This Southwest Steak Rice Bowl showcases juicy slices of seared steak served over a crisp bed of lettuce greens along with brown rice, black beans, avocado, pico de gallo, cheese, and a creamy cilantro lime dressing. It's the perfect protein-packed post-workout bowl for summer!
If you want to step up your grain bowl game, look no further than this steak rice bowl recipe. Each bite delivers crisp salad greens, whole grain brown rice, black beans, fresh tomato salsa, shredded Mexican cheese, and of course, steak!
However, the star of this steak and rice bowl is the creamy cilantro lime dressing made with protein-rich Greek yogurt, salsa verde, and other fresh verde (green) ingredients. If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to drizzle it over everything!
In addition to this steak bowl, the dressing is fantastic with my Mexican chicken and Mexican shrimp salad recipes, but honestly, I could drink it straight through a straw!
Why you'll love this recipe
- Flexible ingredients. You can customize these bowls from the bottom to the top with different types of grains, beans, veggies, toppings, and any steak you like!
- Perfect post-workout meal. The bowls are packed with high-quality lean protein, fiber, healthy fats, and phytonutrient-rich vegetables, which play a role in refueling your body for optimal wellness and performance.
- Quality source of complete protein. Lean beef contains the essential amino acids for building and maintaining strong, healthy muscles. It also provides iron, zinc, and vitamin B12, which are great for physical and mental health.
Ingredients you'll need
For the steak
To save time, I like using leftover Garlic Lime Grilled Flat Iron Steaks, but you can slice any leftover or meal-prepped steak into strips for these bowls. If you don’t have pre-cooked steak handy, opt for marinating cost-conscious cuts, like flat iron, flank, skirt, or sirloin, and searing them over high heat.
Here are more grilled steak recipes you can use (read on for alternate cooking methods):
- Grilled Steak Tips
- Grilled Petite Tender Steak
- Grilled Flank Steak
- Grilled New York Strip
- Grilled Sirloin Steaks
- Grilled Petite Sirloin Steaks
- Grilled Top Sirloin
For the creamy cilantro lime dressing
- Plain Greek yogurt – Preferably non-fat, gives the dressing its creamy consistency while boosting the protein and probiotic content.
- Salsa verde – This tomatillo-based “green sauce” provides a foundation of vibrant, tangy flavor. You can use homemade or your favorite store-bought brand.
- Extra virgin olive oil – Helps emulsify the dressing, giving it more body, volume, and well-rounded flavor.
- Lime juice – Preferably fresh-squeezed lime juice rather than bottled.
- Fresh cilantro – Did you know there's science behind why some people (like me!) love cilantro, and others can’t stand it? Regardless, if your taste buds’ preferences fall within the latter, fortunately, you can swap cilantro with parsley and chives or omit fresh herbs altogether.
- Jalapeños – I used pickled, but fresh jalapeños also work. Just know that fresh jalapeños are inherently spicier than pickled, so consider removing the seeds and inner membrane and adjusting the amount to tame the heat.
- Salt – Enhances and balances flavors.
For the bowls
- Lettuce greens – Opt for any combination of crisp mixed greens, such as romaine, bibb, baby spinach, baby kale, arugula, red, green, or oak leaf lettuce.
- Cooked brown rice – I highly recommend using brown rice over white rice because it retains more fiber, vitamins, and minerals. See below for other grains you can use.
- Black beans – It’s easiest to drain and rinse canned black beans, but if you’d rather cook black beans from scratch, go for it!
- Avocado – Select a firm, ripe avocado for slicing. If your avocado is too ripe for slicing, you can mash it or make guacamole to use as a topping instead.
- Pico de gallo – If you can’t find fresh pico de gallo, keep it simple with beefsteak, roma, cherry, or grape tomatoes.
- Cheese – I used a three-cheese Mexican blend, but crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese also complements these Tex-Mex-inspired steak bowls.
How to make steak rice bowls
Step 1: Marinate the steaks. Whisk the ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Then, pour the mixture into a large zip-top bag, add the steaks, and seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Place the bag in the fridge, and let the steaks marinate for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Step 2: Make the dressing. Meanwhile, add all dressing ingredients to a food processor or high-powered blender, and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour the dressing into a glass jar or bottle, cover it tightly, and place it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
Step 3: Grill, rest, and slice the steaks. Preheat the grill to medium heat (350℉) and grill until the meat reaches your desired doneness, flipping once during the process. Let the steaks rest for 5 minutes before slicing against the grain.
Step 4: Assemble bowls. If you haven’t already, rinse and dry the salad greens, then divide them between two large bowls. Top with pre-cooked brown rice, black beans, avocado, pico de gallo (or diced tomatoes), cheese, steak, and a drizzle of dressing.
Alternative steak cooking methods
No grill? No problem. Here are alternate ways you can cook the steaks; just be sure to pat them dry with a paper towel before proceeding with any of these methods:
- Stovetop – Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, sear the steaks on each side until browned and your desired doneness is reached. Or, you can cut the marinated steaks into 2” cubes and sear the cubes for 1-2 minutes per side.
