This rice bowl is one of our go-to meals when we're craving something light. It's easy to make, and mango, ginger & basil make it wonderfully refreshing.
Welcome to another meal planning week! About a month ago, I wrote a 5-part series that was all about my basic approach to meal planning. This was the plan: I started the week with a set amount of groceries and ideas for 5 meals, each meal utilizing the ingredients from the day before. The “plan” was not set in stone, so that my dinners would be somewhat flexible if I got a new idea mid-way through the week. If you missed that series, check it out here 🙂
After getting such a wonderful response to that series, I thought, let’s do it again! I chose this particular week because it’s summer(!), which means that we’ve been spending more time outside, more evenings strolling our neighborhood, and more time eating out. I love to eat out, but after a while, I’m ready to start eating in again.
So here’s the first recipe for the week: this super refreshing Mango Black Bean Ginger Rice Bowl – basically a burrito bowl with Asian-ish flavors.
What’s in this rice bowl recipe?
If you’re a fan of our cookbook, you’ll recognize the sauce/dressing here – it’s a light tamari-lime vinaigrette, similar to the one that I poured over the Brussels Sprouts with Coconut Rice on page 63. I’m crazy for this dressing because it’s so simple but seriously flavorful – perfect for a bowl with many components.
Along with the sauce, I filled these bowls with mango, black beans, shredded cabbage, and a few crunchy veggies – blanched snap peas, sliced cucumbers, and carrots. The interesting pops of flavor come not only from that dressing, but also from pickled ginger, sliced basil, and a combo of toasted peanuts and sesame seeds. (If you’re nut-free, skip the peanuts and just go for the sesame seeds).
For an even healthier variation, you could use brown rice, cauliflower rice, or cilantro lime rice as the base of your bowl.
This rice bowl is everything I want to eat in the summer: it’s light, crispy, crunchy, and herby with a light sauce and a great pop of sweetness from the mango (use mango salsa for a fun variation!).
If you’re looking for the rest of this 3-day meal plan, check out these nori wraps and these mango tacos, and then find the grocery list here.
If you love this rice bowl recipe…
Try this poke bowl, this noodle bowl, or these sesame soba noodles next!
Mango Ginger Rice Bowl
- 2 handfuls snap peas, strings removed
- 1 to 2 cups cooked short grain white rice*
- 2 cups shredded green cabbage
- 1 small carrot, sliced into very thin coins
- ½ English cucumber, thinly sliced into coins
- 1 small ripe ataulfo mango, diced
- ½ cup cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons pickled ginger
- ¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
- ¼ cup toasted peanuts, optional
- Sprinkle of sesame seeds, optional
- ¼ to ½ avocado, optional
- 2 tablespoons tamari, more for serving
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon sriracha, more for serving
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the tamari, vinegar, lime juice, garlic, cane sugar, and sriracha.
- Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil and place a bowl of ice water nearby. Blanch the snap peas by placing them in the boiling water for 1½ minutes, then scoop them into the ice water to stop the cooking process. Once cooled, drain, pat dry, and chop.
- Assemble the bowls with the rice, shredded cabbage, carrot, cucumber, mango, black beans, pickled ginger, and basil. Top with the toasted peanuts, sesame seeds, and avocado, if using. Drizzle bowls with half the dressing and serve the rest on the side along with tamari and sriracha, if desired.
To make the next 2 recipes in this week's meal plan:
- make double the amount of rice
- save the remaining green cabbage
- save the remaining ½ cucumber
- get a total of 3 mangoes
- save 1 cup extra black beans (ie, the rest of the can)
Satisfying, delicious, & healthy
I did not have Sriracha on hand instead used Korean Gochujang w/ a little Thai dried red pepper(we like a little heat).
Also, I used brown rice. It was delicious!
Next time I’ll try w/ quinoa.
My partner pulled out some left over rib eye steak & cut thinly then dipped in the dressing(like crying tiger or tiger cry). We Loved it w/ & w/out meat. Thank you!
