Description
Move over Chipotle! This Grilled Veggie Burrito Bowl recipe is a longtime PWWB favorite. These veggie-loaded bowls explode with fresh flavor & hearty texture, making for a seriously light-yet-satisfying meal, plus, they’re so easy to make!
In my experience, building a satisfying vegan or vegetarian burrito bowl at home is all about creating layers of different flavors & textures. That’s exactly what you’ll find in these bowls:
- Grilled veggies, of course! Tossing hearty veggies on the grill makes them gloriously charred & smoky, plus they cook up really quickly. I like a combination of fajitas-style peppers & onions, hearty sweet potatoes, & sweet corn, but you can really use whatever veggies you love most or happen to already have on hand.
- Creamy green rice, which is basically like next-level cilantro lime rice. Blitz up avocado with cilantro, jalapeno, & plenty of lime juice, then fold it into your cooked rice of choice.
- Add-ons galore. Whether you like black beans, shredded lettuce, salsa, cheese, yogurt or crema, pile on whatever your heart desires to layer on new flavors & textures.
The beautiful thing about these veggie burrito bowls is that they’re infinitely customizable – be sure to check out the blog post, above, for plenty of easy variations, & look to the Recipe Notes, below, for meal prep tips to make dinnertime even easier.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or high smoke point vegetable oil of choice
- 2 ears sweet corn, husked
- 3 large bell peppers (color of choice), sliced from stem into 3–4 flat planks
- 2 red onions, peeled & sliced into ⅛ths (with root end in tact)
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled as desired & sliced into ½-inch rounds (crosswise) or planks (lengthwise)
- 1 (one) 15-ounce can black beans, drained & rinsed
- kosher salt & ground black pepper, to season
- for serving, as desired: green rice (below), pico de gallo or salsa of choice, chopped lettuce, finely chopped cilantro, sour cream or cashew crema, guacamole or mashed avocado, lime wedges, etc.
for the green rice:
- 2 cups cooked brown rice or rice of choice
- 1 large avocado
- 2 jalapeños, deseeded as desires & roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves & tender stems
- 2 large, juicy limes, juiced (about ¼ cup juice)
- ¼ cup water
- kosher salt & ground black pepper, to season
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the grill for medium-high direct heat grilling, 450-500 degrees F. Gather & prep all ingredients according to Ingredients List, above.
- Prep the green rice: Add the avocado, jalapeños, garlic, cilantro, & lime juice to a food processor. Season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt & ground black pepper as desired. Pulse to combine. Once combined, let the food processor run, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary, & slowly stream in the water until the mixture is creamy & pureed. Depending on the size of the avocado you use, you may need a little more/less water. Transfer the avocado mixture to a large bowl, then fold in the rice until combined. Taste & season with additional salt or ground black pepper as desired. Set aside for serving.
- Grill the veggies: Place the corn, bell peppers, onions, & sweet potato on a baking sheet. Drizzle with avocado oil. Season with heaping 1 teaspoon kosher salt & ground black pepper as desired. Toss to coat well. Place the vegetables on the preheated grill. Grill 3-4 minutes per side, or until charred & tender as desired. Transfer the grilled veggies to the baking sheet. Once cool enough to handle, slice the corn from the cob & chop remaining veggies into bite-sized pieces.
- Burrito bowl assembly: Place a generous spoonful of the green rice on the bottom of a large, shallow bowl. Top with the grilled veggies, grilled corn, black beans, lettuce, & any other toppings you’d like. Enjoy!
Notes
- Easy add-on ⇢ Go-To Quick Pico: My go-to quick pico is the best, simple homemade salsa. If you have some fresh tomatoes on hand, whipping it up only takes a couple of minutes! Quarter 1 pint cherry tomatoes, finely dice 1/2 small red onion, & roughly chop 1/2 cup cilantro leaves & tender stems. Add to a medium bowl. Squeeze 1 lime over top & season with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt & ground black pepper as desired. Stir to combine & enjoy.
- Storage & Reheating: Store leftover grilled veggies & rice in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat the veggies in the microwave or on the stovetop until warmed through, then assemble a veggie burrito bowl as desired.
- 10-15 Minute Meal Prep: Nearly all of the active prep work for these grilled veggie burrito bowls comes from prepping the veggies &/or cooking the rice. Prep either or both in advance to get a head start on your vegetarian bowls – it takes 15 minutes of active work, tops:
- Cook 1/2 cup brown rice according to package directions. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. (5 minutes active) Alternatively, you could also use quick-cook or minute rice to eliminate a longer cook time.
- Vegetable prep: Husk 2 ears sweet corn, slice 2 bell peppers into large, flat planks (pictured), slice 2 red onions into 1/8ths with root end in tact (pictured), & slice 1 large sweet potato into 1/2-inch rounds (crosswise) or planks (lengthwise). Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. (>10 minutes active)