# Steak Burrito Bowls

Steak Burrito Bowls — a medium recipe with 7 main ingredients, ready in about 35 min and serving 4. Check which of its ingredients are on sale at grocery stores near you.

- **Time:** 35 min
- **Serves:** 4
- **Difficulty:** medium
- **Tags:** dinner, beef, mexican, gluten-free
- **Source:** https://savingrecipes.com/recipes/steak-fajita-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

1. Cook rice with lime zest. Sear seasoned steak to medium-rare; rest and slice.
2. Char sliced peppers in the same pan; warm beans.
3. 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.


_Photo: Missvain — CC BY 4.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Steak_burrito_bowl_at_La_Casa_Restaurant_in_Sonoma,_California_-_Sarah_Stierch_03.jpg)_