😉 ) I like making the sauce and storing a bottle of it in the fridge to use on different bowls and salads for the week!
Loved it, I was looking for a good version of dragon sauce and made it with brown rice and tempeh. My next version will be with roasted potatoes. Great sauce!
Thanks Julie! it’s a delicious sauce and it’s loaded with vitamin B and iron too. so you get a lot of health benefits from it too!
I love Buddha bowls! Adding more tofu into my diet has made it so much tastier!
I find tofu definitely helps get you that extra protein boost and keeps you feeling fulL!
I made this last night and it was AMAZING! My husband was skeptical – and to be honest I was a little skeptical at first too. I’m not a vegan, I’ve just been looking for healthy new recipes to try. This knocked my socks off! This was my first time cooking with tofu or nutritional yeast, and if you haven’t noticed yet, I was impressed. I did add a few things to get my husband a little more interested: fresh corn, sauteed kale and a dollop of whipped feta. I also squeezed some lime over my cabbage and tossed it with S&P. It was magical!
Hi Francesca,
I’m SO happy to hear you enjoyed it!! The sauce is a great Vegan sauce and is loaded with nutrients and vitamin b12. I love the additions you put in for your husband! Sounds wonderful!