These hearty bowls feature roasted fajita veggies and halloumi cheese over beans and cilantro-lime rice. This recipe makes an amazing vegetarian dinner! I’m so excited to share this recipe with you and hope the photos speak for themselves. This vibrant meal is almost too delicious for words to capture. The bowls are a very abstract take on Mexican fajitas, which typically feature strips of bell pepper and onion cooked with steak, served with tortillas and toppings on the side. These roasted fajita veggies offer similar flavor and texture. Halloumi cheese hails from Cyprus, an island country in the Mediterranean—far, far away from Mexico! I love halloumi because it offers a salty, creamy, chewy and almost meat-like texture once roasted. I’ve used it in place of bacon to make vegetarian BLTs. Conveniently, the veggies and cheese roast in the oven simultaneously on separate pans.
While you can absolutely serve these components with tortillas, I felt that the flavors shined more over black beans and cilantro-lime rice. The recipe for that component comes from my cookbook, Love Real Food. Try the Grilled Veggie Skewers with Avocado Chimichurri Sauce on page 160 once it’s grilling weather outside!
How to Make Fajita Veggie and Halloumi Bowls
This recipe requires several components, all simple to make. It’s an orchestrated dinner with time in between to work on the next component, and it’s 100 percent worth the effort. You’ll find the full recipe below, but here’s how it comes together.
Watch How to Make These Veggie Bowls
Serving Suggestions
This recipe is a well-balanced meal on its own. Depending on your preferred composition, you might end up with some extra beans and rice leftover like I did. The leftovers are great with crispy fried eggs, hot sauce and avocado. For an appetizer, try tortilla chips with this Creamy Avocado Dip or my quick red salsa (or this chipotle salsa variation for smoky flavor). For cocktails, you can’t go wrong with my favorite margaritas. Or if you love mezcal, try the Fresh Mezcalitas. For bubbly refreshment, make Ranch Waters or Classic Mojitos. If you’d like to serve this dish with a green salad, try my Mexican Green Salad with Jalapeño-Cilantro Dressing, or make a simplified version of it.
More Recipes to Enjoy
If you love this recipe, I highly recommend these Mexican-inspired meals as well:
Epic Vegetarian Tacos Fresh Black Bean Burrito Bowl Halloumi Tacos with Pineapple Salsa & Aji Verde Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers
Please let me know how your bowls turn out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
3 bell peppers (red, orange or yellow) 1 medium red onion 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon chili powder ½ teaspoon cumin ½ teaspoon garlic powder ¼ teaspoon fine salt 10 twists of freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons lime juice
Halloumi
½ pound or more* halloumi cheese ½ tablespoon olive oil ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder or smoked paprika (optional, for heat)
Rice, beans, and toppings
1 cup long-grain brown rice or brown basmati rice, rinsed well 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 2 tablespoons lime juice ½ teaspoon fine salt 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained, or 1 ½ cups cooked black beans Topping suggestions: Fresh cilantro, sliced avocado or dollops of guacamole, halved cherry tomatoes, sour cream
Make it dairy free/vegan: You could omit the halloumi and double the beans for more protein. Or, while it’s definitely not the same thing, you would likely enjoy my baked tofu in place of the halloumi. Add chipotle powder or smoked paprika (see recipe for quantities) for some spice. For a different dairy-free option, replace the cheese with crispy fried eggs.
