Loaded Beef Burrito Bowl
Spiced beef, rice, beans, corn and all the good toppings in one loaded bowl — about 50 grams of protein and 780 honest calories. Everything you love about a burrito, built for your macros and easy to scale. Big flavour, big plate, no compromise.
Plate 01 / Finished
There was a little burrito place near my old gym in Stockholm that I’d hit after a heavy session, back when I cared more about being full than being precise. I loved it, but I never quite knew what I was eating — and when I started competing seriously, the guesswork wouldn’t do. So I went home and learned to build the same thing in a bowl, where I could see every component and count it honestly. It scratched exactly the same itch, and now I knew the numbers cold. That’s been the story of my whole kitchen, really: take the food I love and make it answer to me.
This is comfort food that happens to be brilliantly suited to a bulk. Spiced beef for the protein, rice and beans and corn for the carbs and fibre, then the toppings that make it feel like a treat rather than fuel — salsa, a little cheese, a spoon of guac. About 50 grams of protein and 780 calories of food that genuinely excites me to eat. Nobody at the table would guess it was built around macros, which is exactly how I like it.
I make a big batch of the beef and let everyone build their own bowls — heavy on the toppings for the bulkers, lighter for whoever’s leaning out. It’s a generous, social plate, the kind that makes eating for a goal feel like dinner instead of a chore. Cook the beef once and you’ll have burrito bowls in your rotation for good. I’ve got you on this one.
01Who it’s for & when to eat it
This is a loaded, high-protein bowl that flexes to your goal. The spiced beef stays the same; you adjust the rice, the toppings, and the cut of beef. Here’s how I steer it.
The default plate
Full rice, beans, corn, and all the toppings — cheese, salsa, guac. Calorie-dense and deeply satisfying, the bowl I build after a hard session when I want to refill and enjoy it.
Lighten the load
Use 5% beef, drop the rice to a fist, skip the cheese, and lean on salsa and extra leaves. You keep all the flavour and protein for far fewer calories. See the variations below.
Steady fuel
A moderate rice scoop, lean beef, beans and a little avocado for good fats. Balanced protein, carbs and fibre that keep you full and satisfied without overshooting the day.
Timing: a brilliant post-training meal — protein, carbs and fibre all in one loaded bowl. It also preps and reheats well, so it’s a favourite of mine for a midday meal that doesn’t feel like sad desk food.
02Ingredients
Makes 2 bowls. The beef and the bowl base scale easily — this is a great one to batch for a build-your-own night.
Servings 2 · adjust on the live recipe card- Beef mince 10% fat350 g · 12 oz
- Jasmine rice dry weight140 g · 5 oz
- Black beans drained, tinned200 g · 7 oz
- Sweetcorn120 g · 4.2 oz
- Tomato salsa100 g · 3.5 oz
- Grated cheese40 g · 1.4 oz
- Avocado1/2
- Taco seasoning cumin, paprika, chilli, oregano2 tbsp
- Lime1
- Salt & black pepperto taste
Swaps I actually use: drop to 5% beef and skip the cheese for a much leaner cut bowl — the salsa and lime carry plenty of flavour. No avocado? A spoon of plain Greek yoghurt cools it down and adds protein. Chicken mince or turkey mince swap straight in for the beef. Make your own seasoning from cumin, paprika, chilli and oregano to control the sodium.
03Step by step
Start the rice first
Rinse the jasmine rice until the water clears, then cook it. It takes the longest, so get it going and let it steam covered while you cook the beef and prep the toppings. Stir a squeeze of lime through it at the end for a fresh lift.
Sear it hard in a hot pan
Heat a wide pan over high. Add the beef, press it flat, and leave it a minute to brown before breaking it up. You want real colour on the meat — that’s where the deep, savoury flavour comes from.
Magnus says: don’t crowd it cold. Hot pan, leave it, then stir — grey mince is just steamed mince.
Spice it, then loosen with water
Stir the taco seasoning through the browned beef, then add a splash of water and let it bubble for a minute or two so the spices bloom and coat every bit. Taste and adjust the salt — go easy if your seasoning’s already salty.
A quick warm-through
Tip the drained beans and the corn into the pan with the beef, or warm them in a separate pan if it’s crowded. A couple of minutes is all they need — just hot through and glossy, not mushy.
Slice the avocado, grate the cheese
While everything warms, slice or mash the avocado with a squeeze of lime, grate the cheese, and get the salsa ready. Having the toppings prepped means you build the bowls hot and eat them straight away.
Layer it up and load it on
Rice down first, then the spiced beef, beans and corn. Top with salsa, cheese and avocado, and finish with a final squeeze of lime and some fresh coriander if you have it. Build it generous and eat it warm.
Magnus says: a little of everything in each forkful is the whole point. Don’t be shy with the layers.
04The spec sheet
Real numbers, calculated — not guessed. The recipe makes 2 bowls, around 940g of loaded food total. Here’s what one bowl (about 470g) and a flat 100g actually give you.
