These beef burrito rice bowls have everything you need for a fabulous low-fat meal in one bowl – rice, beans, avocados, pico de gallo, and the most flavorful skirt steak you’ve ever tasted.
- Prep Time:
30 mins - Cook Time:
30 mins - Total Time:
60 mins
The meal I want to eat over and over again
My husband is out of town on business and the kids have been traveling with their grandparents. So, I’ve been home alone for an entire week! I was tempted to take advantage of this rare occurrence and totally abandon cooking for the week. Binge watching Netflix while eating take out every night was looking awfully good.
However, I decided it might be better to cook and take pictures for the blog while the kids were away. Then, I wouldn’t have to worry about working around their summer activity schedules which is looking to be very busy this summer.
With no one here to help me eat everything, I wanted to cook something that I wouldn’t mind eating a lot of. These beef burrito rice bowls were perfect. They are so darn delicious that I actually looked forward to the leftovers for dinner (and lunch).
Tips for meal prep
The knock-out flavors come from the marinated skirt steak which uses my favorite fajita beef marinade and from the super simple spiced black beans. The marinade makes the beef really juicy and flavorful. Just try not sneaking a few a bites while you’re slicing it.
I know the ingredient list looks long and intimidating but I tried to break it down into manageable chunks. If it seems too overwhelming to do it all, I would suggest cutting out the caramelized onions. I love caramelized onions and am always looking for a reason to make them but they aren’t absolutely required for this dish.
You can also save time by buying pico de gallo from the grocery store. Adjust it for lime juice and salt to your taste and you’ll be good to go.
For the rice, you can use re-heated leftover rice or frozen rice that comes in those convenient microwavable bags. It’s also fine if you want to keep the rice plain rather than making the cilantro-lime rice. But I highly recommend making it if you have the time.
Now, I’m off to get a few more hours of Netflix watching in before I have to go pick up the kids at the airport.
Beef Burrito Rice Bowls
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Grill, Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
These beef burrito rice bowls have everything you need for a fabulous low-fat meal in one bowl – rice, beans, avocados, pico de gallo, and the most flavorful skirt steak you’ve ever tasted.
Ingredients
For the beef
- 1–1/4 to 1-1/2pounds skirt steak
- 1 scallion, coarsely chopped
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
- 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/4 cup canola oil plus more for cooking
- Juice of 1 lime (about 2–3 tablespoons fresh lime juice)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the onions
- 1 medium onion, peeled, halved, and then sliced (about 1/8 inch thick)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt to taste
For the black beans
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the rice
- 3 cups cooked rice (white or brown)
- 3 teaspoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves (or to taste)
- Pinch of salt
For serving
- Pico de gallo, either store bought or homemade (see my recipe for easy pico de gallo)
- Chopped avocados
- Chopped cilantro
- Lime wedges, optional
Instructions
For the beef
- Marinate beef. Place the steak in a glass baking dish. Combine the scallion, jalapeño, cilantro, oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor. Purée until well blended. Pour the mixture over the steak. Turn the steak so that the marinade evenly coats both sides. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or up to overnight.
- Grill beef. Remove the meat from the refrigerator 20-30 minutes before cooking. Prepare grill for medium-high heat. Grill the steak for 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium-rare, or until done to your liking. When steak is done, transfer it to a cutting board, cover it with foil and let it rest while preparing the beans and rice.
For the onions
- Cook onions. While waiting for the beef to warm up, cook the onions. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté them briefly until they are evenly coated with oil. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low. Let the onions steam for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover the onions, add a pinch of salt and continue to cook the onions until they are nicely browned, about 10-20 minutes more.
For the rice
- Season rice. While the onions are cooking, prepare the rice. In a medium bowl, stir together rice, lime juice, cilantro, and salt.
For the beans
- Cook beans. When the onions are done cooking, transfer them to a plate and wipe out the pan. Add oil to the pan and heat oil over medium heat. Add beans, cumin, paprika, and salt. Sauté beans until warmed through and beans are evenly coated with spices.
For serving
- Assemble bowls. Slice the steak into thin strips across the grain. Cut the strips into bite-size pieces. To assemble the bowls, divide rice mixture among 4 bowls. Top with onions, beans, beef, pico de gallo, avocados, and cilantro. Add an extra squeeze of lime, if desired.
Notes
- Recipe for beef adapted from the Steak Lover’s Cookbook.
- If you don’t want to grill the beef, you can also sear it in a cast iron skillet on the stovetop. Then transfer the seared steak to a foil lined rimmed baking sheet and cook it in the oven for 15-20 minutes (for medium done). You can then use the skillet for the onions and black beans.
Malika says
The Marinade for this beef recipe is Ahhh-Mazing.
My husband wanted more of a salad so we x’d the rice and beans. I used strip steak for fajitas and marinaded them for a little over an hour. I was finished cooking the strips in less than 10 minutes! We tossed it over some lettuce & avocado and topped it with some fresh pico de Gallo (provided in the link above) and a dallop of sour cream.
My only regret is that I didn’t make more for left overs.
Thank you for sharing this delish experience!
Taming of the Spoon says
I am so glad you loved it! Thank you so much for coming back to leave a comment.
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
Love burrito bowls. This definitely has got me craving Mexican for dinner tonight!
Taming of the Spoon says
Thanks, Thalia. I could live on burrito bowls – so many options. Hope you get to try these.