Vegan Burrito Bowls are WHERE IT’S AT. Spicy cauliflower walnut meat, blistered pepper strips, hot fluffy rice, and a heap of black beans. YUM.
Easy Vegan Burrito Bowls
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Made this for dinner and it was delish and super easy!
This recipe is sponsored by California Walnuts
They’re juuust spicy enough to be fun. They’re filling but not heavy. They’re versatile and colorful and so super nutritious. Vegan burrito bowls are WHERE IT’S AT this month.
The Big Four:
- Cauliflower walnut taco meat
- Blistered pepper strips
- Rice
- Black Beans
In typical fashion, toppings are an ocean of possibilities. Lime. Cilantro. Salsa. Avocado. Hot Sauce.
It is really hard to go wrong here.
How To Make Vegan Burrito Bowls
First up. Cauliflower walnut taco meat.
I don’t want to pick favorites in this burrito bowl situation, but you guys, WALNUTS ARE OUR STAR! Super nutritious and packed with omega-3s (2.5 grams per one ounce serving!). They absolutely make the “meat” that absolutely makes the bowls.
![Cauliflower and walnut with spices in a bowl prepped for taco dish.](../wp-content/uploads/cauliflower-walnut-taco-bowls-1.jpg)
Grind it up, bake it up, end of story.
![Cauliflower Walnut Taco Meat on a tray with a spoon in it.](../wp-content/uploads/Cauliflower-Walnut-Taco-Meat.jpg)
And as long as you have your oven on, go ahead and throw a second sheet pan in there with some pepper strips.
![Roasted peppers in a sheet pan.](../wp-content/uploads/Sheet-Pan-Peppers-for-Vegan-Burrito-Bowls.jpg)
Healthy Lunch Prep FTW
On a scale of one to amazing, how good does it feel to do a lil advance prep for healthy lunches?
The morning is chaotic, time is flying by, and suddenly it’s lunchtime and you’re superhungry and you go to the fridge and BAM, there’s something really delicious waiting to love you through the rest of your day.
This month, we’re taking the pledge to #ChooseLunch with our friends at California Walnuts. That means no skipping lunch. No working while eating. No midday slump. And if that lunch break happens to be away from your desk and far from your email inbox then you are just WINNING.
![Vegan burrito bowls with rice in glass containers.](../wp-content/uploads/Vegan-Burrito-Bowls-Make-Ahead.jpg)
Other Ideas For Vegan Burrito Bowls:
- Sofritas tofu
- Fajita-style mushrooms
- Vegan queso
- Magic Green Sauce
- Roasted sweet potatoes
- Avocado or guacamole
- Tomatoes
- Corn or corn salsa
![Vegan burrito bowls with rice in glass containers.](../wp-content/uploads/Vegan-Burrito-Bowls-Make-Ahead-183x183.jpg)
Easy Vegan Burrito Bowls
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
Vegan Burrito Bowls are WHERE IT’S AT. Spicy cauliflower walnut meat, blistered pepper strips, hot fluffy rice, and a heap of black beans. YUM.
Ingredients
Cauliflower Walnut Taco Meat:
- 3 cups cauliflower florets
- 2 cups whole walnuts
- 2 individual chipotles in adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- lime juice, garlic / onion powder, and cayenne to taste
Burrito Bowls:
- 4–5 bell peppers, sliced
- olive oil and salt
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
- 1 14-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
- lime wedges and cilantro for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Pulse all ingredients for the taco meat in a food processor until a thick and crumbly mixture forms. Spread onto a nonstick sheet pan.
- Arrange the peppers on a separate sheet pan. Toss with olive oil and salt.
- Bake both pans for 40-45 minutes.
- Cook rice according to package directions.
- Divide everything up into 6 containers, with lime wedges, cilantro, salsa, avocado, that kind of thing. Delish!
Equipment
![OXO brand nonstick sheet pan](../wp-content/uploads/NonstickPan-183x183.png)
![food processor cuisinart](../wp-content/uploads/food-processor-cuisinart-183x183.webp)
Notes
Rice: I cook mine in the Instant Pot! 1 1/2 cups rice with 1 3/4 cup water, for 3 minutes, and natural pressure release.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Mexican-Inspired
Keywords: vegan recipe, meal prep, healthy lunch, burrito bowl, vegan burrito bowl
Thank you to California Walnuts for sponsoring this recipe!
These look amazing! Totally making this for lunch today!
Paige
http://www.thehappyflammily.com/
Looks amazing!! Could you use frozen cauliflower?
Hey there, Kristin! We’d recommend using fresh cauliflower over frozen cauliflower in this case. Frozen cauliflower might release too much water.
Eating small plates of food nowadays is the goal with less meat.
We’ve been adjusting to eating less meat nowadays. I’ve been loving the meatless recipes here! I can’t wait to try this one. Looking forward to more of these!
Thank you for your post.
This is a meatless favorite of ours!
Yummy 😋
If I dont have whole chipotles can I use spicy chipotle sauce?
We haven’t tried it with chipotle sauce yet, but it’s worth a shot. Let us know how this goes for you, Alison!
This was delicious. Im allergic to walnuts so left them out. It was still amazing.
Glad you enjoyed the burrito bowls, Rose!
🎶🎶 The hills are alive with the taste of POY vegan meals. 🎶🎶 OK, doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but you get my point. As a newly birthed vegan, I’m am giddy with happiness at all the vegan recipes you’ve been dropping on us lately. THANK YOU! Okiluvubybye.
Hahahaha! Our new favorite song! Thanks for the comment, Toni!
Ah, I like the look of this vegan walnut taco meat! There is a restaurant called SunCafe Organics that I really enjoy visiting and they also have walnut meat for their salads and tacos. It’s delicious–definitely would love to make it at home with this recipe because it’s quite similar!
Um just pulled this out of the oven and had to sneak a little (cause I was a lil skeptical) and it’s amazing! Seriously, so good!
Sneak tasting is the best! Glad you enjoyed this, Megan!
This looks so delicious! Now that fall is closing in, warm and cozy bowls are all I want so I’ll definitely try this out!
We couldn’t agree more. Bring on all the cozy foods!
Planning on making this tonight! Post baking, does the taco “meat” freeze well?
It freezes really well! Enjoy, Ashley! 🙂
is walnut the only nut you would recommend here? husband is allergic and considered just leaving out, but might add a lot to the flavor
Hi, Michelle! We haven’t tested this out without walnuts yet, so it’s hard for us to say. Other readers with walnut allergies have left the walnuts out and enjoyed it though!
Wanting to make it for the kids – so not too spicy – what would you recommend to replace the chipotles in adobo sauce?
Hi, Kate! The chipotles add a good amount of flavor, so we’d suggest just cutting back to 1 chipotle pepper or even 1/2 of a chipotle pepper instead.
I left out the chipotles and using a bit of tomato paste instead. Came out delicious!
Can you recommend a vegan savory sauce that would go with it.
Sure! We love our 3-ingredient vegan queso here. 🙂
Omg, this looks amazing! I have to try this.
Made this for dinner and it was delish and super easy!
Do these walnuts have to be soaked before hand? I have seen recipes where they do. Just checking!
No soaking required!
how long do this store for and can it be frozen