DIY Burrito Bowls

These easy homemade burrito bowls are a great way to please a crowd while keeping time in the kitchen to a minimum. This simple recipe makes a great weeknight meal or fun party dinner for people of all ages and works well any night of the week.

Taco night was a big deal in my house as a kid; once I saw that Old El Paso kit gets pulled out of the cupboard I knew dinner was going to be a hit. I think the reason I loved tacos and burritos so much was that it was something different, flavours I was not used to, but the best part was that you got to build them yourself. Little bowls of goodness are all over the table allowing you to mix and match your own toppings to make those tacos just the way you like them. More salsa? Go for it! Less lettuce? Do it right up! Don’t get me wrong, I love my mother’s cooking and she taught me a lot about food, but when I discovered there was more to seasoning than just salt and pepper it opened my eyes to a whole new world of flavour! (Mom, if you are reading this,  I’m kidding and I love your plain baked chicken breasts.)

Anyway, I think one of the reasons people struggle so much with eating well is that they don’t add enough seasonings to their meals so they instantly associate healthy eating with being boring. The truth of the matter is, with the variety of herbs and spices available there are endless options to add flavours to your meal. At first, this is an incredibly overwhelming process because knowing what goes with what, or how to actually use them, is very confusing. The good news is that it is actually pretty hard to mess up herbs and spices in cooking, and the best way to learn is to learn by doing, so you just need to get out there and give it a go.

This DIY burrito bowls recipe is a healthy twist on your standard burrito; with all of the fillings without the tortilla itself. This recipe works well for a group of people as everyone can build their own bowl (which means less work for the cook!), but it is also a great way to do meal prep for the week. You can leave the ingredients in their own containers in the fridge and just build your burrito bowls as needed.

DIY Burrito Bowls

Author: Stephanie Kay

These DIY burrito bowls call for ground beef, however, ground chicken or ground turkey would work well too.

• Author: Stephanie Kay
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 4 bowls 1x
• Category: Main
• Cuisine: Mexican

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Ingredients

Meat:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Toppings:

• 1 head romaine lettuce, shredded
• 1 cup white rice, dry
• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 cup salsa, fresh or store-bought
• 1 cup corn, fresh or frozen
• 1 bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped
• 2 limes, cut into wedges
• Salt
• Hot sauce (optional)

Instructions

1. In a small pot, add rice, 2 cups of water and a pinch of sea salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes (or as indicated on package) until rice can be fluffed with a fork.
2. In a large skillet on medium heat, add oil and sauté onion until translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and cook for another 1 minute, ensuring it does not burn.
4. Add the ground beef to the pan, season with sea salt, and cook until browned on all sides. As the ground beef begins to cook add the chilli powder, cumin and paprika and ensure it is well combined with the beef and continue to cook until no longer pink.
5. While the beef is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Roughly chop the lettuce into bite size pieces, rinse corn under hot water to thaw (if frozen), cut lime into wedges and roughly chop coriander.
6. To make a quick guacamole, remove avocado flesh from both avocados and add to a bowl. Season with a pinch of salt, a handful of chopped coriander, add the juice of half a lime and use a fork to mash it all together.
7. Add chopped romaine, guacamole, salsa, corn, cilantro, and lime wedges to separate bowls for service.
8. Once the rice and the beef are cooked, transfer them to two separate bowls for service.
9. Place all bowls on the table to build a DIY burrito bowls bar and combine the ingredients to build the bowl of your choice.
10. Enjoy!

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 bowl
• Calories: 501 calories
• Sugar: 10 grams
• Fat: 12 grams
• Carbohydrates: 68 grams
• Fiber: 10 grams
• Protein: 34 grams

Keywords: healthy, beef, homemade