Cold Tuna Rice Bowl with Lemon-Yoghurt Dressing

Name: Cold Tuna Rice Bowl with Lemon-Yoghurt Dressing
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 4 tins tuna in water; 280 g rice; 3 tbsp rice vinegar; 1 tsp sugar; 1 (about 300 g) cucumber, diced; 250 g cherry tomatoes, halved; 200 g sweetcorn; 1/2 (about 60 g) red onion, thinly sliced; 2 spring onions, sliced; 240 g Greek yoghurt 0% or skyr; 1 lemon; 2 tsp mustard; 1 clove garlic, grated; 1 handful dill, chopped; 1/2 tsp black pepper

Tinned tuna, seasoned sushi-style rice and crunchy raw vegetables with a lemon-yoghurt dressing. 52 g of protein, 3 g of fat, and no reheating — the bowl for a desk with no kitchen.

Fat loss friendlyHigh proteinMeal prep

Under 700 kcal and at least 50 g protein per serving — enough protein to hold on to muscle while you eat less.

A bowl of rice topped with flaked tuna, sliced cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes, sweetcorn and red onion, with a pale lemon-yoghurt dressing in a small pot beside it.

Servings: 4
Total time: 25 min
Hands-on: 15 min

What you need

Saucepan with a lid
Small bowl for the dressing
4 meal-prep containers
4 small dressing pots

Ingredients

4 tinstuna in water— about 600 g drained, 150 g per bowl
280 grice— weighed dry
3 tbsprice vinegar
1 tspsugar— and a pinch of salt, for the rice
1 (about 300 g)cucumber, diced
250 gcherry tomatoes, halved
200 gsweetcorn
1/2 (about 60 g)red onion, thinly sliced
2spring onions, sliced
240 gGreek yoghurt 0% or skyr
1lemon— zest and juice
2 tspmustard
1 clovegarlic, grated
1 handfuldill, chopped
1/2 tspblack pepper— no extra salt — see the coach tip

How to make it

Cook the rice according to the packet. While it is still warm, fold through the rice vinegar with the sugar and a pinch of salt, then let it cool completely. Seasoned rice stays pleasant cold instead of drying into a brick — this is the step that makes a cold rice bowl worth eating.
Whisk the yoghurt, lemon zest and juice, mustard, garlic and dill together with plenty of pepper. Taste before you reach for salt: the tuna brings its own.
Dice the cucumber, halve the tomatoes and slice the onions. Drain the corn and the tuna properly — a wet tin is what makes the bowl watery by Wednesday.
Build the bowls with rice, then vegetables, then tuna flaked over the top in large pieces.
Pack the dressing in a separate pot and mix it in only when you eat. Dressing sitting on rice for two days turns it into a wet paste.
Keeps 2 days assembled. If you want it fresher, add the tuna and the cucumber on the morning you eat it and keep the rest packed from the start.

Per serving, roughly

Energy: ~531 kcal
Protein: ~52 g
Carbs: ~73 g
Fat: ~3 g

Calculated from the weighed ingredients in the list above, using reference values for each food (USDA SR Legacy and the Swiss food composition database) rather than an estimate. Your numbers still shift with the exact products you buy and with how generously you fill the plate.

What a serving carries

Source of magnesium~89 mg
Source of iron~3.4 mg
Source of potassium~867 mg
Source of zinc~2.7 mg

Only nutrients that most of this serving's energy actually states a value for are shown — anything else stays unknown rather than being guessed at. “Source of” and “high in” are the EU thresholds: 15 % and 30 % of the daily reference value per serving.

Variations

Mediterranean

Swap the yoghurt dressing for 100 g of pitted black olives, a tablespoon of capers, lemon zest and 2 teaspoons of olive oil per bowl. About 70 kcal and 11 g of fat more, 6 g of protein less, and it keeps better than a dairy dressing.

This version, per serving: ~604 kcal · 46 g protein · 72 g carbs · 14 g fat

Asian-style

Soy-sesame dressing with a teaspoon of sesame oil per bowl instead of lemon-yoghurt, and top with a quarter of an avocado (about 35 g of flesh) — roughly 60 kcal and 9 g of fat more per bowl, and 6 g of protein less.

This version, per serving: ~591 kcal · 46 g protein · 74 g carbs · 12 g fat

Coach's tip

This is the bowl for the day with no hob and no microwave: 52 g of protein for 531 kcal, straight out of a tin. Two things worth knowing — tinned fish carries a fair amount of sodium, which is why the dressing gets no added salt; and if you eat tuna more than twice a week, alternate it with the salmon or prawn bowl rather than making it the daily habit.

More recipes

Other recipes worth a place in your week.

MealsSoy-Lime Salmon Rice Bowl with EdamameSalmon glazed in soy, lime and a little honey over rice, with edamame for a second hit of protein. About 50 g of protein a bowl — and the one to eat on days one and two of the week.MealsGarlic-Chili Shrimp Rice BowlPrawns hit the pan for four minutes with garlic, chilli and lemon, then land on rice with courgette and peppers. 47 g of protein for 466 kcal — the leanest bowl of the set.MealsGreek Chicken BowlOregano-and-lemon chicken with crisp roast potatoes, a sharp cucumber-tomato salad and tzatziki made from skyr rather than full-fat yogurt. It is the highest-protein bowl in the collection at around 64 g, and it does not taste like diet food.

General information only, not medical or nutritional advice. If you have a health condition, an allergy, or specific dietary needs, talk to a qualified professional.

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