Green Curry Buddha Bowl

Name: Green Curry Buddha Bowl
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 4 cups brown rice, cooked; 2 heaping cups broccoli florets; 1 cup carrots, julienned; 1/4 head purple cabbage, thinly sliced; 6-8 large crimini mushrooms, sliced; 2 tsp olive oil; cilantro; lime wedges; 1 cup raw cashews; 2 tbsp green curry paste; 14oz can coconut cream; 1 tbsp lime juice; 2 tsp fish sauce; 1-2 tsp brown sugar; 1/2 tsp salt

What’s green, filling, and delicious all over? This green curry Buddha bowl! Thanks to it’s exotic green curry sauce, this meat-free and veggie-packed dish is the healthiest thing you’ll ever love.

Boldly Flavored Green Curry Rice Bowl.

Thanks to an exotic green curry sauce, this meat-free, veggie-packed dish is the healthiest thing you’ll ever love.

Not long ago, I found myself vacantly staring into my fridge wondering—yet again—what to make for dinner. Torn between throwing together something easy and not wanting to abandon my newly adopted health goals just yet, I sought inspiration from one of my favorite bowl-focused, healthy eateries in town. The result was this crunchy, veggie-loaded, meat-free, and boldly flavored green curry rice bowl, aka Buddha bowl. It hit the spot that night, and has for several dinners since. I know it’ll be a winner in your home, too.

Vegetarian Green Curry Budha Bowl with brown rice, red cabbage, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots and toasted coconut in a bowl

What is a Buddha Bowl?

In short, it’s a trendy name for a whole grain-based, vegetarian (thus "Buddha") dish piled high with colorful, crispy, and wholesome goodies. There’s no hard and fast rules about what can and cannot be in a Buddha bowl—it’s more about the general idea of taking a deep bowl and packing it to the brim with delicious things to fuel your body. It’s with those general guidelines in mind that this dish was created.

I started with simply steamed brown rice, topped it with as many veggies as possible, and finished it off with one big flavor punch in the form of my favorite green curry sauce. When I was done, I was pleased as punch that that I hadn’t given up on my health goals for the sake of convenience and that I could so quickly make something so delicious that everyone in the family gobbled it up complaint-free. (Cue many firm pats on my own back.)

ingredients laid out, brown rice, coconut milk, coconut, green curry, cashews, carrots, red cabbage, broccoli and mushrooms

What is Green Curry and is it Difficult To Make?

Green curry paste is Thai in origin and is named for the viridescent ingredients that it’s made from: green chillies, shallots, garlic, galangal (Thai ginger), lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, cilantro roots, cumin seeds, pepper corns and (often) a bit shrimp paste.

I’m a big believer in saving time and energy where you can, so you won’t find any instructions on making your own green curry paste here. I’ve always bought mine at the local Asian market (this one is my favorite), but even the mainstream grocery store I frequent has several nice options, so there's no need to make green curry paste from scratch.

green curry, cashews, coconut milk in the pitcher of a blender.

Green curry dressing blended in a blender

How to Make Make Green Curry Sauce.

Thanks to the wide availability of great store-bought curry paste, making a delicious green curry sauce is surprisingly simple. For this easy green curry sauce (emphasis on easy) I just added a few ingredients into my Ascent Series Vitamix Blender and blended it on high until everything was smooth. (Fun fact: this is how I make ALL of my sauces and dressings.) And because I’m a “maximizer,” I love that with the Ascent Vitamix I can select a preset which includes an automatic shut off timer. What’s that mean? It means I can wash dishes, start a load of laundry AND make dinner all at the same time. (Are those angels I hear singing?)

the base of a blender, a bowl of carrots, and a green curry rice bowl with a spoon

What Else Goes into That Buddha Bowl?

Brown rice, duh! This pantry staple will forever and always be a favorite grain of mine. I love that it's healthy, but I really, really love it’s nutty flavor and perfectly subtle toothsome texture. It also makes for the ideal hearty vehicle to carry a motherload of veggies into this dinner recipe. You can’t go wrong with any veggie in this dish. There’s just something about this green curry sauce and a generous scoop of steamy brown rice that makes anything you put in between them seem like the best idea ever. Here’s what I put in my green curry Buddha bowl:

Mushrooms
Carrots
Broccoli
Cabbage
Fresh cilantro

I mentioned a few posts back that I’ve been trying to lean myself and my family into the whole meatless meal thing more this year. I think it’s a great opportunity to talk to my kids about where our food comes from and how our food choices effect our bodies and our planet. Sometimes this is easy, and other times it’s not. But, overall, I find that the more variety and crunch my food has, the less my family and I miss having a traditional protein. Thankfully, in the case of this green curry Buddha bowl, we were all like “chicken who…?”

close up of a vegetarian rice bowl with green curry and veggies.

Fun Surprises that Rhyme with Fredded Bowcanut!

For some added texture and interest, I added shredded coconut and a juicy squeeze of lime atop this spice-filled green curry bowl and it rocked my world. (Don’t be surprised if you see me someday at a Thai restaurant pulling my own shredded coconut out of my purse to add to my meal. I’ve seen the light and cannot go back to the way things were before this revelation.)

Admittedly, this is not a traditional Thai curry by any means, but it is a fun take on a classic that features bold, punchy flavors, plenty of health-filled crunchy bits, and a completely satisfying meat-free option the whole family will enjoy. (If vegetarian options aren’t your thing, fear not! Grilled chicken thighs make the perfect protein-packed addition to this dish.)

Tools You'll Need:

vegetarian rice bowl with green curry and veggies.

More Curry Filled Weeknight Dinner Inspiration

You love curry? We do too! Here are a few of our favorite dinners to try.

This tasty Coconut Curry Lentil Soupis rich and warming—perfect for cold winter nights!
Or, if it’s a meat-y curry you’re after, this Thai Curry Turkey Meatball dish is easily one of our most popular dishes ever. Make it for yourself and see what all the fuss is about.

If you’re looking for more ways to use your Vitamix (because it’s great for so much more than perfect smoothies) here’s a few recipes where the Ascent really comes in handy:

Grilled Harissa Chicken
Butternut Squash Soup
Classic Creamy Hummus

Three Cheers For Green Curry Rice Bowls!

Whether you’re challenging yourself to go meatless more in the New Year like I am, or are just looking for your next mouthwatering weeknight dinner recipe, I’d love for you to give this green curry Buddha bowl a try. If you do, be sure to post a picture to Instagram and tag @themodernproper and #themodernproper, because it never fails to make our day to see your spin on our dishes. Happy eating!

This sponsored post is written by TMP on behalf of Vitamix in partnership with TheFeedFeed. The opinions and text are all ours. Thank you for supporting the brands we love.