Happy new year! Is it too late to still be saying that? I think it’s acceptable to continue saying it until I can consistently write 2018 on forms instead of 2017. So probably a few months yet. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas if you were celebrating, and that 2018 has started well for you!

As usual, I always try to start the new year with some healthy recipes. I’ve never understood people who are against new year’s resolutions – sure, a lot of people give in after a few weeks, but isn’t it better to eat healthily for a few weeks of the year than not at all? Anyway, whether you’re reading this post in January in the midst of healthy eating madness, or months later, these vegan burrito bowls make an amazing healthy dinner.

I hope you guys like the look of these! Two of the most popular recipes on my site are burrito bowls – my simple veggie burrito bowls, and my slow cooker burrito bowls – so you’re obviously into Mexican-inspired food as much as I am.

This time I mixed things up a bit, with quinoa instead of rice, and crispy roasted chickpeas instead of black beans. I kept the overall flavours the same – the quinoa is mixed with a simple coriander (cilantro) pesto, and the chickpeas are roasted in my favourite smoky spices – but the little changes help to make these vegan burrito bowls feel a bit more interesting. You can swap back to rice and black beans if you prefer!

I usually load up my burrito bowls with cheese and sour cream, and although that’s obviously amazing, I thought I’d keep these ones vegan. Not relying on cheese so much, and all that. They were still delicious – roasted tomatoes, jalapeños, fresh avocado, and an extra drizzle of that coriander pesto gave these vegan burrito bowls all they needed.

Are you going on a healthy eating kick for January? Let me know what kinds of recipes you’d like to see over the next month or two and I’ll do my best to accommodate!

Print 5 from 1 vote Quinoa and roasted chickpea vegan burrito bowls Prep Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 20 mins Total Time: 40 mins Servings: 2 people Ingredients 400 g tin chickpeas, drained (240g, or ~ 1 1/4 cups, when drained)

1/2 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne chilli pepper

1/4 tsp ground cumin

Salt

Black pepper

3 medium tomatoes, halved

120 g (~ 1/2 cup) uncooked quinoa

1 small clove garlic, peeled

1/2 tbsp sunflower seeds (or any alternative seeds or nuts)

Few sprigs fresh coriander (cilantro)

Small handful fresh spinach

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp water

1/2 avocado, sliced

Pickled jalapeños

Juice of 1/2 lime Instructions Spread the drained chickpeas in a single layer on a baking tray, and drizzle with oil. Add the spices and plenty of salt and pepper, and mix well. Roast at 200°C (Gas Mark 6 / 400°F) for around 10 minutes. Then stir the chickpeas, add the halved tomatoes to the tray cut-side-up, and return to the oven for a further 15-20 minutes, until the chickpeas are crispy.

Meanwhile, boil the quinoa in plenty of water until it is soft and the spiral-shaped germ has detached - around 15-20 minutes. Drain when cooked.

To make the coriander pesto, add the small clove of garlic to a food processor, along with the sunflower seeds, coriander (cilantro), and spinach. Blitz well until well chopped. Add the olive oil and water, and blitz again to give a fairly smooth pesto. Season generously.

Add the pesto to the cooked and drained quinoa, and mix well. You can hold a little back to drizzle over your burrito bowls if you wish.

To assemble the vegan burrito bowls, divide the roasted chickpeas, roasted tomatoes, and coriander quinoa between two bowls. Top with fresh avocado, some more fresh coriander, some slices of pickled jalapeno, and a squeeze of lime juice. Author: Becca Heyes

Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is for 1/2 the recipe.

If you love Mexican food, my kidney bean and sweet potato chilli is also completely vegan: