Healthy Vegan Bibimbap (Korean Rice Bowl)

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by Alena Schowalter
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Colorful veggies meet cooked rice and a spicy homemade miso sauce in this healthy vegan Bibimbap recipe! Made with accessible ingredients, it’s suitable for weeknights and meal prep.

If you love meals that are bursting with color, pack a lot of veggies and are full of flavor, you need to try this Korean Bibimbap.

Week of Bowls iPad on beige BG

free 7-day vegan meal plan

Your next week of eating is planned out with these quick and delicious vegan bowls, meal prepping steps & full grocery list.

The original meaning of the word is “mixed rice” and the traditional dish contains animal products. Our simplified vegan version allows you to bring delicious Korean flavors to your home with accessible ingredients and healthy seasonal veggies that can be customized.

Just like our rainbow Buddha bowl, quinoa veggie bowl and tofu nourish bowl, this healthy recipe is a delicious weight loss meal and great for your next vegan meal prep session.

Find more vegan bowls like this lentil kale salad on our blog and enjoy this Korean version of the popular nourish bowl.

mushroom, kale and rice being topped with sauce

Recipe features 

  • Colorful & wonderfully textured
  • Super weight loss-friendly
  • Great for meal prep & leftover rice
  • Customizable quick dinner
  • Gluten-free & nutritious
  • Can be assembled in under 30 minutes

This bowl offers many different colors and textures since some components are baked, others sauteed and the rest is finely chopped and added raw on top of our cooked rice.

20+ Vegan Rice Recipes
rice, cabbage, kale, mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots and herbs on a table

Ingredients needed

  • Rice — you can use pre-cooked rice for a super quick Bibimbap or cook white or brown rice while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
  • Kale — seasoned, massaged and baked into crispy kale chips!
  • Mushrooms — low-calorie meat replacement that’s sautéed in flavorful soy sauce
  • Carrot, bell pepper, cabbage — colorful crunchy veggie add-ins for our Korean bowl
  • Miso sauce — an easy 5-ingredient condiment that you can drizzle your veggies with.

These are the main ingredients for our Bibimbap bowl. You can also top it with chopped cilantro and sesame seeds! Find more add-in ideas below.

two hands placing mushrooms on top of rice, bell peppers, carrots and cabbage

How to make this vegan bibimbap

Prepare the rice

If you can’t work with leftover rice, simply cook your favorite rice on the stove according to package instructions. Once done, set aside.

Prepare the kale

In the meantime, wash and chop your kale leaves. Toss them with salt and pepper, then massage the kale with your wet hands. This will help the seasoning stick and crisp up the kale! 

Arrange the kale leaves in a single layer and place the baking sheet in the oven. Roast them for 10-15 minutes, until they are lightly browned and crispy.

Sautée mushrooms

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add your sliced mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 6-8 minutes while stirring occasionally.

Once they have cooked down and turned golden-brown, stir in the soy sauce and cook for another minute, then set aside.

small black pot on stove with sauce being stirred

Make the miso sauce

In a small saucepan, bring miso and water to a gentle simmer and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Once the mixture has thickened up slightly, stir in lime juice, ginger, and cayenne.

Assemble the Bibimbap bowl

Once all the components have been prepared, it’s time to assemble your meal!

Start by layering the rice on the bottom and top with crispy kale, sautéed mushrooms, fresh carrots, red bell peppers and red cabbage. 

Top with fresh cilantro, sesame seeds and spicy miso sauce. Enjoy warm!

large bowl of rice and veggies with sauce

Storage & reheating

This recipe works well for meal prep, especially if the components are prepared and stored individually. You can make a batch of the miso sauce in advance (or double the recipe to use it for other dishes, too) and keep it covered in the fridge for 3-4 days.

As mentioned above, you can use leftover cooked rice for this bowl and pre-chopped veggies to save some more time.

We love to prepare several servings of this Bibimbap and store it in individual food containers for a quick to-go lunch the next day! Find detailed instructions in our 1-week vegan meal plan and free eBook.

It can be enjoyed cold the next day or heated in the microwave!

two colorful vegan Korean rice bowls on a table

FAQs & tips

Is this Bibimbap gluten-free?

If you use certified gluten-free soy sauce or tamari, it’s completely vegan and gluten-free.

