Today’s post is another episode of “things we actually eat all the time.” This bowl is something that we eat weekly, in one form or another. I even started a new category here for this sorta fare called “everyday eats.” I’m excited to share more of those meals that are thrown together with pantry stock and seasonal bits, but still have an overall vibe of wellness and vibrance too. Hope you can feel me on this.
We’ve been spending most of the hours outdoors, sometimes for fun and most often times working on something or other. There have been going away parties, roller coasters, funnel cakes, birthdays, hangry pizza lunches after visits to the “natural regeneration” portion of the dump, big and half-dead cedar hedges ripped out, deck planning, smoke alarms in the middle of the night, long walks after dinner, tons of iced coffee, and thunderstorms. And we still haven’t been to the drive-in, a baseball game, Algonquin or the beach yet. Summer!
So when the season is full and the meals are needed in a more relaxed sort of way (but still have to be mega-nourishing), this burrito bowl works out pretty nicely. There’s lots of pantry stuff here! Sweet potatoes, canned black beans, herbs, brown rice, spices, chilies, citrus… It’s just a little blend, boil and grill away from supper on the porch/balcony/kitchen counter with a cold beer (or iced tea!). Hope you’re all eating well, loving each other, and adventuring often out there.
Grilled Sweet Potato Burrito Bowls with Black Beans & Cumin Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
Cumin Garlic Drizzle
- 1 small jalapeño, seeded
- 1 clove of garlic, peeled peeled
- 2½ tsp ground cumin
- juice of 2 limes + a little bit of zest
- 1 tbsp agave nectar/other liquid sweetener
- sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup neutral tasting oil (I used avocado)
- big splash of water
Sweet Potato + Bowls
- 1 medium-large sweet potato, cut into 1 inch chunks
- 2 cups cooked black beans
- ¼ cup small diced red onion
- big handful fresh cilantro leaves, divided
- 2 red bell peppers, sides cut off in big pieces (pieces should be big enough to handle easily on the grill)
- cooked brown rice
- 1 ripe avocado, diced
Equipment
- Grill
Notes
- The cumin garlic drizzle serves as a protective coating for the sweet potatoes and peppers as they grill, but also as a light sauce too, so just make sure you reserve enough for serving at the end.
- You could make these up with any and all types of of salsa, various cheeses, extra lime wedges, sour cream (dairy or non-dairy based), some fresh corn etc etc. Burritos are personal preference driven, so this bowl is no different!
- You could also just roast the pieces of sweet potato in the oven for 40 minutes at 400! Add the bell pepper pieces at the 20 minute mark
Instructions
- In an upright blender, combine all of the ingredients for the spicy cumin garlic drizzle. Blend on high until you have a smooth, liquid-y mixture. Check for seasoning, adjust, and set aside.
- Put your pot of rice on if you haven't got any cooked rice on hand. Place the cut sweet potatoes in another medium saucepan and cover them with water. Bring the sweet potatoes to a boil over medium heat and simmer until a knife just goes through when you try to prick one, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl, toss the black beans with a hearty pour of the spicy cumin garlic drizzle, the diced red onions and almost all of the cilantro. Season them with salt and pepper, toss once more, and set aside.
- Preheat your grill to high. Skewer the sweet potatoes onto the bamboo sticks, making sure you don’t weigh them down too heavily. Place skewers on a dinner plate along with the pieces of red bell pepper. Pour some of the spicy cumin garlic drizzle on top and lightly toss everything to coat. Grill sweet potatoes and red peppers until char marks appear and vegetables have softened slightly, about 10-12 minutes total. Remove from the grill and cut peppers into bite-sized pieces if you like.
- Portion the rice into 4 bowls. Divide the black beans among the bowls. Top rice and beans with grilled sweet potatoes, red peppers and extra cilantro leaves. Pit and peel the avocado, and then dice into chunks on top of the bowls. Finish all of the bowls with extra spicy cumin garlic drizzle and some more salt and pepper. Serve warm.
