If you haven’t been able to tell by how much I love chili powder by the use of it in my recipes, then I’m letting you know, I love it. This recipe is basically centered all around chili powder. It’s in the rice, the beans and the sauce. Consider this recipe an ode to chili powder.
My love of chili powder is then combined with my love of simple food, like black beans and brown rice. Extra chili powder on those too please.
I’ve learned to really enjoy food in it’s simplest form and that good food can also be simple food and completely satisfying. This entire recipe is just 8 simple ingredients (+ salt & water), yet FULL of flavor. I believe it’s about choosing the right ingredients, not a billion of them. This bowl not only packs loads of flavor, it is low-fat and packed full of protein.
This rice, black bean and avocado bowl is just that. It is so simple to make and so incredibly flavorful. My hubby was over the moon about this fat-free sweet chili mustard sauce. I talked about this sauce on Instagram and Facebook a few weeks back and I just needed a recipe to go along with it, that complimented it. This is it.
Chili powder: I love you. You make everything better.
To complete this bowl, it needs some sauce. Some yummy, bold-flavored sauce in fact. It’s just 3 ingredients….yellow mustard, maple syrup and chili powder….plus a little bit of water to thin out and mellow the flavor. It seriously can’t get any easier than that.
This sauce is SO GOOD and it is completely oil-free, nut-free and fat-free! It goes well on pretty much anything….salads, tacos, fries and especially this simple rice bowl. It tastes just like the name indicates, sweet from the syrup, bold and tangy from the mustard and a nice kick from the chili powder.
Now, after you assemble your bowl, it’s time to add your toppings of your choice. Chopped avocado is a must, am I right? Tomatoes, if you wish. Lastly, generously finish it all off with that amazing sweet chili mustard sauce.
This makes a TON, so you will either have plenty for your large family or plenty for lunch the next day. You guys told me you wanted more easy reheat meals and lunches, so here ya go!
Rice, Black Bean and Avocado Bowl with Sweet Chili Mustard Sauce
Ingredients
FOR THE RICE
- 4 cups water
- 2 cups (360g) slow-cooking jasmine brown rice
- 1 cup 240 g tomato puree/sauce (not tomato paste) ( mine has salt added)
- 1 tablespoon regular American salt-free chili powder
- 1 1/4 teaspoons fine salt
FOR THE BEANS
- two 15 oz cans low-sodium black beans, drained & rinsed
- 2 teaspoons regular chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
SWEET CHILI MUSTARD SAUCE
- 1/2 cup (120g) regular yellow wet mustard
- 1/4 cup (80g) pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons regular chili powder
- 1-2 tablespoons water
REMAINING INGREDIENTS
- 1 medium avocado, chopped
- 1 cup tomatoes
Instructions
- Rinse the rice with cold water for about a minute. This will help to prevent too sticky of rice. Then combine all of the "rice" ingredients into a medium pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, immediately turn it to the lowest heat, cover and cook for 35-40 minutes until tender and all the liquid is gone. Remove from the heat, cover and steam for just 5 minutes (set your timer). Fluff with a fork and leave the lid off.
- When the rice is almost done cooking, prepare the beans by combining the "beans" ingredients and heat either over the stove or microwave.
- Add the "sauce" ingredients to a small bowl and whisk well until smooth. It will thicken best using a whisk. Add as much water to desired taste/consistency.
- Assemble into serving bowls, layering with the rice, beans, avocado and tomatoes. Drizzle with lots of sweet chili mustard sauce and toss to coat everything.
Notes
Nutrition per serving (based on 6): 399 calories, 5.5 g fat, 14.65 g protein, 74.1 carbs, 2.8 g sugars
Nutrition per serving of 1/4 cup sauce (makes 1 cup): 52.5 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g protein, 13.25 carbs, 12.5 g sugars
Hi Estee and all,
How many soaked dates did you use? Thanks Diane
Made this last night, it was great. A nice, easy recipe that avoids added fat. I will use less salt and less mustard next time, and probably half the rice.
So glad you enjoyed it Andrea! Yes, it makes a ton because I love leftovers but feel free to reduce!
Just made this….absolutely amazing! I added a huge handful of cilantro =)
I just made this meal for our lunch/dinner today, and was a hit! I could definitely eat the sauce by itself…lol The combination of the sauce with the beans and rice was absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much for making my new vegan life a little easier. 🙂
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback and sharing your pic on Instagram! I’m so happy this was a hit for you and I agree, this sauce is good on it’s own, lol!
OMG this is sooo good! And so so easy! I LOVE how easy it is! I was a little afraid of the large quantity of mustard since I’m not a huge mustard fan, but the sauce is truly amazing, mustard and all! I had a jar of sriracha mustard I’ve been wanting to use up, so I used that and was very impressed with the results, not too spicy. I got a little fancy with the toppings and added some thawed frozen sweet corn, diced green onion and shredded lettuce. This is so much better than going to Chipotle or Qdoba (No oil yay!)! Thank you so much for such a delicious easy recipe!
Oh, I’m so happy to hear you loved this recipe so much April, thank you so much for leaving such wonderful feedback! Adding corn sounds so delicious too, great idea!
This has been on my list of things to make for a LONG time and I am so glad we finally did. Had this last night and devoured it. It was so simple to make and it had plenty of leftovers for my husband, who likes it so much he ate it cold!
