Vegan Burrito Bowl

Move over, Chipotle! This vegan burrito bowl recipe is super flavorful and easy to make. Kick it up a notch with pineapple salsa and plenty of guac.

Vegan Burrito Bowl

I love a Chipotle burrito bowl as much as the next person, but for my money, this sweet and spicy vegan burrito bowl recipe is just as good. While making it may not be quite as quick as grabbing lunch to-go, it’s still pretty easy to make, thanks to a secret ingredient: chipotles in adobo sauce! The sauce acts as a 1-ingredient marinade for meaty portobello mushroom caps, and I mix pinto and black beans with the chopped peppers to infuse them with some heat. A scoop of pineapple salsa adds a delicious sweet contrast, while burrito bowl essentials – fajita veggies, rice, guac, and greens – round the whole thing out.

This vegan burrito bowl recipe is a great make-ahead lunch or weeknight dinner. Serve it with margaritas, tortilla chips, and (of course) extra guac, and dig in!

Chipotle burrito bowl marinade on mushrooms

Vegan Burrito Bowl Components

When you order a burrito bowl at Chipotle, you answer one key question: what’s your protein? Instead of using meat, I pile this plant-based bowl with grilled portobello mushrooms. They’re smoky, juicy, and super easy to make on the grill! If you don’t have a grill, cook them on the stove on a cast iron grill pan, or under the broiler in your oven.

Char the fajita veggies in this cast iron skillet on the grill while you cook the mushrooms. In order for the peppers to really char, make sure the pan is sizzling hot. If you don’t have a grill, cook them in a cast iron skillet on the stovetop. Season the charred peppers simply with salt and pepper when they come off the heat, or spice them up with 1/2 teaspoon chili powder or taco seasoning!

Slicing bell peppers

Once your veggies are ready, assemble your bowl with these components:

If you want to load up your bowl even more, finish it with a dollop of vegan sour cream or creamy chipotle sauce and pickled red onion. Then, garnish it all with chopped cilantro, and serve with lime wedges for squeezing. Enjoy!

Fajita veggies on the grill

Burrito Bowl Meal Prep Tips

Like many rice bowl recipes, this vegan burrito bowl is delicious warm or cold, and the components keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days. As a result, it’s perfect for meal prep. If you make it ahead of time, follow these easy tips to keep the components fresh:

  1. Keep things separate. If your bowls are going to sit in the fridge for a few days, I recommend storing components separately. Keeping the greens away from the moist salsa and fajita veggies will help them stay nice and crisp.
  2. Swap the grain. Leftover rice can dry out in the fridge, so if you’re making this burrito bowl recipe in advance, try using a different grain. Quinoa would be a great choice!
  3. Save the guac for the last minute. We all love guac, but it has one failing: it doesn’t keep well! If you’re meal prepping these bowls, skip the guac, and top them with avocado slices and a squeeze of lime juice at the last minute.

Check out this post for more healthy lunch ideas and this one for more meal prep tips!

Vegan Burrito bowl recipe

More Meatless Mexican-Inspired Recipes

If you love this burrito bowl recipe, try one of these Mexican-inspired recipes next:


5.0 from 4 reviews

Vegan Burrito Bowl

 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
You'll LOVE this vegan burrito bowl recipe! Instead of meat, it's loaded with chipotle-marinated mushrooms, black beans, and grilled fajita veggies. Great for meal prep!
Author:
Recipe type: Main Dish
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: 2
Ingredients
Bowls
Veggies
  • 2 portobello mushroom caps
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
  • Adobo sauce from the can of chipotles used above
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 red bell pepper, stem, ribbing and seeds removed, sliced into strips
  • 1 green pepper, stem, ribbing and seeds removed, sliced into strips
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, ribbing and seeds removed, sliced into thin strips, optional
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, combine the beans with the chipotle peppers, olive oil, lime juice, ¼ teaspoon salt, and several grinds of pepper.
  2. Prepare the veggies: Preheat a grill to medium heat with a cast iron pan inside. You'll grill the mushrooms directly on the grill, and the sliced peppers in the cast iron pan.
  3. Rub the whole mushroom caps with a drizzle of olive oil and a few spoonfuls of adobo sauce. Use enough sauce to coat the mushrooms well on each side. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the portobellos (directly on the grill grate) 4 to 5 minutes per side or until charred and tender. Slice just before assembling the bowls.
  4. Toss the pepper strips with a drizzle of olive oil and pinches of salt and pepper. Grill in the cast iron pan or grill pan for 8 to 10 minutes, tossing occasionally, until charred and soft.
  5. Assemble the bowls with the rice, beans, arugula, sliced mushrooms, peppers, guacamole, scoops of pineapple salsa, and cilantro. Serve with extra salsa and extra lime wedges on the side. (Note: If you would like your arugula and rice seasoned/dressed more, drizzle with olive oil, squeezes of lime and pinches of salt and pepper).

 

15 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it):  

  1. Nina
    04.12.2023

    Hey, would love to make this recipe, but can I use chili peppers instead of chipotle which we don’t have here? What do you think? Thanks!

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      04.14.2023

      Hi Nina, if you can’t find chipotles in adobo sauce, I’d use the seasoning from this fajitas veggies recipe for the mushrooms and peppers. Then, season the beans with olive oil, extra lime juice, salt, and some chili powder or cumin. Hope this helps!

  2. Jennifer
    08.03.2022

    How many calories are in the burrito bowl meal

  3. Ali
    04.04.2022

    I loved this recipe it was fantastic

  4. Tara
    02.02.2022

    Where did you get those awsome big white bowls

  5. Tracy
    01.18.2022

    I’m right in the middle of making this and you mention lime juice in step 1 of the instructions but it’s not listed in the ingredients. Please let me know how much lime juice to use

  6. Melody
    02.18.2020

    Want to have a try!

  7. Cheryl
    06.07.2019

    So very good! I had wild oyster mushrooms, so that’s what I used. Just sliced them into strips and tossed with the sauce before broiling.

  8. Monica from familymesshall.com
    08.23.2018

    I love how the mushrooms are glistening on the grill. Gorgeous!

  9. Clay from foodbeerandstuff.com
    08.21.2018

    I used to love making fajitas before I went plant based. I was sceptical about the whole mushroom instead of meat however it is amazing!! I haven’t tried them with the adobo sauce, yet. Looking forward to giving it a shot. Thanks for this.

  10. Karl from cheapdinnerideas.co.uk
    08.11.2018

    I love mushrooms but use them the same way every time now I will be trying this, something new and exciting looks amazing

  11. sabrina
    07.29.2018

    I love this recipe. it’s a nice change for me, especially since I love portobellos but never manage to actually make anything with them, I always default to a protein, especially in a dish like this, so thank you for the inspiration. love the pineapple salsa too

  12. Gaby Dalkin
    07.25.2018

    OMG, this burrito bowl is a beauty!

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Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.