EDIBLE Bowls - Find New Ways to Serve Foods

Eat a bowl, save water. OK, there’s probably no truth in that statement as most of these ideas will greatly benefit from having a serving plate underneath when eating. But, plates fit more concisely into a dishwasher than bowls, so maybe a run can be saved on the machine at least.

Here are some of our favorite self contained meal ideas, so good that anticipation toward eating the bowl builds with each bite.

Edible Bowls

Easy Edible Bowl Ideas


Bread Bowls:

Serve food in edible bowls instead! We love soup in sourdough bread bowls – this San Francisco treat from the Boudin bakery is easy to replicate at home, if you can find or make sourdough bread. If not, be sure the alternate bread is a a very sturdy one. If the bread is a day or two old, not a problem, just bake it for 3-4 minutes before filling.

bread edible bowl

Squash Bowls:

Wash, halve and seed an acorn squash. It can then be cooked in the microwave and then stuffed, or stuffed and then baked in the oven. Either way, that tough skin will actually soften and become completely edible and nutritious. Fill the halves with fruits and grains, mixed greens or even a stew and then eat the entire serving.

squash edible bowl

Frico Bowls:

Parmesan frico can be easily shaped into a bowl with the assistance of an upside down muffin tin. The bowl makes a unique and delicious presentation for a typical Caesar salad. These bowls were actually invented in Italy in order to use up all of the pieces of crusty parmesan left over after grating the fresh cheese for pasta.
Frico edible bowl

Taco Bowls:

Taco bowls and shells, whether flour or corn based, are a great place to serve most anything. Get creative with these shells, whether it be scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast or sweet potatoes and squash for dinner. These shells will make anything taste interesting if the flavors and textures are balanced. The tastiest tacos will have something meaty, something crunchy, something creamy and usually something acidic in the mix.

Taco shells are also a great way to use up most any leftover in the fridge. Plus, if the shells have been around awhile a quick shot in the oven will make them crispy and fresh tasting. If you’ve got a little bit of this (proteins) and a little bit of that (veggies) leftover, then heat them up and pop them into a taco shell with a little shredded cheese and/or lettuce. Remember, there’s no requirement when at home that any two tacos must be identical to each other!

Avocado Bowls:

Crack an egg into a pitted avocado, season with salt and pepper and bake at 425°F for about 20 minutes. Creamy goodness! If the avocado isn’t quite ripe yet, this process of heating will soften it.

Avocado bowl

Lettuce Bowls:

Iceburg lettuce works best for this option, but romaine and butter leaves also make good vessels. See our post on how to turn old wilted lettuce into crispy lettuce that forms a bowl so crunchy that it can even hold a mixture of warm ground meats and vegetables in a hoisin sauce (like PF Chang’s chicken lettuce wraps) and still make that great crunch sound when bitten into!

Edible Lettuce bowl

Edible Bowls

Additional Info

To find out how long eggs last, see our egg page.

Baking unusual ingredients in muffin pans is another way to self-contain a meal. Get ideas for muffin pans and even more muffin pan ideas from our older posts.

To find out how long other foods are good for, please visit the Dairy, Drinks, Fruits, Grains, Proteins, Vegetables and Other sections of Eat By Date or use the search function below.

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