‘Cause everyone needs a Mexican bowl recipe.
This is the Mexican bowl post by Big Mountain Foods that changed it all…and I just noticed it was actually a repost from @veganinvancouver!
Soon as I saw the post, I thought to myself that a Mexican bowl couldn’t be that difficult to put together. We all know the common components of Mexican dishes: tortilla, shredded greens, tomato, avocado, beans, and rice. So I went off to create my own version, and Big Mountain Foods posted it soon after!
It took me a while to share as I wanted to post the recipe for cauliflower tacos first, in case you want to make this from scratch. Going the processed route makes for faster assembly, but it’s less healthy.
Ingredients:
1 package Big Mountain Foods’ Cauli crumble veggie grounds or your fav plant-based ground brand, or cauliflower taco meat
1 package Spanish pilaf (I previously used Casbah) or 1 c cooked brown rice for a healthier version
1 head lettuce, shredded (I use romaine)
3 or 3 1/2 tomatoes, chopped
3 or 3 1/2 avocados
Fresh cilantro
Optional ingredients:
1/2 package Daiya cheddar-style cheez shreds (or other brand of choice)
Vegan sour cream (I prefer Follow Your Heart)
Black or refried beans
Crumbled tortilla chips (unsalted)
Salsa or freshly squeezed lime + red pepper flakes, to taste
Cook your plant-based grounds and rice in advance. Set aside one serving of grounds and if you’re using cheez, melt on it while it’s hot. To assemble, place the grounds (+ cheez), rice, lettuce, half a chopped tomato, half a cubed avocado, and freshly chopped cilantro in a large bowl. Add optional ingredients, if using. Be sure to get a bit of each ingredient on your spoon to get all the flavours. Serves 6-7 bowls.
In the photo above:
- I used brown rice seasoned with 1/4 tsp of chili powder and a few shakes of salt. When I was at the grocer and saw that they’d run out of Casbah’s Spanish Pilaf, I Googled a recipe for Spanish pilaf and it was pretty complicated, so I don’t advise that route unless you really want flavoured rice from scratch.
- I used Mexican Veggie Ground Round by Yves Veggie Cuisine with Daiya’s mozzarella-style cheez shreds, as my grocer ran out of cheddar.
- I forgot the cilantro, but added a dollop of Spread’Em’s Garlic & Chives cashew spread, and about a tablespoon of Fresh is Best Salsa Co’s hot salsa.
Tips:
- If you’re going to make a lot of bowls at once and are using cheez shreds, melt them onto the grounds while they’re hot. Don’t chill and re-heat it as it becomes gummy instead of loose.
- Yves’ Mexican Ground Round is great, but I wouldn’t use it with Spanish pilaf as it’ll be quite the salt bomb.
- You can add or remove any ingredient according to your taste—just know if you put too many ingredients (the primary plus ALL the optional ingredients) in, it might be too much.
- Unlike other Mexican dishes, I don’t recommend replacing the tomato with salsa. You could add a squeeze of lime and red pepper flakes for some heat to get the same effect. Tomatoes are your friend because you need fresh ingredients to balance out the heavier rice and ground. This time, I added two pinches of red pepper flakes into the ground while cooking.
- You can add tortilla chips for some crunch, as all the ingredients in this bowl are soft—just be sure to get unsalted chips.
If you like this recipe, try:
