This quick and easy brown rice breakfast bowl is gluten-free, vegan, and loaded with vitamins, minerals, fibre, and plant-based protein. A healthy and nutritious way to start your day!
Apparently January is breakfast month here on Spoons. From granola bars to smoothies to overnight oats to Greek yogurt muffins, every.single.recipe that I’ve posted this month has been breakfast-related. I would apologize for my apparent one track mind, but judging by your comments, I’m going to go ahead and assume that you’re just as breakfast-obsessed as I am… which is a good thing because I’ve got one more breakfast recipe coming at ya today.
But that’s it! After today we’re going to start easing our way into February and all things chocolate and dessert related. Any objections? No? Good. So let’s talk breakfast…
Actually, I should probably start by saying that while this is very much a breakfast dish, I’ve never actually eaten it for breakfast. Lunch? Yes. Dinner? Tonight, actually. But breakfast? Never. Not because it’s not a great way to start the day, but because I just wake up craving other things. Things like smoothies and… well… just smoothies, really. That obsession I told you about a while back? Still going strong.
But I realize that not everyone is as crazy as I am craves cold smoothies in the dead of winter, and this brown rice breakfast bowl is for those people who prefer something a little warmer and heartier on the cold mornings…
If you’ve never had a sweet rice bowl, then you need to stop what you’re doing and go put a pot of [brown] rice on the stove so that you can make this dish tomorrow morning. Go ahead. I’ll wait. No really… I will.
I know oats are most peoples go-to breakfast grain, and they were mine too for something like 4 years straight. Yup. Longtime Spoons readers probably remember my… err… infatuation with oats. And I still love them! Don’t get me wrong. But sometimes a girl just needs something a little different, ya know?
Something that’s gluten-free, vegan, and contains no refined sugars. Something that’s a good source of vitamins, minerals, fibre, and plant-based protein. Something that’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup, gooey dates, and tender apples, and made ridiculously creamy by a spoonful of melted almond butter (aka: combination perfection). Something that’s hearty and chewy thanks to the whole grain goodness of brown rice.
Basically, something like this sweet brown rice breakfast bowl. Welcome to my newest obsession.
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Brown Rice Breakfast Bowl
- Total Time: 9 mins
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp. almond butter
- 2 Medjool dates, chopped
- 1 medium apple, peeled, cored, and diced
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat, combine almond milk, maple syrup, almond butter, dates, and apple. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent burning and ensure that everything is well combined. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes, until dates and apple have softened.
- Add cooked brown rice and cinnamon, stirring until all the ingredients are fully combined. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, until rice is warm and soft. Serve immediately.
- Prep Time: 2 mins
- Cook Time: 7 mins
Looking for more healthy breakfast recipes? Try one of these!
Apple Oat Greek Yogurt Pancakes
Apple Cinnamon Bread Pudding
Pumpkin Pie Breakfast Bake
OMGosh this looks and sounds incredible. I used to make oatmeal with all of the exact same add-ins/toppings. Will definitely have to try with brown rice!!
I JUST bought brown rice for the first time!! Sweet Rice will be my breakfast tomorrow. Thank you Hunn!!
Love this recipe! Great pictures! I need to make this for breakfast.
Wow I can’t wait to try this! I am a huge rice fan and have been known to eat it as cold leftovers for breakfast so this will definitely be a step up 🙂
Confession: I probably love cold rice over ALL the things
I’m not the only one?!? Yay!!! 🙂 ps. Amanda your blog was the first I EVER read and I am still reading years later 🙂
Awwr! Sweetest.thing.EVER. Thanks so much, Jessica 😀
I secretly totally love rice. I haven’t ever had it for breakfast but ahhhh the way you put it together and described it… I want to try right now!
First things first: your food photography skills are amazing! I’ve never tried adding rice to my breakfast routine, but I’m really intrigued by this recipe! I definitely pinned it so I can try it in the future!
