A 30-minute meal, these Crispy Plantain Black Bean Rice Bowls are the perfect healthy weeknight dinner. This gluten-free recipe is easily adaptable for a meat eater, vegan, or vegetarian dish.
Need a quick healthy meal? Try this!
One of my tried and true fast dinners is rice bowls. They’re so convenient because you can top them off with whatever healthy, fresh ingredients you have in the kitchen. These cilantro rice bowls with black beans and sautéed plantains were inspired by similar meals I had in Costa Rica when I was there on my honeymoon last year!
These Crispy Plantain Black Bean Rice Bowls can be prepared in 30 minutes or less, making them a perfect weeknight meal. They’re vegetarian and vegan friendly as well. If you’re not vegan or vegetarian, you can easily top these cilantro rice bowls with your favorite protein. An organic, pasture-raised fried egg would be so good!!
Don’t skip the homemade cilantro rice!
The foundation of these bowls is a cilantro rice that’s easily made by blending fresh cilantro leaves, garlic, and lime juice with a little bit of water and stirring in the rice. This part only takes an additional two minutes or so and the flavor payoff is huge compared to just plain rice. It’s definitely worth that one extra step.
While the rice is cooking, I like to work on the toppings. That way, as soon as the rice is done, the bowls are super easy to assemble. Just top with a scoop of black beans, some sliced mango, avocado, crisp radishes, diced bell pepper, more cilantro leaves, and my personal favorite – the sautéed plantains! You can cook these in oil or butter and it only takes a minute or two on each side for those edges to get golden and crispy.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 plantains, peeled and sliced
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil or butter
- 1 cup cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 mango, sliced
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 2 radishes, thinly sliced
- 1 avocado, sliced
- Cilantro leaves, for garnish
- Lime widges
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and salt. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook until water is absorbed and rice is just tender, about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a blender, combine cilantro, lime juice, oil, garlic, and 2 tablespoons water and blend until smooth. Stir into cooked rice and fluff with a fork.
- Heat vegetable oil (or butter, if using) in a skillet over medium heat. Add plantains and cook for about 1 minute or until edges are browned. Flip and repeat on second side. Remove from heat to drain on paper towels.
- To assemble, divide rice among bowls. Top with plantains, black beans, mango, bell pepper, radish, avocado, and cilantro leaves. Serve with lime wedges.
Notes
Home Chef Tip: For a meatier option, add some shredded chicken into the bowl!
We hope you love these Crispy Plantain Black Bean Cilantro Rice Bowls from SoFabFood Home Chef, Denisse from Le Petit Eats, as much as we do. If you like this recipe, be sure to stop by our Vegetarian Section for more like it. For daily recipe inspiration, subscribe to our newsletter, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Pinterest. Enjoy!
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