Food bowls have become popular in recent years, with 35 per cent of Canadian restaurants now featuring either a savoury or sweet bowl option for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Many consumers are looking for healthy, value-conscious meals, and food bowls fit the bill. Beautifully simple, bowls typically include a base, a protein, complementary toppings, and a sauce, offering an array of colour, flavour, and texture in a single dish.
They’re even catching on in the fast-food world, with Tim Hortons recently adding loaded bowls to their menu, KFC featuring a popcorn chicken bowl, Subway’s new signature rice bowls, and Papa John’s launching its crustless pizza bowls across Canada this summer.
With so many flavourful fall ingredients, bowls lend themselves to incorporating some seasonal favourites into your menu, too.
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Looking to add to your repertoire? Technomic’s recent report looks at some of the trendy ingredients on the rise.
Ahi tuna tops the list, up seven per cent on Canadian menus this year and often taking the spotlight in Hawaiian-inspired poke bowl offerings. Seaweed, also often featured in this popular dish, has risen 23 per cent on menus since last year.
Smoothie bowls have gained popularity for breakfast, with strawberry (+ 21 per cent) and banana (+ 22 per cent) taking the top two flavour spots. Add granola, yogurt, fruit, nuts, and grains of your choice to make this a hearty and colourful breakfast dish.
In keeping with the rising consumer demand for plant-based menu items, tofu is excelling as an ingredient, gaining 22 per cent in popularity this year. Tofu is a protein that lends itself to a wide variety of flavours, making it a versatile ingredient for plant-based options.
RELATED: Canadians are looking for healthy, value-conscious menus
From fast-food to restaurant dining, food bowls have become a menu staple, and there is so much you can do with them to meet customers’ demand and brighten up your menu. Consider some of these trendy ingredients to add some colour, versatility, and diversity to your restaurant.
