Meatless Burrito Bowl with Avocado Rose

I love burritos and I don’t want to tire of the typical tortilla with fillings. So I started to make burrito bowls, which allow me to use whatever is in the fridge (bonus → reduced food waste).

Although using up extra veggies leads to a different bowl every time, there are some staples in my home that make it into the bowl every time.

The best thing about this recipe is that it is so customizeable! I will describe how to build your basic burrito bowl along with additional strategies to make it a bit different each time! Hello variety!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/4 cup cooked corn kernels
• 1 cup black beans
• 1 cup fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
• 2 tbsp pickled jalapeños
• 1/2 cup chopped red cabbage
• 1/2 avocado
• Juice of 1/2 lime

Directions:

1. Separately, warm up the rice and beans.
2. Except for the avocado, add all ingredients together in a bowl.

To make the avocado rose: carefully slice the whole avocado into two equal halves and twist to separate. Once you have one half separated without the pit, peel away the skin. Lay it flat (curved side up) and smooth the top with your fingers, then evenly sprinkle with lime juice. Beginning at the most narrow end, start making small even slices, the smaller the better, keeping the slices tightly together. Once done cutting, begin to slightly separate the slices, forming a U-shaped curve. Starting at the narrow end again, begin to roll the slices in. Once the rose is formed, top with more lime juice. If desired, fold the top edges of the rose petals slightly to open up the rose. Use a spatula to transfer the rose to the bowl!

Before I made the avocado rose, I watched a few YouTube tutorials that made the whole process so much easier. I am posting their links here to give them full credit for their help and inspiration:

Additional Ingredient Ideas:

• Chopped romaine lettuce
• Mashed pinto beans
• Radish slices
• Fresh jalapeño slices
• Quinoa
• Cheese
• Sour cream
• Greek yogurt
• Salsa
• Green cabbage
• Chickpeas
• Nuts/seeds
• Zuccini
• Tomatoes

Use this list to switch out or add ingredients. For example, you don’t have cooked brown rice but you have some leftover quinoa, use the quinoa as your grain.