Bachan’s Easy Weeknight Grain Bowls

Weeknight grain bowls may not sound exciting, but the truth is, they’re a meal-prepped choose-your-own adventure of healthy flavors and textures. If you’ve never done meal prep before, you might quickly find that meal prep is life changing. Somehow, having all the components to make multiple different meals right in your fridge is way more exciting than going to your local national burrito chain. Grain bowls are perfect for a throw-it-together weeknight dinner or meal prep lunch. With a balance of hearty grains, colorful vegetables and Bachan’s flavor-bombed proteins, you’ll want grain bowls every single day.

What are grain bowls?

Grain bowls are simple bowls of no-fuss ingredients that come together - in a bowl, ideally - to combine a starchy base, a protein, vegetables, and sauce. They’re a meal in a bowl, which makes them convenient for eating at home as well as packing for lunch. The best grain bowls have a mix of textures and flavors all tied together by delicious sauces. 

What kind of grains should I use?

There are so many grains in the world that it can be a bit daunting to find the ones you love. The best thing to do is to start with a familiar face and go from there, trying out new grains, mixing and matching, and making up personalized grain mixes as you go. You can buy whole grains at all supermarkets, oftentimes in the natural foods section and sometimes near the flour or rice. Some good grains to start with are:

quinoa - if you haven’t tried quinoa yet, it’s the gateway grain. It’s easy to make and even easier to eat. Quinoa is full of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It cooks up quickly into a little nutty, fluffy grain that is a delicious base for grain bowls.

wild rice - contrary to the name, wild rice isn’t rice at all, it’s an aquatic grass. It’s a chewy, nutty whole grain that takes a little longer than other grains to cook, but is definitely worth the time investment.

farro - like its whole grain friends, farro is chewy, nutty, and full of nutrients. Its hearty texture is amazing for prepping in advance. It tastes great hot, cold, and at room temp.

couscous - technically couscous isn’t a grain, but it is made from grains. When buying couscous, go for one made with whole grain semolina or whole grain durum. If you haven’t had it before, it’s a little hard to picture, but basically cous cous are delightful grain-like balls of rolled pasta. Couscous comes in a variety of sizes, from extra tiny to simply small. Some common varieties are Moroccan, which is teeny tiny; pearl couscous, which is a medium size; and Lebanese, which is the biggest.

What kind of proteins are good for grain bowls?

A good protein – whether it’s meat or tofu– is the centerpiece of a great grain bowl.  Some of our favorite proteins for bowls are shrimp, chicken, steak, salmon, and medium-firm tofu. All you need to do is pan fry or air fry your protein to get it to a cooked state (or simply get some pre-cooked proteins from the deli) and toss it in your favorite Bachan’s sauce. You can mix and match several different proteins and Bachan’s sauces throughout the week for variety.

Vegetables

Vegetables are a source of color and flavor in any grain bow. You can either go raw/fresh, or lightly sauteed or even air fried and roasted. With vegetables, the best move is to go with what’s in season. Roast off some squash and root vegetables in the winter. Feature fresh peas and baby lettuce in spring. In the summer, show off the fresh zucchini, corn, and tomatoes; and in the fall, aim for hearty vegetables like kale and broccoli. Toss your vegetables with your favorite Bachan’s sauce before adding it to your bowl for an extra layer of flavor.

The best sauces for grain bowls

The sauce is what will tie your whole grain bowl together. Bachan’s Barbecue Sauces will make any grain bowl taste amazing. You can even use a different sauce for each protein or vegetable  for a variety of flavor combos throughout the week. If you haven’t yet tried them all, be on the lookout for the whole Bachan’s lineup:

The Original - The OG sauce that started it all is full of umami thanks to soy, mirin, ginger, garlic, and green onion. Bachan’s Japanese Barbecue Sauce truly tastes great on everything but especially drizzled over your entire grain bowl, no matter what’s in it.

Hot and Spicy - Just the right amount of sweet heat to complement the umami of Original Bachan’s. Red jalapeño is the secret ingredient that bounces around in the front and back tasting notes, highlighting heat but never overpowering. It’s just the thing to add to bowls when you want a bit of heat but don’t want to be spiced out. We’d even dare to say that Bachan’s Hot and Spicy chicken grain bowls could be better than spicy chicken sandwiches.

Yuzu - If a grapefruit, lemon, and orange had a baby, it would be yuzu and that’s exactly what Bachan’s Yuzu Barbecue Sauce tastes like. It’s tart, tangy, sweet and savory and perfect for everyone who loves summer-y citrus vibes. Yuzu tastes particularly amazing with seafood and tofu.

Miso - The earthy sweet deliciousness of miso is so insanely savory that it’s not even fair. Both red and white miso are packed in with the usual Bachan’s suspects to make a sauce that would be said in Japan to be extremely DX (which stands for deluxe). Miso pairs beautifully with everything, but exceptionally shines with tofu and beef.

Sweet Honey - Bachan’s Sweet Honey Barbecue Sauce is everything you love about Original Bachan’s with an undercurrent of warm, rich organic golden honey. Sweet honey is especially delicious with steak, roasted root vegetables, and squash.

Hella Hot - DANGER! If you like it hot, then Bachan’s Hella Hot Barbecue Sauce is for you, but be careful when sharing. Red jalapeño and red habaneros dance together to create layers upon layers of heat that builds and builds. Hella Hot is what you want to reach for if you’re doing a salmon grain bowl, there’s just something about spicy salmon.