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This Vegetarian Broth Bowl recipe is filled with a creamy broth, steamed rice, and the most delicious tofu mince that perfect mimics ground meat! It’s comforting and easy enough for a weeknight dinner.
Love a good brothy bowl? You need to try our Peanut Miso Ramen as well as our Super Easy Brothy Beans and our Creamy Coconut Tofu Soup!
Why you’ll love these simple brothy bowls!
These CREAMY Brothy Bowls have been going viral on social media for the past few months and I’ve been dying to make a vegetarian version of them with tofu. Anytime I can do it, I love replacing ground meat with my popular tofu ground “meat”. It’s SUCH a good substitute for ground chicken or ground meat in recipes and tastes so good!
Despite having a few separate elements, these bowls come together in just under 30 minutes making it the perfect cozy weeknight meal! The rice, broth, and tofu can all cook simultaneously and are all pretty hands off so there’s no rushing around the kitchen frantically.
I have no doubt that the whole family will love this one!
Ingredients needed
The ingredients for this recipe are listed fully down in the recipe card but let’s briefly go over the pantry staples needed including a few substitutions you can make as desired!
- Broth – I suggest using a good quality broth here since it’s such an integral part of the recipe. If you have access to it, Trader Joe’s makes a really delicious Miso Ginger broth that is perfect in this recipe.
- Red Curry Paste – this adds a good flavorful base to our broth with a little hint of heat that is delicious.
- Peanut Butter – make sure to use a creamy natural peanut butter that will blend nicely into the broth.
- Lime Juice – adds a nice touch of acidity and brightness to the recipe.
- Coconut Milk – this is the other component to the broth that adds so much creaminess! I recommend using a lite coconut milk but full fat also works well.
- Tofu – my preference here is for a super firm tofu. It requires no pressing, is higher in protein, and is just overall so easy to work with.
- Bouillion – I love the Better Than Bouillon brand and use it religiously in many of my recipes.
- Tomato Paste – this adds a strong kick of umami to our tofu mince.
- Maple Syrup – honey or agave also work well. This adds a little sweetness and balances out the flavors in our tofu.
- Soy Sauce – for a salt and flavor in both the tofu and the broth.
- Ginger – this brings the tofu mince to life and really adds a lot of flavor.
- Basmati Rice – this bulks up our meal and is delicious when it soaks up all of the broth!
How to Make It
Just a reminder that you can find the FULL written recipe down in the recipe card, but I want to quickly go over how to make them with visuals for you :)
- Cook your rice according to package directions. I love cooking it in a pressure cooker but a rice cooker or the stovetop also work well.
- Grate your tofu using the large side of a box grater (or crumble it finely with your hands). Heat a little olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add in the tofu and saute for 10 minutes, stirring often until browned and a little crispy.
- Make the broth by combining the broth, coconut milk, soy sauce, lime juice, peanut butter, and red curry paste. Stir until combined and let simmer gently to heat through.
- Assemble the bowls by layering in the rice and tofu ground “meat”. Ladle in the broth and any desired toppings such as cucumber slices, lime wedges, cilantro, green onion, and chili crisp oil.
Recipe Tips
- Use a good quality broth – this really does make a big difference in this recipe. If you’re able to get your hands on the miso ginger broth from Trader Joes, I highly recommend that!
- Crisp the tofu up nicely – you may feel inclines to rush this step but don’t do it! Luckily the broth and tofu can cook simultaneously but be sure to give the tofu the full 10 minutes to release as much of the excess moisture as possible.
- Store leftovers separately – the rice and the tofu soak up the broth rather quickly. So if you have any leftovers, I suggest storing the broth in one container and the tofu + rice in a separate container. When ready to serve, you can combine them.
Vegetarian Broth Bowls
Ingredients
For the rice
- 1 cup of dry basmati rice
For the broth
- 2 cups veggie broth
- 1 can 15 oz lite Coconut Milk, full fat also works
- 2 Tablespoons natural creamy Peanut Butter
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
For the tofu “meat”
- 15 oz Super-firm tofu, Extra-firm tofu also works great!
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon vegetarian beef bouillon*
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated (or ½ teaspoon of fried ginger)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
For serving
- Green onions
- Cucumber
- Cilantro
- Chili crunch
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cook the rice according to package directions.
- Make the broth combining the broth, coconut milk, peanut butter, red curry paste, lime juice, and soy sauce in a medium pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
- Using the large side of a box grater, shred the block of tofu. Some large chunks will fall off, so I take those and very gently push them through the grater. You can also finely crumble the tofu with your hands as desired.
- Meanwhile, cook the tofu. In a large, heat ½ tablespoon of olive oil. Once hot, add in the shredded tofu and cook, stirring every couple of minutes, for about 10 minutes or until the tofu turns a golden brown color and most of the moisture has cooked out.
- Make the sauce by whisking together ½ tablespoon of olive oil, bouillon, soy sauce, water, maple syrup, ginger, and tomato paste. Once the tofu has turned golden, add the sauce, stir, and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Assemble the bowls by dividing the broth, rice, and tofu “meat” into 4 bowls. Layer on desired toppings and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
