One Pan Southwestern Rice and Vegetable Bake

One Pan Southwestern Rice and Vegetable Bake

If you love one pan meals and Southwestern flavors like garlic, cumin, and chili powder and ingredients like bell peppers, rice, and black beans, then you'll love this rice bake! It's easy to throw together, saves well, and the avocado crema on top is dairy-free and delicious! 

One Pan Southwestern Rice and Vegetable Bake

This dish is big on the flavor and little on the cleanup! This one pan Southwestern Rice and Veggie Bake is packed with vegetables, flavor, texture, and comes together quickly and easily. It’s meal prep friendly, vegan, and gluten-free.

One Pan Southwestern Rice and Vegetable Bake

There’s an avocado crema on top which is made from coconut yogurt and avocado, but if you want to skip a step and make this even easier, just top with globs of mashed avocado, guacamole, or sprinkle with cubed avocado!

I love to take cooking shortcuts and with this, I opted to use frozen brown rice. You could also use quinoa here or another grain like farro or millet. I love brown rice, because it reminds me of a burrito!

One Pan Southwestern Rice and Vegetable Bake

Serve this in a bowl or pack into tortillas, spread in a baking dish, sprinkle with shredded Mexican cheeses and bake until melted! There are many ways you can enjoy this, and I hope you make it over and over again in different ways.

One Pan Southwestern Rice and Vegetable Bake

4 from 1 vote

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 yellow onion diced
  • 2 bell peppers seeded and diced (I used red and green)
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 15.5oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 14.5 can of diced tomatoes with juice
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • ¼ teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon oregano flakes
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • 4 cups cooked brown rice
  • to garnish: fresh cilantro leaves
  • For the avocado crema:
  • 1 ripe avocado peeled, pitted
  • 1/3 cup coconut yogurt or ½ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • salt and pepper

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is shimmering, add the garlic, onions, peppers, season with salt and pepper and stir. Let vegetables cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until soft. Add the beans, tomatoes, chili powder, paprika, oregano, and cumin. Stir well and add in the cooked rice and stir to combine. Remove from heat.
  • While vegetables cook, place all of the ingredients for the avocado crema into a food processor and pulse until creamy.
  • Drizzle the skillet with crema and garnish with fresh cilantro.

with love, Ali

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  • I only left off a star because the recipe is missing the "baking". And CHEESE. Love, your longtime fan, Heidi Sunday
    • Heidi! You're the best. What issues did you have with the recipe?? We'd be happy to check those out. Thanks for being awesome.
  • How is this a “bake” when it is not actually baked? And it is pictured in a casserole dish, but resends with it in a skillet? I’m confused. Sounds like a good recipe and I will probably make it. But I’m legit confused. Is there an error in the recipe and is supposed to go in the oven?