Citrus Seitan Burrito Bowls

Burrito bowls are our go-to high protein meal prep option. This recipe lays out how to make all of the components yourself, but for an even easier make-ahead meal, you can use a premade protein, canned beans, store-bought guacamole, and rice.

The main components of these bowls are:

• Citrus shredded seitan

• Stewed beans

• Homemade guacamole

• Spiced fajita veggies

• Crispy roasted potatoes

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Instructions

There’s a lot to make here! The seitan should be made two days in advance so that it can chill in the fridge overnight to set the texture, then marinate overnight. The beans can be made in advance as well, but the fajita veggies, potatoes, and guacamole should be made right before serving.

Citrus Shredded Seitan

Blend all seitan ingredients except the vital wheat gluten until totally liquefied. Strain liquid into the bowl of your stand mixer through a fine mesh sieve. Add vital wheat gluten on top of the liquid and mix with a spatula until mostly homogenized.

Use dough hook to knead dough on a low speed (I use 2 or 3 on my KitchenAid) for 10 minutes, then turn off the mixer and cover with a dish towel to let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Repeat this cycle until the dough has been kneaded for 60 minutes total.

Divide the dough into two portions and wrap each log in two independent layers of heavy duty aluminum foil. Add an inch or so of water into your instant pot, then place a steamer basket down and put the seitan in. Seal and set to pressure cook on high for 90 minutes. If you don’t have an instant pot, use a stovetop steamer for 2 hours, being careful to not let all the water boil off.

Release the steam after cooking and let the seitan chill in the fridge overnight.

After the seitan has chilled, shred into a tupperware. Blend all the marinade ingredients together and pour over the seitan, then mix thoroughly. Allow to marinate in the fridge for a minimum of two hours or up to a few days.

Pre-heat your oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Spread the seitan onto the sheet in an even layer and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, then uncover and raise the oven temperature to 400°F for the final 15 minutes of baking.

Stewed Beans

Set Instant Pot to high sauté. When warm, add in oil, onion, garlic, cilantro, jalapeños, and cumin (if using seeds). When onions are translucent, add in remaining ingredients (including cumin if using ground). Stir together, then seal the Instant Pot. Set to pressure cook on high for 30 minutes. Rapid release the steam. Optionally, use an immersion blender to partially or completely blend the mixture. A pitcher-style high speed blender can also be used, but extreme care must be taken with hot liquids — be sure not to seal the lid, but rather loosely cover with a dish towel.

Spiced Fajita Veggies

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. If using, add in oil, and wait for it to shimmer. Add mushrooms in an even layer and cook, undisturbed, until shrunken and deeply golden brown — at least five minutes. Toss and continue cooking for a few more minutes to thoroughly brown on all sides. If not using oil and mushrooms stick after they’ve been tossed, deglaze with a splash of water or stock.

Add in onion and garlic and cook until slightly softened. Add in remaining vegetables and sauté until slightly softened and charred in spots, deglazing with lime juice as necessary to prevent burning. Add in corn and spices to warm.

Crispy Potatoes

Fill an appropriately sized pot 60% full with cool water. Peel and dice potatoes into approximately 1” chunks, placing them directly into the pot as you cut them to prevent oxidation. Add a generous pinch of salt and bring water to a boil. Boil potatoes until they can be pierced by a fork, but not falling apart.

Turn off the heat and drain potatoes. Add to a bowl and toss in oil, then toss together with spices. Put into your air fryer and cook at 400°F for 10 minutes, or until crispy.

Guacamole

Add the onion to a bowl of ice water to shock out some of the raw bite while prepping the rest of your ingredients

Slightly smash the avocado in a medium bowl with a fork. Add remaining ingredients, including drained onions, and smash together until desired texture is almost reached, then taste and adjust seasonings before mashing to final desired texture.

Serving

I typically eat these components on a big bed of mixed greens and cilantro tossed in fresh lime juice and topped with some salsa and a handful of pomegranate seeds, diced mango, or diced pineapple to cut the heat. They’re incredible in some warmed corn or flour tortillas or enjoyed by themselves as a bowl dinner.

Ingredients

Citrus Shredded Seitan

For the seitan:

This shredded seitan recipe is adapted from Mary’s Test Kitchen, and her blog post is a great resource for seitan knowledge and troubleshooting. If you don’t have a stand mixer, this probably isn’t the recipe for you, but the marinade can be used with most other seitan recipes or the No Evil Comrade Cluck store-bought kind. Just substitute 1 kg of meat replacement for an equivalent yield.

