Easy one-pan Vegetarian Burrito Bowls made with roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, and other healthy veggies. A perfect meal prep recipe that’s completely plant-based and gluten-free, these vegan burrito bowls are a hit with the whole family.
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Do you love an easy healthy dinner?
Do you love not doing more dishes than absolutely necessary?
Do you love plant-based recipes?
Well then you are in the right place at the right time!
These easy Vegetarian Burrito Bowls are a dinner time dream come true. They’re un-fancy, un-fussy, and unbelievably delicious. And if you can chop up some veggies and throw them into a pan, then you, dear reader, are highly qualified to make this recipe.
What’s in Vegetarian Burrito Bowls?
Truly, my friend, the world is your burrito bowl oyster. I’ll show you what I did to make my version of vegan burrito bowls and then you can run with it and make it your own. Here’s what you need:
- Sweet potatoes –> This is the starchy component of our burrito bowls.
- Zucchini –> Support crew!
- Red peppers –> Or green – you do you.
- Red onion –> Yellow is totes fine too!
- Jalapeno peppers –> Bringing some heat.
- Black beans –> Bringing some protein!
- Cilantro –> Yes please!
- Lime juice –> For a little zing.
- Spices –> Smoked paprika, chili powder, and cumin.
- Salt and pepper –> As one does.
Equipment:
You’ll need a good sharp knife for dicing up all those veggies, and a nice big roasting pan. The one I use is actually a lasagna pan (it’s this one), but it’s big enough to hold all of the veggies and has nice high sides to keep everything contained.
How to make this recipe:
You’ll find detailed instructions in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, but let’s start by walking through it step-by-step.
Step 1: (not pictured) Get chopping! Chop your sweet potatoes, zucchini, red pepper, red onion, and jalapeno.
Step 2: (above) Dump all of your chopped veggies into your roasting pan, along with the smoked paprika, chili powde,r cumin, salt, and pepper, and a bit of olive oil.
Step 3: (above) Mix it up, right into the pan!
Step 4: (above) Place the pan into a pre-heated oven and roast those veggies until just tender. This will take about 20-30 minutes, depending on how small you diced them.
Step 5: (above) Remove the pan from the oven. Add the black beans, cilantro, and lime juice.
Step 6: (below) Mix it up!
Step 7: Spoon the mixture into bowls, add desired toppings, and serve.
Vegetarian Burrito Bowl Topping Ideas:
I don’t know about you, but in my world, burrito bowls are all about toppings. Here are a few ideas:
- Sliced avocado halves
- More cilantro
- Pickled jalapenos
- Lime wedges
- Sliced tomatoes
- Sour cream
- Shredded cheese
- Tortilla chips
I find these burrito bowls don’t need an additional starch, but if you’re looking for a heartier meal you are of course welcome to serve over rice. My friend Sarah has a recipe for Cilantro Lime Rice that I think would be excellent with these. If you wanted to add more beans to the party, give my Spicy Instant Pot Black Beans a try.
Prefer your burritos wrapped up? Good news, this vegetarian burrito bowl filling is also delicious wrapped up in a tortilla with a bit of cheese. Or, try my Black Bean and Quinoa Freezer Burritos instead.
This burrito bowl filling would also be a great way to spruce up my Air Fryer Nachos.
What’s the deal with sweet potatoes?
Glad you asked!
Orange fleshed sweet potatoes are incredibly rich in beta-carotene, a pre-curser to vitamin A. In fact, some studies have shown that sweet potatoes contain even more bioavailable beta-carotene than leafy green vegetables.
Sweet potatoes also contain storage proteins called sporamins which have unique antioxidant properties. Also valuable for their anti-inflammatory benefits and blood sugar regulation, sweet potatoes are loaded with fiber, which helps steady the pace of digestion and regulate glucose uptake.
They’re also a great source of vitamin C, manganese, vitamin B6, potassium, dietary fiber, niacin, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and phosphorus complex carbohydrates.
Other recipes you might enjoy:
Vegetarian Breakfast Burritos
Vegan Sheet Pan Fajita Bowls
Vegan Poké Bowls
Veggie Burger in a Bowl
One-Pan Vegetarian Burrito Bowls
Equipment
- Sheet pans
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
- 2 medium jalapeño peppers de-seeded and finely diced
- 1 large red pepper diced
- 1 medium zucchini diced
- 1 medium red onion diced
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cans black beans 14oz / 400g cans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- juice of one lime
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200°C / 400°F.
- Peel and dice the sweet potato. Dice the zucchini and red pepper, and red onion. Finely dice the jalapeños.
- In a large roasting pan, combine sweet potatoes, jalapeños, red pepper, zucchini, and red onion. Add olive oil, cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, and a touch of salt and pepper. Give this a good mix so that everything is well seasoned.
- Place in the oven and roast for about 20 - 30 minutes, stirring once about half way through. The sweet potato should be just tender when the vegetables have finished roasting.
- Remove the roasting pan from the oven and add the black beans, cilantro, and lime juice directly to the pan. Stir to combine.
- Spoon the mixture into bowls and serve warm. Top with diced avocado, jalapeños, or other desired toppings.
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate only.
- Leftover burrito bowls will last about three days in the fridge.
- Or, wrap in a tortilla and pop into the freezer for another day.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published January 12, 2015. It was retested, re-photographed, and most recently updated on January 5, 2021.
