These healthy Mexican Buddha Bowls by Heather Englund at Fit Mama Real Food will quickly become your next favorite easy meal to prep! By roasting mini sweet peppers, sweet potatoes, and corn, these veggie-loaded bowls are packed with so much nutrition, color and flavor. Add in seasoned pinto beans for a vegetarian protein and the most delicious cilantro lime ranch dressing and you’ll be set with the tastiest bowl perfect for lunch or dinner!.
Sometimes it’s hard to get beyond eating salads or over boiled vegetables in order to get more veggies into your diet. If you want to eat more veggies, this Mexican Buddha Bowl recipe will help you do that! The star of the bowl comes from our cute rounds of Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers. Packed with the perfect crunch and sweet flavor, they are so good on their own. Aurora Bites are also very versatile! They can be used in a variety of dishes. Slice the peppers in half and dunk them in your favorite dips for a sweet alternative to traditional chips and dip. Grown from the amazing Tribelli seed, 2019 Winner of the International Taste Institute’s Superior Taste Award, Aurora Bites are simply, the perfect snacking pepper. Heather and her kids couldn’t stop munching on them. That’s what you want with veggies, right?
For these healthy Mexican style buddha bowls, you will want to slice the mini sweet peppers into rounds to retain their shape. This helps them roast quicker and visually, they look amazing. We eat with our eyes first, right?
What is a buddha bowl?
Buddha Bowls can be called by several different names: nourish bowls, power bowls, hippie bowls, macro bowls and the list goes on.
There is no one recipe for buddha bowls, but simply an idea behind them: build a balanced bowl. There’s a bit of a formula to putting these nutrient packed bowls together: vegetables, protein, carbohydrates, and a healthy fat. And of course, flavor! Always a must.
Let’s break down all the goodness in these bowls:
Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers – high in Vitamins C, A and E, plus other powerful antioxidants and packed with a sweet and delicious crunch.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes – a complex carbohydrate that is rich in Vitamins C and B6 – both are needed for proper immune functioning.
Roasted Corn – not only does corn add more sweetness, but it’s high in fiber which is important for a healthy digestive system.
Seasoned Pinto Beans – our vegetarian protein option seasoned with dried oregano. Not only are pinto beans high in protein, they are also high in fiber!
Avocado – full of fiber, potassium and Vitamins B6 and C. They’re also rich in folate, and important nutrient for pregnant women, but also a powerful mood booster too!
Green Onion – green onions are a wonderfully mild onion and full of Vitamins K, C and A.
Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing – this delicious sauce is homemade, ups the flavor of the entire bowl and marries all the other flavors together perfectly.
To start making your Mexican Buddha Bowls, you’ll first need 2 baking sheets and the oven preheated to 425 degrees F. On the first sheet you’re going to spread out the diced sweet potatoes that you’ve combined with avocado oil and seasonings. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through, and until the sweet potatoes are crispy. On the second baking sheet, you will put the Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers cut into rings and the corn. These will only bake for 15 minutes until the peppers and corn are softened.
While the potatoes, peppers and corn are roasting in the oven, combine all of the ingredients for the cilantro lime ranch dressing in a blender and blend until smooth. Then heat your pinto beans with the seasoning over low heat until thoroughly warmed.
To build your Mexican Buddha bowls, layer roasted sweet potato, roasted mini sweet peppers, roasted corn, pinto beans, avocado, and green onion into individual bowls. Drizzle with the cilantro lime ranch dressing and you’re ready to enjoy!
Substitutions/Customizations
- Have extra veggies around? Add them onto your roasting pan and enjoy them with this meal!
- Not a sweet potato fan? Use your favorite potato or serve over your favorite whole grain.
- Want some fresh veggies added in? Dice up extra Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers for a nice crunch. Or for an extra layer of flavor, slice up some Sangria Medley Tomatoes.
- Black beans and white cannellini beans can easily be substituted for pinto beans.
- Have leftover chicken, beef, or pork? For a non-vegetarian option, add that in!
To make this Mexican Buddha Bowl recipe yourself, click here.
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