The Bowl Boom Is Here: And Potatoes Are a Key Ingredient

Today, bowls are one of the most versatile and sought-after menu items in foodservice. While they may have started as health-focused dishes, they’ve evolved into something much bigger. Bowls now feature global flavors, comfort foods, and creative mash-ups, all in one flexible format.

They also give restaurant operators an easy way to incorporate familiar, highly adaptable foodservice ingredients like shredded hash browns, diced potatoes, and mashed potatoes in concepts that work across dayparts.

The Rise of Bowls on Menus

This fun, flexible format has been on the upswing for years, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. In fact, nearly one-third of restaurant menus now feature bowls.¹

For operators, bowls hit a sweet spot: they allow culinary creativity while still being operationally efficient. They’re a great way to use ingredients that are already on hand, such as potatoes for a versatile foundation, topped with chicken and steak for trending protein-forward bowls.

Any Way, Any Daypart

Michael Foods research shows that consumers are highly interested in all kinds of potato-based bowls, with nearly 90% saying they find potato bowls appealing.²

And, the bowl boom goes beyond breakfast. Mid-day leads the way, with 68% showing interest in diced potato bowls for lunch, and demand holds steady into dinner.²

Global Flavors and Comfort Foods Drive Bowl Innovation

Because potatoes work so well across both global and comfort-driven dishes, they give operators a reliable, flexible base for building new bowl concepts.

Top taste profiles for potato bowls include: ²

• Comfort foods (66%)
• Breakfast-inspired flavors (60%)
• Mexican and Southwest (58%)
• BBQ (55%)

Culinary Inspiration

From indulgent comfort creations to global combinations, there’s a potato bowl for just about every menu. Meet the trends with these recipes:

• Chicken Bacon Ranch Bowl: Simply Potatoes^® Shredded Hash Browns create a golden base for this hearty bowl, topped with pan-seared chicken and finished with a rich bacon cream cheese sauce.
• Mediterranean Power Bowl: Za’atar-roasted Simply Potatoes^® Refrigerated Southern Style Diced Potatoes are combined with roasted vegetables, chickpeas, and feta, then finished with a lemon tahini drizzle for a vibrant lunch or dinner option.
• Barbacoa and Chili Lime Diced Potato Bowl: Simply Potatoes^® Red Skin Diced Potatoes are layered with barbacoa beef and soft-scrambled eggs, then finished with fresh toppings for a bold, all-day bowl.
• Nashville Hot Mashed Potato Bowl: Simply Potatoes^® Refrigerated Deluxe Mashed Potatoes serve as the base for crispy chicken, corn, and melted cheese, all topped with spicy hot gravy for a bold, comfort-driven bowl.

That’s just the start—there are plenty more trending bowls to explore in our recipe library.

Potato Bowls Are Winning—Is Your Menu Keeping Up?

Bowls have become a go-to format for operators looking to keep menus fresh without overcomplicating execution. With the right products, recipes, and resources, building craveable, crowd-pleasing bowls becomes less of a lift and more of a win.

Sources:

¹Datassential Menu Trends, 2026

² Michael Foods Proprietary Consumer Study, Potato Bowls, January 2026