Banh Mi Bowl (Paleo, Whole30) (2024)

By Erin · January 13, 2020 · Updated October 31, 2023 · 66 Comments

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This Banh Mi Bowl is like your favorite banh mi sandwich, but healthier! The base is made with cauliflower rice, then it's topped with veggies, a sticky-sweet pork and a simple sriracha mayo.

Remember when I named a banh mi restaurant one of my favorites in Pittsburgh? Yeah well the other day I found myself craving banh mi but I didn't want to leave my house. Enter: this homemade (and healthy!) banh mi bowl.

The best part about banh mi is the variety of flavors. Since this isn't a typical banh mi sandwich and it is on the healthier side, I wanted to make sure the meat was marinaded perfectly, aka that it had tons of flavor. Let me tell you--this recipe is pure perfection, such an easy lunch recipe and it comes together in less than 15 minutes! I always say that 30 minute meals are my favorite, but 15 minute meals are even better.

Why this banh mi bowl is the best

It's made with healthy ingredients, like cauliflower, cucumber and carrots
The marinade for the pork is insanely flavorful
Anything with sriracha mayo is a winner in my opinion, including this bowl!
It's ready in just 15 minutes

Step-by-step instructions

This bowl comes together from start to finish in less than 15 minutes, so when I'm really not joking when I say it's EASY.

Step 1: Cook the pork. Add pork to a skillet and cook it over medium heat until it's no longer pink.

Step 2: Slice the vegetables. While the pork is cooking, prep the veggies--cucumber, carrots, and jalapeño--by slicing them. For this recipe, I bought shredded carrots, but you can also buy carrot sticks and slice them yourself if you prefer.

Step 3: Cook the cauliflower rice.Pro tip: buy pre-made cauliflower rice! Seriously, it makes life a lot easier. I like the frozen bags that you can microwave, but you can also buy the refrigerated kind that cooks over the stove.

Step 4: Make the marinade. Whisk the coconut aminos, arrowroot and ginger together in a bowl.

Step 5: At this point, the pork should be fully cooked. Add the garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant, then reduce the heat to low, then pour the marinade over top and stir everything together for about 1 minute until the pork is fully coated the sauce gets kind of sticky.

Last, make the spicy mayo by stirring mayo and sriracha together, then drizzle it over top of the assembled bowl.

FAQs and Tips

Ingredient substitutions

Want to make a few changes? No problem. Here are a few that I think would work well:

Vegan: If you want to keep this vegan-friendly, simply use your favorite vegan "meat" substitution. Personally, I'd use either fried tofu or seitan.

Traditional: Use white rice! Traditional banh mi bowls are made with white rice instead of cauliflower rice, so if you want to go that route, I think it'll taste delicious.

Isn't traditional banh mi made with pickled vegetables?

Yes! Pickling vegetables is absolutely an option when making this bowl; however, it requires a little more prep work, and I wanted this bowl to be as quick as possible, so I opted to use raw veggies. Feel free to pickle the carrots ahead of time if you want it to taste truly authentic.

More Whole30 recipes

Whole30 Chicken Salad
Cauliflower Breakfast Bowl
Chimichurri Cauliflower Steaks

Banh Mi Bowl (Paleo, Whole30)

This Banh Mi Bowl is like your favorite banh mi sandwich, but healthier! The base is made with cauliflower rice, then it's topped with veggies, a sticky-sweet pork and a simple sriracha mayo.

4.98 from 40 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 3

Author: Erin

Ingredients

1 lb. ground pork
3 garlic cloves minced
¼ cup coconut aminos
1 tablespoon arrowroot
1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
12 oz. cauliflower rice*
½ cup cucumber sliced
½ cup shredded carrots
1 jalapeño sliced and seeds removed
cilantro for garnish

for the sriracha mayo:

¼ cup mayo**
2 teaspoon sriracha***

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Start by cooking the pork in a skillet over the stove.
While the pork is cooking, slice the cucumber and jalapeño, and measure out the carrot sticks. Next, make the marinade by whisking the coconut aminos, arrowroot and ginger together in a bowl.
Make the cauliflower rice according to the package instructions.
At this point, the pork should be cooked. Add the garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Reduce heat to low, then pour the marinade overtop and stir together for 1 minute or until the pork is completely coated and the sauce is slightly sticky.
Divide the cauliflower rice into 2 bowls then top it with the pork and veggies. The final step is to make the sriracha mayo: simply whisk the mayo and sriracha together, then drizzle it over the bowls. Enjoy!
See Also
Extra Crispy Southern Fried Chicken Recipe | CDKitchen.com Sweet and Spicy Roasted Cauliflower from The Fitchen Copycat Crumbl Cornbread Cookies | Modernmealmakeover.com Ban Fan, a Simple Chinese mixed rice bowl

Notes

*Calories are per serving and are an estimation.

*I usually buy frozen bags of cauliflower rice instead of making my own

**Make sure it's a whole30-friendly mayo. I like Chosen Foods and Primal Kitchen avocado mayo.

***Try to find sriracha with minimal ingredients vs. traditional sriracha. I found some at Whole Foods with only 4 ingredients! Also, adjust the amount of sriracha as needed.

Nutrition

Did you Make this Recipe? Tag me Today!Leave a comment below and tag @thealmondeater on Instagram!

