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Craving a Mexican-inspired meal tonight? Look no further, this steak fajita Buddha Bowl with creamy lime cilantro sauce and yummy homemade salsa is guaranteed to satisfy. Plus using this recipe will be faster and cheaper instead of going out to the Mexican restaurant down the street.
All About Buddha Bowls
A Buddha Bowl is a bowl filled with all of the food groups and flavor profiles.
Each Buddha bowl will always follow this basic “blueprint” everytime: a bed of grains, a couple scoops of vegetables, some lean protein, a yummy sauce, and a nice crunch on top.
Whenever you make a bowl with these elements, you are making a Buddha Bowl!
The Beauty of Buddha Bowls
The most beautiful quality of the Buddha bowls is that it can be anything you want it to be. Don’t go to the store, use up whatever leftovers, frozen food, or canned food that you have on hand. Just remember this simple formula:
For this recipe, we will create a fresh protein packed bowl this is just as satisfying instead of going to a restaurant or fast food place.
+For GRAINS: Use any grains you have on hand! We used white rice cooked in chicken broth for this recipe. You could even line your bowl with a tortilla and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds and assemble your meal in it.
+For VEGGIES: Got any leftover veggies in the fridge? Use ’em! We went with corn, bell peppers, and onions.
+For PROTEIN: Flank or skirt beef are the cuts we used in this bowl. You can also buy pre-cooked frozen steak or pre-marinated steak steak. If you have a can of black beans, they add an extra little protein punch to this bowl.
+For SAUCE: We will make a creamy cilantro lime sauce and a red homemade salsa that you can add to your bowl or dip chips in.
+For CRUNCH: Let’s use tortilla chip strips. Really, crunch up any chips or crackers or taco shells that you have in the pantry.
Veggies and Steak
Use the same pan to cook the vegetables and steak in to reduce the number of dirty dishes! Be sure to set a plate aside so you have a place to remove the veggies from the pan before cooking raw steak in the pan.
- For the vegetarians in the house: Try out this garden steak sub or add mushrooms into your veggie mix.
- If you want to add a little kick, throw in some jalapeños while heating the steak and veggies together.
Creamy Cilantro Sauce
Look for this cilantro sauce in stores or online to speed up your meal preparation! It is a great sauce to have in the fridge, I promise it will go good on almost anything.
This sauce is tangy with a nice herbal undertone the makes it perfect for any Mexican-inspired dish. Here’s what you will need:
- Cilantro
- Garlic
- Jalapeño
- Greek yogurt or avocado
- Lime
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
We used a food processor to to blend this sauce together, but you could also use a high speed blender.
The Best Homemade Red Salsa
Now for something sweet! This easy salsa is perfect for balancing out any spicy dishes.
You’ll notice that almost all of the ingredients for this salsa, you will already have from other parts of this recipe!
- 2 cans of diced tomatoes
- Jalapeño
- Cilantro
- Lime
- Onion
- Garlic
- Salt
- Sugar
My favorite salsa from the grocery store in case you just want a quick snacky snack or side.
Topping It Off
Use tortilla chips, Doritos, Fritos, crackers, really any sort of chips you have to sprinkle over everything.
You can check the fridge and add a scoop of guacamole or sour cream on top also!
Tips For Cooking Fajitas
- Use flank steak or skirt steak cut very thinly so it does not become chewy.
- Make the marinade and start soaking your flanks and veggies the night before to get the most flavorful meal possible.
- Marinade the steak and vegetables in separate bags.
- Sear the strips over medium high heat for about 3-4 minutes or until it is “done” to your liking.
If You Liked This Recipe Check Out:
If you have tried making this rotisserie chicken Buddha Bowl with sweet pomegranate sauce, or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
