Veggie burrito bowls
These veggie burrito bowls are the perfect easy Tex-Mex dinner – especially when they’re piled up with your favourite toppings!
Can anything beat a bit of Tex-Mex? Give me anything with beans, rice, veggies and cheese, in any combination, and I’m more than happy. These veggie burrito bowls are the perfect example – they’re nothing fancy, just everything piled up in one big, beautiful heap – but my word, they’re good.
What is a burrito bowl?
A burrito bowl is essentially a burrito – but un-burritoed.
It’s all the stuff you would usually find wrapped up in a big tortilla to make an amazing burrito, but served in a bowl instead. Rice, beans, and plenty of veggies.
I love a good burrito as much as the next person, but sometimes I fancy something a bit lighter, or (more likely) I just don’t have any tortillas to hand – and a burrito bowl is a great alternative.
Black bean burrito bowls
These veggie burrito bowls are really, really straightforward to make. Start by cooking off some veggies in a pan – I went for spring onions, peppers and tomatoes – and add some black beans.
I know I go on about black beans all the time, but it’s only because they’re the ultimate bean – they’re little and soft, with a lovely deep flavour. They go perfectly in these burrito bowls, and hold up really well against the other smoky, spicy flavours.
Brown rice
Next, add some cooked rice. I used brown rice, because it’s got a nice nutty flavour that works really well, and a lovely chewy texture. It makes these burrito bowls feel extra hearty.
White rice would work just fine too, of course!
Just mix it all together, and you’re basically done! A good splash of your favourite hot sauce ties everything in together and makes your lovely bowlful really tasty.
But don’t forget one of the most important parts of these burrito bowls…
The toppings!
A meal like this is just crying out for a few toppings. I say this every time I post this type of Tex-Mex recipe, but it’s true – Tex-Mex food is just perfect for topping with all sorts of tasty extras:
- grated cheese (I melted mine in the microwave)
- chopped spring onions
- salsa
- fresh coriander (cilantro)
- sour cream
- avocado or guacamole
Really, just go mad with toppings. Every topping you add will lift these veggie burrito bowls further and further into deliciousness!
Can I make a vegan burrito bowl?
Absolutely! The main recipe of these veggie burrito bowls is actually vegan anyway. I added some cheese on top of mine, but you could easily swap it for vegan cheese, or just choose a few vegan toppings from the list above instead.
Alternatively, if you fancy something a bit different, you might also like my quinoa and roasted chickpea vegan burrito bowls!
It’s really hard to go wrong with these veggie burrito bowls.
Veggie burrito bowls
Ingredients
- 150 g (~ 3/4 cup) brown rice
- 1 tbsp oil
- 3 spring onions, sliced
- 1 bell pepper, diced (I used yellow)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ~ 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 400 g tin black beans, drained (240g, or ~ 1 1/4 cups, when drained)
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 100 ml (~ 1/3 cup) vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp hot sauce (however hot you like it)
- Your choice of toppings, to serve, e.g. grated cheese, sour cream, guacamole, fresh coriander (cilantro), etc.
Instructions
- Cook the brown rice according to the instructions on the packet – I boil mine in plenty of water until it's just soft (around 20 minutes), then drain.
- Meanwhile, heat a dash of oil in a large, deep frying pan, and add the spring onions, diced pepper and garlic. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, until softened.
- Add the halved cherry tomatoes, black beans, paprika, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes more, until the tomatoes are just softened. You can squish them a little to release their juice if you like.
- When the rice is cooked, add it to the vegetables, along with a little vegetable stock and a dash of hot sauce. Mix well to combine. Check the seasoning (you might want a little more hot sauce!), and serve with your choice of toppings.
Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and depends on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is for 1/2 the recipe, not including toppings.
I like the sound of this! I don’t have any hot sauce though – we don’t really like anything with more than a tiny hint of heat – so do you think sweet chilli sauce which we have would be just too alien in this?!