I’m so glad you both loved it!
I don’t even know what to say other than oh my god. It’s such a beautiful full of flavour salad wi endless possibilities. I am gluten and soy intolerant so I switched out the Tamari for tahini = mind blowing good. Thank you BFF or sharing this!
This was a hit with my family of 4. Way easier then I had initially thought it would be. Doubled everything for leftovers. Kids ate with teriyaki sauce but adults enjoyed the dressing! Didn’t have ginger or peanuts sadly. Wasn’t able to blanch peas as we ran out of gas in our RV but it was ok despite. Basil added something really special so add it if you’ve got it. Black sesame seeds atop for us as well.
This recipe is my new obsession. We love it so much!
Yay, I’m so glad you loved it!
This was absolutely delicious, bright, and refreshing! I didn’t have cabbage so I replaced with shredded lettuce. I also made coconut brown rice to go underneath. Thank you!!!!
This was so delicious!! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe…my whole family enjoyed it…even our pickiest eaters:)
This recipe is amazing! We are not vegetarian but we like to include some vegetarian recipes at least 3 times a week. Its so delicious!
Hi Janella, I’m so glad you loved the bowls!
This was so delicious! I read the recipe then immediately left my house to get the remaining ingredients I needed because I knew this was going to be my new favorite meal. And it did not disappoint! So fresh and bright. This will always be in our rotation now, thank you!
Is there a link to the grocery list for the 3-day meal plan that includes the tacos and nori somewhere?
Hi Babs, here’s the recap post of this plan: https://www.loveandlemons.com/meal-plan-recap-grocery-list-june/
and a link specifically to the PDF grocery list: https://cdn.loveandlemons.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Grocery-List.pdf
When I saw this post, I immediately thought, “That’s what I want to eat…..NOW!”
I had everything except the mango, so ran to Trader Joe’s to pick up bag of frozen.
Followed the recipe pretty closely, except used cauliflower rice and added a bit of ginger to the dressing. I’ve made up a double batch, so have lunch for the week.
Oops! Just remembered the basil. I have tons of holy basil growing, so will try to remember it tomorrow, since I’ve already eaten today’s. Like I said, I couldn’t wait. Quite tasty and satisfying. Fills that desire for fresh.
Mine wasn’t so pretty, so didn’t send a pic.
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Made this tonight. It is absolutely delicious!Love how all the flavors work together, and it is so refreshing. Your receipts are winners. Made the overnight oatmeal with strawberry/rhubarb – my husband loves this, his new favorite. Thanks for sharing your receipts with us.
Is this meant to be served warm or cold? warm rice, cold everything else? I guess either is ok but wondering what the intention was? Thanks!
Hi Elissa, I like to eat these with the rice warm or room temp, the beans at room temp, and everything else fairly cold. Hope that helps!
It does thanks! I love your blog and cookbook so much!
Made this for dinner tonight for omnivore son and husband. I am vegan. My college son wolfed it down, with his steak. My husband and I found the bowl super satisfying.The dressing was the bomb! Made the whole thing come together. I added some lentils and quinoa, radishes and pickled onions. Omitted the green beans. Like I said the dressing is the winner here. Thanks for your inspiration.
All I can say is yum! Mango isn’t something I would have thought to have put in a dish like this, but I can see it would go. This is super healthy too!
Such a lovely meal 🙂 🙂
So glad to see this series return, I loved the first round!!
thanks Kara!
I need to try this bowl ASAP!
This was quite possibly THE best recipe I’ve ever made from your site!!!! We doubled the sauce and didn’t have pickled ginger so we grated in some fresh ginger into the dressing. Can’t wait to see the next recipe! 10/10 would make again and my husband said it’s among the best meals I’ve ever made!
That’s amazing to hear!! I’m so glad you both loved this one so much. Thanks for coming back to let me know! 🙂
Love how creative you are with bowl meals and reusing leftovers!