What do you do for dinner when you’re short on time and exhausted from a long day? Make one of these amazing bowls for dinner. They’re quick (about 30 minutes) and super simple without sacrificing flavor. This list has something for everyone, even the kids!
Lazy Girl-Approved: These 30-Minute Dinner Bowls Have Your Back (21+ recipes)
1. Customizable Turkey Taco Bowl
This quick-and-easy taco bowl is healthy and delicious. Plus, it’s customizable, so you can add or remove ingredients to match your taste.
Start with a base of cooked brown rice or shredded lettuce. Pile on taco-seasoned ground turkey. Top with tomatoes, shredded cheese, sliced avocado and fresh cilantro.
Add a drizzle of salsa for some extra flavor, or toss in some black beans for some more protein. We like to add corn to our bowls because it’s a natural addition to any taco dish.
Related: 11 Shockingly Simple Meal Prep Hacks for the Lazy Cook
2. Pioneer Woman’s Burrito Bowl
You need just a handful of ingredients to make this 30-minute dinner: chicken, black beans, rice, corn, tomatoes, sliced avocado and red onion.
You’ll need to do a little prep work for this dish and marinate your chicken in lime juice, chipotle chilis and spices. I do this the night before so it’s ready to cook when I get home.
The rest is easy. Just cook the chicken in a skillet and prepare the rice at the same time. Assemble your bowl, and you’re ready to eat.
3. Chicken Fajita Burrito Bowl
Burrito and taco bowls always top these lists. Why? Because they’re so quick to make and so delicious.
This variation adds roasted peppers and onions into the mix, with fajita-flavored chicken. Brown rice, black beans, guacamole, pico de gallo and sour cream finish out this dish to create a super tasty bowl that you can enjoy any night of the week.
4. Air Fryer Salmon Teriyaki Bowl
Want to shake up your weeknight routine? Try this recipe – one of my favorite bowls for dinner. Start with a layer of cooked brown rice and top with salmon (cooked in your air fryer). Add your favorite toppings, drizzle on some teriyaki sauce, and you’re ready to eat.
Try adding avocado, seaweed, cabbage, edamame, carrots, cucumber or sliced red onions to your bowl.
5. Honey Chipotle BBQ Chicken Bowl
A sweet and spicy chicken recipe that everyone will love. The smoked paprika, chipotle and adobo sauce and honey give the flavor so much depth.
Best of all, it takes just 25 minutes to prepare this chicken.
Once it’s ready, you can start building your bowl. Add rice, black beans, corn and avocado slices. Top with more of your spicy sauce and fresh cilantro.
6. Quinoa Taco Bowl w/Ground Plant-Based Meat
A vegetarian take on the classic taco dinner bowl. Quinoa, ground plant-based meat (like Impossible ground beef) and black beans give you a healthy (and complete) dose of protein. Add bell peppers, fresh cilantro, corn, tomatoes and cheese for a tasty dish that’s easy to prepare in a cinch.
Top your bowl with whatever you want – Greek yogurt, guacamole, lime juice or even tortilla strips.
7. Hawaiian-Inspired Chicken Poke Bowl
This Hawaiian-inspired poke bowl starts with a layer of sushi rice and adds juicy chicken breast, shredded carrots, cucumber, radish, green onions, seaweed salad and grated fresh ginger.
We like to add fresh pineapple to this dish for an extra kick of sweet flavor.
If you want, you can use ahi tuna or salmon for a more traditional poke bowl. Tofu or tempeh would be great options for vegan bowls.
8. Baked Salmon Sushi Bowl
One of my favorite bowls for dinner when I’m craving salmon. The chili garlic sauce pairs so well with the salmon, and you’ll love the spicy mayo sauce that takes just minutes to prepare.
Along with your salmon, you’ll need rice, avocado, cucumber, soy sauce and some Furikake seasoning.
9. Mexican Grilled Chicken Bowls
You need a mixing bowl and a grill pan for this recipe. Ready? Add honey, cumin, lime, cayenne, olive oil, coriander, salt and pepper into your bowl. Mix the ingredients well and then coat your chicken with the mixture.
Cook your chicken on your grill pan over medium heat until it’s no longer pink in the middle.
Add quinoa, tomatoes, cilantro, sweet corn and onions into a large bowl mix. Drizzle the quinoa with lime juice, salt, pepper and olive oil.
Combine everything together, and top with your chicken (or shrimp if you like).
10. Crispy Chicken Tikka Bowls
Tikka bowls can be made with store-bought breaded chicken, tikka masala sauce, quinoa, cucumber and pickled red onion. Slaw is just two cups of shredded coleslaw, mayo, vinegar and salt.
But the mint sauce is what puts the flavors of these bowls over the top, with:
- Mint leaves
- Cilantro leaves
- Mayo
- Salt
- Jalapeno
- Garlic
- Lime
11. Tuna Poke Bowl
Molly’s Home Guide helps you make the best canned tuna poke with white rice, canned tuna, kale, spicy mayo, veggies and avocado. You can make this recipe in just 30 minutes or so, and all it takes is following the instructions on your packet of rice.
While the rice is cooking, make your tuna with the rest of the ingredients and assemble when the rice is done.
