Poke Bowl

This Poke Bowl Recipe is the perfect fresh and healthy meal! A twist on the Hawaiian classic, it’s made with veggies, crispy salmon or tofu, & brown rice – perfect for meal prep!

 

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

Fresh, healthy food is so good for both the body and the soul. This Poke Bowl recipe has been one of our favourites for a long time! After being inspired by a build-your-own-poke food truck while on vacation, we quickly added this meal idea to our monthly dinner rotation. If you’ve never had the pleasure of enjoying one, trust us – you’re going to LOVE them!

A poke bowl is a traditionally Hawaiian meal, often made with sushi-grade raw fish like salmon or tuna, that includes some kind of grain (usually rice), fresh raw vegetables, and even some fruit like mango or pineapple. The classic Hawaiian flavours are sweet and savoury. You can expect a poke bowl to incorporate salty seafood, savoury veggies, and sweetened sushi rice with a sweet-ish sauce like teriyaki or a soy sauce-based sauce with rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil. Less traditional poke bowls often include a mayonnaise-based sauce like a garlic aioli or a spicy mayonnaise made with sriracha.

Here are just a few reasons we LOVE this poke bowl recipe!

1. It is CUSTOMIZABLE – It’s SO easy to customize these poke bowls to your family’s tastes or preferences. We have young children who love this dish, so we only serve them with cooked or smoked salmon, shrimp, or tofu (no raw fish in our house!). If you’re vegan, making a plant-based bowl is SO easy with tofu, edamame, grains, and veggies.
2. Great for MEAL PREP – The components can be prepped in advance and stored separately in airtight containers in the fridge until you’re ready to enjoy! This way, everyone can build their own poke bowl and you can even build an extra bowl or two in airtight containers and keep them in the fridge for take-to-work lunches.
3. It is HEALTHY – Poke Bowls are a delicious and healthy meal made with lean protein, healthy fat, tons of veggies, and whole grains.

Follow these tips to make the most delicious Poke Bowls.

Choose the ingredients you want to include in your poke bowls. For best results and for easy prep and clean up, choose one grain, one protein, and 4-5 veggies/fruits.

Get your grain on to cook, and cook the salmon, tofu, or shrimp in a pan on the stove or in the air fryer while you chop the veggies and fruit.

We serve this recipe with either salmon OR tofu as the protein. Follow our Air Fryer Salmon Bites recipe to make the salmon bites and our Air Fryer Crispy Tofu recipe to make the crispy tofu.

Pick your base like sushi rice, brown rice, or quinoa. Layer with cooked salmon or tofu, add in fresh veggies, and drizzle with a sauce of your choice.

Store each component separately to keep them fresh before serving. Only add crunchy toppings and sauce right before eating.

If you are having trouble with this poke bowl recipe, follow the solutions we recommend below.

Prepare the components separately and season as needed. Taste test the sauce first before adding it to your bowl. Use fresh ingredients for the freshest and most flavourful tasting poke bowls.

The bowl can be mushy if only soft ingredients are used. Use crunchy textures like a fresh cucumber or radish, seaweed, or crispy onions to compliment the fish and rice.

The Poke bowls can be soggy if there are too many toppings and too much sauce. Make sure to add toppings with moderation and use sauce sparingly.

Balance is key! Pick a few toppings that balance both texture and flavour to keep the bowl light and fresh.

To make this poke bowl recipe at home, it’s a good idea to have most of these kitchen items on hand (paid links):

• an air fryer for cooking the salmon, shrimp, or tofu – we like this Air Fryer and this Air Fryer
• a rice cooker or a pot for cooking the rice or grain
• a pair of tongs
• a vegetable peeler
• a sharp knife for chopping
• a sturdy chopping board
• a julienne peeler
• a mandoline slicer
• prep bowls
• large bowls for serving
• chopsticks
• good quality storage containers for meal prep

To make your own bowls at home, here’s a list of ingredients you could include (choose what YOU like) (paid links):

• 4 salmon filets
• 1 block firm tofu
• 1 cup uncooked brown rice yields about 3 cups cooked
• 1 avocado chopped
• 8 radishes thinly sliced
• 1 long English cucumber thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups purple cabbage or coleslaw mix
• 2 medium carrots cut or sliced in ribbons, or cut julienne
• 1 mango chopped
• Pickled Ginger optional

FOR BASIC POKE SAUCE:

• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger

FOR A SPICY SAUCE:

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 3 teaspoons Sriracha (or add more, according to your tastes)

Here are poke bowl healthy options to customize your Poke Bowl depending on your tastes and preferences.

• white, brown or sushi rice
• zucchini noodles
• mixed greens
• quinoa
• edamame
• corn
• grated or thinly sliced carrots
• sliced red onions
• sliced radishes
• pickled jalapeños
• pickled ginger
• sliced cucumbers
• crispy chickpeas
• thinly sliced green or red cabbage
• sliced avocado
• mango chunks
• pineapple chunks
• tofu
• ahi tuna
• crispy calamari
• cooked shrimp
• salmon
• green onions
• sesame seeds
• nori (seaweed)
• spicy mayo
• teriyaki sauce

Try these Poke bowl variations for an easy decision on what toppings to use!

1. Vegetarian – Pick your rice, either brown or sushi rice, add the protein (marinated tempeh or crispy tofu) and toppings like shredded carrots, cucumber, avocado, pickled red onion, and edamame. Garnish with sesame seeds or chopped cilantro. Sauce options could be a peanut sauce or sesame ginger sauce.
2. Korean – Use kimchi fried rice or white rice, marinated Korean BBQ beef, and top with Kimchi, radishes, pickled cucumbers, spinach, shredded carrots, sautéed mushrooms. Use a Korean BBQ sauce or Gochujang mayo (Gochujang paste + mayo + lime). Garnish with sesame seeds.
3. Hawaiian Luau – Use white or coconut rice, cooked pork or ahi tuna, add in toppings like grilled pineapple, cucumber, sweet onion, avocado, taro chips, and green onions. Garnish with lime and fresh chopped cilantro for a fresh luau-inspired poke bowl.
4. Mango-Infused – Use sushi or black rice, add in avocado, crunchy cucumber, pickled red onion, shredded carrots, and sweet mango. Use sauces like honey-lime dressing or sweet chili sauce. Garish with sesame seeds.

How to Make a Poke Bowl

We hope you love this healthy poke bowl recipe as much as we do! Let us know in the comments below, what’s your favourite healthy ingredient that you’d include in this recipe? We’d love to know!

• Air Fryer Tofu
• Marinated Tofu Veggie Skewers
• Pineapple Chicken Rice Bowls
• Air Fryer Salmon
• Keto Burgers in a Bowl
• Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Bowls
• Easy Homemade Ramen Bowls
• Low Carb Chicken Shawarma Bowls
• Greek Couscous Salad Lunch Bowls
• Easy Korean Beef Rice Bowls
• Healthy Honey and Fig Breakfast Bowls

Watch the video below to see exactly how we make this recipe. You can find many more deliciously simple recipe videos on our YouTube channel!