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?
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I have never posted a review before but this was so good I have decided to do one. I swapped Farro with brown rice and kale with baby spinach. Absolutely divine. My 11 and 13 year old are wanting to know when we can have it again. Delicious flavors and healthy! Couldn’t ask for more
This has become my FAVORITE lunch recipe! It’s so easy to make, super filling and satisfying, and lasts forever in my fridge (I prep 2x the recipe at a time to use up an entire cabbage and bunch of kale).
I’ve been using a brown rice and quinoa blend instead of farro because I already have a huge tub of rice lying around anyways, but once I finish out that tub I’ll be trying it with farro. To fit my macros, I use about 1/6 cup of rice per serving instead of 1/4 (so I batch cook 1 1/2 cups total).
I cooked to exactly directions except I totally missed saving the chicken broth and setting aside.. I just added lime to chicken and Cĕhile paste while cooking.. I am writing this and actually growing in front of you I can’t stop.. I think I put to much Chile paste on cause my mouth is on fire and can’t stop eating it lol It took me about 3 hours from start to finish from store to home and chopping veggies and cooking.. Definitely amazing thank you
KILLER SAUCE!
I was out of peanut butter, so I used almond butter instead. I also substituted sambal oelek with Sriracha.
It was still soooo good and I can’t wait to get the missing ingredients and make it as is in your recipe! It will be my go-to recipe for thai/vietnamese sauce!
I made 4 servings for me and my boyfriend plus two lunch boxes for tomorrow… but we both had two bowls each and finished everything… oops! lol
We made this almost every week as part of our messages prep rotation!
This looks delicious! I’ll be trying this out soon. I love all your recipes, very tasty. Thanks for all your hard work!
I would be very interested to see your take on vegan recipes. Hope you will consider dabbling in the future. I’ve tried vegan recipes from sites, but haven’t found a solid single source like your website of good eats. It’s been a hit or miss. Also ordered your meal prep book which is fabulous! Thanks again!
Loved the combination of flavours, texture and color. I am adding this recipe to my “favourites” section in my recipe binder!
this was great! Both my kids ate it, despite it having a small spicy kick! It took a bit to prep, but made it ahead of time and assembled at dinner. thank you!
Hi….. Mmmm ! Thanks for another awesome recipe ! It looks fantastic ! I have never tried farro but I do use couscous and quinoa quite often….Could I use either of those instead ? Looking forward to the next recipe already lol….
Thanks again…
Yes, absolutely!
WOW!! I love Buddha Bowls & make them quite often but the peanut sauce on this one made it extra-good. I wound up substituting beef for chicken because that’s all I had thawed, quinoa for farro & cashews for peanuts & had no bean sprouts, but they were ridiculously good anyway. I’m going to make them again this week actually following YOUR recipe, LOL! And as for the can’t-call-them-Buddha-bowls-because-they-contain-meat argument: I’m quite sure the Buddha would have no problem with it. Even our local vegetarian/vegan restaurants aren’t purists. One calls them Happy Bowls & has no meat options on the menu at all, the other calls them Buddha Bowls & while they stress their vegetarian & vegan menu, they will add chicken or beef on request. Even the hardcore vegans I talked to just laughed & said anyone arguing over the Buddha’s name doesn’t understand his teachings very well.
Thank you, Susanne! We appreciate your feedback and love that you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂
Hello,
Quick question…is the chicken supposed to be crispy? I ended up tripling the recipe and my chicken mixture resulted in a chicken gravy/curry. Just curious, with the use of the cornstarch and all.
Delicious anyway!
Thanks!
The chicken mixture should be quite saucy! 🙂
My boyfriend was very hesitant to try this, hes 6’1 burly man who was HUNGRY. He didn’t think he would like it or get full from this. Well he LOVED it and he was stuffed by the end. He wants this all the time now.
And I wanted to add that yes, there are quite a few ingredients, but if you just prep all measurements before you cook, it’s easier. And worth it. This was delicious. Thank you so much for this awesome recipe. This will be our lunch for work now!
That’s so awesome! Glad you both enjoyed it!
This looks so good!! Can this be eaten cold or do I need to warm it up?
What type of kale did you use?
I used lacinato kale.
Took a lot more prep time than anticipated but it was so worth it. It is definitely more of a weekend recipe (or weekday if you completed the prep work the night before) but I will cook this again very soon. The spicy peanut sauce is the star of this dish.
I could put the peanut sauce on anything and everything!
This came out really great! I substituted extra-firm tofu for the chicken and it worked really well. I might leave out the cornstarch next time because I’m not sure the tofu needed it. I also reduced the sambal oelek by half in the pan sauce (but kept the same amount in the peanut sauce) and it was the perfect amount of spice for our palate. Thanks for the great recipe!
That’s great! Thanks for sharing.
I was just going to ask if tofu could be substituted. Thank you!
Sorry – didn’t realize I’d asked this in a prior year and it had been answered! Wasn’t able to delete this comment.
This sounds so good! Would it work if I subbed extra-firm tofu for the chicken, and left the rest of the recipe the same?
Of course!
I’m so excited to try this recipe! Just wondering how long this will last in the fridge? Keen to make it on Sunday for my weekday lunches.
As I am not an expert on food safety, I cannot really say with certainty. Methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with. Hope that helps, Ellie!
Wow! This was really dishes. I’m only half joking when I say that I usually choose a recipe based on how much cheese is in it. No cheese and still satisfying and delicious. I loved the spicy peanut sauce. It was also my first time cooking farro and I really enjoyed the chewy-ness of it. Thanks for another great recipe.
Awesome Bridget! Thanks for sharing.
I’m baffled by the 2 different sauces. Is one the salad dressing and the other for flavoring the chicken!
The spicy peanut sauce is for serving.
This was amazing!!!
So happy to hear you liked it!