This Vegetarian Fajita Bowl is full of healthy veggies, packed with bold spice and flavor, and perfect for meal prep! Of course it's vegetarian and also dairy free and gluten free!
Jump to:
Vegetarian Fajita Bowl Ingredients
How to make a Vegetarian Fajita Bowl
- Prep vegetables by dicing the onions, jalapeños, and bell pepper and thinly slicing the radishes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degreed. Also, line a baking sheet with foil.
- Make rice. If using an instant pot, set to “saute”. Then, coat the bottom in avocado oil. Note: If you don’t have an Instant Pot, no worries! Just make the rice in a large skillet or pot on the stovetop following the directions on your rice packaging.
- Add the dry rice, onions, and sugar to the instant pot (or pot on the stovetop).
- Saute for 5 minutes or until onions are softened, stir often to keep the rice from burning.
- Add water, chipotle sauce, lime juice, garlic, pinto beans, salt, and pepper to the instant pot
- Close the instant pot and turn it to high pressure. Pressure cook on high for 4 minutes. It will take 5-10 minutes for the pot to build up pressure before the 4 minutes start. Once the 4 minutes is up, let the pot naturally release for 10 minutes before manually releasing the remaining pressure.
- While the rice cooks, spread sliced peppers and jalapeños on the baking sheet. Top with avocado oil and salt and pepper
- Bake for 10 minutes until softened
- While this bakes, make the cream by mixing the vegan sour cream, salt, and lime juice in a small bowl
- Also while the veggies bake, prep the radishes by mixing salt, lime juice, and sliced radishes in a bowl.
- Remove vegetables from onion and manually release the remaining pressure from the instant pot to open. Assemble your bowl with the rice, vegetable, radishes, sliced avocado, and topped with cream. Enjoy!
Vegetarian Fajita Bowl Recipe Quick Facts
How long does this dish take?
35 minutes
How much does this make?
4 servings
Does this meet my dietary needs?
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, and vegetarian
How many bowls should I plan for this meal?
1 Instant Pot or large pan
How long does this keep?
This is great for meal prepping for weeknight dinners. They keep five days in the fridge in a sealed container.
Is it freezer friendly?
Yes, just reheat in the microwave or oven!
Can I pack this for lunch?
You betchya!
What can be used instead of peppers in fajitas?
There are many good options to replace peppers in veggie fajitas. Some other fresh fajita vegetables include sweet potatoes, zucchini, portobello mushrooms, and baby bella mushrooms.
How do you cut vegetables for fajitas?
Traditionally fajita veggies are cut in strips about 2" long.
How do you properly serve a fajita bowl?
Veggie fajita bowls are best served hot, aside from a few key items. Items to keep cool when serving include the sour cream, avocado, and radishes. If you're saving your fajita bowl for later it's best to keep the sour cream, avocado and radishes separate, and add them after the rest of the bowl has been reheated.
Substitution Options
All substitution options are a 1:1 substitution unless noted otherwise.
Rice: Any type of rice can be used, such as white rice, cilantro brown rice, cilantro lime cauliflower rice, aside from instant rice.
Lime Juice: Lemon juice can be used but will result in a different flavor.
Pinto Beans: Black beans can be used.
Chipotle Sauce: Enchilada sauce, 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning mixed with 3 tablespoons of water, or salsa can be used.
Bell Pepper: Poblano peppers, red pepper, sweet potatoes, or zucchini’s can be used. You can also substitute fresh romaine lettuce or cherry tomatoes for a different taste. Otherwise, the bell peppers can be omitted all together.
Jalapeños: Diced green chilies, canned jalapeños, fresno peppers, or any other spicy pepper can be used. You can also use chili powder or cayenne pepper.
Radish: Thinly sliced carrots can be used or these can be omitted - but we love the crunch they add!
Red Onion and Garlic: Any onion can be used or 1 tablespoon onion powder. 1 tablespoon garlic powder can be used.
Plant Based Sour Cream: Any sour cream or Greek yogurt can be used. We love Forager!
Coconut Sugar: Brown sugar, honey, or agave can be used. This coconut sugar is easy to get and sustainably sourced!
Avocado Oil: Olive oil or coconut oil can be used.
Salt, Black Pepper, and Water: Sorry, no substitutions for these.
Other Additions: The best part of this recipe is the whole family can custom make their own burrito bowl by adding their favorite ingredients. Some other things that are a great addition to your bowl include fresh pico de gallo, corn salsa, avocado slices, homemade guacamole, or creamy avocado sauce. We also like to dip tortilla chips in the bowls! Also, these make great tacos by just putting the bowl contents in flour or corn tortillas. Or add on top of a bed of lettuce in a large bowl for a taco salad!
Fun Fact!
Vegan Sour Cream? Vegan sour cream is a plant based, tangy and smooth alternative to traditional sour cream. Every plant based sour cream is different, but what we look for is the velvety texture and slightly sour taste that is so crucial to sour cream (duh, ha!). Many companies use tapioca starch from the cassava plant to get a thick consistency and distilled vinegar with probiotics to get that tang! (Source)
Try these other delicious recipes!
Note: Joy to the Food gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
Recipe
Vegetarian Fajita Bowl
Ingredients
Rice Ingredients
- 1 cup dry white rice
- 1 can pinto beans 8 ounces
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ¼ red onion diced
- 2 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- ½ teaspoon salt & pepper
- 3 tablespoon chipotle sauce
- 1 cup water
Lime Crema
- ½ cup Plant based sour cream or Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon Lime juice
- 1 pinch salt
Toppings - Radishes
- 4 radishes thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoon lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Toppings - Roasted Vegetables
- 1 bell pepper
- 1 jalapeño
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt & pepper
Optional
- 1 Avocado Or guacamole
Instructions
- Prep vegetables by dicing the onions, jalapeños, and bell pepper and thinly slicing the radishes.
- Preheat oven to 375, line a baking sheet with foil.
- Turn Instant Pot on and set to “saute”. Then, coat the bottom in avocado oil.
- Add the dry rice, onions, and sugar to the instant pot (or pot on stovetop, see notes below).
- Saute for 5 minutes or until onions are softened, stir often to keep the rice from burning.
- Add water, chipotle sauce, lime juice, garlic, pinto beans, salt, and pepper to the Instant Pot.
- Close the instant pot and turn it to high pressure. Pressure cook on high for 4 minutes. It will take 5-10 minutes for the pot to build up pressure before the 4 minutes start. Once the 4 minutes is up, let the pot naturally release for 10 minutes before manually releasing the remaining pressure.
- While the rice cooks, spread bell peppers and jalapeños on the baking sheet. Top with avocado oil and salt and pepper.
- Bake for 10 minutes until softened.
- While this bakes, make the cream by mixing the vegan sour cream, salt, and lime juice in a small bowl.
- Also while the veggies bake, prep the radishes by mixing salt, lime juice, and sliced radishes in a bowl.
- Remove vegetables from onion and manually release the remaining pressure from the instant pot to open. Assemble your bowl with the rice, vegetable, radishes, sliced avocado, and topped with crema. Enjoy!
Leave a Reply