Recipe
Mexican Beans and Rice Bowl
This dish is as easy as you make it. If you don’t have time to braise the beans, rinse a couple of cans of beans and add chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic, salt and pepper, then mix them into the rice after it has cooked.
I generally prep all of the veggies while the beans and rice are cooking, so the meal comes together in the time it takes to cook the beans and rice. I love the crunch of the fresh vegetables against the creaminess of the beans and the nuttiness of the brown rice.
Serves 4
Two things I love about this bowl: how easy it is and how versatile it is. Use the veggies you love. Add meat if you eat it. Add cheese if you like, and use your favorite salsas or salad dressings. Make it yours! Here’s a picture before dressing.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Beans and Rice
1 ½ cups brown rice (or any type of rice you like)
Shredded cheddar or Jack cheese
1 recipe Braised Beans OR 2 cans black beans or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
Ingredients for the Salad
Chopped romaine lettuce
Red onion, cut into thin slices or strips
Cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper or tomatoes cut into wedges and seasoned with salt and pepper
Avocados, peeled and sliced or roughly diced
Red, yellow, orange or green pepper, cut into strips or chunks
Other options: air-fried potato chunks, olives, fresh zucchini, charred corn, shredded chicken, pork, or veggie meat,
Ingredients for the Toppings
Crushed tortilla chips
Sour Cream
Your favorite salsa
Salad dressing such as Homemade Ranch, Jalapeño Ranch, or Chipotle Ranch
Instructions
Step 1
Measure, rinse, and cook the rice according to instructions.
Step 2
Make the Braised Beans or rinse 2 cans of beans and add 1 t cumin, 2 t chili powder, 1 t garlic, 1 t smoked paprika, salt and pepper and if you like, a little squeeze of ketchup. Stir it up and heat it up on the stove or in the microwave.
Step 3
If you plan to use charred corn or air-fried potatoes, start those now.
Step 4
Prep all the veggies and prepare your toppings.
Step 5
When the rice and beans are ready, assemble the bowls. Rice on the bottom, beans on top of rice. Add anything else that is hot such as corn or potatoes, then sprinkle cheese over the hot ingredients. Now build the salad over the top of that and drizzle with your choice of dressing. Add salsa if you like, then sprinkle on crushed tortilla chips and top with a dollop of sour cream.
Step 6
Serve with chips, salsa, and sour cream on the side.
Mexican Beans & Rice Bowl
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Beans and Rice
- 1 ½ cups brown rice or any type of rice you like
- 1 recipe Braised Beans OR 2 cans black beans or pinto beans drained and rinsed
- Shredded cheddar or Jack cheese
Ingredients for the Salad
- Chopped romaine lettuce
- Cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, or tomatoes cut in wedges and seasoned
- Red yellow, orange or green pepper, cut into strips or chunks
- Red onion cut into thin slices or strips
- Avocados peeled and sliced or roughly diced
- Other options: air-fried potato chunks olives, fresh zucchini, charred corn, shredded chicken, pork, or veggie meat,
Ingredients for the Toppings
- Crushed tortilla chips
- Your favorite salsa
- Sour Cream
- Salad dressing such as Homemade Ranch Jalapeño Ranch, or Chipotle Ranch
- Cotija or feta. cheese
Instructions
- Measure, rinse, and cook the rice according to instructions.
- Make the Braised Beans OR rinse 2 cans of beans and add 1 t cumin, 2 t chili powder, 1 t garlic, 1 t smoked paprika, salt and pepper and if you like, a little squeeze of ketchup. Stir them into the rice after the rice has finished cooking; stir until hot.
- If you plan to use charred corn or air-fried potatoes, start those now.
- Prep all the veggies and prepare your toppings.
- When the rice and beans are ready, assemble the bowls. Rice on the bottom, beans on top of rice. Add anything else that is hot such as corn or potatoes, then sprinkle cheese over the hot ingredients. Now build the salad over the top of that.
- Drizzle with your choice of dressing and/or salsa, then sprinkle on crushed tortilla chips and top with a dollop of sour cream if you like.
- Serve with chips, salsa, and sour cream on the side.