Meal Prep Quinoa and Black Bean Burrito Bowls

Let me just paint a quick picture for you here, friends. It’s a busy week day, whether you are at home or at work, and before you know it, your stomach is grumbling, you look at the clock, and it’s already lunch time. You scan your mind for what you have in your fridge/what you brought to work for lunch, and – ding! – you remember that you did an awesome, wonderful thing for yourself and meal prepped a batch of these burrito bowls on Sunday. Look at you, bein’ so healthy and productive. Proud.

You make your way to the fridge, pop your burrito bowl in the microwave until it’s hot and steamy, and then you stir in tangy sour cream, bright cilantro, and creamy avocado before devouring promptly. The perfect lunch!

Meal prepped lunches are 👌. When I was a teacher, I LOVED being able to just grab a ready-to-go tupperware for lunch in the morning on the way out the door, and it turns out I love it just as much being a stay at home mom, because the last thing I want to do in the middle of the day when I’m already busy getting lunch together for Ford is fuss over making something for myself.

Having a set of these super healthy and delicious burrito bowls ready to go in the fridge during lunch time energizes me for the rest of the day and makes lunch time ultra easy. Like…ULTRA easy, yo.

Let’s talk about the star of these burrito bowls: the quinoa and black bean mixture. Here’s what that delicious process looks like…

1. We cook the quinoa in a few cups of chicken stock + lots of yummy Mexican seasoning (chili powder, cumin, onion powder, paprika).
2. When the quinoa is done, we throw in our black beans, cheese, cilantro, and lime juice. Stir until melty and perfect.

That’s it, peeps. So easy it’s not even fair. It’s easy, but it’s also balanced and delicious. Hearty from our quinoa and beans, flavorful from our seasonings, satisfying and creamy from our melted cheese, all wrapped up with a touch of freshness from the lime and cilantro. It’s #lunchgoals, plain and simple.

As for the meal prep logistics, you can make this happen one of two ways. One: portion out the quinoa and bean mixture and store them in their own tupperwares, keeping the toppings (sour cream, avocado, cilantro, extra lime) in a separate bag/tupperware. Two: throw it all in together.

Pros of method one = you can microwave the bowls without having to remove anything from the tupperware and just throw in your toppings afterwards. Con = more tupperwares being used.

Pros of method two = only one tupperware for each lunch as a whole. Con = you have to remove the toppings from the tupperware before microwaving, which can kind of be a pain.

My preferred process is throwing it all in one tupperware together, but making a little pocket of parchment paper next to the quinoa mixture and placing my non-microwave toppings in there. That way I just slide the parchment paper out and microwave the quinoa mix. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

If you are slicing your avocado ahead of time, make sure you squeeze plenty of lime juice over top so it doesn’t brown!

You guys. We have been in THE TRENCHES this week. Oh Laaawwwddd.

We got back from North Carolina on Monday, and on Tuesday, Ford came down with the sickness to end all sicknesses. The worst day was yesterday. I have never ever in Ford’s year of life had such a hard time consoling him – the poor little guy was just straight up miserable. He had a fever pushing 104 and just could not be soothed. He slept almost constantly, and when he wasn’t sleeping, he was super super sensitive, and if one thing went wrong he sooobbbbbeed and sobbed and sobbed and it took us forever to get him calmed down.

I shamelessly used Baby Einstein YouTube videos many different times to get him to calm down (sometimes worked, sometimes didn’t). It was rough, people. And super heartbreaking. We just wanted our poor little guy to feel better. We took him to the doctor thinking he might have an ear infection or strep throat, but nope! There’s a big viral thing going around our town right now that gives the kiddos high fevers and a red, irritated throat, which Ford had both of, so his doctor is thinking that’s what he had.

Anyway, he woke up this morning fever free and happy as a clam! It’s crazy how fast these things come and go. It’s so, SO nice having our healthy little boy back. It’s hard watching your baby be sick and hurting.

So we are looking forward to a fun day and weekend now that he’s kicked this bug! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend as well!!

Happy Friday, errybody – go make some burrito bowls!

Meal Prep Quinoa and Black Bean Burrito Bowls

• Author: Annie Chesson
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 5 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the burrito bowl base:

• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 2 cups chicken stock/broth
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 15.25 oz can black beans, drained
• 1 cup shredded cheese, we used Mexican blend
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 lime, juiced

For the toppings:

• Avocado
• Cilantro
• Sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
• Extra lime

Instructions

1. Bring your chicken stock to a boil. Add your spices (chili powder, cumin, onion powder, and paprika), some salt, and your quinoa. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated. Fluff with a fork and season to taste with salt and pepper
2. To the quinoa, add your black beans, cheese, cilantro, and lime juice. Stir until cheese is melted and everything is combined. Taste and season as needed
3. To assemble each burrito bowl, add a scant cup of the quinoa/black bean mixture to your tupperware and include your desired toppings. I like sour cream, avocado, cilantro, and extra lime. If you include avocado and are slicing it up in advance, make sure you squeeze lime juice over it so the avocado doesn’t brown!

Notes

Nutrition info is only for the quinoa/black bean mixture, not the toppings.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: Scant 1 cup
• Calories: 302
• Sugar: 1 g
• Sodium: 145 mg
• Fat: 8 g
• Carbohydrates: 38 g
• Fiber: 8 g
• Protein: 17 g
• Cholesterol: 22 mg

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!

In the mood for more yummy quinoa recipes? Check these out:

3 Cheese Quinoa Cakes

Super Simple Coconut Lime Quinoa

Quinoa Mac and Cheese