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- Makes 4 bowls
- Serving size: 1 bowl
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Our whole-food, plant-based riff on Chipotle’s classic menu item combines many flavorful elements in one big gorgeous bowl! Fragrant cilantro lime rice, seasoned black beans, and a quick Chile-Corn Salsa (recipe below) deliver heft while going big on flavor. Top with smoky skillet-cooked bell peppers and red onion, a dollop of guacamole, and a handful of shredded lettuce for a colorful, restaurant-quality veggie burrito bowl you can be proud of.
Shortcuts
This dish has a few different components: salsa, refried beans, fajita vegetables, and cilantro lime rice. While the salsa and refried beans are especially flavorful when made from scratch, this recipe would absolutely be delicious with store-bought refried beans (which lets you skip Step 2) and salsa. And feel free to prepare the fajita veggies and rice in advance up to a few days in advance, store them in the fridge, and reheat them when you’re ready to eat.
Chile-Corn Salsa
In a large dry skillet, cook 1½ cups frozen sweet corn kernels, thawed and patted dry, over medium-high 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly charred, stirring frequently and reducing heat if corn browns too quickly. Add 1 small jalapeño chile, seeded (if desired) and finely chopped, and 1 clove garlic, minced. Cook and stir 30 seconds. Immediately transfer corn mixture to a medium bowl. Stir in 1½ cups chopped seeded tomatoes and 2 tablespoons lime juice. Season with salt to taste.
For more inspiration, check out these tasty ideas:
Ingredients
- 1 cup long grain brown rice
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 2 15-oz. cans no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained (3 cups)
- 1½ teaspoons paprika
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper or cayenne pepper
- 2 medium red and/or green bell peppers, cut into ½-inch strips
- ½ of a medium red onion, cut into ½-inch-thick slices
- 2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
- 1 recipe Chile-Corn Salsa or purchased low-sodium corn salsa
- Purchased guacamole
- Seared jalapeño halves or lime wedges (optional)
Instructions
- To make Cilantro-Lime Rice, in a large saucepan combine rice, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 2 cups water. Bring to boiling over medium; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 40 to 45 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Let stand 5 minutes; fluff with a fork. Just before serving, stir in cilantro and lime zest.
- In a medium saucepan stir together the next six ingredients (through black pepper) plus the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ cup water. Bring just to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 6 to 8 minutes to blend flavors, stirring occasionally.
- For fajita vegetables, in a large skillet cook bell peppers and red onion over medium 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp-tender, stirring frequently and adding water, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, as needed to prevent sticking.
- Layer Cilantro-Lime Rice, lettuce, chile-corn salsa (or store-bought salsa), black beans, fajita vegetables, and guacamole in shallow serving bowls. Top with additional fresh cilantro and, if you like, garnish with jalapeño halves.
Per serving (1 bowl): 487 calories, 91 g carbohydrates, 19 g protein, 7 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 g cholesterol, 606 mg sodium, 19 g fiber, 10 g sugar
Note: Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only.
Comments (4)
(5 from 2 votes)Oh my gosh—this was so tasty and satisfying! I had a blast charring the corn for the salsa—who knew frozen corn could actually pop? It was delectable! I didn’t have limes on hand, so I swapped in lemon, and it worked just fine. I also repurposed leftover rice (again with lemon instead of lime) and had to use parsley in place of cilantro—but everything still came together beautifully. The beans were truly the star of the meal—so flavorful and hearty. For the veggie fajitas, I added ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika, which gave them a nice boost. I will say, this recipe required quite a few pots and pans, but the end result was absolutely worth it. From start to finish, it took me about 30 minutes to get on the table, though I had the rice pre-cooked. I loved this dish and will definitely be making it again!
It is not particularly useful to get a “Sunday dinner” recipe at 2:20 on a Sunday afternoon. I guess your expectation is that (1) dinner means evening and (2) my pantry is fully stocked so I can immediately prep the recipe.
I just put chopped avocado on top instead of making the guacamole but otherwise followed the recipe. The hubs and I both loved it!
So Good! Added about a tbsp of lime juice with the zest and subbed pineapple salsa (Trader Joes) for the corn salsa. Had just the right amount of flavor and heat.