Even after 6 years of making this dish, it is a go to when I don’t know what to make for dinner
Omg so easy and definitely delicious! We are keeping this recipe for sure.
I’m so glad I found this site. Better late than never!
I made the cumin dressing the second I saw the recipe. Though my serrano was shriveled, so I had to use jarred spicy jalapeño slices, it still turned out wonderful. Beans are in the crock. Butternut is roasting in the oven. I can’t wait to make this into a salad!
What IS THIS sorcery?
Made this for dinner last night, and hubby and I have *some* leftovers for lunch today. Made quinoa instead of rice, thought I was being brilliant – turns out everybody’s doing it…
Wish I tripled the whole recipe. Will do, next time. Freaking amazing.
Made this exactly as Annie above did- doubled with quinoa. My mom wanted me to inform you that it’s one of the better dinners she has ever had. Absolutely delicious, Laura! Thanks so much for the recipe.
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Made this for dinner tonight. Followed everything to a T except used quinoa instead of rice and doubled everything–had a feeling it’d be that good. :) It WAS! Oh man, I loved this dish and will definitely be making it again! I’m a sucker for the dressing and will quadruple that next time, though!
Your photography is so beautiful you make the humblest of ingredients, in this case beans and rice, look breathtaking and mouth watering! I am so inspired by you and your site to up my game while I stuff my face. Thank you!
This looks tasty and so healthy! Love all the colors.
My hangry pizza “lunches” usually take place on errant early mornings; after stepping (barefoot!) through cat vomit. *Cue* the salty sailor talk + cheese-bedazzled pizza pies.
This dish is gorgeous in its simplicity! I rarely have sweet potatoes on hand but this is lush enough to make a random grocery store run.
So I just made a variation of this for lunch. Holy jebus. I did more of a sauté – onion, sweet potato, beans, rice, beet greens, tomato, + the drizzle. Dynamite! Thanks for the inspiration.
I just discovered your blog, love it! Your photos are beautiful.
Isn’t it great how the simplest foods make the best meals? This is similar to what I feed my family on a daily basis. Color, color, and more color. The more vibrant the meal the better it tastes.
This is my kind of meal right here. Bring on the everyday recipe inspiration! P.s. Love that all-caps f-bomb. If only my readers knew that I drop it on the daily.
I read this post – then your interview with Tara
1) You are so cool
2) Your simple recipes are often my favourite – what you eat every day might seem boring and not worth posting – but they are not. I am probably more likely to make something that is a staple in your life! B/c I’m always looking for something to add into regular rotation
3) if you ever do something outside of this blog – business wise. Please let us know because I probably live close enough that I would come out and support you!
Thanks!
Made this tonight for dinner, with a couple minor tweaks (no grill, so I roasted the veggies.) It was SO delicious- that cumin drizzle is a keeper! My husband had seconds, we’re having it tomorrow night too, and I’m about to email it to friends.
Haphazard bowls of goodness are always the best. Kind of like how the messier a sandwich is the better it usually is.
YUM! This sounds so delicious!
Pragati
All of my favorite things all nestled in a bowl together! Your photography is stunning!
Made this for dinner and it was absolutely amazing! A wonderful combination of flavours. Thanks for sharing this great meal.
Almost had this for dinner tonight – but I forgot the sweet potatoes! (<—important)
What a great lunch! Easy to pack, so tasty, and sustained me well. I took one less step (out of laziness) by blending the cilantro in. It also made a great sauce for a falafel (which means my laziness paid off.) Thank you so much for wonderful recipes.
Just perfect! So pretty, too with your eye for colors and textures. We get excited about burrito bowls here too at least a couple times a month, and I can’t wait to try this drizzle all over our next bowls! Summer forces me to be a little more spontaneous and pantry dinners are perfect for just that :)
This looks like absolute perfection!! I’ve got to make this STAT!
http://youtube.com/addalittlefood
Beautiful compositions! I wish I could arrange food and take pictures of it like you, because I believe that “all you eat needs to look fabulous, or else it’s not going to taste as good” (well, the source of the quote is here). I especially like the combination of grey and orange, it creates a really nice contrast evoking the tastes of autumn.
