These tasty vegetarian Black Bean Quinoa Bowls are quick, easy, and jam-packed with healthy veggies. I make these delicious gluten free bowls on repeat!
I could yap about all the reasons you NEED to make these bowls (because you for sure do!) or we can dive into all the delicious custom ways you can make it your own. Let’s do the latter, shall we?
protein options
For a vegetarian quinoa bowl, I added black beans for a fiber-rich plant-based protein boost. There are so many delicious options you can choose for your bowls!
Vegans and vegetarians can stick with black beans or try these mexican style bowls with taco roasted chickpeas or saucy chipotle seasoned lentils.
For a T-Rex Twist, you’re welcome to add shredded rotisserie chicken, salsa chicken, taco seasoned ground beef or turkey, or steak!
Tasty Toppings and Swaps
No kale? No problem! These bowls can also be made with iceberg or romaine lettuce.
For your veggies, I opted for pickled red onions, avocado, jalapeno peppers, and tomatoes. Bell peppers, sweet mini peppers, or sweet corn can be added as well! You can even saute your vegetables first for extra flavor.
I love adding a scoop of salsa and sour cream to mix up into the bowl. It acts like a dressing without any extra effort. If you’re a dressing enthusiast, I included my famous chili lime dressing recipe for ya in the recipe card! I have also tried these bowls with my Honey Chipotle Dressing and it’s delish! It tastes just like the salad dressing at Chipotle.
Sometimes I’ll add guacamole instead of the chopped avocado and that’s delish too!
We will often make these bowls the day after taco night to use up all the tasty leftover toppings and salsas. This way many of the ingredients are already prepperd and ready to go and nothing goes to waste. Feel free to follow suit!
Healthy Plant-based Black Bean Quinoa Bowls
These black bean bowls are delicious! The recipe yields 3 vibrant vegetarian bowls and is fantastic for meal prep!
Black Bean Quinoa Bowls
Ingredients
- ½ cup dry quinoa
- ¾ cup water
- 2-3 cups chopped curly kale
- 1 ½ cups cooked black beans (1 can drained and rinsed)
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- ½-¾ cup pickled red onions
- 1 jalapeño
- 1 small avocado
- ¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro
TASTY TOPPING OPTIONS (choose your favorites)
- crispy tortilla strips or crushed tortilla strips
- bell peppers and/or corn for an extra veggie boost
- crumbled cotija cheese
- sour cream
- salsa
CHILI LIME DRESSING
- ¼ cup avocado oil or olive oil
- 1 ½ TBSP white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1 small lime, juiced
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp pepper
Instructions
COOK THE QUINOA
- Rinse and drain ½ cup quinoa using a mesh strainer/sieve. Bring the pot to medium-high heat and lightly toast the quinoa to remove any excess water, stirring often. This step is totally optional but adds to the nuttiness and fluff factor of the quinoa!
- Next add ¾ cup water, set burner to high heat, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered with the lid slightly ajar, for 13 minutes or until quinoa is fluffy and the liquid has been absorbed.
- While the quinoa cooks, make the dressing and prep the veggies.
- Once the quinoa is ready, fluff with a fork and lightly season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and place in the fridge for a few minutes to cool it down.
MAKE THE CHILI LIME DRESSING
- Juice a small lime then peel, smash, and mince a small or medium clove of garlic.
- Add to a small mason jar along with ¼ cup oil,1 ½ TBSP, vinegar, 1 tsp chili powder, ½ tsp ground cumin, ¼ tsp salt, and ⅛ tsp black pepper. Shake well and set aside.
PREP THE BEANS + VEGGIES
- Drain and rinse black beans if using canned.
- Finely chop kale. The smaller the better! Chop tomatoes and thinly slice jalapeno. You can opt to skip the spice by using bell pepper instead.
ASSEMBLE THE BOWLS
- Divide the quinoa and black beans between 3 bowls. Approx. ½ cup of each per bowl.
- To each bowl add kale, tomatoes, pickled red onions, and cilantro. Drizzle dressing over each bowl to season all the veggie goodness.
- Add the avocado just before serving. Top with choice of extra from the list above and enjoy!
MEAL PREP OPTION
- These beautiful bowls are fantastic prepped in advance for weekday lunches. Everything can be added to lidded containers with the exception of the avocado and optional tortilla strips/chips; those are best added before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
If you get a chance to try these black bean quinoa bowls, let me know!
Leave me a comment or review using the form below. I’m always so excited to chat it up and can’t wait to hear all about your tasty creation!
Behind the Blog
How is it almost Summer? I feel like I blinked and suddenly school is wrapping up, soccer season is over, and my to do list just grew legs and started running around in circles screaming.
Yikes!
I’ll be prepping my recipe test schedule with all the tasty warm weather eats, so if you have any recipe requests for sure let me know! I’m usually heavily influenced by restaurant and travel eats (I love recreating recipes I’ve tried and loved) and y’all always have great suggestions too so let me have ’em and i’ll be happy to add some extra deliciousness to the list!
This week I’m hoping to finally get my infamous brownie recipe photographed and written up since I’ve been instructed to make a big batch to send into school. The chickpea basically insisted since she and her lunch table planned an end of the school year “Friend Feast” and everyone is bringing a favorite dish for the table to share.
So cute, right? It cracks me up that they’ve all turned into little foodies, sharing lunches and trying new foods — I am all about this! I feel like the school lunch table is such a fabulous opportunity for kids to be exposed to different cuisines and it can do wonders for helping pickier eaters branch out.
I’ll wrap up this little ramble of mine (is anyone still reading? hah!) and can’t wait to hop back on here with a new recipe super soon! xoxo
