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!
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Ingredients & Substitutions
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 can be used. You can also substitute fresh romaine lettuce or cherry tomatoes for a different taste. Otherwise, the bell peppers can be omitted altogether.
- 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.
- More topping ideas: 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!
How to make Fajita Bowls
- Prep vegetables.
- Preheat the oven and line a baking sheet with foil.
- Add the dry rice, onions, and sugar to the Instant Pot (or pot on the stovetop). Saute.
- Add the rest of the rice ingredients and stir. Cook for 4 minutes in the Instant Pot or 12-15 minutes covered on the stovetop.
- While the rice cooks spread sliced peppers and jalapeños on the baking sheet. Top with avocado oil and salt and pepper and bake.
- While this bakes, make the cream sauce and the radishes.
- Assemble your bowl with the rice, vegetables, radishes, and sliced avocado, and top with cream. Enjoy!
Watch how to make it
Common Questions
How to keep the rice from burning?
Keep stirring the dry rice and use a little oil to keep it from burning. The goal is just to toast the rice to bring out the nutty flavor.
How do I store these bowls?
This is great for meal prepping for weeknight dinners. They keep five days in the fridge in a sealed container.
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.
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Recipe
Vegetarian Fajita Bowl
This Vegetarian Fajita Bowl is full of healthy veggies, packed with bold spice and flavor, and perfect for meal prep!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Protein: 5g
Serves: People
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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 )
Before you start!
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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!
Video
Notes
Nutritional information is an estimate and for informational purposes only.
*Note: Additional substitution information can be found above in the substitution section of this post
Note: If you don’t have an Instant Pot, no worries! Just make the rice in a pot on the stovetop following the directions on your rice packaging.
Looking for more information?
Additional substitution information can be found above in the substitution section of this post.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate and for informational purposes only.
Nutrition
Calories: 382kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 180mg | Potassium: 409mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1048IU | Vitamin C: 52mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 1mg
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