These are on regular rotation in my lunch prep list. Delicious and so satisfying. Thanks Katie.
I really love your recipes and can’t wait to try some. This looks divine. I have already earmarked your creamy cauliflower pasta bake for this evening as I have been dreaming about it all week. I’ve never made a creamy sauce with cauliflower so am anxious to see how it turns out. Many thanks!
The creamy cauliflower sauce is amazing! I hope you’ll let us know how it turns out 🙂
Just made these tonight for dinner – so yummy! We wrapped them in tortillas and baked them for 10 minutes with cheese! The best part is we have so much left over for lunches this week:) Thanks!
Yum! That cheese / tortilla bake sounds like a great dinner. I wrapped up some of the leftover mix and tossed it in the freezer as freezer burritos, makes a great lunch!
Just finished eating these, dang so good! We added a little melted cheese and then crumbled a few blue corn chips on top plus a dollop of salsa. Amazing and absolutely loaded with real food.
Glad you like them! I also enjoy them with a bit of cheese all wrapped up in a whole wheat tortilla. So good!
I’m gradually learning to use a tripod more and more. I don’t really like it and find it a bit of a pain but it definitely does help to get better quality shots and, like you, I don’t have to take so many in the hopes that I managed to to make one a little less blurry than the others! I love the idea of these burrito bowls – they’re definitely going to go into our dinner rotation!
Hmm. Maybe I should give it a try. I’m not convinced, but I think it would be worth it to borrow one and see how it goes before I commit to buying one.
I make a similar recipe I found that uses Squash roasted with a bit of maple syrup in place of the Sweet Potato. The mixture is then stuffed & wrapped into tortillas baked in the oven with a special tomato sauce and cheeses. I make it often and just made it on Saturday! So yummy to have this filling as a side dish too.
That recipe sounds great! I love the idea of squash and maple syrup, and that special cheese sauce sounds delish. Yum!
I know it’s not for everyone, but the tripod has seriously been a game-changer for me. I save SO much time by having the camera stationary and just tweaking one or two things – I totally recommend it! I used to take mega photos for all my posts too, but sometimes now I just take a few and that’s all I need! I have GOT to put burrito bowls back into my dinner rotation….not sure where they fell out, but I love this idea!
Just a few?! Can this be true?! Okay, you may have convinced me to borrow a tripod and give it a try! Definitely get back into the burrito bowl game, you won’t regret it!
Oh yeah, love this meal. Its a win win recipe…esy to dish up nd good to eat 😀
Aren’t one-pan meals the best?!
I love this idea and miraculously, I have all of the ingredients at home! my one question is how do you warm them up when you take them out of the freezer?
Hi Shelly! When I warm up freezer burritos I either unwrap them and defrost / warm up in the microwave (if I’m at work) or leave them in the foil and place in the oven for about 20 minutes at 350°F until they’re warmed through. Or I just let them thaw and eat them at room temperature!
Katie, this looks fabulous. So colorful and healthy! I would be lost without my tripod, it’s worth the investment. Every time I take my camera into my hands to shoot a photo it turns out slightly blurry. I must have super shaky hands. Having said that, I think your pictures are beautiful!
I think I might borrow a tripod and try it out. I do have a fairly small apartment kitchen, and I’m not sure whether I’d find a tripod more efficient or whether it would be a pain for me. Only one way to find out!
I love your approach for the new year. I often find myself taking way to many pictures and simply cannot manage to get a good shit without the tripod. You are so brave. I also struggle with editing. It’s a process though and I feel like with practice I’ll improve. This recipe is great. Love a one pot dish!!
I haaaate the editing! I’m actually giving myself a break from editing RAW photos as to be honest, I don’t notice a huge difference except in the time I spend editing. Bad blogger, I know!
I think your 200 photo shoot paid off, because before I read anything about it I scrolled past that first photo and thought it looked awesome. Seriously, all of the photos look great, and this sounds delicious – like a perfect winter warm up meal. 🙂
Thanks Alissa! This is one of my favourite quick and easy and totally delicious healthy dinners.
This looks delicious. I bookmarked it so I won’t forget where I found it when I want it. Cool! Thanks for sharing. Blessings to you…
Thanks Carol! I hope you like it!
Of course I love this, Katie. All of those deep phytochemical-rich colours, lush tastes and the ease. I am soon to blog a sweet potato recipe but for once we aren’t telepathic. It is Korean. And excuse me if I correct you. Your photos are AWESOME, very clear, And don’t faff with getting a tripod. I find mine a bloody pest in the small space of my kitchen so it lives under a bed somewhere. You’d be better off getting a good soft daylight box to reduce any blur you feel you have with low light (although In don’t see it in your pix). Unless you are blessed with space I would just stick with the great pix you already create without a tripod. Streamline your clicks, yes (200 is a bit bonkers) but don’t change a thing.
Aww, thanks Kellie. You are, as usual, too kind. I think the first thing is to streamline my clicks (I mean, 200, how does that even happen?!) and then go from there. Although a lot of the commenters here are pro-tripod, I suspect I might be like you and find it a pain. I think I’ll borrow one for a small amount of time and see whether or not I like it before doing anything too crazy. Looking forward to your Korean sweet potatoes! If instagram is any indication, a delicious recipe is in our future!