- Broiler – Place the marinated steaks on a broiler pan or a wire rack set on top of a baking sheet, and place them under the preheated broil until they are cooked to your liking, flipping halfway through.
- Air fryer – Preheat your air fryer to 400°F, then place the steaks in the basket, and cook for 6-10 minutes, flipping halfway through, depending on your desired level of doneness.
Recipe tips
- At minimum, you should marinate the steaks for 30 minutes but overnight is best for enhanced taste and tenderness. Do NOT marinate the beef for more than 24 hours, or it may break down and become mushy.
- Make sure your grill, skillet, broiler, or air fryer is adequately preheated so the steaks sear properly, creating a flavorful exterior crust to lock in the delicious interior juices.
- Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness: 130-135° for medium-rare, 140-145°F for medium.
- After cooking, let the steak rest for approximately 5 minutes so the juices have time to soak back into the meat, making it a more tender and flavorful steak. After resting, be sure to slice the steaks against the grain.
Variations
The sky's the limit when customizing this steak power bowl, so get creative! Here are some ideas to consider:
- Protein – If steak isn’t your thing, switch it up with proteins like chicken, shrimp, or salmon.
- Salad greens – Instead of mixed lettuce greens, assemble these bowls on a bed of kale leaves messaged with some oil and salt until tenderized.
- Rice and grains – Microwave-ready brown rice is perfectly fine for a quick-cook option. Spanish rice, cilantro lime rice, and even cauliflower rice would also be great! Or, substitute brown rice with other whole grains, like quinoa, farro, bulgur, or barley.
- Beans – Substitute black beans with pinto beans or chickpeas, or make an epic steak burrito bowl topped with Carolina caviar or Mexican bean salad.
- Optional toppings – Like bell peppers, radishes, shredded cabbage, pickled red onion, jalapenos, corn, chopped cilantro, salsa roja, and tortilla strips. Add fresh mango or pineapple to enhance the warm, savory flavors with something sweet!
Make ahead and storing
For meal prep purposes and to streamline assembling these steak rice bowls during the week, you can sear the marinated steaks, cook the rice, chop the vegetables, and make the dressing in advance.
If possible, refrigerate the steak, rice, toppings, and dressing in separate containers. If stored properly, the steak will last 3-4 days, the toppings will last 2-3 days, and the dressing is best if used within 5-7 days.
FAQs
When selecting a cut of steak for slicing and serving over salad bowls, stick with lean, flavorful cuts that you can quickly cook between medium-rare and medium, such as flank steak, tenderloin, skirt steak, sirloin steak, or flat iron steak.
Reusing steak marinade is generally not recommended because it could be contaminated with harmful bacteria from the meat’s surface. Making a separate batch with fresh ingredients is best if you want to baste the steaks with additional marinade as they cook.
More savory power bowls you'll love
- California Beef Burger Bowls
- Chicken Spring Roll in Bowl
- Buffalo Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
- Roasted Vegetable Power Bowl
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Southwest Steak Rice Bowls
Ingredients
For the bowl:
- 6 oz precooked Garlic Lime Flat Iron Steak or steak cut of choice
- 2 cups mixed greens or salad greens of choice
- ½ cup cooked brown rice or rice variety of choice
- ½ cup cooked black beans homemade or canned, rinsed and drained of juice
- ½ avocado sliced
- ½ cup good quality Pico de Gallo or chopped tomatoes
- 2 oz Mexican three-cheese blend shredded cheese I used a low-fat cheese blend
- 4 tablespoon Creamy Verde Dressing
For the dressing:
- ½ cup salsa Verde your favorite brand
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro packed
- 1 lime juiced
- 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 1-2 tablespoon diced pickled jalapenos in the jar, amount depends on level of heat desired
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Marinate the steaks. Follow the recipe linked above for the ingredients to make the garlic lime flat-iron steak marinade. Whisk the ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. Then, pour the mixture into a large zip-top bag, add the steaks, and seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Place the bag in the fridge, and let the steaks marinate for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
- Make the dressing. Meanwhile, add all dressing ingredients to a food processor or high-powered blender, and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour the dressing into a glass jar or bottle, cover it tightly, and place it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
- Grill, rest, and slice the steaks. Preheat the grill to medium heat (350℉) and grill until the meat reaches your desired doneness (use a meat thermometer for foolproof grilling), flipping once during the process. Let the steaks rest for 5 minutes before slicing against the grain.
- Assemble bowls. If you haven’t already, rinse and dry the salad greens, then divide them between two large bowls. Top with pre-cooked brown rice, black beans, avocado, pico de gallo (or diced tomatoes), cheese, steak, and a drizzle of dressing.
Notes
- Stovetop – Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, sear the steaks on each side until browned and your desired doneness is reached. Or, you can cut the marinated steaks into 2” cubes and sear the cubes for 1-2 minutes per side.
- Broiler – Place the marinated steaks on a broiler pan or a wire rack set on top of a baking sheet, and place them under the preheated broil until they are cooked to your liking, flipping halfway through.
- Air fryer – Preheat your air fryer to 400°F, then place the steaks in the basket, and cook for 6-10 minutes, flipping halfway through, depending on your desired level of doneness.
Nutrition
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