Burrito bowls offer all the great flavors of vegetable burritos, and then some. Filled with tasty ingredients including rice, plant-based ground, beans, guacamole, vegan sour cream, tomatoes, and lettuce, vegan burrito bowls are a perfect family meal.
Burrito bowls, popularized by Chipotle, have become quite popular on food sites around the web; this one is plant-based all the way.
I usually shy away from recipes with long (or even long-ish) ingredient lists, and make that double for dishes that require two different cooking pots. But I will promise you that this recipe is super easy to make, and so colorful and festive to serve.
While the rice cooks, everything else is prepared. If you use white rice you’ll be eating within a half hour; brown rice will take an additional 15 minutes or so.
Plant-based protein options for this recipe
The nice thing about this recipe is that your plant-based protein is combined with nourishing, inexpensive black beans. And if on occasion you prefer to make this only with beans, it’s just as good. If you do like the idea of the combo, you have a choice of using:
- Plant-based ground
- Plant-based chorizo
- 2 beefy-style vegan burgers, crumbled
- Easy Vegan Mushroom and Tempeh Chorizo (recipe on this site)
Recipe is from Plant-Powered Protein by Nava Atlas. Photos by Hannah Kaminsky, Bittersweet Blog.com.
See lots more recipes using plant-based ground. And find more tasty vegan rice recipes from around the world.
Vegan Burrito Bowls (with salsa rice & plant-based protein)

Vegan burrito bowls offer all the great flavors of vegetable burritos — and then some.
Ingredients
Salsa rice
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 bell pepper, any color, finely chopped
- 1 cup uncooked long-grain rice, white or brown, as you prefer
- 1 cup salsa, your favorite variety
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
For the protein
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 to 5 ounces plant-based beefy-style crumbles or ground (see options in Notes)
- 1 cup cooked or canned (drained and rinsed) black beans
- 1/2 cup salsa, or as needed
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
Avocado mash (or see shortcut)
- 1 medium avocado, well mashed
- 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
Toppings
- 1 cup cheddar or pepper jack style vegan cheese shreds
- 1 medium tomato, finely diced
- Shredded lettuce, as needed
- Vegan sour cream, optional
- Salsa or picante sauce
Instructions
- For the rice: Heat the oil in a large skillet or stir-fry pan. Add the onion and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent. Add the garlic and bell pepper and continue to sauté until all are golden.
- Add the rice, salsa, and chili powder, and 2 cups water for white rice; 2 1/2 cups water for brown. Bring to a slow boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer gently until the water is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes for the white rice and 30 to 35 minutes for brown. If the rice isn’t done to your liking, add 1/2 cup more water and continue to cook until absorbed.
- For the protein: Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small skillet. Add the ground and sauté over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the beans and salsa and continue to cook for 5 minutes or so, until sizzling hot.
- For the avocado mash: Combine the avocado and lemon juice in a shallow bowl and mash well. Skip this step if you’re using prepared guacamole.
- To assemble: Divide the rice between four wide shallow bowls. Arrange about 1/2 cup of the protein mixture on the rice in a mound, either in the center or off to the side. You’ll likely have more that you need for this arrangement, so you can keep it handy for anyone who’d like to replenish. Divide the avocado mash (or guacamole) and vegan cheese in mounds on the surface of the rice in each bowl.
- Fill in the remaining space with guacamole, shredded lettuce, and tomatoes. Add a mound or a drizzle of sour cream, if using. Serve at once; pass around extra salsa or picante sauce.
Notes
Shortcut: Feel free to use prepared guacamole, which you can find in the produce section of well-stocked supermarkets, if ripe avocados are in short supply.
- Plant protein options
- Plant-based ground
- Plant-based crumbles
- Plant-based chorizo
- 2 beefy-style vegan burgers, crumbled
- Easy Vegan Mushroom and Tempeh Chorizo (recipe on this site)
If you like Tex-Mex flavored rice bowls, you may also enjoy …
- Here are dozens more vegan avocado recipes.
- See lots more vegan main dishes and ways to veganize favorite recipes.
- Here are lots more vegan Tex-Mex recipes your family will love.
whats the nutrional value protein wise
Vishali, it very much depends on what you use as the plant-based protein. You could plug the ingredients into an app like MyFitnessPaland get an approximation.