Vegan Fajita Bowls

This amazing vegan fajita bowl recipe is going to be your next favorite healthy meal! Includes black beans, peppers, sweet onions, spices, a speedy pico de gallo and a super simple avocado sauce. Served over whole grains of your choice plus some crunchy romaine, this recipe is great for meal-prep and makes for a perfect lunch or dinner.

I have had endless amount of healthy bowls in the last few years: they are easy to put together, quick, perfect make-ahead yummy meal and loaded with nutrients to keep you energized. You can pretty much pile your favorite grain + veggies + beans + sauce and call it dinner!

My favorite bowls are this Mexican buddha bowl, this peanut butter tofu bowl and this falafel buddha bowl, where they gather ingredients that were meant to be matched together.

And today, we are making a vegan fajita bowl! It combines everything you would have in a vegetarian fajita meal, but served over grains instead of squeezed in between a tortilla bread. And making it without cheese makes it vegan and dairy-free. Such a treat!

The main part are the tasty roasted pepper, onion and mushrooms that are a little sweet and perfectly spiced with a combination of fajita flavoring ingredients, such as garlic, chili, cumin and paprika. Then, comes the black bean for a boost of plant-based protein, a quick sweet and tangy salsa made within 5 minutes and also, maybe the best part, a delicious and speedy creamy avocado cilantro sauce.

You can meal-prep a bunch of those elements ahead of time, especially the fajita vegetables, brown rice and salsa, so you can build your healthy bowl super quickly on a busy day. Enjoy for lunch or dinner and swap up some ingredients as you wish to make it your own.

Let me know if you gave it a try! ❤️

Highlights of this recipe

• Full of bright colors and very appetizing
• Easy to make and highly customizable, see tips below on how to make this recipe ultra speedy!
• Healthy and loaded with fiber, healthy fats, antioxidants and plant-based protein
• Very hearty and super filling
• Great for meal-prep
• So FULL of flavor
• Fully vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free and nut-free

Ingredients you'll need and substitutions

• Cooked grain: choose your favorite grain to make this bowl. I love brown rice and often meal-prep it ahead so it is ready to go, but feel-free to use quinoa (cooks faster!), farro, barley, etc. Also, try to always keep some frozen cooked brown rice in your freezer or even, those single portion cooked rice to keep in the pantry, for those last minute buddha bowls that makes dinner so much easier.
• Black beans: I use canned black bean for convenience, but you can cook your own black beans too! You can also use any beans you like or have ready to-go, such as kidney beans, pinto beans, lentils or chickpeas.
• Sweet onion: I am on a kick with those large sweet onions lately and they work perfectly for a fajita vegetable mix. If you don't have them, then simply use regular yellow onion or even red onion.
• Peppers: any color works!
• Mushrooms: I used small cremini mushrooms, but white buttons work too.
• Garlic: I use them in many components of this recipe, such as the pico de gallo, fajita vegetables and the quick avocado sauce. You will need a total of 5-6 cloves.
• Avocado: used to make the sauce that brings everything together, so don't omit! Look for a perfectly ripe avocado without any bitter dark spots and if you have small avocados (sometimes sold in bags), then use 2!
• Cherry tomatoes: Used to make the speedy pico de gallo, they are sweet and gives great flavor to the quick chunky salsa. You can also use a regular tomato.
• Crunchy lettuce: optional, but I like to also include chopped romaine lettuce in my bowl for a nice freshness and a good crunch too.
• Lime: used to make the guacamole sauce and the salsa, also add a few lime wedges to your bowl when serving to make it extra zesty!

How to make a vegan fajita bowl

Prep the grain

I recommend to start by cooking the grain you want to serve your bowl with. I chose brown rice, but quinoa, barley, farro, etc would all work well.

Make the fajita vegetables

While the grains are cooking, then slice the onion and peppers. Then, warm up a large non stick pan with a little oil (if using, can also be made oil-free) and then add both the onion and pepper. Add all the fajita spices mix over with a little salt and stir well. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables soften slightly but are still crunchy.

Then, add the garlic (about 3 cloves) and also the mushrooms. Stir well and keep cooking until the mushrooms are done, about 5 more minutes. If the pan gets too dry, then add a little water (2 tablespoons at the time). Once done, set aside.

Make the pico de gallo

In a medium bowl, add the chopped cherry tomatoes, diced onion, garlic (one clove), lime juice and salt. Stir well and set aside.

Make the avocado-cilantro sauce

Mash the avocado as smooth as you can using a fork and then transfer to a medium bowl. Add the salt, garlic (one clove), cilantro, lime juice and green onion and stir well.

Then, 1 tablespoon at the time, add some water + stir until desired consistency.