I’ve been wanting to experiment with different whole grains for breakfast, so this is definitely getting added to my list to try! Do you use long grain or short grain brown rice for it?
I normally use long grain or brown basmati rice. I think I prefer basmati over all of them.
I made this recipe this afternoon and am eating a small bowl of it as I type this! I like the combination of ingredients. My mistake–I did not measure the cooked rice–used Lundberg small grain brown rice, which was a nice texture in the finished product–but I think the amount of rice and water I used probably made more than 2 cups, so the recipe turned out thick, but still yummy. I used 2 cups water, about 7/8 cup rice, a titch of salt, cooked for 45 minutes, as package directed. And there is no way the prep time is 2 minutes. It took me that amount of time just to find an apple in my fridge! Prep time is more like 15 minutes, at least for me. I will make it again and measure the cooked rice next time.
I definitely do not give rice enough credit. I can’t remember the last time I even ATE rice??? Oh wait, I had sushi yesterday… So, I guess it counts. But I do love brown rice nuttiness over the mushy white rice. I like the hearty texture SO much more, but maybe I’m just weird??? I eat oatmeal every.single.night. (love it!), but maybe I should give this a try to switch things up. Maybe I’ll find a new obsession (read: probably).
Mushy white rice? The horror! I have to admit that I prefer white over brown rice, but it never comes out mushy. Have you ever tried white basmati rice? I find the type of rice can make a HUGE difference.
While this does look and sound delicious, I have the utmost desire to make it savory. Sorry, it’s like a nervous twitch and I can’t help myself. Perhaps if I was reading this post on a weekday, when sweet breakfast in the form of granola is my go to, but Saturday and Sunday mornings are time for savory, salty and satisfying.
I really, really like the idea of using rice in a breakfast bowl. It’s pretty genius and I may have to play around with this a bit. Thanks for the inspiration. *blows kiss.
Remind me to never come over to your place for breakfast on the weekend, then 😛 Unless for the simple pleasure of your wonderful company, of course.
I hope you remembered the garlic in your smoothie!
Confession- I’ve been eating rice for breakfast on occasion but it has been of the basmati coconut kind..cold of course! I’m all for whatever recipes you throw my way. Hit me with your best shot.
I’m all for the breakfast recipes so keep ’em coming! Call it oatmeal loyalty but I never think to use brown rice in breakfast form- you’ve definitely given me some motivation on how to use up leftover rice next time. I bet this would taste super delicious with some ripe bananas thrown in too…mm!
I loveeee brown rice breakfast bowls! My family and friends think I’m a whack job when I tell them I ate brown rice with banana, peanut butter, and maple syrup for breakfast, but they just don’t know what they’re missing. I need to add dates though! Gooey is one adjective my brown rice bowls were missing 😉
I had 3 different breakfasts today. I think it’s safe to say that I’m with you on this obsession 😀
This is very different from the rice pudding I grew up with but apples, dates and almond butter as add-ins? A winning combination.
Just one “I’m German and we use the metric system/our recipes don’t call for readily cooked ingredients” question: How much dry rice would I use to get two cups cooked? Yes, this is slightly embarrassing …
It’s not embarrassing at all if I had to Google the question myself 😛 And Google says about 2/3 cup since apparently rice expands to 3 times the size when cooked. Who knew!
I’m loving breakfast lately. This would be good as a dessert too with some cinnamon chips! Or a baked apple maybe!?
Cinnamon chips. Ohhhhh.em.geeeee I don’t know if I could handle that amount of delicious…
I absolutely adore sweet rice like this. In fact one of my favorite things evahhhh is sticky brown rice with sweet coconut cream and mango ohhhh so good!
I have never had rice like this before- it sounds really good! I love oats and oatmeal too…it’s easy to fall back on it because there are SO many different ways to make it! I need to explore outside the box and try this though!
Give me all the breakfasts!! It’s my favorite.