I think sweet chilli would be fine! Or just extra guacamole and sour cream :)
This recipe looks amazing! We love a burrito bowl, we will be trying this one out for sure soon using the veg from our boxes.ย
Hope you enjoy it!
I made this recipe yesterday and it was delicious! And super easy to make. Thank you.
Thank you Joanne! :)
Hi, Becca! This looks awesome. One question, though; have you found a way to lower the sodium without nixing on the flavour? Whether or not you have, your suggestions would be lovely. Hoping to make this soon! :)
Thanks Ellanor! I’m not that clued up on sodium, to be honest – which ingredients here are giving lots of sodium (other than the salt, obviously)? I guess you could just skip the added salt and maybe add some extra spice so it doesn’t end up bland?
Anything in a can will most likely have loads of sodium in it . Just rinse the beans before adding to the dish to help reduce the sodium. Creole seasoning kicked it up enough to cover the lack of salt .
Good to know! In the UK tinned beans generally don’t have added salt, unless you specifically buy ones in salted water.
I made this tonight and I must say it was a very, very tasty dish! I’m definitely saving the recipe! I omitted the cheese though, and I served the dish with Greek yogurt mixed with some garlic, cucumber,a touch of olive oil and salt on the top! Yummy! Thank you for the great recipe!
Rad! What spurred the change? It sounds almost like a Mediterranean dish now! :D
I made this tonight and I must say it was a very, very tasty dish! I’m definitely saving the recipe! I omitted the cheese though, and I served the dish with Greek yogurt mixed with some garlic, cucumber,a touch of olive and salt on the top! Yummy! Thank you for the great recipe!
Sounds great, thanks Anila!
Can this be made with Quinoa instead of rice?
I don’t see why not, just cook it as it describes on the packet :)
I’m going to try this tonight. I’m looking for some vegetarian meals and this one sounds yummy! I will probably substitute pintos for black beans because my husband doesn’t care for black beans. I like the idea of topping it with jalapeรฑos, which was mentioned in another comment. Thank you for the recipe!
Really hope you liked it Charlene! :)
Great recipes. I like Veggie Burrito Bowls. The recipes is very yummy and delicious. Thanks for sharing.
I love this recipe, its definitely one of my all time favourites and has become such a staple of mine whilst I’m at university! Anything with black beans in it and I’m sold haha – so simple to make yet still so delicious :) Thanks for sharing such a great recipe xx
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback! Glad this one’s helping you with your studies ;)
I know this is an oldie, and I’ve cooked it loads of times before, but I cooked this tonight for my parents for the first time and they looooovvvvvveeeeed it. Both asked for the recipe.
Needed to bulk it up a bit quantity wise, so I added some kidney beans and corn and it worked quite well. Forgot to grab some coriander and the slugs ate all of Mum’s, so I topped it with the green ends of spring onions instead, which was still yummy. And sour cream. Because I am a sour cream fiend.
Very satisfying, especially with the homegrown tomatoes. (Made your walnut Bolognese sauce last night – yeah, we have lots of tomatoes right now!)
Oh yay, I’m glad you’ve converted your parents to my recipes too! :D Thanks!
HI there, I was wondering if you knew the nutrition facts and serving size etc. Its really helpful for logging! I can’t wait to make this!
Hi Kristine, I’m afraid I don’t have that info for this recipe, but if you copy and paste the ingredients into a website like this one it should calculate it for you: http://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
Enjoy! :)
Hello.
Made it for dinner today, and the family loved it.
I skipped the coriander but added some jalapeno to make it hotter.
This is going in my cookbook, because this was delicious.
Thank you for the recipe.
Best regards
From Norway
Thanks Jonny, glad you liked it! :)
I’m cooking a dinner for a friend who is vegetarian and I found this recipe. I’m not sure what the g stands for. This sounds good and I hope for the first time it turns out ok.
Thanks
Do you mean in the recipe? It means grams. If you don’t have a set of kitchen scales you’ll need to google the quantities to turn them into cups – or just eyeball it :)
Is there any way to convert the recipe to ounces or cups? I’m unsure of how much rice that is.
