At the beginning of lockdown, so many blogs and food sites talked a lot about pantry meals. These posts presume that a) you even have a pantry and b) it’s well stocked with items just waiting to be used. Well, I definitely don’t have a pantry (just a small cupboard) and I’ve never been the type of grocery shopper to stockpile things I don’t have an immediate need for.

I guess you can consider this my version of pantry meal, and I’ve made it so many times in the last few months. It’s ideal because if you do have at least rice and a can of black beans in your pantry, you’re most of the way there. Sweet potatoes are also great, because they can hang around for practically a month before going off.

To build this bowl, I start off with a base of cilantro lime rice, and have been using this recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Café. My only change is to stir in the cilantro at the end of cooking so it stays bright and fresh. The rice gets topped with roasted, spiced sweet potatoes (which are a throwback to a very early recipe on Planet Byn) and black beans that have been sautéed with onion, garlic and red pepper flakes. Then for the toppings, I basically just use whatever’s kicking around in my fridge: grated cheddar cheese, cherry tomatoes, avocado, green onion and of course hot sauce. My latest addition is a quick drizzle of lime crema, which is just mayo mixed with lime zest, juice and salt.

Yes, there are a lot of components and dishes going on here, but it’s nice to have everything ready and then you can assemble a few bowls during the week.

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burrito Bowls

Yield: This is probably enough for about three bowls

Ingredients

Cilantro Lime Rice (Source: Mel’s Kitchen Café)

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 1/4 cups rice (jasmine, basmati or long grain)
• 2 1/4 cups stock (chicken, veggie or just water)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• juice and zest of 1 large lime
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Sweet Potatoes (Source: This old post)

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/2″ cubes

Black Beans (Source: my brain)

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion, diced small
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• big pinch red pepper flakes
• big pinch salt

Lime Crema (Source: my brain)

• 1/2 cup mayo
• juice and zest of 1 lime
• big pinch salt

Toppings

• chopped tomato
• grated cheddar
• chopped cilantro
• hot sauce
• pickled red onion
• diced avocado or guac

Directions

1. For the rice, I just add everything except the cilantro to my rice cooker, give it a stir, and let it cook. When it’s done, I stir in the cilantro.
2. For the sweet potatoes, heat the oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Add the olive oil and all the spices to a large bowl, and stir together with a whisk or fork. Add the sweet potatoes and toss until evenly coated with the spice mixture. Pour out onto the prepared baking sheet and spread into a single layer. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.
3. For the black beans, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for about 10 minutes until softened. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the garlic. Let cook for 2 minutes, then add the black beans, pepper flakes and salt. Stir and keep warm over low heat.
4. For the lime crema, stir everything together.
5. To assemble, add a big scoop of rice to the bottom of a bowl, then top with spiced sweet potatoes and black beans. Drizzle lime crema overtop, and add any other toppings you like!