Add more protein + fat

We love roasting some tempeh or tofu cubes in the oven (marinated in homemade sauce) alongside the kale leaves and top our Bibimbap with them for some added protein. Edamame beans also work.

Additionally, you can use more sesame seeds or other nuts and seeds as well as seed butter to bump up the calorie and fat content.

Other add-ins

Feel free to use veggies like cucumber, mung bean sprouts, pickled daikon, green onion, spinach, eggplant or zucchini for this recipe.

For more traditional Korean flavors, use Gochujang (chili paste), toasted sesame oil or kimchi.

Simplify this recipe

You can use your favorite store-bought vegan Korean sauce or a combination of soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, rice vinegar and garlic for the dressing.

The mushrooms can be marinated in soy sauce and then baked in the oven alongside the kale chips to reduce the preparation steps for this recipe.

two vegan Bibimbap Bowls on a table next to some herbs

More easy dinner recipes

If you liked our tofu nourish bowl, try the following plant-based recipes next!

Did you make our vegan Bibimbap and like it? We’d love to read about it, so be sure to leave a review and share your thoughts in the comments below. You can also Pin this recipe here!

Healthy Vegan Bibimbap Recipe (Korean Bowl)

by Alena Schowalter
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Colorful veggies meet cooked rice and a spicy homemade miso sauce in this healthy vegan Bibimbap recipe! Made with accessible ingredients, it’s suitable for weeknights and meal prep — find exact instructions in our free Week of Bowls eBook.
Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 cup brown rice 185 g, dry
  • 2 cups kale 40 g, thinly sliced
  • 3 cups white mushrooms 200 g, chopped
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 medium carrot thinly sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
  • 3 oz red cabbage thinly sliced (85 g)
  • ½ cup fresh cilantro roughly chopped (0.3 oz / 8 g)
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds
  • Pinch of salt and pepper

Spicy Miso Sauce

  • 4 tbsp miso paste
  • ½-1 cup water 120-240 ml*
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger grated
  • ½ tsp cayenne
  • 1 garlic clove

Instructions

Prepare the rice

  • Cook the rice according to package directions. Once done, set it aside.

Roast the kale

  • Preheat your oven to 400°F/200°C and line a large baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. 
  • Toss kale with a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl. Using your wet hands, massage the seasoning into the kale. This will help the seasoning stick and crisp up the kale! 
  • Arrange the kale leaves in a single layer and place the baking sheet in the oven. Roast for around 10-15 minutes, until it’s lightly browned and crispy.

Sauté veggies

  • While the kale is roasting, preheat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have cooked down and turned golden-brown. 
  • Stir in soy sauce and cook for another minute, just until the soy sauce gets bubbly. 

Make the sauce

  • In a small saucepan, bring miso and water to a gentle simmer and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly. Once the mixture has thickened up slightly, stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Assemble & enjoy

  • Once all ingredients are ready, assemble them into bowls. Start by layering the rice on the bottom and top with crispy kale, sautéed mushrooms, fresh carrots, red bell peppers and red cabbage. 
  • Top with fresh cilantro, sesame seeds and spicy miso sauce. Enjoy!

Notes

  • *this depends on your desired flavor and consistency.
  • For more Korean flavors, add Kimchi, Gochujang or toasted sesame oil to your Bibimbap.
  • Find veggie replacement tips in the article above and feel free to add marinated tofu or tempeh to your bowl for extra protein!
Course: Salads + Bowls
Cuisine: Asian
Nutrition Facts
Healthy Vegan Bibimbap Recipe (Korean Bowl)
Amount per Serving
Calories
351
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
7
g
11
%
Saturated Fat
 
1
g
6
%
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
4
g
Sodium
 
912
mg
40
%
Carbohydrates
 
63
g
21
%
Fiber
 
15
g
63
%
Sugar
 
14
g
16
%
Protein
 
17
g
34
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated automatically, their accuracy is not guaranteed.
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Alena sitting in a cafe with a bowl of fresh plant-based food and a glass of coffee in front of her

About Alena Handwritten FontAlena Schowalter is a Certified Vegan Nutritionist who has been a vegetarian since childhood and vegan since 2012. Together with her husband, she founded nutriciously in 2015 and has been guiding thousands of people through different transition stages towards a healthy plant-based diet. She’s received training in the fields of nutrition, music therapy and social work. Alena enjoys discussions around vegan ethics, walks through nature and creating new recipes.

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