Name: Vegetarian Rainbow Poke Rice Bowl
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 block tofu (14-16 oz (400-450 grams), firm or extra firm, cubed into 1 inch (2.5 cm) on each side); 5 Tablespoons soy sauce; 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar; 1 teaspoon sesame oil; 1.5 Tablespoons ginger ((grated, about 2.5 cm or 1 inch when whole)); ¾ teaspoon sambal oelek (optional but recommended) (or sub with sriracha, cayenne pepper powder, or chili powder); 1 cup brown rice; 190 g uncooked (or sub with quinoa or your favorite rice); 4-6 radish (thinly sliced); 1 cucumber ((medium, about 20 cm)); 1 cup purple cabbage ((shredded)); 1 avocado; ½ small mango; ½ cup edamame (80 grams); ¼ cup vegan mayo (use some homemade tofu mayonnaise or store-bought); 1 Tablespoon sriracha or sambal oelek (or sub with 1 tsp cayenne or chilli powder (adjust for your preferred spiciness level)); Essentially the same as your tofu marinade, but without the tofu 😉; 5 Tablespoons soy sauce; 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar; 1 teaspoon sesame oil; 1.5 Tablespoons ginger ((grated, about 2.5 cm or 1 inch when whole)); ¾ teaspoon sambal oelek (optional but recommended) (or sub with sriracha, cayenne pepper powder, or chili powder); 1 Tablespoon sesame seeds; 2 Tablespoons nori sheets (optional) ((shredded to small pieces))

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This vegetarian poke rice bowl is a healthy vegan rainbow poke bowl recipe, done in 30 minutes. With tofu to sub raw fish, it makes a tasty & healthy poke bowl!

A healthy vegetarian rainbow poke rice bowl held by two hands in an off-white bowl.

Why You Will Love This Healthy Vegetarian Poke Bowl

Quick and easy: Ready in just 30 minutes, this will be your next favorite weekday meal.
Full of flavor: The marinated tofu is packed with umami and the creamy mayo rounds off this vegetarian poke bowl, making it even better than the one you order at a restaurant!
Perfect for meal prep: The marinated tofu absorbs more flavor the longer they sit and it’s easy to cut and prepare the toppings ahead. Plus, if you bring this for lunch, your friends will be drooling looking at this healthy poke bowl!

Watch the Recipe Tutorial!

Ingredients

Marinated tofu: Our protein base, following from this Easy Marinated Tofu recipe.
Brown rice: Packed with fiber and complex carbs. Feel free to sub with quinoa, blue rice, or your favorite whole grain.
Radish: For some nice crunch and pretty pink goodness.
Mango: Adds some sweetness and a tropical punch to this healthy poke bowl.
Edamame: Packs protein and also loads of fiber. Use either fresh or frozen.
Avocado: Because who does not love avo?
- P.S. If you love avocados, check out my 5-Minute Avocado Bagel Sandwich Toast recipe!
Cucumber: Adds a bit of crunch and they’re refreshing.
Purple or red cabbage: For more crunch and all the cancer-fighting benefits from our cruciferous veggies.

Brown rice, purple cabbage, cucumber, avocado, edamame, mango, radish, marinated tofu in small white bowls.

And for the spicy mayo dressing:

Mayonnaise: For that creamy goodness. Make a homemade one using this oil-free mayo recipe, or use a store-bought one.
- P.S. You can also pair it with my Sambal Aioli, Gochujang Aioli, Kimchi Aioli, or my Tandoori Mayonnaise. Or go ahead and make my 1-Ingredient Mango Sauce! 😉
Sriracha: Feel free to sub this with sambal oelek, cayenne, or chili powder.

What is a Rainbow Poke Bowl?

A rainbow poke bowl just means a poke bowl that has colorful vegetables and toppings in them. The wide variety of colors not only makes your bowl look pretty and therefore appetizing, but it’s also good for your health!

Each color represents different sets of nutrients present in that vegetable. So the more color you have in your bowl, the greater the variety of nutrients that you get!

A bowl of vegan rainbow poke bowl with edamame, avocado, and tofu, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Step-by-step Instructions

Marinade your tofu. This is as easy as cutting your tofu into blocks and leaving them to sit in the marinade. No tofu pressing is required and you can marinate it for as little as 15 minutes. The full recipe can be found in this 5-Minute Marinated Tofu post.

Cut and prepare ingredients. This is the most time-consuming part of the recipe. So once this is done, know that your poke bowl will be ready in no time!

Assemble! Put all the ingredients in a bowl and you’re ready to go!

Brown rice, red cabbage, sliced radish, edamame, and tofu poke on an off-white bowl.

Topping Substitutions

Some substitutions if you want to keep all 7 colors of the rainbow on your plate

Red: red bell peppers, beets
Orange: carrots
Yellow: corn, yellow bell peppers, pickled ginger
Green: microgreens, wakame, green onions
- I also like mixing some lettuce greens with brown rice for a lighter base!
Blue: The color blue is actually very rare in nature and therefore I have not included a blue vegetable in this vegetarian poke bowl. But if you really want to make this poke bowl contain all the colors, some options are blue corn, blue carrots, or eggplants. You can also choose to make my blue rice here!
Purple/pink: purple carrots, watermelon radish. Or choose any other purple vegetables in my 30 purple vegetables list!

Should rice in poke bowls be hot or cold?

Rice in poke bowls is typically served cold, as it acts as a base for fresh, chilled toppings like raw fish and vegetables.

Storage and Meal Prep Instructions

Storage: Store your leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days.

Meal Prep: This is the perfect recipe for meal prepping. The marinated tofu absorbs more flavor the longer they sit and it’s easy to cut and prepare the toppings ahead. Keep the sauce separate when meal prepping to avoid the vegetables getting soggy.

A hand reaching to grab a bowl of healthy vegetarian poke bowl with rainbow vegetables.

FAQ

A common substitute for fish in poke bowls is tofu, which can be seasoned and prepared similarly to fish to provide a similar texture and flavor profile.

I have to admit that I had assumed that poke bowl is Japanese. Besides, isn’t a poke bowl just a deconstructed sushi? But nope, poke bowls are not Japanese. The influx of Japanese migrants to Hawaii influenced the creation of this dish, but poke bowls originated in Hawaii.

The classic Hawaiian poke is made up of cubes of raw fish served over rice. In the cookbook Aloha Kitchen, it’s explained that the most common fish used is yellowfin tuna (called “ahi”).

With a plant-based twist in this tofu poke bowl, we substitute the salmon or tuna poke with tofu poke. Tofu is much easier to find and cheaper than sushi-grade fish.

Usually, sushi bowl uses sushi rice as the carb base while poke bowl can use other grains or even salad such as brown rice and quinoa.

Poke bowls originated in Hawaii but have been influenced by Japanese cuisine, blending elements from both culinary traditions.

Want More Recipes Like This?

I often say poké bowls are deconstructed sushi so if you would like to make sushi instead, check out this Mango Avocado Maki Roll, Kimchi Sushi or this Shiitake Roll recipe.

Prefer something more authentic? Check out this Kappa Maki (cucumber roll), Natto Rolls (Japanese fermented soybeans roll), or Umeshiso Maki (Japanese pickled plum and shiso leaves roll).