This easy Mexican-style vegan burrito bowl recipe features black beans, salsa rice, fresh veggies, and a creamy chipotle sauce! It's so fresh, satisfying, and easy to customize with your favorite additions. (Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free option.)
This black bean burrito bowl is loaded with flavor, plant-based protein, and healthy nourishment. It's a satisfying meatless meal that's easy to prepare.
It starts with a warm bed of salsa rice. (What's "salsa rice" you ask?) This is my quick & easy way of adding instant flavor to plain cooked rice. We simply stir salsa into cooked rice and presto - flavorful, zesty rice!
Then we'll top it with hearty beans, fresh veggies, and a delicious homemade smoky chipotle sauce. (Yes!) This meal is super flexible so you can swap in your own favorite veggies, toppings, or sauces.
Best of all, it's a great family meal because everyone can build their own bowl as they please. It's great for lunch, dinner, leftovers, or even meal prep!
Ingredients for Vegan Burrito Bowl
For this recipe, you'll need:
- Rice: Either white rice or brown rice works great. I change it up based on what I have on hand. I like long-grain rice best for this recipe, such as basmati or jasmine.
- Salsa: We'll use a half cup salsa to make the flavorful "salsa rice" for the base of our burrito bowl. Most of the time I use my homemade Restaurant-Style Blender Salsa, but use your own favorite.
- Black beans: Or substitute your own favorite bean such as pinto beans or kidney beans.
- Roma tomatoes: Or you can use cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes for a richer, sweeter flavor.
- Sweet corn: I purchase organic corn whenever possible. Either use a fresh cooked ear of corn, canned corn, fire-roasted, or thawed frozen corn. Most of the time I use canned corn.
- Romaine lettuce: I like crisp romaine best for this recipe, but you can use other salad greens if desired.
- Avocado: One large avocado, or even more if you'd like. Or you can use creamy guacamole instead!
- Fresh cilantro: This is optional, but I like to include it for fresh flavor and garnish.
- Creamy chipotle sauce: We'll blend up one batch of my homemade Creamy Chipotle Sauce that's made with dairy-free yogurt (or silken tofu), lime juice, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and garlic. It's smoky and so delicious on these bowls! Or you can swap in this Chipotle Crema made with cashews for a richer, thicker sauce if you'd like.
Customizing
Grains: Instead of the salsa rice, use quinoa, Cilantro-Lime Rice, Mexican rice, or cauliflower rice. Or you could replace the rice entirely with baked potatoes or sweet potatoes.
Protein: Change up the black beans with a different plant protein such as pinto beans, red kidney beans, Chickpea-Walnut Taco Crumbles, spiced tofu (Sofritas), seasoned tempeh crumbles, or your favorite vegan ground beef crumbles.
Vegetables: Include other veggies to taste such as red onion, green onion, bell pepper, jalapeño peppers, etc. You could even prepare roasted or sautéed fajita veggies.
Oil-free option: This recipe is refined oil-free except for a very tiny amount in the homemade chipotle sauce (which comes from the canned chipotles in adobo). If you need a completely oil-free option, simply use a different sauce that suits your diet.
Want more inspiration? Try this Vegan Taco Salad with Creamy Southwestern Dressing as well!
Serving
Top it with your favorite sauce (or set out a few sauces) such as:
- Cashew Queso
- Cilantro-Lime Dressing
- Fresh Pico de Gallo (Salsa Fresca)
- Guacamole
- Vegan sour cream
- Vegan cheese sauce or shredded cheese
I also like to include pickled jalapeños and crumbled tortilla chips for crunch!
Storing
Store the sauce, veggies, and the rice & beans in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator. I find it keeps for about 4-5 days. When ready to re-assemble, heat up the rice and beans in the microwave. Then top with the veggies and sauce.
For more inspiration, also browse all easy vegan dinner recipes.
Vegan Burrito Bowl with Creamy Chipotle Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup long-grain white rice (or brown)
- 1/2 cup salsa (I use homemade blender salsa)
- 15 oz. can black beans
- 1 1/2 cups sweet corn, cooked
- 2-3 roma tomatoes
- 2 cups romaine lettuce
- 1 large avocado
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro (optional)
- 1 batch Creamy Chipotle Sauce
Instructions
- Cook rice: Rinse and cook rice according to package instructions. (White rice generally takes about 10-15 minutes to cook, while brown rice takes 30-45 minutes.)
- Make sauce: While your rice cooks, prepare the Creamy Chipotle Sauce. (Or you can make this ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator until ready.)
- Prepare veggies: Dice the tomatoes, finely chop the romaine, dice the avocado, and chop the cilantro (if using).
- Make salsa rice: When your rice has finished cooking, add 1/2 cup salsa to the pot. Stir to combine to create a flavorful "salsa rice". (You can also add fresh lime juice, cilantro, or even more salsa if desired.)
