Vegetarian Bean Burrito Bowls

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Anything with the word “burrito” in it is automatically on my list of favorite things to eat! But, as much as I love a good burrito with a delicious flour tortilla filled with all the tasty things, I surprisingly don’t always want to have the tortilla. Thankfully, the burrito bowl was invented (not by me of course – but by some other genius who loves burrito filling as much as I do). This is also a delicious alternative for those who are gluten-free or just want to cut back on carbs!

It’s Simple

This recipe is very easy to make while still being packed with flavor, and also a great candidate for meal prepping lunches for the week.

While you can, of course, make your own black beans if you are opposed to canned (the Instant Pot does a great job with those!) and use fresh corn, I use canned ingredients for this one to make life extra easy. The bean mixture itself only takes about 20 minutes to prep and cook!

I generally get all my ingredients from Trader Joe’s for this recipe, but other stores will have most of these ingredients.

Ingredients

• 2 cans of Cuban black beans from Trader Joe’s
• 1 can of corn
• 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 medium onion
• 2 medium to large jalapenos (optional, depending on spice level)
• 4 large cloves garlic (about 1 tbsp diced)
• 1 tbsp Trader Joe’s chili seasoning (see below for substitutions)
• Everything But the Elote seasoning from Trader Joe’s (to taste)
• Hot sauce to taste (I use Trader Joe’s habanero)
• Salt (to taste)
• 1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup uncooked brown rice

Optional

• Cilantro
• Fresh sliced avocado (or guacamole to-go packets from TJ’s)
• Fresh lime wedges
• Sour cream
• Cotija cheese

Notes on Ingredients

Beans

• If you’re using plain black beans, add two small cans of green chiles to this recipe for extra flavor. The Cuban Style black beans from Trader Joe’s already come with chiles and extra flavor.
• Reserve the bean juice (meaning, don’t drain or rinse) for cooking

Cheese

Cotija cheese is by far my favorite for Mexican-style dishes and compliments the flavors well. You could definitely use a shredded Mexican cheese blend in place of the Cotija, but you’ll be missing out! Trader Joe’s sells a really good brand, but I also purchase the Cacique brand at other stores.

Chili Seasoning Blend

Trader Joe’s Chili Seasoning blend works perfectly for this recipe, but if you don’t have it on hand, the ingredients include: chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and oregano.

Elote Seasoning

This is one ingredient you can’t find anywhere else other than Trader Joe’s. It tends to add a really nice smokey flavor so I just add a few shakes and taste as I go so as to not overpower the rest of the flavors in the dish.

Hot Sauce

The Trader Joe’s habanero hot sauce is very spicy. I use 1 tbsp but I love things to be pretty fiery. If you aren’t into the spicy stuff, use a milder sauce or add a little bit at a time to taste.

Directions

1. Cook brown rice to package specifications (I start with this step first as brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice – allow for 40 to 45 mins).
2. Small dice the onions, jalapenos, and garlic. Season with salt.
3. Heat 1 to 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large pot and saute onions, jalapenos, and garlic until softened.
4. Add black beans (with liquid), corn (drained), fire roasted tomatoes (with liquid), seasonings, and hot sauce. Let simmer on medium-low heat to thicken – about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally, and taste – adding more salt and seasoning if necessary.
5. Prepare garnishes: chop up fresh cilantro, cut up some lime wedges, and slice up an avocado (I also use the single guacamole packets from Trader Joe’s when I can’t get avos or if I don’t want to worry about them going bad). Crumble up the cotija, if using.
6. Serve the black bean mixture piping hot over the brown rice and add garnishes on top.

This batch makes quite a bit of food – at least five big servings (you could stretch it out to more if you are a light eater, or even freeze some for later!). Very hearty, yet healthy at the same time.

Make it Vegan

This recipe can easily be modified to be made vegan. Just omit the cheese and sour cream as toppings, and don’t use the Elote seasoning from Trader Joe’s as that has dairy in it.

Variations

I love to serve this with brown rice, but quinoa works great too! I also occasionally add zucchini when sauteing the bean mixture (bell pepper would work nicely as well).

Enjoy!