This recipe is a winner for us!
Finally made it yesterday, was on my to-do list for ages! Instead of binging on Xmas food, I made myself this when I had a quiet day home after family happenings 🙂 SO GOOD! Nothing beats your dishes with beans!
I’m so happy to hear you loved this so much Barbara, thank you very much for the feedback!
Oh yum! Love anything in a bowl.
This is YUMMY! I was starving and altered the recipe a little so I could make quickly. I used the whole grain brown rice that you boil in the bag and once it was cooked I put the sauce with equal amount of water and chili powder and simmered for 5 mins. Came out perfectly. I didn’t have any maple syrup so I used coconut nectar and the sauce was divine. Made the hubby try and requested a bowl of it and really liked it a lot. Great recipe!!!
Thank you so much Brittany! I’m so happy to hear you loved this so much, thank you for the feedback!!
Hi Brandi – Made your roasted broccoli and rice bowl with Chipotle red pepper sauce. LOVE the red pepper sauce, could literally eat the red pepper sauce straight from the bowl! Need to cook my rice a little longer next time, it was kinda crunchy.
Then I made your rice, black bean and avocado bowl with sweet chili mustard sauce. YUM! The avocado is a must for me! The amount of mustard surprised me at first but when I whisked the other ingredients with it, WOW! What a wonderful, comfort food kind of dish that’s delicious! LOVED IT!!
Wonderful Wendy! Thank you so much for leaving such awesome feedback, so happy to hear you loved this sauce so much! There are so many different varieties of brown rice out there, so you may just need to add a tiny bit more water to cook your rice in, maybe 1/4-1/2 cup and cook it until all the water has evaporated and let sit covered a few minutes and then fluff. Thanks again for the feedback!
You must have completely different chilli powder in North America to what we have in Australia. There’s no way we could eat a dish with as much chilli powder as this one. Recipe looks great but I would have to serious reduce the amount of chilli powder (eg. instead of 1 tablespoon, put in maybe 1/2 teaspoon). In Australia, when we say chilli powder, we mean PURE ground chillis – nothing else. I’m assuming in the US, your chilli powder is actually a blend of, say for example, ground chillis, paprika, oregano, cumin, garlic, onion – yes? Similarly our cayenne powder is even hotter than our chilli powder as it uses PURE hotter chillis than our normal chilli powder with no additives. It’s something we always have to bear in mind when modifying US recipes.
Hi Diane, yes, I guess so…I’ve heard that from another reader before. The one here in the states is a combo of chili powder, spices, garlic, etc….that’s what it says on the back of the bottle. That’s all I’ve ever used and it’s definitely not too spicy, but a warm taste, rather than a hot spicy taste. If yours is totally different, then I would just add to taste until it’s the spice you like. 🙂
I was in serious need of some vegan inspiration and here it is. A perfect go-to weekday recipe! I did add some bimi stalks for extra veg, which worked very well. I had some leftover sauce, and I’m already thinking of ways to use it, because it’s delicious! Thank you, Brandi!
So glad you loved this dish so much Harmien!! Thank you for the feedback!
I love this sauce! Thanks so much I’m trying to figure out what else i can use it on
This look absolutely delicious! I’m glad I have the ingredients to make this because I will want it for dinner, pronto!
Wonderful Rachel! I hope you loved it!
I’ve had this pinned for a while and finally found a bottle of American yellow mustard (the sort sold for hotdogs) in the large supermarket.
I made a half quantity of the sauce. I won’t make THAT mistake again.
Next time, I’ll make DOUBLE quantities!
Haha! Yes, it’s that good! I’m so glad you made it and loved it and yes, that is the exact kind of mustard I use! 🙂 Thank you for the feedback!
We love chili powder, too!! But, my husband buys Ancho Chile Powder. Will that work? I guess I will find out shortly 🙂 Thanks for you fabulous site
xoxo
Hi Cyndi! I think that kind is hotter than regular chili powder, so I would just use less and add until the spice level is to your satisfaction. Let me know after you try it!
This sauce is amazing!!! Slight mustard taste but then the sweetness of the maple syrup and the slight heat of the chili powder balances it out…WOW!
Thank you so much Shannon! I love how they each balance each other out, so glad you loved it!
Couldn’t decide what to make for lunch tomorrow. Came across this recipe in my inbox. Had leftover beans, had leftover rice, had sauce ingredients…yum! Lunch is made in 2 mins flat 🙂
Thanks for this and all your wonderful recipes! Going to make your Raw Cookie Dough Chocolate Fudge Cake on Friday for my son’s birthday!
I’m so happy to hear that Mary Ann! So glad you loved this and thank you so much for the feedback! I’ll be anxious to hear what you think of the cake now too!
Hallo.
Das ist ein tolles Rezept, super auch für nicht vegan lebende Menschen, aber Vorsicht, Senf hat eine menge Fett!
Viele Grüße,
Jesse Gabriel
Made it and LOVED it!!!! Thanks so much for contributing to my sauce addiction! Love all our easy to make and delicious sauces!!
Haha! Sauces are the best aren’t they?!
Had this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I’m taking it for lunch tomorrow, and I know it will be just as good. Thanks for posting easy, healthful recipes–your site has become one of my favorites!
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback Laura! I’m so happy you loved it so much, thank you for the kind words as well!