A fajita rice bowl is always a hit with most families but did you know you can cook it in the slow cooker?

That means making a dish that's bursting with flavour and packed with healthy ingredients but with minimum fuss or effort. With five different vegetables and lots of different spices, the meal is also packed with healthy polyphenols, and the kidney beans mean there's lots of fibre too, essential for your gut microbiome.

The recipe comes from TikTok and Instagram cooking star Poppy O'Toole (Poppy Cooks). She has been teaching children how to cook with a slow cooker as part of the Tesco Fruit & Veg for Schools campaign.

This is a £4 million project designed to give children a healthy, nutritious boost thanks to daily fruit and veg and slow cookers. The idea with this dish is that you can start it cooking and then leave it to it. And the nice thing is that each member of the family can make their own fajita bowl at the table.

"It’s about getting everyone a bit more inspired to see how easy and accessible cooking in the slow cooker can be," she said. "It’s also a great way of utilising those yellow label foods that are close to their best before date. Just pop them all in the slow cooker and you have a delicious meal."

Optional extras and sides to serve with this dish include soured cream, lime wedges, slaw, guacamole, grated Cheddar and thinly sliced red chilli.

Method

1. Put all the ingredients except the rice in the slow-cooker. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and plenty of black pepper; stir well. Put the lid on and cook on high for 4 hours until the veg is completely tender. Season with black pepper to taste and add 100ml water to make it more saucy, if you prefer.

2. Serve cooked brown rice and, if you like, some soured cream, lime wedges, slaw, guacamole, grated Cheddar and sliced chilli for the whole family to make their own fajita rice bowl at the table.