I am doing it now. I am in love with your site, great recipes. Can’t wait to try more
Thanks so much Julienne :) hope you liked them!
doubled this for my family of 4 and it’s great. this is the 3rd recipe I’ve tried from your site and they are all good.
Thanks so much Jo, I hope you’ll try many more :)
Hi, Becca! I made this last night and really enjoyed it! It’s so simple, but it’s amazing how much greater fresh ingredients taste than buying something like this at a fast food joint. Thanks, as always, for the wonderful recipes! Nicki
I made this bowl with Huevos Rancheros (veggie), and I absolutely love it!
Thank you for sharing this wonderfull recipe!
Thanks for your comment Peter, really glad you enjoyed them :)
I made this bowl and we loved it…I added cumin to the bean mixture….and some lime juice!!! Perfect….
I’ve been looking for a recipe to make Chipotle at home. Some Daiya to make it vegan is the only thing I’d change. Can’t wait to try it.
I made this for lunch today with a few substitutions and added vegan chorizo. I loved it but my husband thinks it will be much better in a tortilla. We’ll be giving that a try when we heat up the leftovers. I hope it’s okay… I put my version with my pics on my blog and gave you full credit for the original dish and a link back to the original recipe. I bet this would also be good with quinoa instead of rice. Thanks for an awesome dish!
That’s fine!! Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for your comment! :)
This looks delicious! I am making this for dinner tonight. It’s perfect for Sunday dinners as I everything I need is in my fridge and pantry. Quick and easy!
Thanks,
Meg
We LOVED it!!
It was just so easy and so delicious! You’ve got another fan! :)
Thank you
Hi Becca,
Thinking of trying this recipe tonight.. Would this recipe be nice to eat in a wrap? Thanks.
Hi Jema, this recipe would definitely work well in a wrap! You might want to reduce the amount of rice a little though :) Enjoy!
Thanks! I appreciate your reply, and I look forward to trying your other recipes :) Peace!
I made this for lunch today! I grilled shrimp to go with it and added green beans my mom had cooked but forgot the cheese because I was rushing this morning. It was delicious :) Thank-you for another great recipe, I would definitely make this again.
Glad you enjoyed them Sandy, thanks for your message! :)
I made this tonight…it got rave reviews, and i sent the recipe to my sisters and friends interested in cooking. Probably one of the best burrito bowls I’ve tasted. I added some left over chopped chicken, and a little cumin (love cumin). It put the left overs in whole wheat tortillas, and wrapped them for lunch tomorrow! Seriously, great eats! Making your veggie filled black bean soup tomorrow! Thanks for the recipes!
Thanks so much Jennifer, I’m so pleased you loved it as much as I did! :) enjoy the soup!
Hello Becca!
I think your recipe is great but I made some adjustments since I’m eating vegan. I chose not to use any oil and instead grill some veggies and pineapple chunks on a stick using a george forman grill machine. I also got rid of the cheese and instead used a cheesy cashew sauce I found on this website: http://www.food.com/recipe/melty-cheese-sauce-vegan-404473
Here is what mine looks like! http://s14.postimg.org/veh5a4e41/image.jpg
Wow this looks sooo mouth watering, gonna try it very soon! not a fan of black beans so I might use cannelini beans. I fancy adding some fresh lime juice and a touch of sour cream on top too.
The whole black bean collection looks great and I’m dying to try this one, but where are folk in the uk buying their black beans from?
I live in Edinburgh and have checked local supermarkets and have not found them, unless I’m looking in the wrong place. There is a specialist chili shop I know stock them, but it’s not the most convenient place. Any help?
I find mine at Asda – they’re not by the other beans, they’re in the ‘world foods’ aisle with all the Caribbean foods. I was so happy when I spotted them one day!!
