Warm Grain Bowl with Goat Cheese and Greens

Brown rice grain bowl with red Swiss chard, goat cheese crumbles and poached egg in a white bowl on a butcher block cutting board.

Warm Grain Bowl with Goat Cheese and Greens

Simple, healthy grain bowl with goat cheese and greens topped with an egg. This recipe relies on pre-cooked grains to create a meal that comes together quickly.

5 from 17 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10

Total Time: 30

Servings:

Calories: 525kcal

Ingredients

2 cups brown rice or farro/other grain
2 heads Swiss chard stalks and leaves separated, chopped
4 cloves garlic smashed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-4 eggs
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or more to taste
4 tablespoons crumbled goat cheese
kosher salt & pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh dill optional
Louisiana hot sauce optional

Instructions

Cook your grain of choice. This can be an excellent make-ahead meal if you cook a large pot of grains at the beginning of the week and assemble your bowl when ready to eat. Follow package directions.
Set a large pot of water to boil. Salt your water and add 2 tablespoon vinegar if desired. Once boiling, reduce temperature to a simmer, about 200°F. Add the eggs and let cook for 3-4 minutes for a perfect soft poached egg. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon, place in an ice bath if desired and then set on a paper towel to rest. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, add olive oil over medium low to medium heat, add smashed garlic and the Swiss chard stems and let cook until garlic is barely golden, 2-3 minutes. Continue to break apart the garlic with a wooden spoon as you continue cooking. If you would like your stems more tender, add the stems 4-5 minutes before adding the garlic.
Add the Swiss chard leaves and dill and cook until tender, 6-8 minutes, watching to ensure the garlic does not get too dark. Season the greens with salt and pepper to taste.
Add the apple cider vinegar and let the flavors combine, 2-3 minutes.
Assemble your bowl. Add ½-1 cup grain of choice. Top with Swiss chard, egg and 2 tablespoons goat cheese per bowl. This bowl is fantastic with a little extra acid. For me, a generous dash of Louisiana hot sauce is perfect. If you are not a fan of heat, try a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Notes

This grain bowl is great with kale insead of the Swiss chard. I would recommend staying with a hardier green and away from something soft and delicate like spinach.
Preparation time is based on having pre-cooked grains. Cooking your grains from scratch will take approximately 20-40 minutes depending on the grain.
You could fry your eggs instead of poaching them, or omit them entirely and add a different protein like chicken, bacon or white beans.
In place of goat cheese, you could use feta. Any salty, tangy, easily crumbled cheese would be great here.
You can use farro in place of brown rice.
You can try different soft herbs in place of dill, such as tarragon. If you use tarragon, use less. I would try one not-very-packed tablespoon and taste to see if you would like to add more.

Nutrition