When you go to a fast-casual restaurant for lunch, what’s your go-to option? Chances are it’s some sort of bowl. If you go to Cava, it’s going to be a mediterranean-inspired bowl with some sort of grain like brown rice at the base, veggies, hummus, and lots of tzatziki. If you go to Chipotle, chances are you’re reaching for a burrito bowl with brown rice, beans, a protein, cheese, and a hefty dollop of guac. But who says you have to add a grain base to your lunch bowl in order for it to be considered both fulfilling and healthy? If you’re over this trend or just want to try something new, let us introduce you to a new and life-changing concept straight from TikTok: cheese bowls for lunch.
Most of TikTok credits user and food influencer Justine Snacks (@justine_snacks) with bringing the popularity of the viral butter boards to the masses, and now she’s doing the same thing with cheese bowls. Justine’s 1.2 million followers look to her for new food combination inspo and predicting new food trends. She’s definitely done it again with the introduction of the cheese bowl. So what is a cheese bowl? Here’s everything you need to know about this trendy lunch and how you can make it for yourself at home.
What is a cheese bowl?
Swap the word grain for cheese and you’ve got it! Basically, it’s a lunch or dinner bowl that starts with cheese as the base/main ingredient. You can use ricotta cheese or cottage cheese for this, but we have to admit that there’s something so exquisite about using a whipped ricotta as the base. It’s so creamy and decadent and instantly makes you feel like you’re at a fancy restaurant instead of in your kitchen.
BHG / MIRA NORIAN
How to Make Your Own Cheese Bowls
In this cheese bowl recipe, Justine makes a cheese bowl with ricotta as the base, then she adds charred sugar snap peas, treviso leaves, and tosses them all in an Italian salsa verde. Then she adds in a few hunks of bread and, voila! A cheese bowl meal is complete.
Another recipe from Justine uses cottage cheese as the base, and adds in za’atar roasted vegetables. This bowl also uses bread as a garnish/tool to scoop all delicious goodness up with. Justine herself is not a self-proclaimed cottage cheese girlie, but she says this recipe swayed her. Plus, adding cottage cheese to the bowl is a great way to get a high serving of protein without actually having to include a meat protein.
If you need a bit of crunch with your bowl, try adding roasted chickpeas or even croutons or nuts to your cheese bowl. You can’t go wrong as long as cheese is the base and you’re loving each of the hearty ingredients chosen for your bowl.
Although Justine loves adding bread to her bowls for an extra filling factor and built-in scoop for all of the ingredients, it’s definitely not necessary to pair with bread. You can go right at your cheese bowl with a spoon and still elevate your previously boring lunch time.