Thanks for this, my family loved it! I garnished the coriander on top with a few slices of scallions and some lime juice–the lime juice really put it over the top. My beans were bland so I put in some hot sauce, just a litt,e and even my toddlers were gobbling it up. I also stirred in some Quorn pieces (chick’n) to increase the protein and reduce the carbohydrate proportions. It was super. We will be doing this again!
Sounds great! I often use Quorn for things like this, I just try not to use ‘fake meat’ too often on the blog because I know a lot of people don’t like it :) Glad you all enjoyed it!
I have literally just finished eating my first ever bowl of veggie burrito. It was heavenly, just my type of food. I topped with the cheese and coriander as suggested but also added some sliced avocado, a drizzle of lime juice and a splash of tabasco. I will be making this on a regular basis. You must give it a try, it’s so easy too. No culinary skill required.
Only thing I would substitute out would be the cheese with “Tillamook Sharp Cheddar Cheese”. It’s much healthier then any other cheese I have ever had. You would just have to grate it at home :) I love the recipe though!! I have been a vegetarian all my life. I always try to create new recipes to keep myself excited about eating healthy and clean. Right now I’m doing red lentils and brown rice diet for 2 weeks! complete protein, fat, fiber and carbs and everything you need to detox and reboost your system. I’m taking probiotics, multi-vitamin and fish oil every morning as well.
What are tinned tomatoes? I found your blog from a blogger on pinterest
Just chopped tomatoes that come in a tin! :) Like these: http://images3.mysupermarket.co.uk/Products_1000/13/003913.jpg?v=1
OMG- just saw these and I am in love!!! Trying next week!
I made this for my family today and they loved it! We added a little lime to the rice and a sprinkle of cayenne on top and it was wonderful. I never would have thought to add cherry tomatoes but I have tons from our garden and it was a great addition. Thanks for the recipe! Even my toddler ate it :)
Yay I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! Thanks for letting me know! :)
Becca you do not need to *churn* your own butter. Dump some heavy cream into a food processor and whirl til it’s butter. Pour off butter “milk”. (My cat loves that stuff.) I add some crunchy sea salt to mine at this stage to make sel du mer beurre. You could probably add any flavorings you want. So much better than store bought. Keep in the fridge but it won’t last long you’ll eat it on everything.
Could you substitute coconut oil for the sunflower oil?
I’ve never used coconut oil so I can’t say for sure, but if that’s your usual cooking oil then have a go and let me know how it works! :)
An acidity regulator is an additive they would use to keep the acidity of the tinned tomatoes high enough so they are safe to be stored in a can. So when I can my own tomatoes, I may add lemon juice to boost the acidity of low acid tomatoes. It could be that they added acetic acid (vinegar is about 5% acetic acid). However, I understand why this unspecific ingredient would turn you off. Try looking at other brands of tinned tomatoes. Some will specifically list the acid (citric acid is common, which is what is in lemon juice), and some will be canned without additional acids at all.
This burrito bowl looks great! Healthy and yummy. I would definitely add some avocado and (homemade) salsa! Maybe a bit of Greek yogurt, too!
Ah, good to know! Thanks Sharon! :)
It looks delicious, and much reminiscent of my veggie chilli. My stalwart carnivore husband loves the veggie chilli, and to both of our surprise, it turns out he prefers brown rice and whole grain pasta to the refined version. Result! This goes to show: taste, test. Delicious things will out themselves.
One thing I will suggest:
With your lovely concoction, mix in light lettuce leaves, sliced fine. Little Gem, Romaine, Oak Leaf, even Iceberg or Napa cabbage– anything. don’t worry if your beans are still hot. Steamed lettuce is absolutely lovely. This is a great thing to do with leftovers, or for a pack lunch.
Ooh that’s an interesting idea! I don’t often cook lettuce but it actually sounds like it could work :)
It totally does! In China, vegetables are rarely eaten raw. Try cooking all kinds of things you wouldn’t normally cook. Stir-fried cucumbers with black beans is amazing.
