Vegan Burrito Bowl

Good food can heal the body. I’m well acquainted with the idea, having dramatically changed my diet post-cancer to focus on plant-based foods. Recently though, I’ve had the opportunity to help someone else heal, and I’ve watched the power of a good meal in action. After my wife’s recent knee surgery, our friends brought over some really delicious, healthy meals so she could focus on healing and I could focus on being Chief Nurse / Trash Taker Outer / Dog Walker / Garden Manager. Our friend Lauren showed up with a Mexican food-inspired bowl. We took one bite of the bowl and a double rainbow shot from our spoons – food inspiration and a wife with a sparkle in her eye.

This vegan burrito bowl has cumin-flavored sweet potatoes and beets, tangy pickled onions, creamy avocado cilantro sauce, bright cherry tomatoes, and fresh fried tortilla strips for crunch. Together, it manages to be both hearty and light. This bowl also falls into the category of “spring cleaning” bowls. Don’t have a sweet potato, only a regular ol’ potato? Substitute away, my friend. Are your carrots going bad? Dice them babies up and throw them in the cumin bath for some delicious beta carotene. Half an onion hanging out in your fridge with no plans for recipe inclusion? Spread the love and ask the onion to bring its flavor to this bowl.

vegan burrito bowl and wine

Give me this bowl, and give me any glass of wine. Really though—it’s hard to go wrong with this one, so be bold in your wine pairings. The yummy avocado creaminess and salted cumin vegetables provide a good base for a lot of wines to shine. It’s also mild on the heat front so you don’t have to worry about alcohol content or tannins. Consider this meal a playground for wine experimentation and have some fun:

• Cava – Your Spanish version of Champagne. Often much more affordable than Champagne and of a similar quality. Lemon-lime, pear, almond deliciousness. The bubbles work like palate-cleaners so you get a mouth refresh with each sip. Plus, you feel fancy—high fancy factor here, folks.
  • Suggested Regions: Penedès Region in Spain
• Albariño – I think I have a crush on Albariño. Crisp and fruity, with grapefruit and melon shining through. The meal’s cumin-spiced veggies saddle up perfectly with this wine.
  • Suggested Regions: Rias Baixas, Spain or Minho, Portugal.
• Zinfandel – Switching gears here to big jammy reds. Fruit-forward and big-bodied with a full but soft mouthfeel. Be prepared for blackberry, strawberry, and sweet tobacco.
  • Suggested Regions: Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles, Lodi, or the Sierra Foothills in California

Vegan Burrito Bowl

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

A hearty vegan burrito bowl and a new favorite around our house. Pair with a crisp white or a big jammy red wine for a dreamy combo.

• Author: Plant & Vine
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings
• Category: Mains, Vegan, Bowls
• Method: Frying
• Cuisine: American, Mexican

Ingredients

Cumin Veggies:

• 2 medium beets, diced
• 1 large sweet potato, diced
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil for cooking

Avocado Cilantro Sauce:

• 1 jalapeño, broiled for 3-5 minutes and then de-seeded
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup raw pepitas, toasted
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
• Juice of 1 lime, plus additional lime juice to thin as needed
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 avocado

For the Bowls:

• Quick Pickled Onions
• 1 cup brown rice, cooked to directions
• 1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 head red cabbage, thinly sliced and tossed in apple cider vinegar
• 5 corn tortillas, cut and fried in small strips
• Oil to fry tortilla strips
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

1. Make Quick Pickled Onions. These will need an hour to sit.
2. While onions are pickling, make rice accordingly to package directions. When ready, fluff with fork and set aside.
3. Avocado cilantro sauce: Roast jalapeño by preheating oven to broil. Cut the jalapeño in half (lengthwise) and remove seeds. Place jalapeño halves seed side down on tinfoil lined baking sheet and put into oven on top shelf near broilers. Roast for 3-4 minutes until pepper skin is charred, with a few patches of green remaining. Remove from oven to cool. Put the cooled jalapeño in small food processor, along with the garlic, pepitas, sea salt, cilantro, lime juice, vinegar, olive oil, water and avocado. Blend until smooth. If sauce is too thick, you can thin it with additional lime juice or red or white wine vinegar if you don’t have additional limes. Put in refrigerator until ready to use; it will firm in the fridge. Best fresh but can keep covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
4. Cumin vegetables: Heat skillet over medium heat. While warming, in a separate bowl, mix diced vegetables and garlic powder, chili powder, and cumin until evenly coated. Once skillet is hot, add oil and vegetables. Cook about 8 – 12 minutes stirring occasionally until tender. Cover and set aside.
5. Tortilla strips: Heat medium skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add oil. When oil is heated, add tortilla strips to fry them lightly on each side. This takes around 1-2 minutes per side, flipping so each side is golden with some browning spots.
6. To assemble bowls, put rice as base. Add pickled onions, cherry tomatoes, avocado cilantro sauce, cumin vegetables, red cabbage. Top with tortilla strips and cilantro.
7. Best when fresh. To store, keep ingredients separate in covered containers in refrigerator. Will keep up to 4 days.

Notes

*Recipe is a guide. Adapt ingredients and measurements as desired. Avocado Cilantro sauce adapted from Sprouted Kitchen’s Mexi Bowl Sauce.

Keywords: vegan burrito bowl, burrito bowl, healthy bowls