Thai Chicken Buddha Bowls
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Packed with whole grains, fresh veggies, and a crave-worthy peanut sauce — so healthy, hearty and full of flavor!
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why i love this recipe
- Great for meal prep. Buddha bowls is a nutritious recipe where you can conveniently meal prep and assemble everything ahead of time to get you through the week.
- So customizable. This recipe is a great starting point, and you can easily substitute your favorite grains, protein and veggies to what you have on hand, and based on seasonality + personal preference.
what exactly is a buddha bowl
Buddha bowls, sometimes referred to as glory or hippie bowls, are hearty, filling dishes made of various greens, raw or roasted veggies, beans and a healthy grain like quinoa or brown rice. It’s essentially a hearty bowl filled with nutrients and vitamins that aid in weight loss and/or overall health.
power ingredients for thai chicken buddha bowl
- Whole grains. Farro is a far superior whole grain with more protein and fiber than other grains such as brown rice or white rice.
- Protein. Chicken thighs (or breasts) get cooked in a saucy, umami-garlicky-gingery mixture until perfectly golden brown, adding protein and bulk to your buddha bowl.
- Vegetables. We have leafy greens, purple cabbage, bean sprouts and carrots, a rainbow of veggies here – the more colors we have, the more nutrients we are getting.
- Bonus sauce. This recipe includes the dreamiest peanut sauce that you’ll want to put on anything and everything.
buddha bowl variations
Grains
Farro, quinoa, couscous, brown rice, white rice or even cauliflower rice can be used.
Protein
Use chicken breast or thighs, chicken or turkey meatballs, or substitute tofu, tempeh or hard boiled eggs for a vegetarian option.
Vegetables
Mix up the veggies and swap in different options such as butternut squash, sweet potato, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, green beans and snap peas.
Leafy greens
This is a great opportunity to sneak in some leafy greens for those picky eaters. Spinach, kale, collard greens, swiss chard or arugula are all great options.
Fruits
There are also many fruit options available for a sweeter touch such as strawberries, blueberries, oranges and apples.
tips and tricks for success
- Make ahead of time. Save time by prepping the farro, chicken and peanut sauce 1-2 days in advance, and dicing the vegetables 1-2 days prior and storing all the contents in separate airtight containers in the fridge.
- Fish sauce is a hero. Fish sauce is a key ingredient here, balancing out the flavors, and adding saltiness and umami without overpowering it. A little bit goes a long way.
- Make it mild. Need a toned-down peanut sauce for the littles? Skip the sambal oelek!
- Add the sauce right before serving. Drizzle the peanut sauce prior to serving to preserve the texture and prevent sogginess.
more favorited thai recipes
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Thai Chicken Buddha Bowls: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, chicken breasts can absolutely be used here but chicken thighs have more dark meat and a higher fat content which will yield juicier, more flavorful chicken.
Fish sauce has a strong, pungent “fishy” smell but when cooked, it brings in savory, salty, umami goodness.
Sambal oelek is a type of chili paste from Indonesia, and can be found in most grocery store chains in the Asian foods section.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Thai Chicken Buddha Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 cup farro
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 1 ½ tablespoons sambal oelek, ground fresh chile paste
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups shredded kale
- 1 ½ cups shredded purple cabbage
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 2 carrots, peeled and grated
- ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
- ¼ cup roasted peanuts
For the spicy peanut sauce
- 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons sambal oelek, ground fresh chile paste
Equipment
Instructions
- To make the spicy peanut sauce, whisk together peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, sambal oelek and 2-3 tablespoons water in a small bowl; set aside.
- Cook farro according to package instructions; set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together chicken stock, sambal oelek, brown sugar and lime juice; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine chicken, cornstarch and fish sauce, tossing to coat and letting the chicken absorb the cornstarch.
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until golden, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, shallot and ginger, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken stock mixture until slightly thickened, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Divide farro into bowls. Top with chicken, kale, cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots, cilantro and peanuts.
- Serve with spicy peanut sauce.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
We’ve been making this recipe for years, and I just realized today, as I came back to double-check the measurements for the peanut sauce, that I never left a review. So, I’m remedying that now! This is by far my favorite dish to make and enjoy. It’s incredibly versatile—if you don’t have chicken, you can easily substitute with shrimp or tofu. No farro on hand? Brown or white rice works just as well. The peanut sauce is absolutely amazing, and I always make a double batch because we love the leftovers. I also like to add freshly grated turmeric root to the garlic, onion, and ginger mixture for a beautiful color and an extra flavor boost. We finish it off with diced jalapeños as a topping for a little kick. While there’s a bit of prep work involved, it is so worth it. Thank you for sharing this fantastic recipe!
