Naked Paleo Burrito Bowl Recipe
Inspired by the array of fresh produce offered in local grocery stores and a piece of luck finding a high-quality grass-fed meat shop in Tulum. I had the opportunity to create this paleo-inspired Mexican burrito bowl.
A lot of you have asked me for the recipe and instead of sharing it on Instagram and getting lost, I thought it would be more suited to be a recipe article so it’s here forever.
The Flavours of My Healthy Mexican Bowl
Prior to Mexico, I kid you not that I never had a taco before in my life, not even a burrito. In the last 2 months, I have had my share of tacos and only one experience of a burrito and can say I prefer the taco much more.
In the UK, Mexican food is popularised by fajitas and a few ready-made salsas, dips, westernised versions of nachos and guacamole.
I have never truly appreciated the robust and eclectic mixture of flavours and produce that Mexico has to offer. It has a gold mine of fruits, meats, fish and seafood, vegetables and spices galore.
In my own version of a healthy Mexican bowl, we have the flavours of grass-fed beef, rice, avocado, red onion (cooked and raw), garlic, green bell pepper, green chilli, fresh lime, cilantro (coriander), fresh tomato and mango.
Why Making A Naked Burrito?
We often presume that we need to consume carbohydrates especially those like bread, corn, wheat products, etc. The truth is, we have no requirement for grains. Every possible benefit that grains do contain is we can get from eating a paleo diet with seasonal plants.
There is no such thing as a grain deficiency.
There is nothing bad about grains per se, but I personally feel they do not provide anything unique to the table (pun intended). They are typically the vehicle for more nutrient-dense foods such as meat, fish, vegetables, or dairy produce.
Of course, eating a taco from corn or a true pizza from wheat flour (perhaps a sourdough one is very close) is not the same as a healthy alternative like cauliflower or made from almond flour. But for some, their food sensitivities and health issues are not worth the compromise in consuming and feeling inflamed as a result.
This naked burrito bowl is void of tacos, tortillas, and chips. It does contain carbohydrates but in the form of rice, which was precooked and heated up to increase its resistance starch profile, thus aiding in beneficial prebiotic for key species in our intestinal tract.
Rice, which has been cooked and then cooled has a greater glycemic index profile too. So, if you still want the taste of rice but without the glucose spike, this could be an option for you.
I will make a rice recipe very soon, but you can find my upgraded rice recipe in my free ebook “A Taste of Live Vitae” by signing up for my newsletter.
Paleo Mexican Food Tips
I kept the spice down on this recipe and also was lacking the habanero chilli powder. So if you want to step up the heat, feel free to add some chilli powder or chilli sauce to the end product.
Mexican can be adjusted easily with a paleo framework, simply just remove the grains and add on the extra guac to make up the calories or make it more low-carb and/or keto-friendly.
Surprisingly, Mexican dishes always have a good amount of protein. This naked burrito does too. Grass-fed ground beef is what we are using but alternative options could be chicken, lamb, pork and prawns.
Ingredients of My Healthy Mexican Burrito Bowl
Serves 2
Cooking time: 30 minutes
300 grams ground grass-fed beef (10% fat is good)
1 tsp ghee, tallow, or coconut oil
1 medium-large red onion (3/4 sliced and 1/4 very thinly sliced)
3 garlic cloves (smashed and finely chopped)
1/4 bunch of cilantro (You can use the stems and add them at the same time as garlic)
1 green bell pepper (core and seeds removed, sliced lengthways thinly)
1 fresh lime
2 tomatoes (Diced into 1.5 cm pieces with the seeds removed)
1 avocados (peeled and destoned - smashed with a fork)
1 ripe mango - skinned and cubed into the same size as the tomato)
1 scallion (thinly sliced)
Celtic sea salt
2 cups of precooked rice
Optional: For more robust flavours to the ground beef, add 1/2 tsp ground cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika, 1/8 tsp black pepper, 1/4 garlic powder.
How To Make a Paleo Burrito Bowl
The base of the recipe is with caramelized sautéed red onions with garlic and green bell peppers slightly cooked down. Next, throw in the ground beef, breaking them up to pieces to speed up the cooking. Whilst the beef is cooking, we can continue the prep of making smashed avocado, peeling and cubing the mango, chopping the tomato (seeds removed), slicing the chilli, picking the coriander leaves, and slicing the red onion very thinly.
You can add the rice to the pan which just needs to be reheated according to your preference. In terms of food presentation, If you want to keep it similar to mine, you will need to place the beef and the vegetable mix into one section, whilst you add the final layers to the dish. So with that, try to keep the rice close together in its own section. However, if you are not too concerned with the presentation, then continue to add the ingredients together, mixing them up.
Optional extras:
Depending on your time restraints, you can enhance the beef with a marinade of lime juice, salt and coconut aminos. This will add a subtle flavour. Secondly, whilst cooking the beef, you can add coconut aminos which is a similar flavour to soy sauce, and also a touch of raw honey. This combo works like magic and takes the dish to the next level.
Once the rice is warmed up, beef is cooked through, you are now ready to turn the heat off and add the remaining ingredients which are all prepped and ready to go. You can eat this meal straight off the plate to save washing up or plate up dividing into portions.
There is no specific sequence whatsoever of the remaining ingredients. However, visually speaking, placing the avocado into a section then the avocado in its own section, then scatter over the chilli, cilantro leaves, a thinly sliced red onion. Do not forget the squeeze of lime juice at the end and season it with Celtic salt to taste.
Again, want more heat and fire, simply add more.
Instructions
In a large, wide saucepan on medium-high heat, add 3/4 of the red onion and the fat of choice. Cook this down for 3-5 minutes until the onions become soft and slightly caramelised.
Next, add the green bell pepper, garlic, and cilantro stalks to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes. Move the vegetables slightly to the sides.
Add the ground beef to the vacant space in the pan, ideally in the middle. Cook for 2 minutes without moving the beef. Then break up with the spoon until there are no big chunks of meat remaining. Cook for a few more minutes.
Add the optional coconut aminos and a splash of honey here.
Following this, for my presentation, move the beef and vegetables to one side of the pan, or make a vacant space for the rice.
You can turn the heat down to a low medium now. Add the rice. Allow to heat up.
Once the rice has reached your desired temperature and the beef is cooked through, turn the pan off the heat.
Depending on if you are serving in the pan or on a plate, add the smashed avocado to the pan or plate equally.
Add the diced mango to a vacant section.
Add the chopped tomato.
Scatter the cilantro leaves, green chilli, scallion, and the final 1/4 red onion slices.
Finally, squeeze the lime and season to taste with salt.
Nutritional Value (Per serving)
Calories: 498.2
Protein: 49.3
Carbs: 90
Fat: 30.8
Fibre: 11.4
Vitamin B1: 0.5mg
Vitamin B2: 0.5mg
Vitamin B3: 13.8mg
Vitamin B5: 3.2mg
Vitamin B6: 1.4mg
Vitamin B9: 242ug
Vitamin B12: 3.7ug
Choline: 170mg
Vitamin A: 3782.3IU
Retinol: 22ug
Vitamin C: 139mg
Vitamin E: 4.1mg
Vitamin K: 62.1ug
Calcium: 99mg
Copper: 0.7mg
Iodine: 0
Iron: 7.7mg
Magnesium: 114mg
Manganese: 1.3mg
Potassium: 1650mg
Selenium: 45.9ug
Zinc: 11.8mg
Omega 3: 0.2g
Omega 6: 1.7g
*These values are accurate as possible and based from Chronometer app.
