Sheet Pan Veggie Fajita Bowls
on Apr 12, 2021, Updated Apr 21, 2024
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Add these sheet pan veggie fajita bowls to your list of easy vegetarian dinner recipes. The bell peppers and onions quickly marinate in a mix of dried spices and lime juice. Then, instead of a skillet, they roast on baking sheets in the oven. That gives you plenty of time to make cilantro lime rice on the stove and finally assemble each fajita bowl with beans, corn and extras like avocado and salsa.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Bowls are always great because they are a complete meal. There’s just something so satisfying about digging into a bowl that has all sorts of different ingredients. I like to include three components. Here it’s cilantro lime rice, roasted peppers & onions, and beans & corn.
Roasting the peppers and onions instead of sautéing them in a skillet is an almost hands-off way to cook them. That gives you time to cook the rice and prep the beans and corn. Also, making your fajita vegetables sheet pan style still delivers on the taste you expect.
These bowls are easy to customize with different store-bought garnishes, toppings and extras. Salsa and guacamole are just potential starting points to layer in more flavors. You can even take inspiration from a Chipotle salad bowl and add chopped romaine.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
Vegetables, Beans & Corn
- Peppers: Use bell peppers in all colors such as red, yellow, orange and green. I prefer sweeter ones, so I limit it to just 1 green pepper.
- Onions: I include a medium-sized red onion, sliced, with all the peppers.
- Dried spices: For the mix, I combine chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, oregano, salt and pepper.
- Vegetable oil is the neutral base of the marinade for the veggies.
- Lime juice adds brightness to the marinade.
- Black beans: Drain and rinse a can of beans. You combine them with the corn for a quick side to go with the fajita vegetables. Pinto beans are a good substitute.
- Fire-roasted corn: You can use canned corn or frozen. To thaw it, rinse it under cold water in a colander. It should only take a couple minutes to do this.
Cilantro Lime Rice
- Rice: Either long grain white rice or brown rice will work for this recipe. It’s up to you depending on your taste and if you prefer whole grains. You simmer it in water.
- Cilantro: Chop enough cilantro leaves so that you end up with a half-cup. It will seem like a lot, but it will look and taste like the right amount when you stir it into the cooked rice.
- Lime: To maximize the citrusy flavor, I use both the zest and juice of a lime.
- Garlic: I mince a garlic clove and fold it into the rice.
- Vegetable oil: Along with the rice and water, I also add a teaspoon of oil when I simmer the grains.
- Salt & pepper season the rice.
Fajita Bowl Toppings & Additions
The following are finishing touches that allow you to customize your fajita bowl. Some of these are store-bought, ready-made ingredients, so take advantage of that convenience. Keep in mind that the recipe is vegan as written unless you add a topping or garnish that contains dairy.
- Avocado: either sliced or diced
- Greek yogurt or sour cream
- Lime wedges
- Guacamole
- Salsa or pico de gallo
- Grated cheese: a Mexican cheese blend or cheddar/jack
- Jalapeno: sliced or minced
- Romaine lettuce, chopped and you can turn this into a fajita salad bowl.
How To Make Veggie Fajita Bowls
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
1. Marinate the vegetables. Whisk the spices, lime juice and oil in a large bowl. Stir in the peppers and onions.
2. Spread the peppers and onions across both sheet pans. It’s ok if there is some overlap, but use all the space you can, so each veggie makes contact with the pan. Use tongs or a slotted spoon move the vegetables to the pan, so you leave the remaining marinade in the bowl.
3. Roast the vegetables. Give them 20 minutes, rotating them halfway through roasting, until the peppers and onions are lightly browned at the edges.
4. Stir the black beans and corn into the leftover marinade in the bowl.
5. Make the rice. Bring the rice, water and oil to a boil in a pot. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the rice is tender. Wait 5 minutes and fluff the rice with a fork. Stir in the garlic, lime zest & juice, cilantro, salt and pepper.
6. Assemble the fajita bowls. Spoon in the rice, roasted veggies and beans and corn. Add your desired toppings.
Serving
Even though these are called bowls, you can serve them in a bowl or on a plate. It’s up to you. Also, you can see from the photos, depending on how big of a lunch or dinner you want, just change up the size of your serving dish.
Also, you can put the components and toppings in separate bowls and let people assemble them on their own to create a fajita bowl bar. Tortilla chips are good on the side for a crunchy, salty bite.
Leftovers & Storage
It’s best to keep the rice, fajita veggies and beans & corn in separate airtight containers. You can store them in the fridge up to 4 days. Eat them cold or warm them up in the microwave. If you do reheat them, wait to add toppings like salsa, avocados and sour cream/greek yogurt that are better chilled or at room temperature.
Recipe FAQs
They do end up with a little kick to them. If you prefer them more mild, then reduce the amount of chili powder. If you like spice, then increase the amount of chili powder in the recipe.
Yes, but please keep in mind cook time. The marinade is great on other veggies including sweet potatoes, but they will take longer to roast than peppers. You would need to put vegetables that require more oven time on a separate sheet pan.
Yes, it is since rice does not have gluten in it.
More Tex-Mex Recipes
Sheet Pan Vegetarian Fajitas
Chipotle Roasted Cauliflower Tacos
Vegetarian Burrito Bowl with Grilled Vegetables
Baked Mushroom Quesadillas
Sheet Pan Sweet Potato Black Bean Quesadillas
Crispy Baked Chickpea Tacos
Sheet Pan Veggie Fajita Bowls with Cilantro Lime Rice
Ingredients
For vegetables, beans & corn
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 pounds bell peppers, sliced 1/4-inch wide lengthwise
- 1 medium red onion, sliced 1/4-inch wide
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup fire-roasted corn, drained and rinsed if canned or thawed if frozen
For cilantro lime rice
- 1 cup long grain white rice or brown rice
- 1-3/4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Zest and juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for serving
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
See notes for toppings and garnishes for serving.
Instructions
For vegetables, beans & corn
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- To make the marinade, whisk together the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, oregano, salt, pepper, lime juice and olive oil in a large bowl.
- Stir the peppers and onions into the marinade. Make sure they are all well coated.
- Spread the marinated veggies across both sheet pans, leaving the excess marinade in the bowl.
- Roast for 20 minutes until they are lightly browned at the edges, rotating the pans halfway through roasting.
- Stir the black beans and corn into the remaining marinade in the bowl.
For cilantro lime rice
- In a medium saucepan, bring the rice, water and 1 teaspoon oil to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the grains are tender, about 12-14 minutes, or follow the recommended cook time on the package instructions. Remove from the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes and fluff with a fork.
- Stir in the garlic, lime zest & juice, cilantro, salt and pepper.
For assembling
- Spoon the rice into a serving bowl or onto a plate. Then add the roasted vegetables, beans & corn and desired toppings before serving.
Notes
- Avocado: either sliced or diced
- Greek yogurt or sour cream
- Lime wedges
- Guacamole
- Salsa or pico de gallo
- Grated cheese: a Mexican cheese blend or cheddar/jack
- Jalapeno: sliced or minced
- Romaine, chopped and you can turn this into a fajita salad bowl.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
