Turkey Banh Mi Quinoa Bowls

The beloved Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich in grain bowl form! Easy to make, packed with crunchy veggies and delivering tons of delicious flavor in every bite – these grain bowls will be your new favorite weeknight meal.

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I’ve always loved the flavors of a Banh Mi sandwich but it’s something I’ve only picked up at Whole Foods for lunch or ordered when I’ve been out to eat.

Banh Mi’s sandwiches combine traditional Vietnamese cuisine with a bit of French influence thrown in. These bowls still have most of those traditional flavors but with the twist of replacing the bread with a nice, hearty grain – quinoa! I’ve been all about bowls lately.  They are so easy to make and exceptional when it comes to meal prepping. They really are the ultimate weeknight meal. And they make an excellent packable lunch too!

Creating the Perfect Grain Bowl

Grain bowls are really all about layers. By layering in the various components you get all the great flavors in one tasty bite. Bowls also tend to be packed with fresh seasonal ingredients. They are super easy to customize as well which makes them great for those picky eaters in your household!

So, let’s talk about how to put it all together:

• First, let’s start with the base layer, which in this case is quinoa. You could really start with any grain – rice, farro or even barley. Basically, this is a big salad built on a base of grains instead of greens!
• The veggies come next. In this bowl the cucumber adds a nice cooling crunch to contrast the spicy mayo. And the pickled red onions give you a nice tangy pop of color. You want to use a couple of different types of veggies to add layers of flavor to your bowl.
• Then comes the protein. These lemongrass turkey meatballs are packed with flavor which makes them a great substitution for the pork that’s in a traditional Banh Mi.
• Last comes the sauce. You’ll drizzle the whole bowl with the spicy mayo and add some chopped cilantro for an extra pop of flavor. I normally serve a little extra sauce on the side….just in case!

Making Pickled Veggies

Making pickled veggies is really, really easy. Basically you take vinegar, water, sugar or honey and a bit of salt. Add some thinly sliced veggies and let it sit for at least an hour. A day or two is best, but if you forget to make them ahead of time you can still make it work!

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Meal Prep Tips

You can definitely make the quinoa a couple of days ahead of time and store it in your refrigerator until you are ready to construct your bowls. The pickled onions can also be made ahead of time. In fact, I highly recommend that as they taste best after a day or two in the pickling juice.

I chop and spiralize veggies just about every weekend when I’m meal prepping. They will keep for several days in the refrigerator so you’ve got them ready for whatever you decide to make during the week. This bowl calls for raw veggies, so no need to worry about roasting anything, but in the wintertime I normally roast at least one veggie while I’m meal prepping. I mean, to make it an easy weeknight meal, it’s really all about the prep, right?!

The meatballs are also a great candidate for meal prep. I normally make and cook them ahead of time so all you have to do is reheat when you are ready to eat.

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things you might want for this recipe

• Cookie Scoop – I use this kind of scoop for all sorts of different things. They are of course, great for making cookies, but they also come in handy for making meatballs, arancini and portioning out other ingredients too.
• Spiralizer – I recently upgraded my hand-held spiralizer to this one. I’m trying to eat more veggies and figured spiralizing them was a good way to accomplish this. It makes them a little bit more fun and super versatile too!

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