Definitely going to try this recipe – delicious AND guilt-free! I look forward to trying it…I’m currently attempting to eat a better, cleaner diet and struggling to find interesting meals. This will help motivate me a lot!
I absolutely love this. I’m glad I found your post because I’ve recently been altering my diet as well, but for a more permanent life style change, and not just a week. Like you, I’m still trying to figure out what is clean and what isn’t. Sometimes it almost feels like nothing is 100% okay to eat. Just today I was reading that there are fruits, like apples, that if not bought organic will introduce at least 3-5 different types of toxins into your body. I live in a country where Organic food is not as readily available (especially when it’s imported, like apples) as it is in the states, so certain lifestyle changes can be really challenging.
But I love Mexican and Mexican inspired food and although some diets denounce grains and legumes, I am in love with Mexican cuisine simply because it utilises it so much. So I look forward to trying this burrito bowl, I’m sure it’ll be good.
Yum, these look lovely! I’ve never eaten clean, but I’ve toyed around with the idea. For me that would mean cutting out foods with unrecognizable ingredients, just like you. I can’t think of a food that would serve as an “acidity regulator”, so that would probably be out for me too.
I went into major diet mode about a month before our wedding and really cleaned it up. Now if I eat any sort of processed foods I feel absolutely disgusting. Love these burrito bowls, they sound delicious :)
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
good luck on your clean quest! let us know how it goes!
This looks fast, easy and delicious so that has to be good for you right?
Hi Becca! This looks fabulous! I saw this recipe on Meal Planning Maven’s FB page. Good for you guys for making a conscious effort to eat clean! I would never be able to give up cheese..never. I don’t believe in omitting any food in my diet…everything in moderation is my motto. Cheese can easily fit into a well-balanced meal. Same with whole grains. I guess I’ve been brainwashed in school about all the benefits of eating whole grains ;).
Thanks for stopping by :) Yeah I know some people think that all grains, even whole grains, are terrible, but I’ve never quite understood why!
Gah i don’t know if my last comment went or not!! I love this and your style of clean eating… I also love cheese and am glad it’s got it!
Oh jngs, I’ve never thought of that before, but I do love this dish. As usual you geet it spot on for me.
I could live off of nothing but rice bowls. They are my very favorite, and this one looks yum!
For me, when I do my “clean eating” , it would be no to cheese, but yes to tinned tomatoes – the opposite of you! But am a little sensitive to dairy so that’s mainly why. Anyway, the burrito bowl looks delicious and I bet the fresh tomatoes make it even better. Good luck!
Ha well tbh I’m just making it up as I go along ;) my rule seems to be, if there’s anything weird sounding on the label, don’t eat it! But yeah I’d usually view tinned tomatoes as far healthier than cheese, I just can’t give up my cheese! ;)
I’m wracking my brain trying to figure out how to paleo-ify this, because that’s been my “cleanse” lately. No beans or rice. Maybe I’d sub rice for quiona, but I’m coming up empty on the beans. I LOVE burrito bowls!
Ooh quinoa would be a good substitute. I’m guessing no chickpeas allowed either? I reckon if you just amped up the toppings you’d get just as much enjoyment even without the beans – some fresh tomato on top, maybe some avocado? :)
If this is what eating clean looks like, I’m in! That looks delicious. I could never give up cheese, but it is nice to cut out processed foods once in a while – I always feel healthier when I do. It’s so hard to resist when the treats make the rounds at the office though!
These look amazing!!! I love burrito bowls.:)
Good for you guys! It takes a lot of dedication and awareness to do a cleanse of sorts. I’ve long wondered if eliminating dairy would have a positive effect for my body…but have never had the willpower to try for any length of time, haha.
The processed foods is tricky, but again, really admirable! I love Quorn, too :)
Eager to see what kinds of helpful advice you might receive! Though I wouldn’t say you’re ever doing anything *wrong*, no matter what someone else’s experience might be. Everyone’s bodies, diets and preferences are different, and what works for one person may not work for someone else. Just do what feels right for you guys!