This Vegan Burrito Bowl recipe combines seasoned black beans and fajita veggies for a healthy and delicious meal that's sure to satisfy. You need just a few ingredients and 20 minutes to put together this easy, oil-free, & totally delicious Chipotle-style Burrito Bowl!
I live in Germany, a country with exactly 2 Chipotles, and they're both in Frankfurt (not where I live). There are, in fact, zero places to get a burrito bowl (vegan or not) in my city. And the handful of Mexican restaurants are, to put it bluntly, terrible. Thankfully making burrito bowls at home is super easy! Plus you can control for extra factors like added oil and sodium. These vegan burrito bowls are actually so quick I even make them sometimes for lunch--and I am NOT a cook-hot-food-for-lunch kind of person.
And not only are these burrito bowls quick and easy, but they are the absolute epitome of simple & delicious. I know there are a lot of complicated vegan recipes out there (even, dare I say, on this website). But there is something so comforting about meals based around simple ingredients like beans and rice.
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You'll love this Vegan Burrito Bowl recipe because it's:
- Vegan / Vegetarian
- WFPB & Oil-Free
- Full of Healthy Fajita Veggies
- Quick (Just 20 Minutes)
- Easy (Just 6 Main Ingredients)
- Versatile (you can easily switch out ingredients with what you already have in the kitchen)
- Perfect for Picky Eaters (since everyone gets to choose their own fillings)
- Great for sharing with non-vegans (see the above point)
- Delicious & Flavorful
- Incredibly Satisfying!
Is this a Chipotle-inspired burrito bowl?
Sure is! When I'm in the US I love stopping for a quick and semi-healthy lunch at Chipotle. It's one of the few "fast-food" restaurants I'll eat at, and there are several delicious vegan options. To make this vegan burrito bowl even more like Chipotle, you could try adding corn, pico de Gallo, and a generous portion of guacamole. But in order to keep this recipe quick and under 6 main ingredients, I'll keep those as optional.
Can I add tofu?
Definitely! I frequently do. If you're going to add tofu, you can cook the tofu quickly by cubing, seasoning with cumin, chile powder, and garlic, and either cooking it in the skillet or oven.
Can I use pinto beans?
Yes! In fact, I love this recipe with pinto beans too! You can either use canned pinto beans or make up a batch of Instant Pot Pinto Beans to use throughout the week.
What kind of salsa should I use?
You know what they say: whatever ever salsa you have, is the best salsa. That's a saying, right? It should be! I love a vegan burrito bowl with a tomatillo salsa (aka salsa verde), but make it easy on yourself and use your personal favorite. If you're out of salsa, you can whip up a batch of Restaurant-Style Salsa with just a few simple ingredients.
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 1 cup quick-cooking rice
- 1 15oz or 400g cans of black beans
- 1 medium red onion
- 2 bell peppers (any color)
- 1 head of lettuce of choice (I used romaine)
- salsa of choice (I used Salsa Verde)
Spices
- coriander
- chili powder
- garlic powder
- oregano
- fresh cracked pepper
- salt salt
Optional ingredients & garnishes
- avocado crema or guacamole
- vegan sour cream or unsweetened yogurt
- chopped cilantro
- lime wedges
- cashew queso
- chipotle mayo
Instructions
- Start by heating a nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Then wash and cut your bell peppers and onion into strips (aka julienne cuts). Add the peppers and onions to the hot skillet, season your veggies, and let them sear (that is, don't mess with them).
- After a few minutes, you can move them around in the skillet so that different parts are touching the heat. The parts touching the skillet will get that lovely dark color that you want from fajitas. You don't need oil for this preparation, but if you notice the onions are starting to stick or burn, you can turn the heat down to medium and/or deglaze the skillet with a small amount of water.
- Next start your rice (if the rice you're using takes longer than 15 minutes, do this step first). To make sure your rice turns out fluffy and soft, give your rice a good rinse in a fine mesh strainer to remove excess starches before adding to the pot. While the rice is cooking, don't stir it, as this will cause more starches to release and make your rice gummy.
