Chicken Buddha Bowl with Spicy Mango Sauce

Nourish your body with this Chicken Buddha Bowl packed with broccoli, roasted sweet potato, avocado, and a spicy yet light mango sauce for a perfect and hearty lunch or dinner. It’s definitely customizable based on what you have on hand and dietary preferences.

Chicken Buddha Bowl with Spicy Mango Sauce

This is the kind of meal you just feel so good after eating, thanks to the fact that it leaves you both feeling nourished and satisfied! A bowl full of good-for-you-ingredients: roasted chicken, veggies, rice or quinoa, avocado and mango. I love Buddha Bowls, and this one in particular because it’s customizable to what you have on hand, and absolutely anything and everything is awesome with this mango sauce on top!

This Buddha Bowl recipe has been a favorite in my house for years, and I hope you are going to love it too!

But first, what is a Buddha Bowl?

A Buddha Bowl, also known as a grain bowl or nourish bowl, started to show up around 2013, and then really started to get trendy in 2016, which is when this recipe first appeared on this website.

The history of the name buddha bowl can mean many different things depending on who you ask, ranging from the concept of serving a meal that is balanced in nutrients (because balance is a key Buddhist concept) to simply a full bowl representing the full belly of the Buddha image. But regardless of where the name actually came from, it generally now has come to be known as a grain bowl served with tons of veggies, some form of protein and sometimes a quick and simple sauce.

Ingredients Needed

• Veggies: Sweet Potato, Broccoli, Spinach
• Chicken Breasts
• Mango
• Avocado
• Olive Oil
• Chili Paste + Red Pepper Flakes
• Salt and Pepper
• Cooked Rice or Quinoa
• Coconut Milk
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Honey
• Sesame Seeds

How to Customize it Based on Your Preferences

The beauty of this Buddha Bowl is that you can totally make it work for you, in terms of what ingredients you have on hand, or what your dietary needs are.

Need to make this grain free? Simply omit the grains and add in more veggies to bulk it up.

Need to make this vegetarian? Simply omit the meat, and swap it in with either beans or another plant-based source of protein.

Don’t have broccoli on hand? Swap it in with something you do have, like cauliflower!

There is a lot of room for creativity here, and we’d love to hear what you end up with so feel free to share how you’ve customized this in the comment section.

How to Make it Work for Meal Prep

Grain bowls make such a great meal prep because they’re already meant to be eaten in one vessel, which makes it the perfect meal to grab-and-go. But, we do have some advice as to what exactly works well for meal prep and for how long.

First off, I suggest skipping out on the fresh greens if you plan to store this in the refrigerator. The greens will wilt and won’t taste as good as it does when fresh.

Secondly, the avocado won’t last either. So skip out on that for meal prep.

The mango sauce can be put directly on top, and heated up along with the buddha bowl. Or, you can leave it separate.

This can be eaten warm or cold. It’s totally up to you.

If you like this nourishing recipe, check out these others:

• How to Build a Nourishing Bowl
• Immune-Boosting Feel Good Soup
• Greek Cauliflower Rice Pilaf Bowls
• Vegan Cauliflower Soup with Ginger and Turmeric

Chicken Buddha Bowl with Spicy Mango Sauce

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

Nourish your body with this Chicken Buddha Bowl packed with spicy broccoli, roasted sweet potato, avocado, and a spicy yet light mango sauce for a perfect and hearty lunch or dinner. It’s definitely customizable based on what you have on hand and dietary preferences.

• Author: Lexi Davidson
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 medium sweet potato, diced into 1” pieces
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 lb. boneless and skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon chili paste
• 2 cups baby spinach or thinly sliced kale
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 mango, cubed
• 1 cup cooked rice or quinoa (optional)
• Sesame seeds, for garnish

Mango Dressing:

• 1 cup diced fresh mango
• 2 tablespoons coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Pinch red pepper flakes

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F
2. Add sweet potato, broccoli florets, olive oil and a big pinch of fine sea salt and black pepper and toss to coat. Evenly spread the veggies on the pan, and push aside a little space in the middle. Place chicken breasts in the middle, and rub a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper on top. Bake on the lower rack until veggies are tender and chicken is cooked through to 165ºF, about 30-40 minutes. Start checking the chicken at 30 minutes, and remove from the oven if done before veggies are tender.
3. Meanwhile, make mango dressing: add diced mango, coconut milk, vinegar, honey and red pepper flakes to a blender. Blend together until smooth and creamy. Set aside until ready to use.
4. Let chicken rest for 5 minutes before dicing.
5. Toss sweet potatoes and broccoli together with chili paste. Set aside to slightly cool.
6. Divide greens, chicken, sweet potatoes, broccoli and rice among four bowls. Top with avocado and mango and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Drizzle mango sauce on top.
7. Serve warm.

Notes

This recipe was originally published in 2016, and republished with new photos and an updated recipe in 2021.