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 780 kcal | 166 kcal |
| Protein | 50.0 g | 10.6 g |
| Carbohydrate | 74.0 g | 15.7 g |
| — of which sugars | 7.0 g | 1.5 g |
| Fat | 28.0 g | 6.0 g |
| — of which saturates | 9.5 g | 2.0 g |
| Fibre | 11.0 g | 2.3 g |
| Sodium | ~0.9 g | ~0.19 g |
Moderate-high, carried by the beef and toppings. On a bulk that’s the point — real calories from a generous, satisfying bowl rather than an endless one.
A lifter’s metric. The toppings carry fat, so the density is moderate — but the absolute protein per bowl is strong, and the fibre keeps you full for hours.
- Vitamin B12~3.5 µg · 146% DV
- Zinc~8 mg · 73% DV
- Iron~5 mg · 28% DV
- Folate~140 µg · 35% DV
- Vitamin C~20 mg · 22% DV
- Magnesium~120 mg · 29% DV
Macros are calculated from standard food-composition data and will shift a little with your exact ingredients and brands. Micronutrient figures are estimates against general adult Daily Values. Numbers are for guidance, not medical advice — see our Nutrition Disclaimer.
05Bulk / Cut / TRT variations
One bowl, three jobs. The spiced beef base holds; you move the rice, the cheese, and the toppings. Macros below are for a full serving (one bowl built as described).
Build it up
10% beef, 90g dry rice, full beans and corn, all the toppings plus a whole half-avocado and extra cheese. Big, loaded, calorie-dense — the burrito bowl turned all the way up.
The lean version
5% beef, rice down to a fist (40g dry), skip the cheese, swap avocado for a spoon of salsa and a pile of leaves. All the flavour, full protein, far fewer calories.
Steady & balanced
Lean beef, a moderate 60g dry rice, full beans, a little avocado for good fats and salsa to finish. Balanced protein, carbs and fibre that keep you full without overshooting.
06Meal prep & storage
The base of this bowl is a meal-prep dream — the spiced beef, rice, beans and corn all keep and reheat beautifully. I prep those ahead and add the fresh toppings the day I eat, so nothing goes sad in the fridge.
Box the beef, rice, beans and corn together. Keep avocado, cheese and fresh salsa separate and add them when you eat, so they stay fresh.
The cooked base freezes well as a complete meal. Cool fully, bag flat, and thaw overnight in the fridge. Don’t freeze the avocado or fresh toppings.
Microwave the base covered with a splash of water over the rice. Then pile on the cold, fresh toppings — that hot-and-cold contrast is part of what makes it good.
For prep I box the warm base in portions and keep a little tub of toppings on the side. Two minutes to reheat, thirty seconds to load it up, and you’ve got a proper meal that beats anything from the freezer aisle.
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07Common questions
Can I use chicken or turkey instead of beef? +
Easily. Chicken or turkey mince both take the taco seasoning well and come out leaner than beef. Just cook them through fully and don’t let them dry out — a splash of water and the salsa keep everything juicy. The protein stays high; the fat and calories drop a little.
How do I keep the sodium sensible? +
Make your own seasoning from cumin, paprika, chilli powder and oregano rather than a shop packet, rinse the tinned beans, and go easy on the cheese and shop salsa. You’ll barely notice the difference in flavour, and you’ll keep far more control over the salt.
Can I turn this into an actual burrito? +
Of course — wrap the same filling in a large tortilla. Just remember the wrap adds calories and carbs, so account for it. The bowl version is easier to count and lets you load more veg, which is why I usually go bowl over wrap.
What’s the best way to scale this for a group? +
Cook a big batch of the spiced beef and a big pot of rice, lay out all the toppings, and let everyone build their own. Bulkers go heavy on rice and cheese, anyone cutting leans on leaves and salsa — same base, everyone hits their own macros.
Can I make it dairy-free? +
Yes — drop the cheese and lean on avocado, salsa and lime for richness and flavour. A spoon of a dairy-free yoghurt works as the cooling element if you miss it. The bowl honestly holds up beautifully without the cheese.
This bowl lives inside a full week of meals.
This burrito bowl is one plate in my 7-day bulking plan — seven days of high-protein, calorie-dense meals with the macros counted and the grocery list written. You pick the goal; I do the maths.
See the bulking meal plan →
08Pairs well with
Magnus Olafsson
I’m Magnus — twenty years under the iron, from a cold gym in Stockholm to the classic-physique stage, and now mostly in my kitchen in a pink apron. I’ve cut for shows, bulked through winters, and I’ve been on TRT since I was thirty-five. I know what it takes to eat for the body you’re chasing, and I know it shouldn’t come with a side of shame.
Everything here is food I actually cook and macros I actually count. I don’t diagnose, I don’t promise, and I never make a number up. I just feed you well and tell you the truth.
Slim Diet Era shares recipes and general nutrition information. It is not medical or dietetic advice, and we do not provide guidance on obtaining or using any controlled substance. See our Medical Disclaimer and Nutrition Disclaimer.