WOW!!! Amazingly delicious! Did as is but with shrimps. Thank you so much!!
WOW! This is absolutely amazing! Such great flavors and also a healthy kick with all the fresh veggies. It does have some spick to it but my husband and I love that. Will be adding to our normal rotation. Thank you for the great recipe once again!
Would you be able to provide the nutrition values for this?
Do you know how many calories per serving?
I’ve never cooked with fish sauce or sambal oelek before, but would love to try this recipe. What brands do you recommend using?
We loved this! Made a few adjustments for preferences / pantry / laziness. Used TJ’s 10 minute farro as the base. Subbed chili garlic sauce for sambal oelek because I had it, but will try to get sambal oelek for the next round. Used coleslaw mix to sub for red cabbage / carrots because I am lazy. Don’t like cilantro so added cucumbers and scallions to make up for it. Threw on an avocado because I had it! Thought it was the perfect amount of sauce and loved the fish sauce on the chicken.
Delicious
I love this recipe so much! I used to live in Thailand and now that I’m back in NJ…let’s just sum it up by saying I had to order the sambal oelek on Amazon. I’m keeping all the leftovers separate in the fridge to heat up for 3 more glorious lunches. I used sugar snap peas instead of bean sprouts because I couldn’t find bean sprouts. This recipe is so healthy and so delicious! So glad I tripled the peanut sauce
I’m switching my family over to vegan, and I found this recipe when I was browsing your site. I didn’t know what to expect, but my son and I loved these! I used potatoes instead of chicken and subbed soy sauce for the fish sauce, but the flavors blend so well. My son opts to eat his sans peanut sauce and still loves the salad.
Sounds wonderful! Would you happen to have the calorie, nutritional breakdown?
Looks delicious! I’m excited to try this. Can you please share the nutritional facts? Carb count specifically. I didn’t see them on the page. Thank you!
The peanut sauce did not have the right proportions, but other than that this is a solid recipe. I like it for an easy and fast meal.
Just out of curiosity, what changes would you make to the proportions of the peanut sauce to make it better?
I thought it was just right. Not too much or too little! Again thanks!
Absolutely delicious!! Even picky kids liked it. Only change I made was to sub oyster sauce for the fish sauce simply because I’m not a fan of fish sauce. Also subbed out the kale for Swiss chard for the same reason. Such a healthy alternative to our usual meals. Thanks for another delicious recipe!!
I make these very regularly! So so sooo good and even better leftover. I’ve also shared with many friends who also love it!
Absolutely delicious! You weren’t lieing about how good the peanut sauce is. I had to move it to the other side other table so I couldn’t French my bowl with all of it.
I had never had farro until this and will definitely try to find other places to use it from now on. I did change the veggies slightly as I couldn’t justify buying the beans knowing I wouldn’t use all of them so I added avocado and red onion for some extra flavor.
10/10 recommend
Absolutely delicious! Easily comes together, fabulous peanut sauce and the farro is a great choice of grain. A make again for sure!
Made this with no subs (except sadly left out bean sprouts because I forgot to pick them up at the store) and it was amazing – will definitely make again. I couldn’t quite get the chicken crispy but might have been my pan – nevertheless tasted great and still was a good texture!
I took the leftovers the next day and put them all together in a wrap for lunch (with a bit of mayo and hot sauce) – if you have leftovers I definitely recommend this because it’s so good as a wrap!!
I have made this recipe for my family 3 times now. It is spot-on deeeelicious! The flavor combo is perfect and I love the raw veggies combined with the hot rice and chicken. It’s easily adaptable to the vegetarian in my household as well as the peanut hater.
The recipe was great; it turned out well. I love farro; so good compared to quinoa or rice. I didn’t have bean sprouts or ginger; didn’t end up using any. I also used oyster sauce instead of fish sauce because that is what I had. I don’t think the recipe needed the 1/4 cup roasted peanuts: it was fine without it. I thought the chicken came out great! It felt like there was not enough farro for the amount of chicken. The recipe is light yet filling! Is there a way to reduce the amount of sodium? We used slightly less chili paste; it had enough kick and was just right. I will definitely make it again.