These Cuban Quinoa Bowls are loaded with seasoned black beans, juicy plantains and an addictive sweet and spicy pineapple salsa!
So here’s a bold statement: I’m pretty sure I was doing bowl foods before everyone else was; everyone else being the internet. I know…what?! Yet I’m sure that many of us woke up one day, saw that bowl foods were a thing and thought, that’s how I’ve ALWAYS been eating!! Food in bowls seem to just taste better; all the flavours are mixed, you get a wide range of textures and you can arrange food beautifully – win, win and win. These Cuban Quinoa Bowls with Pineapple Salsa are no exception; so much to the point that I have made them about five different times in month, which is major for me. My absolute favourite part? Those INSANE plantains.
These Cuban Quinoa Bowls are a play on Cuban Rice Bowls, except with quinoa of course, which I am officially obsessed with (it is always in our fridge). Putting together this bowls was also really easy since 1) I actually always have all of these ingredients in my house, all the time, 2) because none of them take a lot of time to prepare separately and 3) I eat plantains with everyone and anything as much as possible, so I was EXTRA excited to putting this bowl together.
Simply put, this is one of the best bowl foods I’ve ever had. The combination of well seasoned black beans, delicious fluffy quinoa, avocado sweet and spicy pineapple salsa and fried plantains works so incredibly well. Let’s talk about this pineapple salsa for a bit. Make sure you get a sweet pineapple and pair it with raw jalapeños if you can. You get the best combination of flavours this way and the best delicious contrast of sweet and spicy. This salsa actually goes with pretty much every bowl food one earth so be prepared to see it featured here again. The plantains? Oh wow. I buy plantains at the farmer’s market every time I go, and the key is making sure your plantain is extremely ripe before pan frying it – so I’m talking black skin. It’s the sweetest at this point and the best texture. I love pan frying mine – just a bit of coconut oil and frying on either side until golden bake, but you could also easily bake these.
All in all, this is a complete winner, and already on rotation in my household. Make this, and I guarantee it’ll be one of the best things you’ve done all year. Even better, make this for me and invite me over, m’kay?
If you try this Cuban Quinoa Bowl with Pineapple Salsa, please let me know in the comment section below, or tag me on instagram with the hashtag #jessicainthekitchen ! For more exclusive recipes follow me on Instagram AND on Snapchat: jessinkitchen.
Ingredients
Pineapple Salsa:
- 2 cups pineapple
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley/cilantro
- 1/4 cup diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 2-3 teaspoons chopped jalapeño
Seasoned Black Beans:
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 cups black beans , cooked and drained
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped cilantro or parsley
Plantains:
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 large ripe plantain , peeled and thickly sliced ( 1/4 inch)
sea salt to taste
2 cups cooked quinoa
Instructions
Pineapple Salsa
- Mix the ingredients for the pineapple salsa together in a bowl. Set aside and allow the flavours to meld together until ready to use.
Black Beans
- In a pan over medium high heat, heat the ½ tablespoon coconut oil. Add the black beans, cumin, garlic powder and onion powder, stirring to combine with the black beans. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Lower the heat and allow everything to cook together for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped cilantro. Set aside
Plantains
- In a pan over medium high heat, heat the coconut oil. Add the plantain slices to the oil and pan fry on each side for about 4 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the heat and season with sea salt. Set aside.
Quinoa Bowl
- Add ½ cup cooked quinoa, ½ cup seasoned black beans, ½ cup pineapple salsa and ¼ fried plantains slices to each bowl. Feel free to mix and match and increase or decrease any quantities that you want, and enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe is gluten free and vegan. You can make everything at the same time, or at different times and just use the same pan after each portion is cooked. Remember to use a sweet pineapple and a very very ripe plantain.
- HOW TO STORE CUBAN QUINOA BOWL
- If you want to prepare this bowl ahead of time, I recommend preparing all the ingredients ahead of time for prep in separate tupperware containers, so that you can just reheat them put the entire bowl together. You can make the bowl a day in advance then eat it, but I wouldn’t recommend keeping it together for longer than that.
- If you’re making this for lunch, just assemble it all together the morning of, or in a mason jar.
