12 Summer Rice Bowls That Make Dinner a Breeze

Delicious and convenient.

By
John Becker
John Becker
John Becker
Editor
John Becker is an editor with over a decade of experience researching and writing about food. He revised and updated the latest edition of The Joy of Cooking.
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Published August 14, 2025
Halal cart-style chicken and rice

Serious Eats / Diana Chistruga

Rice bowls are easy, comforting, and versatile, making them an appealing meal year-round. Writing about donburi, a term that refers to a rice bowl-meal and the bowl in which the meal is served, former Serious Eats editor Sho makes the case persuasively: "Wherever people cooked whole grains and ate them, they likely put them in a bowl and put tasty stuff on top, both because it was delicious and because it was convenient." Plus: Many rice bowls have components that can be prepped ahead of time, making them a breeze to assemble when you're ready to eat. Though many rice dishes are warming and perfect for cold weather, plenty have a light, summery vibe. Below, you'll find 12 different rice bowl recipes—including a homestyle bibimbap and cheesy taco rice—that call to us when the days are long and the temperatures are high.

  • Easy Teriyaki-Glazed Salmon, Cucumber, and Avocado Rice Bowls

    20160702-salmon-rice-bowl3.jpg
    J. Kenji López-Alt

    In this simple rice bowl, the rich salmon and creamy avocado pair wonderfully with salty-sweet teriyaki sauce, scallion, and a generous shake of furikake. Teriyaki sauce is easy to make if you have sake and mirin on hand, but there's no shame in using store-bought here.

  • Okinawan Taco Rice

    A plate of taco rice with beef, lettuce, and sliced tomatoes on top of white rice, served on a striped tablecloth

    Serious Eats / Melati Citrawireja

    This Okinawan specialty is the creation of an enterprising chef who tried to cater to the tastes of American military service members stationed there in the 1980s. The name says it all: typical Tex-Mex crunchy taco toppings—browned and seasoned ground beef, nacho cheese sauce, shredded iceberg, tomato slices, and salsa—are piled onto steamed white rice.

  • Homestyle Bibimbap

    Overhead view of bibimbap

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    As hearty rice bowls go, it's hard to beat bibimbap's variety of textures and distinctly flavored components. Though making seasoned ground beef and five different vegetable toppings might seem like too much of a time commitment, all of them come together quickly. Prep the components ahead of time, store them in the refrigerator, and on a hot summer day, all you have to do is assemble, fry some eggs, and mix everything together at the table with some gochujang and a drizzle of sesame oil.

  • Beefsteak Donburi (Japanese Rice Bowl) With Spinach

    20191203-donburi-rice-bowl-vicky-wasik-12
    Vicky Wasik

    Garlicky wilted spinach and slices of pan-seared ribeye are nestled over freshly cooked white rice and shreds of nori. The bowl is finished with a mound of pickled ginger (not-too-sweet beni shoga is the best choice here) and a simple pan sauce made with sake, dashi, soy sauce, garlic, and mirin.

    Continue to 5 of 12 below

  • Oyakodon (Japanese Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl)

    Oyakodon, in a white ceramic bowl alongside wooden chopsticks, a small ceramic bowl holding togarashi seasoning, and an additional bowl of oyakodon off to the left side.

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    This 20-minute dish is as simple as it is delicious. Simply simmer thinly sliced onion and chicken in a mixture of dashi, soy, sake, and sugar, then reduce the heat, add beaten eggs, and cook for a few minutes more. Voila!

  • Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice)

    A plate of rice topped with a fried egg on a plate, garnished with cucumber and tomato slices, and showered with fried shallots. There is another plate to the right periphery of the image, as well as several glasses of liquid in the shot.

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    This fried rice gets a savory boost from sweet and salty kecap manis and fermented shrimp paste. The optional sliced cucumber and tomato bring freshness and keep the dish from getting too heavy, and a liberal sprinkle of crispy fried shallots adds richness and crunch.

  • Sambal-Smashed Fried Chicken

    A bowl of white rice topped with a spiced chicken dish, served alongside a gold utensil on a cloth background

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    This has the potential to be the quickest chicken and rice recipe ever. It all depends on how lazy you want to get. Boneless fried chicken—homemade or store-bought—is pulverized in a bowl with spicy sambal, then scattered over rice. Of course, you could whip up sambal oelek or tunis from scratch, but going with a ready-made sambal (or chili crisp!) takes this from convenient to nearly instant. Get the rice going, head down to your local purveyor of quality fried chicken, and dinner is minutes away upon your triumphant return.

  • Eggplant Rice Bowl (Donburi)

    20200114-rice-bowls-eggplant-vegetarian-vicky-wasik-13
    Vicky Wasik

    This vegetarian donburi is loaded with three savory vegetable toppings: quick-pickled cucumber slices, cubes of eggplant simmered with garlic and ginger, and a stir-fry of shiitakes, strips of red bell pepper, and bean sprouts.

    Continue to 9 of 12 below

  • Koshari (Egyptian Lentils, Rice, and Pasta)

    Overhead view of koshari in bowl

    Serious Eats / Kevin White

    Koshari is a deeply comforting and satisfying meal. Rice grains are toasted in shallot-infused oil with lentils and two types of pasta. This pilaf is then topped with chickpeas, three delicious sauces that play perfectly with one another, and a heap of fried shallots. Yes, there are several components to make, but they'll last you multiple meals. More importantly, the result is one of the most comforting and satisfying dishes we've ever had.

  • Chicken Donburi (Japanese Rice Bowl) With Spinach

    20191203-donburi-rice-bowl-vicky-wasik-18
    Vicky Wasik

    Our former senior editor Sho demonstrates how versatile thedonburi template is with this skin-on chicken version. Coating the skin with a thin coat of mayo provides the optimal amount of fat to the pan for searing the chicken, and pressing the pieces with cooking weights ensures all of the skin gets nicely browned.

  • Halal Cart-Style Chicken and Rice With White Sauce

    Halal cart-style chicken and rice

    Serious Eats / Diana Chistruga

    The iconic chicken and rice served by carts all over New York City is popular for good reason. The combination of buttery turmeric rice and marinated, sautéed chicken with tomato wedges, shredded iceberg lettuce, and a creamy sauce hits just the right balance between filling and refreshing.

  • Shrimp Fried Rice

    shrimp fried rice in a small bowl
    Serious Eats / Tim Chin

    For this luxe fried rice, Serious Eats contributor Tim Chin stir-fries all of the ingredients separately to ensure they cook at the highest possible temperature, imbuing them with wok hei. (For extra flavor, we encourage you to pull out your blowtorch if you've got one handy.) Tim adds a head-turning amount of sliced iceberg lettuce, which soaks up the wsmoky flavor and adds a refreshing crunch to the dish.

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