• 1.75 C vegetable broth or plant-based chicken stock

• ¼ C apple cider vinegar (can sub unseasoned rice vinegar, or reduce salt and sweetener ingredients if using pre-seasoned rice vinegar)

• 170 g (not quite a full 15 oz can) cannellini beans or chickpeas, drained but not rinsed

• 3 T dried mushroom powder

• 1 T (15 g) sweetener of choice (I prefer monkfruit)

• 1.5 T vegetable or plant-based chicken boullion

• 2 T (30 g) neutral oil

• 1 t miso paste

• 1 T nutritional yeast

• Salt: Up to 1 t; use the full amount if using unsalted broth and beans, or less if there is already salt in those ingredients

• Optional: 1 t poultry seasoning

• 360 g (3 C) vital wheat gluten

For the marinade:

• 1 medium lime, zested and juiced (about 1 T zest and 2 T juice)

• 3 medium oranges, zested and juiced (about 3 T zest and ½ C juice)

• 1 bunch cilantro

• Optional: Handful fresh Thai basil or mint leaves

• ¼ C chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

• 3 C chopped pineapple (can sub thawed frozen mango if in winter)

• 1 T dried oregano

• 2 t cumin

• 2 t onion powder

• ½ t salt

• 1 t sweetener of choice (I prefer monkfruit)

Stewed Beans

I made these in the instant pot, but you can definitely do them on the stove.

• 1.5 C dry beans (I used 50/50 black and pinto), soaked overnight

• 1 T olive oil

• 1 large yellow or sweet onion, diced

• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

• 1 bunch cilantro, stems only, minced

• 2 jalapeños, finely diced (optionally de-ribbed)

• 2 t cumin seeds (can sub 1 t ground cumin)

• 1 T dried oregano

• 3 T sauce from chipotle in adobo can

• 3 bay leaves

• 2.5 C vegetable broth

• ¼ C nutritional yeast

• Salt and pepper to taste

Spiced Fajita Veggies

Use whatever vegetables are your favorite, and taste the spices along the way to find a ratio that works for you! There are no rules.

• Optional: 1-2 T olive oil

• 16 oz mushrooms, cut into ¼” slices (I prefer cremini or white button here)

• 1 large red or yellow onion, cut into ½” strips

• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (can sub 1-2 T minced)

• 2 medium zucchini or yellow squash, cut into ¼” half circles

• 1 medium green bell pepper or 2 poblano peppers, cut into ¼” strips

• 2 medium sweet bell peppers, cut into ¼” strips

• Optional: 1 15 oz can sweet corn, drained and rinsed

• Optional: 1-3 jalapeno or serrano peppers, finely diced

• 2 T cumin

• 1 T smoked paprika

• 2 T dried oregano

• Optional: 2 t chili powder and/or 1 t cayenne pepper

• Salt & black pepper to taste

• 1-2 limes

Crispy Potatoes

I’ve found the best texture for crispy (but still fluffy) potato chunks comes from boiling and then air-frying. However, if you care more about the crunch factor of the outside than the combination of crisp outside and fluffy interior, an even easier version of these potatoes skips the peeling and boiling and just roasts them in the oven at 425°F for 20 minutes. I’m not providing any measurements for this sub-recipe because I really do just dump, sprinkle, and toss everything together in a bowl. Use this as a technique guide and use your own favorite spices in your own preferred ratios!

• ~ 3 lb potatoes (I prefer Yukon gold, but red or russet also work well here)

• Judicious drizzle olive oil

• Heavy sprinkle each nutritional yeast, cumin, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder

• Moderate sprinkle each chili powder, smoked paprika

• Judicious sprinkle each salt, black pepper, cayenne

Guacamole

Be sure to read the instructions for this sub-recipe for some time-saving ingredient prep advice.

• 2 large avocados (375 g flesh)

• ¼ C finely diced red onion

• 2 T minced jalapeño or 1.5 T minced serrano (~½ pepper)

• ¼ C packed chopped fresh cilantro leaves

• ½ t cumin

• 3 T lime juice

• ½ t salt, more to taste

• ¼ t black pepper, more to taste

• Optional: ½ t garlic powder