I gave a little TLC to one of my older recipes this week, Spicy Tuna Guacamole Bowls! With many people avoiding meat for lent, I figured this was a good time to revisit this classic. I love “bowl meals” because there is so much flavor, texture, and color in every bite, and they’re highly customizable. This particular bowl combines the super fresh flavors of cucumber and cilantro with rich guacamole, spicy hot sauce and crunchy shredded carrots, plus edamame and tuna for a healthy dose of protein.
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Do You Eat the Bowls Hot or Cold?
The bowls are super delicious and filling, and because they’re eaten cold they are also quite refreshing in this sweltering hot weather. That being said, I actually ate the first bowl while the rice was still warm and it was awesome that way, too. But I wouldn’t reheat them in the microwave before serving. Just eat the leftovers cold.
How Long Do Spicy Tuna Guacamole Bowls Stay Fresh?
The bowls stay fresh in the refrigerator for the next three days, with the last bowl being just as good as the first! I know, you’re thinking, “BUT WHAT ABOUT THE GUACAMOLE?! Didn’t it turn black?” Nope. It does turn slightly greyish on the surface after a couple days in the fridge, but it’s still 100% okay to eat. It’s just oxidization, folks. Still tastes good.
Homemade or Store-Bought Guac?
Pre-made guacamole is usually very expensive and if there had been ripe avocados at a the store for a reasonable price, I probably would have made my own homemade guacamole or used slice avocado in place of the guac for these bowls. BUT now that I live near an Aldi, they have decent guacamole for a pretty good price, so I can make that little splurge. But hey, do what works for you and your budget!
Spicy Tuna Guacamole Bowls
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1 cup frozen shelled edamame ($1.04)
- 1 medium cucumber ($1.29)
- 1 medium carrot ($0.11)
- 2 5oz. cans chunk light tuna in water ($1.98)
- 8 oz. guacamole ($2.39)
- 3 cups cooked rice* ($0.72)
- 1/4 bunch cilantro ($0.20)
- 4 Tbsp sriracha hot sauce ($0.44)
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds ($0.08)
Instructions
- Cook the edamame according to the package directions (mine instructed to microwave for 5 minutes). Allow the edamame to cool.
- Dice the cucumber and shred the carrot using a large box or cheese grater. Drain the tuna and roughly chop the cilantro.
- To build the bowls, place 3/4 cup of cooked rice in the bottom of each bowl. Top with 1/4 cup edamame, 1/2 a can of tuna, 1/4 cup guacamole, a handful of diced cucumber, a pinch of shredded carrots, and a few pieces of fresh cilantro. Drizzle sriracha over top, add a pinch or two of sesame seeds, then serve or refrigerate up to four days.
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Equipment
- Chef’s Knife
- White Cutting Boards
- Pyrex 4-Cup Bowls
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!It’s almost like a Sushi Bowl for non-sushi lovers. 😅
How to Make Spicy Tuna Guacamole Bowls – Step by Step Photos
You’ll need about 3 cups of cooked rice for this recipe. I used brown rice to get in a little extra fiber, but you can certainly use white rice if you prefer. I am also using brown Basmati rice, but plain brown rice will also do.
First, cook the edamame according to the package directions. Mine says to microwave for 5 minutes. Let the edamame cool.
Slice or dice one cucumber, peel and shred one carrot (I used a large-holed cheese grater), and chop (or leave whole) about 1/4 bunch of fresh cilantro.
Drain two cans of tuna. You’ll also need about 8 oz. of guacamole, or you can use fresh avocado slices.
Then just build the bowl! Start with 3/4 cup rice, then add 1/4 of the cucumber, 1/4 of the shredded carrot, 1/4 of the edamame…
Then add 1/2 can of tuna to each and a couple tablespoons of guacamole. Add a pinch or two of sesame seeds, then drizzle sriracha over top and DONE!
Meal prep made easy!!
Didn’t have sriracha on hand, but it paired very well with Melinda’s Pizza hot sauce.
