Making vibrant, nutritious, and delicious poke bowls from home has never been easier. Swap out seafood with marinated watermelon to give the original poke bowl a plant-based makeover.

Watermelon cubes are covered in a miso-ginger marinade, changing the texture and flavor to emulate tuna. Plus, watermelon comes with the added benefit of being rich in lycopene — a powerful antioxidant that helps prevent cellular damage.

Once the watermelon is done, fill your bowl with a bed of rice followed by fresh vegetables like cucumber, carrots, avocado, and radish. Take things to another level with spicy sriracha mayo, nori strips, and black & white sesame seeds.

This recipe is low in calories, quick to make, and can easily be made gluten-free. Try it out for your next weekday dinner!

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Prep time: 15 minutes

Chill time: 90 minutes

Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Cost: $2.68 recipe| $0.67 serving

Watermelon Poke Bowl

Serves 4

Ingredients

Watermelon

  • ¼ cup soy sauce or tamari ($0.27)
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar ($0.22)
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil ($0.12)
  • 1 ½ tablespoon minced ginger ($0.02)
  • 1 ½ tablespoons chile-garlic paste ($0.05)
  • 2 tablespoons miso paste ($0.27)
  • ½ tablespoon black sesame seeds ($0.03)
  • ½ tablespoon white sesame seeds ($0.02)
  • 3 cups seedless watermelon, cubed small ($0.56)

Sauce

  • ½ cup vegan mayo ($0.53)
  • 1-2 tablespoons Sriracha ($0.06)

To serve

  • 3 cups cooked white or brown rice ($0.10)
  • Sliced cucumbers ($0.05)
  • Matchstick carrots ($0.08)
  • Avocado cubes ($0.15)
  • Radish slices ($0.10)
  • Black & white sesame seeds ($0.02)
  • Nori sheets, crumbled or sliced ($0.03)

Instructions

Watermelon

  1. Add soy sauce or tamari, ginger, chile-garlic paste, miso paste, rice vinegar, and sesame oil to a large dish or mixing bowl. Whisk together well, then add in watermelon cubes and stir to combine. Lastly, mix in sesame seeds, cover the dish, and let marinate in your fridge for 60-90 minutes.

Sauce

  1. In the meantime, mix together the vegan mayo and Sriracha in a small container. Cover and chill along with the watermelon.

Serving

  1. When the watermelon is finished marinating, divide cooked rice between bowls, then top with watermelon cubes, avocado, carrots, cucumbers, radishes, and nori strips.
  2. Drizzle with Sriracha mayo sauce and top with more sesame seeds. Enjoy!

Notes

  • You can bake or cook the watermelon in a skillet beforehand for a difference in texture.
  • This will help cook off some of the water and make the texture floppier.

Nutrition: 1 of 4 servings
Calories 354 | Total Fat 13.3g | Saturated Fat 1.9g | Cholesterol 0mg | Sodium 600mg | Total Carbohydrates 51.3g | Dietary Fiber 4.3g | Total Sugars 10.1g | Protein 8.2g | Calcium 52.8mg | Iron 2.5mg | Potassium 553mg |

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