This garlicky black bean rice bowl is packed with all sorts of yummy things…rice and black beans (obvi) plus tomatoes, avocado, pineapple, and feta cheese (and chicken, if you want), all topped with a garlicky, citrusy mojo sauce. This is a rice bowl you can’t shake a stick at!

If you haven’t noticed, I’m not really a meat and sides kind of girl. I mean, if someone else is cooking for me, I’ll happily eat the “meat and three” way, but it’s just not how I cook. As organized as I am in the kitchen, I have never been able to fathom how some people can consistent turn out two or three sides (and maybe even some bread) while also cooking a protein and have them all ready at the same time. My mom does this. It boggles the mind. I’m lucky to turn out some refried beans or rice to eat with tacos. I guess everyone has their strengths.


I tend more toward things like soups, casseroles, sandwiches, and salads where all of the components of my meal are all mixed together. We eat a lot of casseroles-even the ones that are intended to be side dishes-as main dishes. This is how I work best. As you might imagine, I follow a lot of food bloggers on BlogLovin’, Facebook, and Instagram, and I see a lot of “bowls”. The base of the bowls is often a grain, like rice, pasta, couscous, or quinoa (side note: I hate quinoa. It’s just one of those things. I’ve tried. I.Just.Can’t. It’s too…wet.) but sometimes it’s a vegetable or a protein. At any rate, I’m intrigued by the whole “bowl” movement and aspire to build more bowls.


Honestly, I don’t remember what made me start thinking about this particular combination for a rice bowl. It was inspired by a dish served at a Chattanooga restaurant called The Boathouse. We’ve eaten there a couple of times, but I’ve never ordered this dish, known as Lotta Lotta Garlic Chicken. It’s their rotisserie chicken with rice, arugula, black beans, pineapple, avocado, feta, and mojo sauce (which is a very garlicky, citrus based sauce). I’ve heard great things about it from a friend, but it’s $17, which I find a little steep for what it is…especially considering that I made four portions of this black bean rice bowl-including the chicken (which I added before mixing up the ingredients in the bowl-I didn’t want to cover up all the rice in the photos)-for less than that.


I forgot the arugula, but this was delicious without it. It would be delicious with, and the next time I make it I’ll probably leave out the chicken and include the arugula. Either way, this black bean rice bowl is a fresh and delicious summer dish, and assuming you already have pineapple that has been cut into chunks and chicken that’s already been cooked, you should be able to chop all of your other ingredients while the rice cooks (maybe even whisk together the mojo-pronounced “moHO”-sauce). What are your favorite bowl-rice or otherwise-ingredients?

You’re going to love these black bean rice bowls with garlic!

Yield: 4 servings

Black Bean Rice Bowl with Mojo Sauce

20 minPrep Time:

20 minCook Time:

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Ingredients

For the Mojo Sauce (from Serious Eats
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 6-8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and ground pepper, to taste
For the bowls
• 1 cup dry long-grain white rice (can also use brown rice, but you will need to follow the directions on the package for cook times)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken, warmed (optional)
• 1 1/2-2 cups (1 can) black beans, rinsed, drained, and warmed (or use beans that have been cooked from dry)
• 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
• 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Instructions

1. Combine all of the ingredients for the mojo sauce in a bowl or a pint Mason jar. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the salt and the rice. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes.
3. While the rice is cooking, prep the remaining ingredients: seed and chop the tomatoes, chop the pineapple, chop the avocado, and warm the chicken (if using) and the beans.
4. When the rice is cooked, remove from the heat and fluff with a fork. Divide among four bowls. Top with the chicken (if using), black beans, tomatoes, pineapple, and avocado. Crumble the feta over the tops of the bowls.
5. Serve the rice bowls with a small cup (2 tablespoons) of mojo sauce to be poured over the top of the bowl before mixing the ingredients together.

Notes

*Prep time occurs almost completely during cooking time, assuming that you are using leftover chicken and either pre-cooked or canned beans. *You'll have quite a bit of mojo sauce left over. It's great to use as a marinade or salad dressing!

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https://chattavore.com/black-bean-rice-bowl/

Click here to print the recipe for black bean rice bowls!