Cuban Quinoa Bowls with Pineapple Salsa
Ingredients
Pineapple Salsa:
- 2 cups pineapple
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley/cilantro
- 1/4 cup diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
- 2-3 teaspoons chopped jalapeño
Seasoned Black Beans:
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 cups black beans cooked and drained
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- sea salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon chopped cilantro or parsley
Plantains:
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 large ripe plantain peeled and thickly sliced ( 1/4 inch)
sea salt to taste
2 cups cooked quinoa
Instructions
Pineapple Salsa
- Mix the ingredients for the pineapple salsa together in a bowl. Set aside and allow the flavours to meld together until ready to use.
Black Beans
- In a pan over medium high heat, heat the ½ tablespoon coconut oil. Add the black beans, cumin, garlic powder and onion powder, stirring to combine with the black beans. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Lower the heat and allow everything to cook together for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped cilantro. Set aside
Plantains
- In a pan over medium high heat, heat the coconut oil. Add the plantain slices to the oil and pan fry on each side for about 4 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the heat and season with sea salt. Set aside.
Quinoa Bowl
- Add ½ cup cooked quinoa, ½ cup seasoned black beans, ½ cup pineapple salsa and ¼ fried plantains slices to each bowl. Feel free to mix and match and increase or decrease any quantities that you want, and enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe is gluten free and vegan. You can make everything at the same time, or at different times and just use the same pan after each portion is cooked. Remember to use a sweet pineapple and a very very ripe plantain.
- HOW TO STORE CUBAN QUINOA BOWL
- If you want to prepare this bowl ahead of time, I recommend preparing all the ingredients ahead of time for prep in separate tupperware containers, so that you can just reheat them put the entire bowl together. You can make the bowl a day in advance then eat it, but I wouldn’t recommend keeping it together for longer than that.
- If you’re making this for lunch, just assemble it all together the morning of, or in a mason jar.
Nutrition
Cuban Quinoa Bowls with Pineapple Salsa https://jessicainthekitchen.com/cuban-quinoa-bowls-pineapple-salsa/ May 27, 2016
These No Bake Brownie Energy Bites are made with only 5 ingredients, are vegan and gluten-free, and are so ready in just 10 minutes!
breakfast or snack!
Things I love about summer: flip flops, grilling, summer fruits, and no bake treats. No bake treats made with 5 main ingredients, in 10 minutes, that will add no extra heat to your already hot summer home AND that taste like brownies! Sounds pretty perfect right? Case in point: these No Bake Brownie Energy Bites also known as bliss balls. P.S. I’ve already made these three times and it’s not even summer.
Let’s back up a bit: I am really, really bad at making breakfast on time: true story! It’s not that I try and skip it, but I seem to find a ton of excuses early in the morning. Extra sleep, fantasising about loaded waffles, promising myself I will have a protein smoothie. When I make make-ahead treats however like these brownies bites, pumpkin pie overnight oats , banana oat breakfast cookies or oat waffles , I am totally on top of my on-time breakfast time.
I’ve been making these bites consistently for a year now. It’s safe to say that not only do they always prove to be easy and convenient, but they taste absolutely amazing, like little chewy and fudgy brownie bites. You won’t even realise they’re made with total whole food ingredients and filled with tons of energy. The main sweetener here are dates, which are naturally sweet, chewy and loaded with flavor.
I made these recently again in my plane travel snacks post and for my last trip to Salt Lake City and they really helped not only to keep hunger at bay, but also to help stave off the sweet sugary treats in the airport. I randomly added in some coconut then and knew I had to add them permanently to the ingredient list for these babies. Truthfully, when is coconut not the perfect addition? They not only added another layer of flavour, but make the outer layer of these brownies even cuter and pretty heavenly-looking.
Win, win.
In synopsis, these bites are:
Chocolate-y
Coconut-y
Chewy Sweet Cute and Addictive!
Put them on your to make list for this summer. Put them in a coconut (I am convinced they taste better that way) and eat as much as you like. I promise, you won’t be able to stop at just one.
P.S. – WATCH OUR LATEST YOUTUBE VIDEO!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1 cup dates , Medjool, chopped
- 1/3 cup + 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut flakes
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Grind the walnuts and almonds in a food processor, until a dough starts to form. Add the dates, cocoa powder, ¼ cup shredded coconut flakes and salt and process until incorporated and the mixture begins to turn into a dough.
- Roll the mixture into round balls using the help of saran wrap (wrap it around the bites to form a circle), until all the mixture is finished.
- Roll the balls in the last ¼ cup shredded coconut flakes.
- Place in the fridge for at least an hour, then enjoy!
