Bowls is a beautifully photographed recipe book containing instructions for making lots of dishes best served in bowls! The book was a little different from what I was expecting. I was expecting recipes to create meals that you assembled in your bowl based on your tastes, and the book did include a lot of those types of recipes. However, the book seemed to follow more of a “if you eat it in a bowl, we’ve included it!” For example, I wouldn’t consider tomato soup as a “bowl” recipe, but I can see how, logically, they included it. I did enjoy the recipes included and there seemed to be a great variety of recipes to choose from! All in all, a pretty good read!

Special thanks to NetGalley, Cider Mill Press, and author Ayesha Singh. Based on the cover and description, I was expecting something a bit different, but unfortunately, nothing in the book really stood out to me.

This is the kind of cookbook I would buy for friends and family. Or myself.
Everything is just right: the structure, the recipes, photo’s. The easy thing with bowls is that you can easily substitute ingredients and therefore also vary them.

This is a pretty cool book. I personally love making bowls so it was a great fit for me. It had nice photographs and a lot of new ideas. I feel like the recipes had a good selection as well which is really nice. This would be a great recipe book for anyone who loves making recipes in bowls!

There is something comforting about sitting down and having a bowl of something yummy, whether it be soup, or something more exciting like a rice bowl. Anyone who likes to make bowls will want to pick up a copy of Bowls: 100+ Recipes for Healthy, Vibrant Bowls, by Ayesha Singh. This excellent cookbook is loaded with recipes that are full meals served in bowls. While most have Asian undertones, there are some that are from other parts of the world. They include plenty of vegetarian bowls, as well as many containing meat, seafood, and chicken. They also include grains, rice, and noodles.

The recipes are written in the traditional manner with the ingredients listed first, followed by step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow and suitable for both beginning and advanced cooks. Some of the recipes call for ingredients that aren’t available at mainstream grocery stores, but are easy to find in Asian grocery stores. It is worth the trip; these recipes are mouthwatering and very appealing. There are over 100 recipes, so bowls can be made often throughout a year of dinners. The cookbook also includes condiments, sauces, and basic accompaniments to the bowls. Although some of the recipes have long lists of ingredients, there are many that are quick and easy.

Another excellent part of the cookbook is that most of the bowls are accompanied by beautiful, professional photographs, making it a bit difficult to decide what to make next.

All told, this is a unique cookbook loaded with amazing recipes that will get everyone to start making yummy bowls for dinners. It will make a great addition to any cookbook shelf.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I think I had different expectations of this cookbook based on the cover. I love a good bowl where it combines protein, veggies, and carbs, and was hoping for some new ideas. Since the description mentioned recipes from around the world, I was excited. Unfortunately as the author comes from an Indian cuisine background, it was heavy on those. I do love a good Indian dish, but would have loved a little more variety.
I also had hoped there would be discussion of swaps in recipes or ways to create your own bowls with recipes as the base.
Layout wise, it seemed odd to me to put the toppings for a recipe in a whole different section as was the case with “the ultimate oatmeal.” Since the suggested toppings are only for this recipe. Maybe a side box would be more appropriate?

Overall there are some good recipes in the cookbook, but wasn’t what I was expecting.

A great book/cookbook that gives me plenty of ideas and recipes to create what in our household we call 'Bowl Food'. Tasty, healthy, fun and interesting one dish/one bowl meals for all the family. I can honestly say this is the best type of foo to eat for any occasion.

Lots of variety, lots of vegetables and lots of fun. This is another great cookbook to add to my collection. I look forward to trying all the recipes and ides in this book.

Thank you Net Galley and Cider Mill Press for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Looking for delicious and healthy one dish meals? Bowls is full of ideas for quick dishes of all kinds. Easy techniques and lots of adjustment ideas for your personal taste are included.
if you are looking to eat healthier and not spend all your time in the kitchen grab a copy of Bowls by Ayesha Singh.

A lot of varied recipes from different cultures and all that could be served in a bowl. straightforward ingredients mostly, easy recipes and good pictures. Nothing outstandingly different but a good basic set of recipes. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Nice recipe book which has the same philosophy as me. Everything can be put in a bowl.
Sections are clear although I'm not a fan of the protein packed Vs plant based implications.
The recipes sound yummy.

This book is exactly what it sounds like: over 100 recipes (yep, that's a LOT of recipes!) that are served in bowls.

Does the book explain why it chooses to focus on this single vessel? No, no it does not. Does it present a thesis beyond "things in bowls are good"? Nope. But is it still a super solid cookbook? Sure thing!

If you're down to live a totally bowl-focused life, this would honestly be a pretty solid one-stop-shop cookbook to expand your cooking horizons. It offers a variety of recipe types and flavor profiles, and while recipes aren't super basic, they were all accessible enough for me (an optimistic but easily intimidated recipe-follower) to understand. Often, cookbooks end up focusing either on overly simple, familiar recipes or shooting for the moon and feeling impossible to follow, and this one hits the sweet spot. It also feels like it hits the sweet spot of health-consciousness—these recipes are varied, often vegetable-forward, and still flavorful and fun. That's always great to see!

