California Burrito Bowl: Paleo & Whole30

Growing up in San Diego taco shops are about as prevalent as Starbucks. One of my favorite things to order is carne asada fries or a California burrito. For those of you who do not have this deliciousness near you, California burritos are carne asada burritos filled with fries, sour cream, guac and cheese.  Basically heaven right? But also pretty terrible nutrition wise. While I do indulge every now and then, I decided to try making my own California burrito bowl at home with Whole30 compliant ingredients. The end result was super delicious and really hit the spot!

If you’ve listened to the first episode of the A Little Salty Podcast, you know that I could eat chips and salsa forever and never get tired of it. I am a huge fan of all things spicy and Mexican food is my favorite. Here are a few of my favorite spicy, Mexican inspired dishes.

Mexican Style Shakshuka

Spicy Taco Casserole

Spicy Polenta Bake

Spicy Taco Skillet

Ingredients

Here is what you will need to make your own Whole30 version of a California Burrito Bowl:

• For the “fries”, I used russet potatoes but you can use sweet potatoes to pack even more of a nutritional punch. You can also vary the potatoes to your liking with their cut or cooking method.  Chopping the potatoes into smaller cubes instead of wedges and cooking them in a skillet or in the air fryer can help them cook a bit quicker.
• Flank steak. This is the cut of steak you will need for your carne asada. Along with your steak you will need lime juice, jalapeño, minced garlic and avocado oil to marinate.
• Toppings. The great thing about this recipe is you can use whatever toppings you love! To keep things Whole30 compliant, I used pico de gallo, salsa fresca and guacamole. You can make these things yourself or you can purchase pre-made to make this recipe that much easier. Just remember to check your labels if you’re trying to stay Whole30 compliant.

Cooking Method

If you want to cook your potatoes in the air fryer, cut your potato into your desired shape and spray with a little avocado oil and then toss in your air fryer at 400 for about 15 minutes, shaking the basket every 5 minutes or so. This will give you maximum crispiness in the shortest amount of time. If you don’t have an air fryer, fear not! For this recipe I used oven instructions.

And if you DO have an air fryer, check out my other air fryer recipes!

Carne asada tastes best when cooked on a grill (in my opinion).  You could definitely cook the steak stove top style but I highly recommend busting out the grill for this one.

This meal would be great as an appetizer for a larger group to share, a tasty lunch or a nice filling dinner. You could even throw a fried egg on top and call it breakfast! Oooooh, I am DEFINITELY trying that.  Sooner rather than later.  This would totally work for a nice meal prep as well! With all the ingredients being Whole30 compliant and just wholesome real food, you really can’t go wrong with this California burrito bowl. This recipe makes 4 servings but obviously you can be the judge of that. Wink wink. The hubby and I polished off half and said we were saving the rest for leftovers and somehow they were gone within an hour.  Oops.

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