I really love no fuss meals at home. I love sweet potatoes and I know I will have to make this at home soon!
Sweet potatoes are my fav. This looks so delicious. How can I make it appear in front of me now?
love these burrito bowls.. definitely will be recreating this meal for my vegetarian household. looks seriously delicious!
Everyday Eats are where it is at in the summer time. Next time I whip up a similar bowl your dressing is going in it.
The flavor combination here is so fantastic! This is absolutely something we could eat on a weekly basis. Yum!
Love it, this is exactly my kind of everyday meal and I love that you’re keepin’ it real and enjoying your summer as you should be. Goes by to fast, especially up in the north! And it sounds like lots of exciting new things are happening, much deserved!
i could certainly eat this every day! i’m a huge fan of sweet potatoes, but i’ve never grilled them! i can’t wait to try this out. ps: i didn’t know you were canadian, excitement!!
um, yeah, I definitely feel you on this one. I love everything about this post.
I am running with that drizzle. Would honey be a reasonable substitute or is it too sweet? A great easy meal for those hot and busy days. How does the sweet potato go when cooked this way? Does it soften up enough?
Hi Francesca, honey would substitute just fine for this. And I’ll add that in the recipe, the sweet potato is boiled for a short period of time before it hits the grill, so perfectly soft but still a bit crisp by the time it’s ready to eat :)
-L
These are so beautiful! Love the colors and the flavors!
Hi! Love your recipes! Is there any way to print them out? I’ve tried cut and paste to word and it gets all messed up! Please let me know if there’s a button I’m missing.. Thanks!!!
Hi Kathy, Thanks for this! There isn’t a button for printing as of right now. I am working on this though. My apologies in the meantime!
-L
SO. MANY. of your recipes have become ‘everyday eats’ at my house. Can I hear it for the Busy Lady Bowl?! I have a feeling this one will follow suit. Thank you!
fist bumps for the new nourishing everyday eats category! more time to enjoy the outdoors :) thanks for this one, Laura!
gahhh sooo pretty and colorful!!!!! love.
Love your idea for “everyday eats!” It’s those simple meals that get us through the busy so we can enjoy the outdoors and all the little projects we have going on. But it’s in those full times when we really need these home-cooked, nutrient dense meals! Well done, friend. Also…the photos…again + again…you amaze me! xo
Yup… I’m all about this bowl. I often do sweet potato and black bean tacos, so I just know I’d be a fan of this.
Absolutely loving your new everyday eats concept! More of that, please! Fancy, complicated dinners sure are wonderful and can make your jaw drop but everyday food is the one that keeps us nourished; keeps us going, and inspired. These burrito bowls look absolutely perfect. Can’t wait to make some soon.
P.S. Those quinoa tacos still linger on my mind…just SO GOOD!
Love a good bowl! Fist-bump indeed.
I think I probably like real deal everyday eating posts more than fancy recipe posts (not that I don’t love every single one of your posts obviously). But there’s something extra special about getting a peek into the way that other people eat on a day to day basis that’s always inspiring + fascinating.
These bowls look great! Such a yummy combo of flavours!
This looks so amazing! I cannot wait to make this for dinner tonight :D
Simply gorgeous and totally calling me. I’d live out the cilantro (can’t help it) and add some cheese (again: can’t help it) though. Bookmarking this and will probably make it this week. Thanks for the lovely inspiration!
You manage to make everything look so vibrant! I wish I had this for lunch today. :) The cumin-garlic drizzle sounds soooo good!
This is absolutely my kind of rice bowl! Love the flavor combo and especially the cumin garlic drizzle. Glad you decided to share your everyday meals with us!
This is my kind of eating, not to structured and with all the best things! I love sweet potato. That cumin drizzle sounds perfect for my meal tonight!
I could kill for this plate. Totally.