- Assemble your bowl: Spoon some salsa rice in your bowl. Then add black beans (rinsed and drained), sweet corn, and vegetables. Drizzle creamy chipotle sauce (or other sauce) on top.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
Sodium content: This is omitted as I cannot provide an accurate number. I encourage you to calculate your own to provide a much more precise reading based on the exact ingredients, brands, and amounts you're using.
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Jennifer says
This is a keeper recipe for sure! Followed your recipe almost to a tee (jarred diced chipotle peppers but no adobo) and thought it was delicious! Added a pinch of salt and about a tsp of maple syrup to the sauce as suggested. Thanks so much for sharing!
Kaitlin says
Spectacular to hear you enjoyed it, Jennifer! Thank you!
Tracy says
Chipotle has nothing on this bowl! Made it two nights in a row because it was so good!
Kaitlin says
So great to hear, Tracy!
KC says
Hi, I made this but put it on a salad instead of rice. Loved the dressing! We used silken tofu and it turned out awesome. Thanks for the recipe. I will definitely be making this again.
Kaitlin says
So great to hear it worked out for you! Thanks for sharing!
Alexandra says
Made this last night - though not vegan (used Greek yogurt because that is what I had), added some extra lime juice, and probably 1/8 - 1/4 tsp of honey) - my daughter and I thought it was delicious, my husband thought it was too spicy (he's a bit of a wimp when it comes to spice.) I also turned this into an 8 servings recipe by serving in tortilla bowls. So good and a very beautiful dish too!
Kaitlin says
Haha, so fantastic to hear that Alexandra! And I love that you served it in tortilla bowls - smart!
Unknown says
Made this last night. First bite and my husband said, "this is really good" with unusual expressiveness! And I felt the same way. It's hard to believe that something so simple to make could taste so delicious! Thank you for the great recipe.
Kaitlin says
Haha - that's awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Patricia says
Just had to comment AGAIN! I made this dish for my parents and family tonight again. Everyone totally LOVED this, like a lot!!! Thanks so much for a wonderful, healthy meal. THANK YOU!
Kaitlin says
Aww, that warms my heart. Thrilled they all enjoyed. Wishing you and your loved ones happy holidays, Patricia!
Patricia says
This was SO tasty! What a colorful, healthy meal. I love that it used a grain "bowl" rather than those fried, chemically-processed taco bowls you buy at the store. This dish is a keeper. I didn't have tofu or yogurt for the chipotle sauce so I made my go-to chipotle sauce that's made with cashews. Thanks so much for a simple, flavorful, guilt-free and satisfying meal. I just finished eating this dish 30 minutes ago and I'm already thinking about when to make it again.
Kaitlin says
Your cashew sauce is great thinking, Patricia! So glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for sharing your helpful feedback!
K'Chelle says
I made this for my lunch today with a side of grilled chicken breast. So yummy & I'm so full! Great recipe.
Kaitlin says
Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for sharing!
Lionfish Lair says
This was delicious! The dressing is to die for and I'm going to use it on a sushi roll. It has a lovely heat. You know how some things are hot, but there's no taste, just heat? This had a zip that was very pleasant and deep. I loved the cool crunch of the lettuce. I did add a little salt. I'm glad there's leftovers for tomorrow.
Kaitlin says
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing your thoughtful feedback!
glitterbug12 says
Just made this (sans sauce), and it tasted amazing. Thanks for the idea!
Kaitlin says
Great to hear you enjoyed it even without the sauce!
Stacey Parker says
This recipe is fantastic. Comes to gather quickly and tastes amazing, which is hard to say about a lot of vegan foods. DH gave it two thumbs up and I am now adding it to my go to cookbook.
Kaitlin says
Wonderful! So glad you both enjoyed it, Stacey!
Stacy Makes Cents says
This was SO GOOD! It surpassed all my expectations even though I could tell it was going to be yummy. The chipotle sauce is out of this world! This is going straight into my favorites file. We added chopped avocado and cheese as the add-ins. What a great meatless meal!
Kaitlin says
So great to hear, and I hope you continue to enjoy it, Stacy! Thanks for coming back to share your kind feedback!
Rockingrandma says
This is a keeper and it's making it's way into Meatless Mondays. I made my beans from dry, used a simple rice pilaf, and I will admit to pure laziness by using a bottle of Taco Bell brand creamy chipotle sauce.
Kaitlin says
Sounds great! It's a fun recipe to change up based on what you have on hand. Thanks for sharing!
Day-Dreaming Optimist says
Just made this - followed your directions and it turned out absolutely delicious! What a great idea for something fast, and something that will make multiple meals too! Loved the sauce - thank you for sharing!
Kaitlin says
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing!
Nina says
We made this tonight with cilantro, avocados, green onions, and tomatoes. (We left out the corn.) It was fantastic!
Kaitlin says
Great to hear, Nina! Thanks for sharing!
Joanna says
Made it yesterday. It's a keeper! Thanks for sharing!
Kaitlin says
Wonderful to hear you enjoyed it, Joanna!