For a super smooth cilantro sauce thin enough to pour or drizzle over you bowl, then I would recommend using a blender and add enough water to thin it out to your taste. If you find that the water dilutes the flavor, then add more salt, lime juice and garlic. Or, check out this vegan avocado crema sauce or this high-protein guacamole!

Assemble your bowl

To your serving bowl, add some cooked grain, chopped romaine lettuce and canned black beans (drain and rinse first). Then, top with some of the fajita vegetables, pico de gallo and avocado sauce. Garnish with more cilantro and green onions if you want and serve with slices of lime to drizzle more zesty juice over your dish.

Watch how to make it

Pro-tip for a speedy weeknight dinner recipe

You can make this recipe super quickly during the week even if you don't feel or have that much time to cook. Here are a few tips to make this recipe easier and faster:

• Use store bought pico de gallo instead of making your own salsa. We love the pico de gallo from the brand The Pick Organics that we get at Whole Foods Market, but you can use any brand you like.
• Also, you can buy already-made creamy guacamole instead of making the avocado sauce. We enjoy the guacamole from the brand 365 that we also find at Whole Foods Market. It is not spicy, which works great for our kids.
• You can also heat up frozen cooked brown rice within a few minutes before serving so you don't have to cook any grains.
• Feel-free to use an already made fajita (or taco) spices mix! Most small packets of pre-made spices contain about 1 ounce of spices, which is about 6 teaspoons. In this case, simply use half of the packaging and keep the remaining for another recipe!

If you use those easy short-cuts, then all you will have to do is cook the fajita vegetables in the pan and open a can of black beans!

More helpful tips

• You can also warm up the black beans before serving if you prefer. Simply use the microwave or add to a small pan and heat up on medium heat for a few minutes.
• The trick to make this recipe quicker is to work in parallel: start with cooking the grain. Meanwhile, cook the fajita veggies. While the vegetables cook, make the salsa and the guacamole sauce. This way, you don't have much down time and most of the bowl's parts will be ready about at the same time.
• When making a meal that requires a few spices, then I like to first gather them in a small bowl. I find it so much easier later when veggies are roasting in a pan: I don't lose any time looking for a specific spices and it saves some time not having to measure each amount, all of this can prevent over cooking and burning my veggies.

Variations and serving suggestions

My favorite thing about buddha bowls is that there are ENDLESS ways to serve them. There really is no wrong or solid rules to respect, just follow your gut and craving.

So here are other yummy customization ideas for inspiration:

• Make it grain-free: for a super veggie loaded bowl, then swap the grain for cauliflower rice! You can buy frozen cauliflower rice and simply heat it up using the microwave or the stove.
• Use other veggies: a classic combo for fajitas are peppers, onion and mushrooms, but just use your favorite veggies or what you got ready to-go. Try including sweet potatoes, leafy greens (spinach, kale, collard greens, etc), zucchini, carrots, butternut squash, etc. Also, thaw some corn and add to your bowl or also, garnish with shredded purple cabbage for a punch in nutrients and color.
• Swap the sauce: not feeling like avocado? Then try topping your bowl with a chipotle cashew sauce, warm vegan white queso or vegan sour cream.
• Add fruits: this fajita bowl pairs well with a little sweetness, so you can add some cubed fruits, especially mango, pineapple or peaches. Or, swap the quick salsa for this spicy peach salsa, a roasted mango habanero salsa or pineapple pico de gallo.
• Make it spicy: this is the perfect kind of meal to add a nice heat to it. Simply drizzle your favorite sauce over or include sliced jalapeño peppers to the pan when cooking the vegetables.

Storage tips

This bowl can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days. It is best to keep each component apart while storing so you can reheat some of them (such as the vegetables, rice and beans) while keeping some chilled (such as the lettuce, salsa and guacamole).

Also, avocado naturally turns brown when in contact with the ambient air, so try to make the guacamole sauce just when ready to eat and make a second fresh batch when serving the leftovers a few days later. I love those single portion guacamole, something you could use when serving leftovers.

FAQ's

More healthy bowls you might like

• Baked tofu teriyaki buddha bowl
• Vegan savory breakfast bowl
• Teriyaki cauliflower bowl
• Tofu peanut butter bowl
• Rainbow salad bowl
• Falafel buddha bowl
• Miso tempeh noodle bowl
• Vegan green nourish bowl
• Greek marinated tofu bowl
• Quinoa and tomato poke bowl
• Mexican buddha bowl
• BBQ chickpea bowl
• Mediterranean chickpea quinoa bowl
• Chimichurri bowls
• Vietnamese noodle bowl

I hope you like this vegan fajita bowl as much as we do! If you try it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe to let me know how it was. Your feedback is so helpful!

Let's stay in touch with Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. Also, don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter to be sure not to miss anything.

📖 Recipe

Pin it for later!