Seriously though, I could eat this for dessert! The only sweet rice I’ve had is rice pudding but this looks even better. I love how simple it is too. Pinned! 🙂
I’ve never had brown rice as a part of breakfast, but this looks like a great recipe! Pinning this to Pinterest!
Thanks so much, Jess!
That’s one nice title you have there ;). And yuuuuuuuuuuum! Amidst all the photos I sent you yesterday [including those hunky man photos… swoon], this is probably the best looking thing I’ve seen all morning hehehe.
Hi Amanda, So I’m in my “oats obsessed” phase, and it’s been four years … does that mean it will end soon? I’ve never thought to have brown rice for breakfast. Love this one!!
Yes please. I love brown rice and have sorta been over oatmeal (don’t tell anyone!) so this sounds like a perfect replacement!
I won’t tell if you won’t tell. I’ve kind of been feeling the same way about oatmeal for breakfast these days. Shhh.
Looks gorgeous! I’m in the middle of experimenting with breakfasts like that so thanks!!
As far as the smoothie craving in the dead of winter goes i totally understand! But boy does this sound good!
I love me some quick and easy AND tasty eats – and this bowl of happiness fits all three labels!
My mom makes a sweet rice dish – though she uses more milk and boils it till its almost overdone and then lets it cool in a rectangular pan and then cuts it into squares/diamonds/rectangles – the traditional name for what my mom makes is “kiribath” – very popular in Srilanka.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
That actually sounds super delicious! Do you think your mom would mind if I showed up on her doorstep for breakfast? 😀
Looks yummy. I’ve made quinoa for breakfast bowls but never brown rice. Thanks for another great breakfast idea.
MmmmmmMmm! Looks delish! I love brown rice, yet never think of cooking it up for breakfast! Thank you for making me want to eat again even though I just had breakfast! 🙂 Seriously, your breakfast recipes look phenomenal! Although I have to say I can’t wait for February!
I should make this for lunch and use the coconut milk I see in my pantry. I forgot I had it. WIth peanut butter of course in place of almond. It would be delicious. I swear I only want breakfast foods lately for both breakfast and lunch. I usually want savory at dinner but the rest of the day, it’s all sweet stuff.
Breakfast month, eh? Sounds good to me!
I’m sure this isn’t the compliment you’re going for, but I really like that bowl and spoon combo!! The food looks good too, but that dish ware–I’m smitten!
Ha! I can totally appreciate that. Especially considering I always seem to be on the hunt for cute dish ware. I swear I buy more food props than clothes…
I am still on the smoothie tear these days…I need to change it up a bit! HAHAHA or maybe not…I love using brown rice or quinoa for breakfast bowls. Thanks for sharing this recipe! XOXO
This is so interesting to me! I’ve never seen a recipe like this. I’m not a brown rice eater, but I could see this with oats ! Happy Friday 🙂
Apples, dates, and cinnamon would definitely make for some killer oat add-ins. The combo is kind of epic 🙂
I never would think to have rice for breakfast. Looks tasty, though!
Mmmmmm that looks amazing! I love rice pudding so I’m sure I would love this breakfast 🙂
This seriously sounds like it would hit THE spot right now. I usually always do savory for breakfast, but for some reason sweet rice sounds so good! I have never really even had it before!
I love this idea! I suppose it’s a way healthier and more delicious rice pudding 🙂 Brown rice is iffy with my stomach but white rice is a-okay 😉
Mine is the same way. I can handle smaller amounts of brown rice, but white rice works better for me overall and I actually prefer the taste of it as well. I mainly used brown for this because it has a chewier texture.
My stomach literally started growling when I read about this recipe. Since I am currently going through at oat obsession, maybe this will be a satisfying change-up!
Brown rice is one of my favorite grains. I didn’t know until a few years ago that you coud serve it hot and have it as a sweet styled bowl for breakfast. This looks lovey with the perfect amount of space. Thanks for the inspiration!