Rice Bowls with Spicy Curry Sauce
Today’s recipe is inspired by Portland’s own Whole Bowl food cart. These rice bowls are packed with fresh ingredients and a spicy sauce. According to the official Whole Bowl site, “It’s like eating a hug.”
Portland is food cart territory; several Whole Bowl locations in Portland. You will probably notice the long line of people before you spot the tiny cart. They are waiting to get their hands on a Whole Bowl, “A comforting and healthy medley of brown rice, red and black beans, fresh avocado, salsa, black olives, sour cream, Tillamook cheddar, cilantro, Tali Sauce and trace amounts of attitude.” Yum.
UPDATE: There are several locations of Whole Bowl that are closed right now, but a few are open! Check the link above for availability.
The original top-secret recipe features spicy Tali Sauce (named after the owner and creator) and is every bit as addicting as it is unusual. One bite and you’ll see why.
The sauce recipe I am sharing with you comes from a common version passed around the Internet by fellow fans/addicts. It combines lemon juice, garbanzo beans, olive oil, almonds, mustard, garlic, curry, and cayenne for a spicy kick that explodes with flavor. It’s similar to punched-up hummus, a hug and a kick in the pants all rolled into one. Feel free to tone down the spices to suit your own tastes.
The most unusual ingredient, for those who don’t run in vegan or vegetarian circles, is the large flake nutritional yeast. This yeast has been deactivated (in contrast to active yeast which causes bread to rise) dried, and crumbled into flakes or powder. You can often find it in the bulk section (when your stores open the bulk section again); don’t let the price tag (around $7/lb.) fool you. Because it is incredibly lightweight, the amount used for this recipe will cost less than $1.
Despite the truly unfortunate name, nutritional yeast is a delicious addition, with a nutty, cheesy flavor. Vegans commonly use it as a cheese substitute, stirring it into soup or sprinkling it on popcorn. I’ve read many comments of people who buy it in bulk and eat it by the spoonful. Nutritional yeast is gluten-free, rich in vitamins, packed with protein, and contains essential amino acids.
Spicy Curry Sauce
Inspired by The Whole Bowl’s Tali Sauce
Recipe adapted from Foodista
Ingredients
1/2 c. almonds
1/2 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. olive oil
1/2 c. water (more if needed)
1 c. garbanzo beans (How to Cook Dried Garbanzo Beans)
4-6 garlic cloves
1/2 c. large flake nutritional yeast
2 T. whole grain Dijon mustard
2 t. each of curry powder, onion powder, turmeric, chili powder, and cayenne
- Blend all the ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add more water, if needed, to achieve the desired consistency.
- Serve the sauce over rice bowls, steamed vegetables, scrambled eggs, or anything else your heart desires. Leftovers may be refrigerated or frozen.
Rice Bowls with Spicy Curry Sauce
Inspired by The Whole Bowl
Ingredients
brown rice
black or red beans (How to Soak and Cook Dried Beans)
shredded cheddar cheese
sliced avocado
sliced olives
cilantro
salsa
sour cream or plain yogurt
Spicy Curry Sauce (recipe above)
- To assemble, fill a bowl with rice and beans. Top with shredded cheese, sliced olives, sliced avocado, and cilantro.
- Add dollops of salsa, sour cream or plain yogurt, and Spicy Curry Sauce. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Looking for an easy way to make perfect rice every time?
Amazon has the Hamilton Beach Digital Rice Cooker and Food Steamer
If you have an Instant Pot, it makes excellent rice as well. Super hands off!
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Where do you get the large flake nutritional yeast? I found some, but it was made from Soy, which I avoid due to hormonal issues. Also, can you get it organic?
Thank you!
There are a few links in the post to find it on Amazon! Others have mentioned looking in the bulk section of your local grocery store.
Hi! You just re-posted this one, and it looks really good. I’ll have to switch out the rice for probably quinoa, as I’m type 2 diabetic and rice seems to really spike my blood sugar levels. ( I haven’t actually gotten around to finding out about quinoa, I was only diagnosed a short time ago). So will be trying this out soon! I will try to remember to let you know how it comes out with the quinoa!
So so good. My 18-month old loves taco toppings and we were tired of the usual ground beef/ground turkey so we tried this curry sauce rice bowl recipe last night. Mmmm… husband wants me to make a gallon of the sauce next time. The sauce + avocado is such a fantastic combination of creamy and spicy!
I’m so excited to try this at home! I eat at their cart at least once/week!
Just made this for our Sunday lunch. It was delicious. Surprisingly, my 4 year old loved it too. She told me, “The sauce is spicy but if I mix it in, it’s really good.” We seem to have a crazy amount of curry sauce leftover. Does it keep long? Or freeze? I’m thinking I might need to make curry chicken in the next couple of days to use it up. 🙂
Yes, the leftover sauce can be frozen! Glad it was a hit with your family.
It pays to check twice! I added two tablespoons of each seasoning!!! You thank goodness I only did one tablespoon of cayenne. …lol so I had to double everything else but the seasonings and it still has a BIG kick but so good. Lol
O.M.G. I made this tonight and it was super good! We are trying to have one meatless evening meal a week and this was so satisfying! I did back off the cayenne a bit just make sure it wasn’t too hot.
Glad it was a hit at your house! We started with one meatless meal a week, too.
Is there a sub for almonds? We have a no nut house due to allergies.
Hmmm. I would try sesame seeds or just omit the almonds. You could bump up the garbanzo beans a bit so the sauce doesn’t get too runny.
This looks sooooo good! I probably shouldn’t being looking at recipes so late at night because your photos are making me hungry. Can’t wait to try this out. Pinning!
I pinned this when you first posted, and just got around to making it for dinner last night. SO GOOD. Definitely in my recipe rotation now. Thank you for sharing!
Can you substitute something else for the yeast? I’m allergic. Thanks!
Hm. Good question! I would try the same amount of ground almonds or cashews or even tahini (ground sesame seeds). Hope that helps. Let us know what you try and how it turns out!
Looks great..plan on trying soon.
I made this for dinner last night–DELICIOUS! So good! Thanks for sharing the recipe. 🙂 I only made a single batch but I should have doubled it for my family of 7! I only used about 1/2 tsp of chili powder and a dash of cayenne, though, so it wouldn’t be too spicy for us.
I buy nutritional yeast at Winco or Fred Meyer in the bulk food bins, but I’m sure New Seasons & Whole Foods have it, too.
Avocado was great with it; we also added shredded carrots, raw spinach, cucumber, daiya cheddar and skipped the sour cream/yogurt. Fantastically adaptable for your own tastes & dietary needs!
I can’t wait to make this again…
I saw the avocado slices on the ingredients list and wondered how its taste would blend with the spicy curry. I guess I’ll find out when I try this recipe this weekend, it just looks so yummy and healthy. 🙂
I just tried this recipe. There are so many nutritious ingredients I couldn’t resist. It’s hard to find recipies with Brewers Yeast and tumeric.
I think I might use a bit less Brewers Yeast next time. It seems to be the only thing I can taste. I doubled up on the curry powder and added a bit of salt but still only Brewers Yeast. I’m sure I’ll eat it though. 🙂
Karen – Nutritional yeast and brewers yeast are actually two totally different things, with very different flavors. Here’s some more information on it: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2011/10/what-the-heck-is-nutritional-yeast.html
I hope you’ll try the recipe again! 🙂