Beet Poke Bowls

A healthy, vegan twist on Hawaiian-style poke bowls! Tangy, salty beet poke with rice, avocado, veggies, and my homemade spicy cashew mayo.

this Recipe

How gorgeous are these beet poke bowls? A fun vegan twist on traditional poke, made with beets. I shared my tofu poke bowl recipe last year and now, a version with beets!

These beets come together in just 20 minutes, making this beet poke a great weeknight meal, especially on warm evenings when you don’t want to turn on the oven.

Why I Love This Recipe

This beet poke bowl has so many layers of textures and flavors, from the warm sushi rice to the tangy poke beets to the creamy spicy sriracha mayo.

It’s also fairly easy to put together. Unlike my roasted beet salad recipe, where the beets take almost an hour to cook, these beets are made on the stove and ready in just 20 minutes. In that time, you can cook your rice, chop the vegetables, and make the mayo sauce.

Ingredient Notes

• Beets: Raw beets are best and I don’t recommend precooked beets. If you do want to use precooked beets, then see below for tips and alterations.
• Miso: When I think of tuna poke, I think of salty, fatty chunks of tuna. Well, to make beets work the same way, I’m combining a mixture of lime juice, vinegar, soy sauce and the secret– miso! Miso adds a nice fermented, plant-based umami richness to these bowls. You can find miso in most well-stocked grocery stores, usually in the refrigerated produce section.
• Cooked Rice: I like using sushi rice when I have it in my pantry, but regular white rice will work as well.
• Cashews: This is what makes the base of the spicy cashew mayo! Cashews are another one of my secret weapons in plant-based cooking as they can be pureed to become a creamy sauce that tastes like it’s made from dairy– no dairy required.
• Toppings: My go-to’s are sliced cucumber and radishes for crunch, avocado for additional creaminess and scallions because I love the gentle onion taste of scallions. You can choose all or a few.

A Note on Precooked Beets

If you want to use precooked beets in this beet poke bowl, then I don’t recommend cooking them as they will become mushy.

Instead, I would recommend choosing the pickled beets, like the vinegar ones (or honey ginger flavor) from Love Beets and then just cubing them and eating cold with the rest of the ingredients.

How to Make

Step 1: Make the Beet Poke Sauce

Whisk together all ingredients in a medium saucepan. You can do this in a larger bowl, like a pyrex, and then add to a saucepan but I just do it right into the saucepan to make it easier, and one less bowl for cleanup!

Step 2: Add the Beets

Add the cubed beets to the saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for about 15 minutes, until the beets are almost tender. I use a paring knife to check– it should insert with little resistance after about 15 minutes.

Then, reduce heat to low and cook another 5 minutes until the beets are glossy and most of the remaining liquid has thickened.

Step 3: Make the Spicy Mayo

I’ll be honest and say that I rarely soak my cashews ahead of time as I’m usually in a rush to get dinner on the table. My nutribullet is strong enough that it can pulverize the cashews to a creamy sauce without soaking, but to ensure creaminess then you can cover your cashews in boiling water for about 5 minutes and this will make it easier to soak.

Drain the cashews (if soaked first) and then add to a blender with the rest of the ingredients. I find that a smaller blender works best but a mini food processor also works. Puree until very creamy and smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.

Step 4: Assemble

Divide cooked rice into four bowls, then top with the beet poke, sliced avocado, radish, cucumber, scallions and drizzle liberaly with the cashew mayo sauce. I like to serve these bowls with nori on the side to scoop up the beet poke with!

Tips for Success

I like these beet poke bowls best with warm rice, slightly warm beets and then cold every else as I find that the contrast of temperature is just as interesting/nice as the contrast of texture. That said, tuna poke is typically chilled and you can chill the beets after cooking if you prefer.

Edamame is a nice addition for additional protein and to make these beet poke bowls more filling– as written below, each bowl contains 14 g of protein, 10 g of fiber and only 420 calories.

Timing Notes

This beet poke recipe requires cooking a few different components– the beets, mayo, rice and the toppings and then assembling.

Here’s how I time it for a weeknight dinner– add my rice to my rice cooker, then soak the cashews.

While my rice is cooking and cashews are soaking, then I’ll make the beets– cubing them, making the sauce and cooking.

While the beets cook, I will drain my cashews and make the sauce and then prepare the toppings– cooking the edamame (usually in the microwave), slice the cucumbers, slice the radishes, slice the avocados, and slice the scallions.

Then, I assemble! Add the rice, the beet poke, the vegetables, the edamame and then drizzle with the cashew sauce.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Beet Recipes

• Easy Beet Hummus
• Creamy Beet Pasta
• Vegetarian Beet Reuben Sandwich
• Roasted Beet Pasta Salad with Basil Dressing
• Chocolate Beet Smoothie

More Vegan Bowl Recipes

• Peanut Tofu Bowls
• Vegan Muhammara Bowls
• Air Fyer Bang Bang Tofu Bowls
• Tofu Rice Bowls with Black Beans
• Instant Pot Vegan Burrito Bowls
• Sweet Potato Buddha Bowls

If you try these beet poke bowls, make sure to come back to leave a rating and a comment. Your feedback helps other readers and seeing you make my recipes makes my day!