Banh Mi Bowl (Paleo, Whole30)
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This Banh Mi Bowl is like your favorite banh mi sandwich, but healthier! The base is made with cauliflower rice, then it’s topped with veggies, a sticky-sweet pork and a simple sriracha mayo.
Remember when I named a banh mi restaurant one of my favorites in Pittsburgh? Yeah well the other day I found myself craving banh mi but I didn’t want to leave my house. Enter: this homemade (and healthy!) banh mi bowl.
The best part about banh mi is the variety of flavors. Since this isn’t a typical banh mi sandwich and it is on the healthier side, I wanted to make sure the meat was marinaded perfectly, aka that it had tons of flavor. Let me tell you–this recipe is pure perfection, such an easy lunch recipe and it comes together in less than 15 minutes! I always say that 30 minute meals are my favorite, but 15 minute meals are even better.
Why this banh mi bowl is the best
- It’s made with healthy ingredients, like cauliflower, cucumber and carrots
- The marinade for the pork is insanely flavorful
- Anything with sriracha mayo is a winner in my opinion, including this bowl!
- It’s ready in just 15 minutes
Step-by-step instructions
This bowl comes together from start to finish in less than 15 minutes, so when I’m really not joking when I say it’s EASY.
Step 1: Cook the pork. Add pork to a skillet and cook it over medium heat until it’s no longer pink.
Step 2: Slice the vegetables. While the pork is cooking, prep the veggies–cucumber, carrots, and jalapeño–by slicing them. For this recipe, I bought shredded carrots, but you can also buy carrot sticks and slice them yourself if you prefer.
Step 3: Cook the cauliflower rice. Pro tip: buy pre-made cauliflower rice! Seriously, it makes life a lot easier. I like the frozen bags that you can microwave, but you can also buy the refrigerated kind that cooks over the stove.
Step 4: Make the marinade. Whisk the coconut aminos, arrowroot and ginger together in a bowl.
Step 5: At this point, the pork should be fully cooked. Add the garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant, then reduce the heat to low, then pour the marinade over top and stir everything together for about 1 minute until the pork is fully coated the sauce gets kind of sticky.
Last, make the spicy mayo by stirring mayo and sriracha together, then drizzle it over top of the assembled bowl.
FAQs and Tips
Ingredient substitutions
Want to make a few changes? No problem. Here are a few that I think would work well:
Vegan: If you want to keep this vegan-friendly, simply use your favorite vegan “meat” substitution. Personally, I’d use either fried tofu or seitan.
Traditional: Use white rice! Traditional banh mi bowls are made with white rice instead of cauliflower rice, so if you want to go that route, I think it’ll taste delicious.
Isn’t traditional banh mi made with pickled vegetables?
Yes! Pickling vegetables is absolutely an option when making this bowl; however, it requires a little more prep work, and I wanted this bowl to be as quick as possible, so I opted to use raw veggies. Feel free to pickle the carrots ahead of time if you want it to taste truly authentic.
More Whole30 recipes
Banh Mi Bowl (Paleo, Whole30)
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground pork
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp arrowroot
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- 12 oz. cauliflower rice*
- 1/2 cup cucumber, sliced
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1 jalapeño, sliced and seeds removed
- cilantro for garnish
for the sriracha mayo:
- 1/4 cup mayo**
- 2 tsp sriracha***
Instructions
- Start by cooking the pork in a skillet over the stove.
- While the pork is cooking, slice the cucumber and jalapeño, and measure out the carrot sticks. Next, make the marinade by whisking the coconut aminos, arrowroot and ginger together in a bowl.
- Make the cauliflower rice according to the package instructions.
- At this point, the pork should be cooked. Add the garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Reduce heat to low, then pour the marinade overtop and stir together for 1 minute or until the pork is completely coated and the sauce is slightly sticky.
- Divide the cauliflower rice into 2 bowls then top it with the pork and veggies. The final step is to make the sriracha mayo: simply whisk the mayo and sriracha together, then drizzle it over the bowls. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
I am always craving Bahn Mi and this recipe hit the spot! I pickled the veggies along with onion. Added fresh lime (1/2 teaspoon?) to the sriracha.
Thanks for the comment! Love the addition of lime juice to the sriracha mayo.
Made this tonight and we really enjoyed it. I did pickle some purple onion and carrots. Added plain cucumbers along with cauliflower rice. Super fast and easy for a great week night meal. Thank you.
Thanks for the comment, Maria — glad everyone enjoyed it!
Super good, fresh, and deceivingly filling! My husband and I have made this 3 times in the last couple months!
It’s one of our go-to dinners, too!
Great recipe for W30! Did a quick pickle with the carrots and jalapeño which brought some nice acidity and brightness to the dish. Also topped off with an egg (inspired by bibimbap). Couldn’t find sugar free sriracha at the grocery store so just left some jalapeño seeds on the slices to bring some heat. Thanks for the recipe!
Just made this and it was soooo good. Added some sambal for some extra heat. who needs restaurants when you have this!!!!????
Ohhh love that idea!! So glad you like the recipe
We are making this for the 2nd time tonight, per my non-cauliflower-loving husband’s request. I’ve also shared this recipe with a friend who made it for dinner and lunch the next day. I couldn’t find a while 30 Sriracha in time, so I used Tabasco and it worked just fine.
I’m so glad you love this and that it’s husband-approved!
This has become a regular dinner for my husband and myself! We use jasmine rice instead of cauliflower rice. Easy, clean, and super delicious!
I’m so happy to hear that! It’s a repeat dinner recipe for us too 🙂
Just so yummy and delicious. This should be on the regular menu. I could not find ground pork at the grocery store so ground up boneless porkchops in my food processor. I highly recommend doing a quick marinating for the carrots. Gave just the tangy flavor to the dish. We used pickled jalapenos! Try this dish – will not disappoint and so easy to make. We used leftover white rice instead of the cauliflower rice.
What can you use instead of arrowroot
Hi! If you don’t have arrowroot, I recommend using tapioca or cassava flour. If you’re in a pinch, coconut flour or almond flour works too.
I was wondering about xanthem gum instead. (Actually came to the comments to see if anyone had made the swap.) I may give that a try instead. I’m certain that’s where most of the carbs come from (I know it’s W30 and not keto). This sounds AWESOME and I can’t wait to try it! Thanks!!
I think that should work! I’d use less though… maybe just 1 tsp.
I make something similar all the time with tofu, and I make faux pickled carrots by using a peeler to make thin strips, then submerging them in apple cider vinegar and a little salt or soy sauce. If you make the carrots as your first step, they’ll have taken on enough flavor by the time you’re ready to assemble the whole bowl. Thanks for sharing your recipe and tips!
Love that idea!