Air fryer sweet potato burrito bowls
Crispy, smoky sweet potato cubes from the air fryer over rice with black beans, avocado and salty cotija, a filling bowl that packs well for lunch too.
- 35 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $3.59 a serving
- 840 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- ½ cup long-grain white rice, rinsed
- 1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 lime
- 1 avocado
- ½ cup salsa
- ¼ cup cotija cheese, crumbled
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped (optional)
- 1 tbsp pickled jalapeños (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 cup water
- ¾ tsp salt, divided
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
Each serving has about 840 calories, 31 g protein, 131 g carbs and 23 g fat, and costs about $3.59 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No long-grain white rice? Jasmine rice or basmati rice works.
- No black beans? Pinto beans or kidney beans work.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
- No salsa? Pico de gallo works.
- No plain Greek yogurt? Plain yogurt or sour cream works.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the rice, water and ½ teaspoon salt in a small and over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Stir once, cover, turn the heat to low and cook 18 minutes. Leave it covered off the heat until the bowls are ready.
Low heatTimer: 18 min
Meanwhile, the air fryer to 400°F. the sweet potato with the oil, chili powder, cumin, paprika and the rest of the salt.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Cube. Cubing means cutting food into chunky, even squares, usually three quarters of an inch to an inch. Same-size cubes cook at the same speed and brown on every side.
How you’ll know: Your pieces look like a handful of sugar cubes, a little bigger than diced, all close to the same size.
Air fry 15 to 18 minutes, shaking the basket halfway, until at the edges and soft in the middle.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Timer: 17 min
Dolly’s tip: A fork should slide into the biggest cube with no push.Warm the beans in a small over medium heat with a squeeze of lime, about 4 minutes.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min
the avocado and cut the rest of the lime into wedges.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Fill two bowls with rice, beans and sweet potatoes and top with salsa, avocado, cotija, a spoonful of yogurt, cilantro and jalapeños, with lime on the side.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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