Surprisingly amazing for such a simple assembly of ingredients. I made a light salad with a bit of mayo and salt in the tuna to add some creaminess. Also, a sprinkle of soy sauce over the whole thing. Super easy to prep! Thanks Beth!
Question: I don’t use Edamame (I know it’s silly, but for some reason Edamame scares me :( ). Have you got any suggestion(s) as to what I can substitute for it (in this recipe as well as in others). I’m thinking either frozen or canned “petite peas”, but I’d genuinely appreciate your opinion. Thank you.
Hi, Joann! I can’t guarantee that swapping out the edamame with something else will achieve successful results since we haven’t tried it ourselves — but you do you, and let your taste guide you! I would suggest using something frozen since canned vegetables have a very different texture. Maybe try lima beans? They’re a bit softer than edamame, but a closer substitution than peas. — Marion :)
This was SO good, and refreshing! It is like a deconstructed sushi roll. We subbed black beans for edamame because that’s what we had on hand. Thank you for the recipe. We’ll definitely be making again when we’re craving sushi :)
I used a multigrain mix, added Japanese mayo, rice topping, & soy sauce. It was sooooo good! I will 100% be making this again!
Hi! I am so excited to make this. Do you know how long this will last in the fridge? Thank you in advance!
Can’t wait to hear what you think Veronica! It will only last about 3 days in the fridge.
Really good recipe!! Do you have any idea how much calories does this bowl contains? I would like to know :)
thank you
I forgot the guac, but was good nonetheless. I kept the rice separate from the other ingredients so I could heat up the rice without heating up the veggies. I did eat it with cold rice today for lunch since I didn’t want to lug two tupperwares to separate the rice and veggies, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did with hot rice.
Hi Beth, Great recipe. Is you tuna packed in water or oil? Is it from Aldi? I was looking for a good inexpensive tuna. Thanks and have a great holiday weekend.
I used tuna packed in water, but you can certainly use oil packed if you prefer. :) I don’t remember for certain if this is Aldi tuna, but I’m about 95% sure because this is the only time that I’ve bought tuna in the past year or so and I remember thinking, “I hope Aldi tuna is good.” haha! It was. :)
Hi Beth, Thank You.
Simple, pretty, and delicious; another keeper! It’s not uncommon for my weekly meal planning to be made entirely of budget byte recipes. Thank you for your writing and sharing!
Delicious! My husband ate two servings and my one year old not only ate some, but locked the bowl. It might be weird that she likes Sriracha?
Not weird at all, I’d say you’re lucky! Haha!
I just made these for lunch the other day (without the edamame since we don’t have any right now). I really enjoyed it and the flavor reminded me of sushi so, I tore up a nori sheet and sprinkled it on top.
Good recipe, but I’ll substitute tuna in extra virgin olive oil for the in water tuna. Better flavor and the oil makes a nice topping for the bowl ingredients.
I mixed a little soy sauce with sesame oil and the sriracha, then drizzled the while bowl with it. Tossed some daikon radish sprouts on top. This was awesome!
Ok so I have an unrelated question for Beth and anyone that wants to answer :) does anyone actually toss their expired seasonings? I have a few that are a little (or a lot) past their expiration date and they looks and smell fine.. but I’m not sure if i should still toss them just cuz they are old. Anyone else?
If they are several years old I would toss them, but personally I find that they simply lose more of their flavour and are not actually harmful to eat.
As long as they smell fine, I would keep them. They are probably just not as strong anymore. :)
Usually spices have a “best if used by” date rather than an actual “expiration date” because there are so many factors that can affect the quality of spices as they are stored that it’s hard to predict when they’ll expire. What happens is that they slowly loose their potency over time. So, as someone else suggested, give them a sniff. If you don’t smell much it’s probably time to replace them. :) One year is a good safe benchmark, but I will openly admit that I often keep spices longer than that. …because like, who has time to actually track when they bought their spices? 😅 The “best if used by” date does help when you can’t remember when they were purchased, though.