12. Beef and Broccoli Bowls
Beef and broccoli bowls for dinner take 10 minutes of prep time and 20 minutes to cook. First up, you’ll make a miso-ginger sauce with cashews, rice vinegar, miso paste, fresh ginger, honey, sesame oil, garlic and pepper.
Your bowl includes ground beef, salt and pepper, coconut aminos, Thai basil leaves, riced broccoli, bok choy, garlic, radicchio and scallions.
Related: Cut Your Cooking Time in Half With These Genius Speed-Cooking Hacks!
13. Fish Taco Salad Bowl
Nine ingredients come together with this recipe, but you need to like either:
- Tilapia, or
- White fish fillets
Produce will include avocado, black beans and romaine lettuce. Condiments include salsa, and then you need salt, taco seasoning, olive oil and sour cream. If you’re not a fan of sour cream, swap it out for low-fat yogurt.
14. Burger Bowl
Fifteen minutes is all you need for a burger bowl that has all the flavors of a burger without the bread. You can use beef, but the recipe calls for turkey burgers because there is so much less fat.
You’ll make your burger with olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper.
But for me, I appreciate all of the flavors of the special burger sauce that’s made with avocado mayo, ketchup, Dijon mustard, garlic and onion powder, pickle juice, paprika and salt and pepper.
Assemble and garnish before chowing down.
15. BBQ Chicken Bowls
Do you have ten minutes? If so, you can make these BBQ chicken bowls. You’re cheating a bit with BBQ chicken that’s already cool, but you’ll then add in your instant rice, black bean corn salsa, pico de gallo, avocado, shredded cheddar, ranch dressing, French fried onions and BBQ sauce.
And this chicken bowl stores well for three to four days, so it’s perfect for meal prepping.
16. Cilantro-Lime Chicken with Peach Salsa
Just look at this Pin; it’s one of the most vibrant and colorful bowls for dinner. Peach salsa, rice, cilantro-lime chicken and garnish are the main components of this bowl.
Start by cleaning your peaches. Chop and leave the skin on them. Add salt and pepper to taste, and then start adding red onion, bell pepper, cilantro, lime juice and chili powder. Next up is your chicken, which is easy enough to make with:
- Salt and pepper
- Chili powder
- Smoked paprika
Follow the directions for cooking the chicken and start on your Jasmine rice. All that’s left to do is assemble your salad.
17. Pulled Pork Burrito Bowls
Pulled pork in a slow cooker almost feels like a cheat code because it’s so easy to make yet tastes so good. Your burrito bowl will have pulled pork, rice, lettuce, black beans, corn kernels, tomatoes, cilantro leaves and a cup of cheese.
And you can top it with a number of delightful ingredients, such as avocado, sour cream, pico de gallo, jalapenos and tortilla chips.
Once you cook the pork and rice, it’s as simple as assembling.
18. High Protein Thai Quinoa Salad
Finding ways to add protein to your diet is hard without meat. Quinoa solves that issue for vegetarians, which is why I added this recipe. Ingredients you’ll need are quinoa, red cabbage, red bell pepper, red onion, edamame, carrots, cilantro, green onions and cashews.
For the dressing, its main ingredient is creamy peanut butter with grated ginger, soy sauce, honey, red wine vinegar, sesame oil, olive oil and sriracha sauce.
While your quinoa is cooking, you can begin on the sauce, so the whole recipe takes all of 30 minutes to make.
19. Greek Chicken Orzo Power Bowls
You’ll need a cast iron skillet for this recipe, but it’s well worth the investment. Start off by prepping your orzo following the instructions on the packet.
Next up, you’ll:
- Heat your skillet with olive oil
- Add in your chicken and spices
- Cook for 6-8 minutes
- Flip and add some more spices
- Cook until golden brown and remove from the pan
- Add your tomatoes, shallots and cucumbers to a bowl
- Drizzle some lemon juice on and add spices
- Put your orzo in a bowl, followed by your chicken and then veggies
- Top with tzatziki sauce, feta and mint
Serve!
20. Ranch Taco Chicken Salad
Ranch is a staple for chicken salads. Add in tomatoes, corn, red onions, black beans, shredded cheddar, squeezed lime, cilantro, taco seasoning and lettuce, and you have a true taco salad.
Start by adding your taco seasoning and ranch to a medium bowl and mixing until it’s creamy.
Grab a large bowl and put in the remainder of your ingredients, including your cooked chicken breast. Top with your dressing mixture and toss until the mix is evenly distributed. Add your tortilla strips and lime wedges and enjoy.
21. Fiesta Black Bean Bowls
Twenty minutes is all it takes to make this fiesta bowl. You’ll cook up rice and black beans, which is easy by just following the instructions on the package. Season the beans with cumin and chili powder, and then heat thoroughly so that all of the flavors mix.
Heat your corn.
Add into your bowls, mix in the remaining ingredients (creamy chipotle sauce, cherry tomatoes, avocado, lime and fresh cilantro) and serve with toasted tortillas.
Related: 15+ Simple One Pot Pasta Recipes That Save Time and Dishes
22. Poke Bowl with Tofu
Not a fan of meat? You’ll appreciate this tofu poke that is made with tamari, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, sweet onion and tofu. For your bowl filling, you’ll have half a cup of rice, cilantro, scallions, sesame seeds, avocado, red cabbage, radishes and cucumber.
You can serve it with lime wedges or even Dynamite sauce if you have another five minutes to spare.
