Is it a power bowl? A Buddha bowl? A burrito bowl? Yep. Yep. Yep. Whatever you call it, you’re spooning into a bowlful of flavorful Mexican foods 3 ways.
For those who don’t like their food to touch, bowls aren’t your thing. For those of us who like variety in every bite, bring on bowls (10-Minute Peanut Rice Bowl)!
Mexican food staples
Corn, beans and chiles are the backbone to Mexican cookery. Though the cuisine is as varied as the varieties of each. However you arrange them, we love these foods.
Blue, red, sweet, and starchy, corn is used in tortillas, hominy, drinks, soups, and the street food favorite, corn on the cob, slathered with mayonnaise and chile. 🌽
Protein-rich beans are simmered as a pot of beans, or mashed and refried.
From the hothothot Habanero to mild green peppers,🌶 chiles flavor and fill, like in Poblano stuffed with black beans and quinoa.
Chile facts: As a general rule, the smaller the chile, the hotter. The seeds and veins are where most of the spicy heat resides, so if those are removed, or not released by cutting, the heat stays in the chile, not in your mouth.
Why I like this one-pot Mexican Burrito Power Bowl
I wanted a recipe that was fiber rich, flavor forward, plant based and flexible. ✅
Another bonus is that this one-pot dish keep well, so you can eat a few meals from cook once, eat twice or more!
What’s so good about a bowl is that you can use foods you have on hand. I used a fiber-rich rice, lentil, quinoa blend for the grains. If you already have some cooked grains, use those. Spelt, brown rice, or farro would work.
Pinto beans or kidney beans can be used instead of black beans
- Cook onion and jalapeno to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and sweet potato, cook, 3 minutes. Add black beans, corn, tomatoes, cumin, oregano.
- Cover and cook 15 minutes or until sweet potato is tender.
- Spoon over cooked grain. Drizzle with salsa, squeeze of lime and cheese and maybe some chopped avocado or dollop of guacamole..
The ingredients
- onion
- habanero, jalapeno, or poblano
- garlic
- sweet potato
- black beans
- corn
- tomatoes
- ground cumin, dried oregano
- cooked quinoa or other grain, such as farro, spelt, brown rice or a lentil, quinoa mixture
- Salsa, green or red
- lime
- Cotija cheese
How hot are chiles?
Capsaicin is the component in chili peppers that makes you cough, shudder, or cry. The Scoville scale measures the heat in a chile based on Scoville Heat Units. The world according to Scoville indicates that Pepper X and Carolina Reaper ring in with a fiery 800,000 to 3,200,000 heat units, the Habanero and Scotch Bonnet 100,000 to 350,000, poblano can range from 1,000 to 1,500, a jalapeno anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000 and bell pepper has 0 to 100. Though any one pepper can surprise you with its mildness or heat. There is something for everyone with chiles.
How to cook chiles
When you do cut them, handle with care. Chile oil can stay on your skin, actually burning your fingers. So if you rub your eye, uh, ouch! Don’t do that. Gloves help but a good handwashing is a must. In your mouth, water will spread the spicy oil, where fat and sugar may help put out the fire. Milk, sour cream, cheese, and yogurt are often added to spicy dishes to tame the flame.
At a Yucatan cooking school, I learned to use whole chiles for flavor without heat by leaving the chiles whole. Simmer them whole to add floral and citrus flavors, but without the spiciness. Choose one of each varietal to add flavor interest. Cook with the chiles that match your heat tolerance. I used a poblano and a jalapeno with the corn and beans in this recipe.
pot of corn, beans, chiles, sweet potato, tomatoes, onion and garlic make this vegetarian buddha bowl.
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Click on the green box to learn more
Burrito Bowl? Buddha Bowl? Power Bowl? Nourish Bowl?
um, yes. I call it a Mexican Burrito Power Bowl, but it makes a tasty taco. With an egg on top, it’s a hearty breakfast. And then there was the dinner I originally made it for. Seems this easy vegetarian Mexican recipe worked for every meal!
Fill a tortilla.
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Add an egg for a breakfast bowl.
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MORE healthy Mexican food recipes
- Black bean stuffed poblanos with homemade enchilada sauce
- Hot honey chicken tacos
- Quinoa and black bean stuffed poblano peppers
- Instant Pot chicken mole
High Five Fiber Challenge
I created a free, 5-day challenge you can join by clicking this link. You’ll get tips and tools, resources and recipes to create your own roadmap to meet your fiber goals toward high fiber meals. Don’t ya? Won’t ya? Seriously, it’s only 5 days 😉 Find it right here.
This post contains affiliate links. That means if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may make a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay but helps fund the website.
PrintMexican Burrito Power Bowl
A bowl filled with flavor and fiber, that keeps well too!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Bowl
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1–2 habanero, jalapeno, or poblano, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 sweet potato, diced
- 1 (15 ounce can) black beans, rinsed, drained
- 2 cups corn
- 1 1/2 cup grape tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 cups cooked quinoa or other grain, such as farro, spelt, brown rice or a lentil, quinoa mixture
- Salsa, green or red
- ½ lime
- 2 tablespoons Cotija cheese, grated
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium, heat oil, add onion and jalapeno, cook, stirring occasionally to soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sweet potato, cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Add black beans, corn, tomatoes, cumin, oregano and ½ cup water.
- Cover and cook 15 minutes or until sweet potato is tender.
- Spoon over cooked grain. Drizzle with salsa, squeeze of lime and cheese.
Notes
Look for frozen or precooked grains to speed the cooking time.
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