🥩 Steak Burrito Bowls
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb flank or sirloin steak
- 1.5 cups rice
- 1 can black beans
- 2 bell peppers
- 1 avocado
- 2 limes
- Salsa
- 2 tbsp olive oil (pantry staple)
- Salt & pepper (pantry staple)
Instructions
- Cook rice with lime zest. Sear seasoned steak to medium-rare; rest and slice.
- Char sliced peppers in the same pan; warm beans.
- Build bowls with rice, beans, peppers, steak, avocado, and salsa.
Tips
- Rest the steak a full 5 minutes, then slice against the grain. Both matter — resting keeps the juice in, and slicing with the grain makes even tender steak chewy.
- Cook to medium-rare and no further. Flank and sirloin are lean, and past medium they turn dry and tough regardless of how you slice them.
- Lime zest goes into the rice while it cooks, juice goes on after. Zest gives aroma, juice gives acidity — different jobs.
Substitutions
- Flank or sirloin
- Skirt (cook fast and hot), flat iron, or rump. Chicken thighs work with the same treatment. Avoid stewing cuts — they need slow cooking.
- Black beans
- Pinto or refried. Warm them with a little cumin rather than serving straight from the tin.
- Rice
- Cauliflower rice for low-carb, quinoa, or a shredded lettuce base.
- Salsa
- Pico de gallo, salsa verde, or corn salsa — something fresh and acidic to cut the steak.
Storage & reheating
Components keep 3 days refrigerated and store far better separately than assembled. Steak is best sliced cold into the bowl rather than reheated, which pushes it past medium. Cut avocado fresh.
Common questions
How do I find the grain on flank steak?
Look for the long parallel muscle fibres running down the steak and slice perpendicular to them. On flank they're very visible, which makes it a good cut to learn on.
What temperature is medium-rare?
130–135°F. Pull it from the heat around 125–130°F, since it climbs while resting.
Burrito bowl or fajita bowl?
Largely a naming distinction. Fajita implies charred peppers and onions; burrito bowl implies rice, beans and the usual fillings. This recipe is honestly both.