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About Erin

Erin is the recipe developer, writer and photographer behind the healthy food blog, The Almond Eater. She's been blogging since 2014 and loves to create food for many different diets, including vegan, gluten free and/or Whole30 recipes.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Ann says
March 25, 2024 at 7:50 pm

This is one of the best recipes I have ever made. I have made this for friends and all request the recipe. I did add rice wine vinegar to the carrots as a reader suggested. Thanks for this fabulous and healthy recipe.
Reply
- Erin says
  March 27, 2024 at 9:25 am
  That's amazing! Thanks so much Ann! Glad you enjoyed it so much!
  Reply
Audrey says
February 15, 2024 at 10:07 pm

Soooo refreshing and delicious! I've made this dish 10+ times and the only thing I do differently from the recipe is a quick pickle on the carrots. I highly recommend doing so to get that tangy element. Thank you so much for the recipe, it has become one of our family's favorites!
Reply
- Erin says
  February 16, 2024 at 9:29 am
  Thanks so much Audrey! I'm glad you liked the recipe so much!
  Reply
Hannah says
October 29, 2023 at 6:45 pm

So delicious! Love how quick & easy it is. Packed with flavor.
Reply
- Erin says
  October 30, 2023 at 8:28 am
  Thanks for the 5-star rating, Hannah!
  Reply
Julie says
October 02, 2023 at 7:48 pm
I'm finally leaving a comment after having made this dish several times. I love this recipe, it is delicious and so easy to put together, and it's so versatile with the veggie toppings you can use. Tonight my toppings were carrots that marinated in rice wine vinegar, edamame, cucumbers, avocado and of course the pork. No srichacha sauce due to health issues. Thank you for the recipe!
Reply
- Erin says
  October 02, 2023 at 8:30 pm
  I'm so happy this has become a favorite!
  Reply
  See Also
  Gluten & Keto Churro Donuts 🍩
Julia says
September 12, 2023 at 12:36 pm

Loved!
Reply
Sarah Rucker says
July 12, 2023 at 5:07 pm

Made this with Tattoo Chef Asian Cauliflower Rice. This recipe was delishious!
Reply
- Erin says
  July 13, 2023 at 8:32 am
  Thanks Sarah -- I'm glad you enjoyed the bowl!
  Reply
Therese says
May 01, 2023 at 7:15 pm

Made this for the first time tonight - was absolutely delish. A simple dish that really packed the flavor in - will definitely be making again. We chose to roast the jalapeno with the cauliflower rice. Not sure it made much difference but for some reason I didn't want it just "fresh". Thanks for a great recipe!
Reply
- Erin says
  May 02, 2023 at 4:24 pm
  I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
  Reply
Jenn says
March 08, 2023 at 6:20 pm

Thank you for sharing, my hubby and I love Banh Mi's and this recipe is perfect!! One of my fav recipes ☺️
Reply
- Erin says
  March 09, 2023 at 7:27 am
  I'm so glad you both enjoyed it!
  Reply
Rachel says
February 07, 2023 at 9:35 pm

I followed the recipe, but it was way too salty with 1/4 cup of coconut aminos. Any suggestions for reducing the saltiness without losing the flavor?
Reply
- Erin says
  February 08, 2023 at 7:00 am
  Hmm.. honestly I'd probably just use less coconut aminos. Coconut aminos is less salty than soy sauce, but using a different ingredient would alter the flavor too much.
  Reply
Sarah says
February 05, 2023 at 12:28 pm
Your recipe says to divide among 2 bowls but the servings at the top of recipe says 3. Which is it?
Reply
- Erin says
  February 05, 2023 at 1:00 pm
  Whoops, my mistake! Technically it probably *should* be 3 servings (and the nutrition info is for 3 servings), but when I make this my husband and I usually end up eating the whole thing in 1 sitting.
  Reply
Kristine says
January 19, 2023 at 7:12 pm

We all loved this dish. The raw veggies make this dish spectacular. Thanks for a great recipe. We will be eating this many times more!
Reply
- Erin says
  January 20, 2023 at 7:58 am
  I'm so happy everyone liked it!
  Reply
Chelsea says
August 10, 2022 at 10:27 am
Can you use powdered ginger spice?
Reply
- Erin says
  August 10, 2022 at 10:45 am
  I think I'd just omit the ginger if you don't have fresh ginger
  Reply
Liz says
April 09, 2022 at 9:32 pm

I’ve made this several times now and I just have to tell you how much I love it! This time I roasted cauliflower florets and used rice (properly soaked) that I cooked in bone broth as the base instead. I’m full but want seconds, haha.
Reply
- Erin says
  April 10, 2022 at 3:42 pm
  This makes me so happy! Glad you like it so much (it's one of our go-to recipes, too!)
  Reply
Daphne says
March 22, 2022 at 7:33 pm

Loved this, I used impossible burger instead of pork and it was great!
Reply
- Erin says
  March 23, 2022 at 8:15 am
  Great idea! I'm glad you liked the recipe 🙂
  Reply
Sunny says
March 16, 2022 at 6:15 pm

This was amazing! I bought a well-raised pig and have quite a bit of ground pork and have been trying a lot of new recipes and this did not disappoint. I layered it all in a small casserole dish with the jalapeños and sauce on the side so everyone could get what they wanted and make it as spicy as they wished. I will definitely be making this again.
Reply
- Erin says
  March 18, 2022 at 8:05 am
  Love this idea -- I'm happy to hear everyone enjoyed it!
  Reply

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