Do you remember when KFC started doing bowl meals? I don’t know if they still make them, I just remember a few (?) years back seeing advertisements for a bowl full of mashed potatoes, fried chicken pieces, and some cheese. Despite being an incredibly beige looking bowl of food, I liked the concept. I’ve wanted to throw my own colorful twist on those bowls for years. Well, today I finally did it with these Loaded Mashed Potato Bowls. Yay!
Toppings, toppings, and MORE toppings!
I decided to make my Loaded Mashed Potato Bowls vegetarian, with a mixture of fire roasted corn and black beans as the main topper. I added the requisite cheddar cheese (because cheeeeeese) and then jazzed it up with a few SUPER thin slices of jalapeño, green onion for freshness, and a light drizzle of BBQ sauce. Yes, BBQ sauce. Trust me.
And yes, chicken would still be awesome with this if you don’t want to do vegetarian (try our Honey Chipotle Chicken). I’d go with diced grilled chicken pieces to keep with that smoky theme.
Use Your Favorite Mashed Potatoes
I’m going to leave it to you to prepare your mashed potato base using your favorite recipe, but the more flavorful they are the better your bowl will be. I made some quick Instant Pot mashed potatoes because it’s my favorite and easiest way to make them, and I used vegetable broth this time instead of chicken broth to keep the bowl vegetarian. You can find my recipe for Instant Pot mashed Potatoes in this Apple Spice Pork Chop Meal Prep blog post. That said, my classic mashed potatoes recipe will always hold a special place in my heart. Two other delicious options are my dairy-free Olive Oil Mashed Potatoes or my Garlic Herb Mashed Potatoes.
Loaded Mashed Potato Bowls
Servings 4Ingredients
- 6 cups prepared mashed potatoes ($2.17)
- 2 cups frozen corn kernels* ($1.49)
- 1 15oz. can can black beans ($0.79)
- 1/2 tsp chili powder** ($0.10)
- 4 oz. cheddar, shredded ($1.00)
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce ($0.68)
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.22)
- 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced (optional) ($0.33)
Instructions
- Allow the corn kernels to thaw, or heat them through if you plan to eat the bowls immediately. Rinse and drain the black beans, then add them to a bowl along with the chili powder and stir until the beans are coated.
- To build the bowls, place about 1.5 cups mashed potatoes in each bowl, then top with about 1/2 cup corn kernels, 1/3 cup black beans, about 1/4 cup shredded cheddar, 2 Tbsp BBQ sauce, and a sprinkle of sliced green onions and jalapeño.
- Serve the bowls immediately, or refrigerate until ready to eat. To reheat, simply microwave until the mashed potatoes are hot and the cheese is melted.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Loaded Mashed Potato Bowls – Step by Step Photos
I’m going to assume you have 6 cups of your favorite mashed potatoes made already. Take 2 cups frozen corn kernels out of the freezer to thaw (or heat them through if you plan to eat your Loaded Mashed Potato Bowls right away). Rinse and drain one 15oz. can of black beans, add 1/2 tsp chili powder to the beans and stir to coat.
Prep the rest of your toppings. Shred about 4 oz. cheddar cheese, thinly slice one jalapeño, and slice two green onions.
I ate one of my bowls for lunch today, and prepped these other three for meals later this week. To build each bowl, start with 1.5 cups of mashed potatoes.
Add about 1/4 of the shredded cheese to each bowl.
Add about 1/2 cup of the corn kernels and about 1/3 cup of the black beans to each of the bowls.
Finally, drizzle a couple tablespoons of BBQ sauce over each bowl and top with some sliced green onion and sliced jalapeño (optional). Either refrigerate, or dig in! If you want your cheese more melty, just microwave for a minute or so.
Yessss. There’s nothing beige about this bowl.
We love this recipe! I’ve made it multiple times- and it’s always a hit. It’s super easy to make, and so comforting. Thank you!!
We just didn’t like this very much.
Yesssss…BBQ sauce for the win! I have seen those bowls, and they put gravy on them, which I really don’t like. I do remember thinking, “I wonder if I could sub the gravy for BBQ sauce” so it’s good to know I’m not off base with my thought process! I don’t ever eat there, because, eh, but I am definitely going to make these!! Check out Patton Oswald’s “KFC Bowls” comedy skit, hilarious.
This was really good! I didn’t use a jalapeño but instead steamed an orange pepper. Now that I have made it once I will do my pepper first and then add the beans and corn to the pan to heat that up so I don’t have so many different dishes to wash. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for another simple recipe that’s good!
The Loaded Mashed Potato Bowls are delicious. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any corn, but had to make some adjustments. I used one chicken breast, chopped it up into pieces and added canned black beans to the skillet. It was good, along with some shredded cheddar cheese and barbecue sauce. I’ll have to make the recipe again next time. Thanks, Beth!!! :-)
Oh my…this is so good! I haven’t had a recipe from the vegan/vegetarian menu that I haven’t like yet!!! This is a keeper!!!
These were amazing. I added some bacon bits and avocado too.
I did this for my lunch at work and it was so perfect! I used black beans and chickpeas left over from another recipe that were mixed with chili powder, cumin, oregano, and paprika and it made this even better. I’m definitely planning on ‘sneaking’ more vegetables into this dish in the future.
Worked out quite nicely! Beans became ground beef in my recipe, and bbq became Worcestershire, in deference to what I had lying around. The result is quite palatable. Ten points for me.
What’s a good substitute for the American chili powder?
You could season the black beans with just about anything you like. :) Maybe some cumin and just a pinch of cayenne?
Hi Beth, can I make this ahead and freeze it? Or freeze parts then thaw and put together? Thanks, love your recipes!
I think this would freeze great. Some people do find mashed potatoes to be sort of grainy after freezing/thawing, but that’s never been an issue for me. I think it just depends on how sensitive you are to texture changes. :)
Beth, I can see myself doing this for my meal preps. I go out of state three days a week and my drive is long. How do you think this would hold up to freezing? I freeze ahead of time so food stays cold (with ice packs to help!) on my drive. Thanks!
I think it would freeze fine, although some people find potatoes to be a bit grainy after freezing and thawing. I’ve never noticed graininess, but I guess some people are just more sensitive to it.
KFC does still make that bowl – its my go-to hangover cure, but now I definitely want to try this version!
Our vegetarian daughter is visiting for the Christmas holidays. We gave this a try, and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the jalapenos I had stored in the fridge had been used by someone without my knowledge. I’m sure that would have made this even better! BTW, I added some garlic to the mashed potatoes. Great stuff!
This is making me hungry! Such a yummy looking meal. My Mom always knows how to make a good meal on a great budget. Between cutting coupons, stocking up when somethings on sale, and buying Organic and local, we’ve made ‘budget bytes’ literally a thing in our family.
love how you lay out the cost of the meal <3
Michaila
seventytimeseven.com