This super easy Mexican rice bowl is perfect for your next family dinner! What’s better? It takes less than 30 minutes to prepare!
Easy meals are where it’s at in my house, especially since school is about to start. Being a work at home mom means I constantly struggle with a work-life balance, and the lazy days of Summer are just about over. Now, it’s time for me to pull out my favorite easy meals to serve while we adjust to our new schedule. Rice bowls are a constant on our back-to-school menu because they pack a big flavor while being loaded with fresh veggies and protein, plus the combination options are endless! The gorgeous rice bowl above is one of my favorites because it has everything I love in one place – sweet potatoes, zesty rice, chopped green chilis, lime, cilantro, avocado, and a great taco sauce base that ties it all together. This recipe is great for a family dinner or even a lunch on the go since the whole thing is in one dish, and it is easily customizable to your own individual taste. Want to make it? Here you go!
Easy Mexican Rice Bowl
This recipe will take you 30 minutes from start to finish, and really the only reason it takes that long is because of the sweet potatoes. But, I’d say that thirty minutes is perfect when you’re cooking for the whole family! The biggest time saver here? The Veetee Dine In Rice. It literally takes TWO minutes to cook which is amazing. This recipe serves four, but it is easily adjustable to fit your desired number. Here we go:
- 2 packages Veetee Dine In Rice in Thai Jasmine
- 1/3 cup taco sauce (any brand)
- 1 large sweet potato
- 1 tomato
- 1 Avocado
- 1/2 can black beans, drained
- 1/2 can yellow corn, drained
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- lime to taste
- sliced fresh jalapeño (optional)
- fresh chopped cilantro to taste
- The first step is to start cooking your sweet potatoes. Cube them, spray on a little water, wrap them in aluminum foil and pop them in an oven heated to 375 degrees for fifteen minutes.
- Cut all your veggies up and set the to the side.
- Open up your beans and rice and you can either serve them fresh out of the can or heat them up in a pot. I serve them right out of the can because I like to save time.
- When your sweet potatoes are done cooking, set them aside while you make your rice.
Now that everything is almost done, it is time to cook your rice. I love using Veetee Dine In Rice because other rice can take forever, and being a busy mom I just don’t have time for that. With Veetee all I do is grab a tub, put some holes in it, pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes, and it’s done! It comes in 11 different flavors, and I was pleasantly surprised at how moist and fluffy it came out the first time I tried it – not like I was expecting! It is available at a number of different stores like Publix, so you shouldn’t have trouble finding it. For this recipe I am using their Thai Jasmine flavor, but their Spanish Style or Whole Grain Brown Rice would also be great in this recipe!
Once your rice is cooked, pour it in a large bowl and stir in your taco sauce. I like to use around 1/4 cup per rice package, but add as little or as much as you like according to your own taste. If you want to add even more flavor, a can of diced green chilies would be a great addition too!
Once your rice is all mixed, grab your cooked sweet potatoes, pour them into a skillet and saute’ on medium-high for a final five minutes until they are browned on the edges just to give your bowl a little crunch.
After that, the only thing left to do is build your bowls! I love piling everything up on top and adding taco chips, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime, but my husband is a mixer so he blends everything together. Either way you go, it will be delicious!
The kids love rice bowls just as much as we do, and we normally serve them buffet style in the middle of our dining room table so they can customize them however they would like. They think it is super fun, and on the mom side, I’m scoring points for getting them familiar with making their own plates. Genius!
And now that you’re effectively salivating, guess what? You can win two cases of Veetee Dine In Rice in your choice of flavor just for signing up for their newsletter! Enter below!
