Protein bowls are one of my favorite healthy dishes, and there are so many options out there! Everything from Buddha bowls to healthy grain bowls, it’s the perfect meal! You get your veggies, healthy proteins and carbs all in one dish. This post will showcase 15 healthy protein bowl recipes, one of them will be mine (obviously!) and the other 14 will be some tasty renditions from fellow food bloggers. Let’s get this round up started shall we?
Many of the protein bowls I have seen on the internet usually have a lot of healthy grains, seeds, and many times a lot of raw ingredients. I’ll be sharing with you 14 other tasty options for protein bowls , but I figured we would start with my version. I am a big fan of Italian ingredients and I also love spaghetti squash. This tasty dish has fresh garlic, good olive oil, fresh produce, sweet and tangy balsamic vinegar, a quick and tasty homemade bruschetta and Italian herbs. The chicken thighs are cooked simply and glazed with balsamic to finish off this healthy protein bowl.
Spaghetti squash is such a tasty vegetable. It’s easy to prepare, and can be used in many different ways. It’s a great substitute for pasta (like in this dish!) and can also work as a great potato pancake substitute (recipe upcoming!) For a great step by step on how to prepare this tasty squash, head over to my Blackened Salmon and Spaghetti Squash Recipe
I love making my own homemade balsamic drizzle. It’s a great little condiment to add into pasta or on top of a tasty caprese salad. It’s also a very cheap way of getting a similar flavor and consistency to the really expensive balsamic vinegars. I remember when I was a chef first starting out, I wanted to have all of these fancy things in my kitchen. I had truffle oil, expensive herbs, and I also purchased award winning gold medal balsamic vinegar. This was really expensive vinegar that was aged for over 10 years. It seemed cool at first to have this stuff, but after making these balsamic reductions countless times the flavor and consistency is quite similar to the expensive stuff. Shhhhhh It’s our little secret. The key is to make sure not to over cook the vinegar. Just reduce one cup by half and you will be left with a delicious sweet and tangy syrup that makes this protein bowl extra tasty!
For the vegetables I went with broccolini, yellow bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini and Brussel sprouts. Not only were these super colorful options, but of course they were really healthy too! For the boccolini and the Brussel Sprouts I roasted together with just some olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. For the peppers, zucchini and mushrooms I added in a touch of balsamic vinegar. Adding in the vinegar glazes the vegetables and adds a touch of sweetness. I skipped the vinegar with the green vegetables as it would turn the color brown. That wouldn’t look good for the photos now will it? To make things easier though, you certainly could roast everything together and leave out the balsamic, and just add more drizzle instead! I topped off this dish with a home made bruschetta that only has 6 ingredients. There’s freshly chopped tomatoes and onions, with thinly sliced basil, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and olive oil. That’s it! Nice and simple. 
5 from 6 votes
Balsamic Chicken Protein Bowl with Spaghetti Squash
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 20 mins
Course:Dinner, Entree
Cuisine:Healthy, Italian
Servings: 4 people
Ingredients
Bruschetta
- 3eachRoma tomatoes, 1/4" dice
- 1/4eachred onion, 1/4" dice
- 2tbspbasil, chiffonade
- 1tbspbalsamic vinegar
- 1tbspextra virgin olive oil
- 1/2eachlemon juice, fresh
Vegetables
- 2eachgreen zucchini, cut into sticks
- 2cupsbroccolini, chopped in half
- 2cupsbutton mushrooms, sliced
- 2cupsBrussel sprouts, quartered
- 1eachyellow pepper, cut into strips
- 2tbspextra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbspbalsamic vinegar
- 1 tspgarlic powder
- 2eachspaghetti squash, halved, cooked and the flesh scraped out
- 1easalt and pepper to taste
Balsamic Chicken
- 1.5lbsboneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1tspgarlic powder
- 2tbspextra virgin olive oil
- 2tbspbalsamic vinegar, for glazing
- 1easalt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Bruschetta
mix together all ingredients and season well with salt and pepper, set aside
Vegetables
Toss together the broccolini and Brussel sprouts with salt, pepper garlic powder, and olive oil and put on a large baking tray.
Toss together the peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms with salt, pepper, garlic powder, balsamic vinegar and olive oil and add to the same baking sheet as the green veggies
Roast in a 400 degree oven until there is lots of color on the vegetables. Should take about 12-15 minutes. Set aside
Balsamic Reduction
Take 1 cup of balsamic vinegar and put into a pot. Heat up to a slow simmer and let reduce by half. Keep an eye on the pot and use a spoon to stir occasionally. The reduction should coat the back of a spoon. Don't boil!
Balsamic Chicken
Heat up extra virgin olive oil in a pan until just below the smoking point. Season the chicken thighs with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and cook both sides of the thighs until just about done. Should take 5-7 minutes.
Add in the balsamic vinegar on medium heat so the vinegar doesn't boil away rapidly. Let the reduction happen slowly and get the chicken nice and glazed. There should be no vinegar left in the pan. Set aside to rest before slicing.
Serve everything in a bowl and top with balsamic drizzle. Enjoy!
Oh, you think I’m done with this post right?? Let’s not forget I’ve found 14 other tasty protein bowl recipes from some other very talented bloggers! Check out these other tasty options! Just click on the pictures to head right over to the recipes.
Dana from the Minimalist Baker does a great job in creating plant based, and tasty meals and this vegetarian Buddha bowl is no exception!
Marina at Yummy Mummy Kitchen also does a great job on a healthy vegetarian protein bowl with lots of delicious beans and rice. Looking great!
Emily at A Nutritionist Eats came up with this awesome protein bowl with lots of healthy quinoa and tasty prawns!
Don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about breakfast too! Lacey over at A Sweet Pea Chef came up with this delicious chocolate quinoa breakfast bowl. What a great way to start your day!
Kim over at Kims Cravings cam up with this awesome hamburger bowl with spiralized potato. Such a cool creative dish!
6. Healthy Earth Bowls – by Ev’s Eats
7. Shrimp and Avocado Zoodle Salad Bowl – by The Kitchen Prep Blog
8. Greek Meatball Souvlaki Bowls – by Salted Mint
9. Caramelized Banana Quinoa Breakast Bowl – by The Kitchen of Danielle
10. Salmon Poke Bowl with Spicy Sauce – by Eat Spin Run Repeat
11. Pulled Pork Pulse Protein Bowl – by Eazy Peazy Mealz
12. Southwestern Steak Bowl – by The Unmanly Chef
13. Chicken Burrito Bowl Meal Prep – by Damn Delicious
14. BBQ Chicken Power Bowl – by Jar of Lemons
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