Summer Harvest Vegan Burrito Bowl

This post was originally published in September 2018. It has been updated with improvements to the text and recipe as of June 2020.

Tomatoes are just coming into season in July, and so are these vegan burrito bowls. Spicy black beans and piles of colourful summer veggies top off a base of fluffy rice, with simple pickled onions and lime making up the ‘sauce’ for this vegan burrito bowl. I’m not a big fan of avocado (too imported, too expensive, and with a host of social issues attached) and you definitely don’t miss it in this Mexican inspired rice bowl.

Because you can make the beans and prep the veg while the rice is cooking, this is about a twenty minute meal. That depends on what kind of rice you use, of course – but if you want to cut your brown rice cooking time, soak it 24 hours ahead of time (you can freeze soaked rice, too).

Ingredients

• Rice (whatever kind you prefer)
• Cherry tomatoes
• Bell pepper or mini sweet peppers
• Rucola or lettuce
• Pickled onions
• Lime
• Cilantro or parsley

For the Spicy Black Beans:

• Cooked black beans
• Olive oil
• Red onion
• Garlic
• Apple cider vinegar
• Cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper

Method

Before you begin, keep in mind that pickling onions takes at least a couple of hours. If you want to have this for dinner, do the onions at lunchtime or the night before.

Start off by cooking the rice – it should take 15-20 minutes for white rice, or about 40 for brown. While the rice is cooking, get going on the beans and vegetables. This is what makes it a short prep-time!

Sauté the onions over medium heat in a large pan with olive oil. The longest cooking time here is for the onions, because you just need to warm the beans through. Once the onions are translucent, stir in the garlic and spices. Cooking the spices for a minute toasts them slightly and releases fragrant oils – in other words, it makes them taste a lot better.

Add the beans and ACV, stir through to coat, then pop a lid on there to keep warm while you prep the remaining elements and the rice finishes up.

This is when you want to cut the vegetables – slice the tomatoes and peppers, wash the greens, chop the cilantro. Once everything is ready to go, divide it up between two bowls and serve immediately.

Tips and Notes

This is great for cooler summer days – you have a warm base but it’s still topped with energising raw veggies. If you don’t mind cold rice, these super healthy vegan burrito bowls make great packed lunches because there’s no sauce to sog things up. Or pack the rice and beans in a heat-safe container and then top them with the veggies after warming them up at work or school.

Substitutions

If you feel that rice isn’t nutritious enough, try subbing quinoa in its place or cauliflower rice if you prefer. You could throw some extra rucola or lettuce in there instead too. I didn’t have brown rice at the house we’re currently in so I used a wild rice/long grain mix and boy is it a treat to have some white rice! No regrets here. We usually eat a pile of brown rice and I can’t remember the last time I had white rice, so good.

Of course, change up the veggie toppings with your preferred veg or with what you have in the house or garden. Cucumber, some sautéed zucchini or green beans, even some pumpkin in later summer/early autumn.

More Summery Bowls

Mexican Lentil Salad with Lime Vinaigrette
End of Summer Greek Chickpea Salad
Golden Coconut Curry Noodle Bowls
Roasted Summer Vegetable Pasta

Let’s connect! If you liked this recipe, make sure to leave a comment below, I love hearing from you! Tag me on instagram @occasionallyeggs and #occasionallyeggs so I can see what you’re making, and stay in touch via email, facebook, and pinterest.