Homemade Vegetarian Burrito Bowls

Continuing my winning Mexican streak – cooked lunch perfect burrito bowls this time! A much healthier alternative, burrito bowls have everything that goes into a burrito, minus the tortilla. What’s more, you can add anything into a good burrito bowl. Substitute rice for brown rice or millets or even cauliflower rice, add proteins and beans of your choice. The possibilities are endless!

Don’t let the list of ingredients daunt you. They come together in NO time and believe me when I say this, it is so simple. And yet, packing a punch of flavours.

Love your Mexican fare? Try Wholewheat Quesadillas for your next meal. Or a more indulgent one, with cauli-meat enchiladas.

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Ingredients for Burrito Bowls – serves 4

MEXICAN RICE

• Rice – 1-1/2 cups, soaked
• Onion, chopped – 1, medium-sized
• Bell pepper, a mix of yellow, red and green, chopped – 1 cup
• Tomato, chopped – 1, medium-sized
• Tomatoes, pureed – 4, medium-sized
• Zucchini, chopped – 1 cup
• Sweet corn – 1 cup
• Coriander powder – 1/2 tsp
• Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
• Tomato ketchup – 1 tbsp
• Chilli sauce – 1 tsp
• Sugar – 1 tsp
• Salt – to taste
• Oil – 1 tbsp

REFRIED BEANS

• Kidney beans/ Black beans, soaked overnight – 1/2 cup
• Cloves – 4
• Oil – 1 tbsp
• Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
• Tomato ketchup – 1 tsp
• Chilli sauce – 1/2 tsp
• Salt – to taste

Putting the Burrito Bowls together

• Grated cheese of your choice – 1 cup
• Nachos – 30g packet, I used the BBQ flavour of Cornitos
• Fresh Corn Salsa – check the recipe here
• Fresh lemon – to garnish

Method for the Burrito Bowls

To make the Mexican Rice

• Heat oil in a pan, add the chopped onion and cook until translucent.
• Add the chopped tomatoes, zucchini, bell pepper and sweet corn to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Season with salt, sugar, coriander powder and red chilli powder and mix well.
• Add the soaked rice to the pan, tomato puree, tomato and chilli sauce and 1 cup water. Mix and bring to a boil. Cover and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Make sure to check that the rice is not burning from the bottom.

For the refried beans

• Add oil to the pan and add the cloves. They will start to crackle and release aroma as the oil starts to heat up.
• Add the soaked beans, chilli powder, ketchup, chilli sauce and salt. Mix well and mash the beans as you do so.
• Cook as you mash for 5 minutes and the beans will come together, smelling absolutely fantastic!

Plating up!

In a bowl, add a generous heapful of the cooked rice on one side, add a spoonful of the refried beans on the other. Put in a tablespoon of the fresh, chilled salsa, few Nacho chips and sprinkle some cheese. A dash of lemon juice if you favour some more acidity.

And done, its ready to be polished off! Feel free to add avocados and more cheese if it is available to you.