Now for the super fun 🥬vegetarian perspective🥬 portion of this review. This book, as previously mentioned, contains a TON of recipes, so frankly, almost anyone could find someone to love. That said, if we're looking at proportion of vegetarian recipes to nonvegetarian recipes, this didn't quite hit the mark I personally look for. Specifically, I was a bit bummed when I reached the protein section and found that it contained 1 vegetarian recipe and 40 nonveg recipes. Folks, it's 2025! We all know that there are tons of amazing protein-forward dishes that don't contain meat! Now, in fairness, this may have been an issue in naming—the section prior is "salads and plant-based bowls," and it does contain numerous entree-style vegetarian dishes. But it's always a bummer to have to skip through an entire section of a book. (My standard veggie disclaimer: I'm aware that not all cookbooks are vegetarian-friendly, and that's 100% fine! But when a book highlights its "Vegetarian and vegan bowls" as a major selling point in its description, I want my fellow veg heads to know what they're getting into.)

On a similar note, the book description promises "Rice bowls that cut down on waste and make the most of your leftovers" and "Recipes that are easy to adjust based on the size of the crowd," but while the book certainly does include those things, they're definitely not a highlight. This is purely a recipe book, not focused on teaching, so don't expect tips on leftover reuse or recipe scaling! I was completely fine with that, but I wouldn't want anyone to be bummed out if they bought the book hoping for more of a focus on those things.

My one noteworthy quibble with the book is with its organization. As previously mentioned, I found the sections a bit odd, but beyond that, it felt a bit like the recipes were kind of thrown together with no relationship or explanation. I was truly shocked by the new flavors and cuisines I was seeing on each page, which was fun, but could also make the book a bit tough to navigate. If I were to reference the book regularly, I could see myself relying heavily on the index (or on sticky notes) to find whatever I was looking for, simply because the order of recipes just doesn't feel very intuitive. Similarly, while the photos were gorgeous, they weren't always next to the recipes in the eBook (and often they were placed AFTER the recipes), which felt a bit confusing at times.

Overall...
• 4 out of 5 stars for vegetarian friendliness
• 2 out of 5 stars for vegan friendliness (Note: I'm no longer a vegan—a vegan could judge this better than I could! But many vegetarian-friendly recipes contain cheese, eggs, or yogurt, so while you'll definitely find a few vegan gems in here, you may need to do some veganizing)
• 3 out of 5 stars for organization
• 5 out of 5 stars for recipe variety
• 5 out of 5 stars for making me want to get cooking right away!

(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the temporary eBook loan of this book! All opinions are, of course, my own.)

I loved the 5 bowls that I did get to make! They were flavorful and easy to put together with the recipe listed. Unfortunately I ended up traveling a lot for work and didn’t get to try as many as I wanted but the pictures were beautiful and I will buy it so I can revisit the recipes I didn’t get to try. Thank you for the arc read!

Thank you to Cider Mill Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC for an honest review.

If you're looking for a recipe book with a variety of recipes from around the world (with a plurality from the Indian subcontinent) that are easy to make, not overly complex, and delicious, give Bowls a look! I appreciate that the recipes here are direct and with little preamble. There are even conversion charts in the Index. The photographs included are also very high quality and will make your mouth water before you even start cooking. I do think it could have done with a bit more organizing throughout, but it is worth the perusal nonetheless.

Thank you NetGalley for an opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

This book is filled with adventurous recipes that are visually appealing. I live in a small community and found that many of the ingredients could be hard to find or inaccessible in my market. In addition, many of the unusual ingredients seems to be one off use, so I would have a hard time justifying the expense. That said I could see myself taking elements of the recipes to combine to make something I could enjoy while finding the ingredients easily. Bowls are a staple in my lunch routine and I did find some creative new options to audition.

Good home cooking book packing a nice punch of flavours.
Find recipes from around the world in those pages, each with a heavy dose of spice and joy.
Would recommend if you don't yet have your favorite curry recipes and are looking for a wide range of varied Asian favorite to add to your weekly meal planner.

Love me a good bowl! This cookbooks is easy to follow and contains tons of tasty and healthy recipes. Can’t wait to try more of them. The food styling was done well and love having the pictures to see what it’s supposed to look like at the end.

Quick Easy Bowls for a cozy night or a stressful work day, this book has all you need. From asian bowls to Mediterranean bowls this book gives a quick recipe to whip up when you are in need. I am definitely trying these for lunch and I urge others to get this as well

This cookbook features very easy recipes. I highly recommend it; it's worth buying. If you love to cook, this book is for you. The recipes are simple to make

Bowls focuses on recipes for nourishing bowls. The cookbook purposes is making healthy recipes in a short amount of time, but they range in simplicity.

The Sections are
Breakfast
From the Garden: Salads & Plant-based bowls
Protein Packed
Snacks & Sides
Desserts
Appendix

Each recipe has yield, active time, total time, recipe blurb, ingredients, directions and a photo of the meal. The recipes are straightforward and easy to follow with limited ingredients. The cookbook is perfect for someone getting started or a home chef. The tex-mex breakfast, acai bowl, cauliflower shawarma are just a few I'm excited to try.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but I definitely will. There are many great recipes in the book, however, I think many of them I would not define as "bowl" as for example pasta dishes, as you don't have to serve it in a bowl. Under the term "bowl" I rather understand something like Buddha Bowls. It feels like it was just to have as many recipes as possible in the book, I think there it would be better to differentiate a bit more.