Burrito bowls with no meat do exist! This one uses a vegan "meat" made from walnuts, mushrooms, and cauliflower that's even more flavorful than animal meat. Combined with flavorful black beans, refreshing tomato salsa, creamy guacamole and healthier cilantro lime rice, this bowl is way better than any you'll get from Chipotle.
Don't get me wrong, Chipotle is great. I love building my bowl, filling it to the top (even though I end up taking half of it home🤣) with all my favorite toppings.
Until you get to the cash register and realize that you could've fed your whole family dinner with the amount you spend for one bowl.
Also, if you're vegan, there are no meat options! Sure you can get protein from the beans, but it would be nice to have a meat replacement.
Enter: Healthy Vegan Burrito Bowls that you can make at home!
This bowl has a vegan "meat" made from cauliflower, mushrooms, and walnuts that, in my opinion, is much more flavorful than animal meat. It's then combined with flavorful beans and corn, refreshing tomato salsa, and healthy cilantro lime rice!
Then you can add any toppings you want, like a creamy guacamole, vegan cheese, lettuce, and any others you can think of!
Making a Vegan "Meat"
Just four base ingredients, plus seasonings, don't seem like much but can really transform into something special, in this case it's meatless meat!
The Base
First off is the walnuts. They give it a nice nutty flavor, and the healthy fats give it a meaty flavor and texture.
Then my favorite part: the mushrooms! They are my favorite meat replacement because they do taste like meat with the right seasonings! They also shrink a great amount when cooked, losing moisture and concentrating the flavor.
For this recipe I recommend using cremini or "baby bella" mushrooms because they have the most flavor.
The last main part of the meat is the cauliflower. The taste is pretty neutral, leaving space for customization with spices, but it results in a great meat-like texture. It's also super healthy!
I also added a quarter onion which helps with texture and adds a lot more flavor.
The Flavor
Now the fun part: customization! I listed the spices I used, but you can add or subtract based on your tastebuds. Personally, I like mine more on the mild side, so feel free to increase the amounts if you want it spicier.
The spices I used are salt, pepper, and garlic herb seasoning as always, then coriander, cumin (use roasted if you have it!), paprika, crushed red pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
And to give it more of a meaty flavor, the most important ingredients are tomato paste and low sodium soy sauce.
If you don't have tomato paste, you can sub with a different amount (listed in the instructions) of crushed or strained tomatoes. For soy sauce, you can use full sodium, but reduce the amount of salt you put. And if you have allergies or gluten intolerance, you can use similar alternative you have.
Making the Burrito Bowl
It wouldn't be a burrito bowl if it was just meat! The other components are just as important.
Beans and Corn
This is one of my favorite parts. In one bite you get the super rich and heavy beans as well as the refreshing and sweet corn.
To cook it, you only need a few basic ingredients.
Some oil of course, to get it sizzling, then garlic and lime for flavor, and of course the seasonings.
It's super simple, yet brings the whole dish together.
Tomato Salsa
You gotta get some freshness in there! I love how refreshing and juicy tomatoes are, especially for burrito bowls. And making it could not get any easier.
Literally just toss all the ingredients together and your done.
But if you like yours more sauce-like, you can either mash or blend the tomatoes, then mix or pulse the other ingredients in.
I also put a jalapeno in the recipe as optional. I usually don't put one, but if you like spicy then go ahead.
Cilantro Lime Rice
To make it healthier, I used brown rice, but everything else is the same and incredibly simple, just like the tomatoes. Toss it all together and you're done!
Toppings
The sky's the limit! You can put any toppings you like, but some of my favorites are guacamole, vegan cheese (or regular cheese if you're not vegan), lettuce, lime and cilantro.
I really hope you like this recipe! If you decide to make it, be sure to post a picture and tag me @nutritiousdelights on Instagram--I'd love to see it!💕
More recipes you might love:
Southwestern Sweet Potato Boats
Healthy Turkey + Sweet Potato Chili
Healthy Vegan Burrito Bowl
Ingredients
"Meat"
- 1 cup walnuts
- ¼ small onion
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms
- 1 cup cauliflower florets
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon garlic herb seasoning
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin roasted if you have it
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder optional
- 1 teaspoon onion powder optional
- 1 ½ tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste sub 1 ½ tbsp crushed tomato
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Tomato Salsa
- 2 large tomatoes diced
- ¼ red onion diced
- 1 diced jalapeno optional
- 1 tablespoon cilantro diced
- ¼ lime
Beans and Corn
- 1 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn frozen or canned
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic herb seasoning
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- crushed red pepper optional
- ½ lime juice of
Cilantro Lime Rice
- 3 cups brown rice cooked
- 1 lime juice of
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
Optional Toppings
- lettuce
- guacamole
- vegan cheese
- lime
- cilantro
Instructions
"Meat"
- In a large food processor, pulse the walnuts, onion, mushrooms, and cauliflower until they are very small pieces, but NOT a paste. Make sure you do not over do it! If your food processor is small, do this in batches so that they pulse evenly.
- In a large nonstick pan, heat the oil to 75% heat. Add the "meat" with all the spices and seasonings, tomato, and soy sauce. Cook for 3-5 minutes until everything is fully cooked and browned. Remove from pan and place in bowls.
Beans and Corn
- In the same pan, heat oil to 75% heat and add the beans, corn, garlic, lime, and seasonings. Cook for about 3-4 minutes then remove from pan and place in bowls.
Tomato Salsa
- If you want it to be more like a sauce, mash or blend the tomatoes, then mix in all the other ingredients (or pulse if you use a blender). If you like it more like a salad (like the picture), just toss all the ingredients together, then place in bowls.
Cilantro Lime Rice
- Mix all the rice ingredients together, then serve with the rest of the components.
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