- After the rice is going, wash and cut or tear the lettuce. Drain and rinse a can of beans. Keep an eye on the peppers and onions in the skillet, stirring or deglazing as needed.
- When the peppers and onions are finished cooking, remove them from the skillet and set them aside.
- Add the beans to the same skillet, season, and add ½ cup of water. The beans will heat up quickly in the pan.
- By then, the rice should be finished. Now just assemble the burrito bowl, garnish, and serve right away!
How to meal prep & store
The trick with meal prepping is to keep certain elements separate. For this recipe you can cook your beans, veggies, and rice and portion into lunch-sized containers. But leave off any garnishes and the lettuce.
Washed and cut romaine lettuce won't last more than a day in the fridge before starting to brown, so either hold off on prepping the lettuce or use a pre-washed spring mix or spinach.
A warning about meal-prepping rice
Rice should be stored immediately after cooking. If it sits out too long the spores can start to grow a bacteria that can give you food poising. Yeek! Thankfully, rice that has gone bad has a really nasty smell and even worse taste, so if your rice is bad, you should know! Don't let this turn you off of meal prepping rice, just be cautious.
Related recipes:
- Vegetable Fajitas
- Vegan Street Tacos
- Sticky Orange Tofu (Oil-Free)
- Baked Vegan Taquitos
- Vegan Thai Curry
📖 Recipe
Vegan Burrito Bowl
Equipment
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 1 cup quick-cooking rice
- 1 15oz or 400g cans of black beans
- 1 medium red onion
- 2 bell peppers (any color)
- 1 head of lettuce of choice (I used romaine)
- salsa of choice (I used Salsa Verde)
Spices
Optional Ingredients & Garnishes
- sliced avocado or guacamole
- vegan sour cream or unsweetened yogurt
- chopped cilantro
- lime wedges
Instructions
Fajita Vegetables
- Heat a nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
- Wash and cut the bell peppers and onions into strips.
- Add the peppers and onions, along with the seasonings (listed above, ½ to 1 teaspoon each), to the hot skillet. Let the veggies sear and give off their own liquid to keep them from sticking. Stir every few minutes so that different sides touch the hot skillet. If they start to burn, turn down the heat and/or deglaze the skillet with 2 tablespoon of water.
Rice
- (If you're not using quick-cooking rice, start the rice first!)
- After you place the veggies in the skillet. Measure the rice, add to a mesh strainer, and rinse.
- Add the rice and 1 ½ cups of water to a medium pot. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. (Most rice follows a 1 to 1.5 ratio of rice to water: see package instructions, as the ratio could vary depending on your chosen brand).
- After the rice begins to boil, turn down the heat to medium or medium-low and simmer (covered) for about ten minutes or until the rice is done (see package directions, as all types of rice require different cooking times.
Beans
- After the fajitas are nicely seared and cooked but still firm, remove from the skillet and place in a bowl for serving.
- Drain and rinse 1 can of beans. Add the beans, seasonings (listed above, ½ to 1 teaspoon each), and ½ cup water directly to the same skillet (no need to wash in between). Heat over medium until the beans are warm and the water in reduced.
- Remove the beans and place in a bowl for serving.
Other Prep Work
- While the other food is cooking you can prep the other ingredients. Wash and cut or tear the lettuce. Collect and prepare your salsa and other garnishes.
Assemble the Vegan Burrito Bowls
- Place all of the components in different bowls on the table and let everyone build their own burrito bowl from their favorite ingredients and garnishes. Enjoy!
Notes
- Choose whatever quick-cooking rice you have on hand. For the photos, I choose a 10-minute brown rice.
- I like to use red and green bell peppers, but feel free to choose yellow, orange, or whatever you have.
- I used romaine lettuce here, but I have also used spinach or mixed greens.
- I prefer this with tomatillo or salsa verde, but again, use whatever you have.
- Feel free to mix up the seasonings based on what you have available.
- For a dish like this, you don't need to measure the spices per say. Just add about ½ teaspoon of each and taste. If you think it needs more, add a little more.
- Another fun addition to this meal is corn (canned or frozen). Add to the skillet when you are heating with the beans.
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