Making a good burrito bowl isn’t rocket science, but it’s also not as easy as dumping canned black beans and salsa over rice. For our house recipe, our Simplest Black Beans method simmers the beans with a bit of the can liquid, green onion, cilantro, garlic, and smoky chipotle powder. Our other secret is dousing everything with cumin lime crema, a savory sauce made with tahini. Burrito bowls scale well for feeding a crowd, and their self-serve nature makes them sure to please all types of eaters.
Ingredients
FOR THE BEANS AND RICE
- Simplest Black Beans
- 2 cups uncooked brown or white rice
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
FOR THE CUMIN LIME CREMA
- 1 small garlic clove
- ¼ cup lime juice (2 limes)
- 3 tablespoons tahini*
- 1 tablespoon Mexican hot sauce (we like Cholula)
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
FOR SERVING
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 avocado
- 1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
- 1 handful cilantro
How to Make It
- Make the black beans: See the black bean recipe in Loaded Sweet Potato Wedges with Black Beans.
- Make the rice: Prepare the rice (here). When cooked, stir in the chili powder, olive oil, and kosher salt.
- Make the cumin lime crema: Peel and finely mince the garlic. Juice the limes. In a small bowl, stir together the garlic, lime juice, tahini, hot sauce, cumin, olive oil, and kosher salt. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water if necessary to achieve a creamy consistency.
- Prepare the fresh ingredients: Slice the tomatoes in half. Chop the avocado. Cut the corn off of the cob or warm frozen corn to room temperature. To serve, place the rice in a bowl. Top with the black beans, tomatoes, avocado, corn, reserved green onions from the black bean recipe, and torn cilantro leaves, then drizzle with cumin lime crema.
