Name: Burrito Millet Grain Bowl
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup millet, uncooked; 2 cups water; 1 (15-ounce) can vegetarian refried beans (or 1 ¾ cups; make your own refried beans here); 2 cups chopped lettuce (i.e., romaine, oak leaf, iceberg); 1 cup frozen corn, thawed (may use canned, drained or fresh, cooked, and shucked); 1 cup cherry tomatoes (any color), cut in half; 2 small Armenian cucumbers, unpeeled, sliced; 1 large avocado, peeled, sliced; 1 cup shredded carrots; ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro; 2 stalks green onions, sliced; 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, shelled; 1 lemon or lime, sliced; 1/2 cup prepared salsa (or make this classic salsa here); 1/2 cup vegan sour cream, optional (or make your own here)

Sharon Palmer RD

Published on June 2, 2024

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Grain bowl recipes are so delicious, nutritious and easy! Just layer in a cooked grain, then top with your favorite plant proteins, veggies, and dressing. Yum! This burrito millet grain bowl features the gluten-free ancient grain millet at its base.

What is millet?

With a mild taste, light nutty texture, and creamy color, millet is the perfect foundation grain bowls. Packed with flavorful ingredients, including refried beans, lettuce, corn, cucumbers, avocado, green onions, tomatoes, carrots, pumpkin seeds, cilantro, and salsa, this millet bowl is packed with nutrition. Did you know that millet cooks up quickly? In fact, you can get this whole recipe done in under 30 minutes. It’s also the perfect burrito bowl meal prep recipe—package up four bowls in individual containers to tote along to work or enjoy for quick healthy meals during the week. Packed with taste, crunch, and color, this burrito bowl relies upon budget-friendly ingredients you probably have on hand right now! I love to serve this bowl recipe for friends and family; I just prep all of the ingredients and let everyone make their own bowl meal just the way they like it. So pretty, too! And feel free to swap out for your favorite ingredients in this recipe—try adding crumbled tempeh bacon, sliced red cabbage, and sunflower seeds, for example. This recipe is gluten-free and vegan. Learn more about millet benefits, how to cook with millet, and top ways to feature millet in the kitchen here.

How to Cook Millet

First cultivated about 10,000 years ago in Asia and Africa, millet quickly became a food staple around the world. The Bible refers to it in bread making, the Romans ate it as porridge, and it was the prevalent grain in China before rice. Many countries’ cuisines include millet, such as flatbreads in India (roti and bhakri), porridges, and even beer and wine. Today, we are starting to appreciate millet as a versatile whole grain, which can be cooked up in 20 minutes. With their tiny, crunchy golden grains, millet has a mild flavor that suits many dishes. It’s a great idea to include more fiber rich whole grains like millet in your diet for multiple health advantages, including heart health, healthy weight, and lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Learn more about whole grain health benefits here.

Nutrition Notes

A cup of cooked millet contains 12% of the Daily Value each of satiating protein and the B vitamins thiamin and niacin, which support metabolism. Millet is also rich in polyphenols, powerful health-promoting plant compounds. Is millet gluten-free? Yes, this grain is completely gluten-free, so it’s a perfect option for everyone at your table. Combined with the beans, vegetables, and salsa in this grain bowl recipe, you’ll get a good dose of protein, vitamins A and E, slow-digesting carbs, fiber, potassium, and phytonutrients that act as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds.

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