These burrito bowls are loaded with marinated grilled chicken, cilantro lime rice, black beans and a variety of fun toppings. This recipe will become a dinnertime staple at your house!
Burrito bowls are so versatile, I could make them every day and never get bored! Serve your burrito bowls with a topping of homemade pico de gallo and a Mexican caesar salad on the side.
It’s a new year, and like many other people, I’ve been busy working on ways for my family to lead a healthier lifestyle. We’ve been going for long walks on the weekends, eating more fresh fruits and veggies, and have been eating out less. When we eat at Mexican restaurants, my husband and I often order chicken burritos, but they’re often loaded with tons of cheese, hidden oils and those giant tortillas are chock full of calories. My homemade burrito bowls are a lighter version of the restaurant favorite. I’ve made some swap outs to make this recipe more wholesome and my family loves it just as much as the original!
What is a burrito bowl?
A burrito bowl is all of your favorite burrito fillings minus the tortilla. Burrito bowls are typically served over rice, or if you’re looking to cut down on your carbs, you can serve your toppings on a bed of shredded romaine lettuce.
How do you make burrito bowls?
The star of these burrito bowls is the grilled marinated chicken. I marinate my chicken in a simple mixture of olive oil, lime juice and spices, then toss it on the grill. If it’s too cold to fire up the grill outside, you can use a grill pan or skillet on the stovetop, or broil the chicken.
While my chicken is cooking, I put together the rest of the ingredients for these burrito bowls. I make a simple cilantro lime rice as the base – you can use white rice, brown rice, or even quinoa if you prefer! I place the rice in a bowl and top it with the cooked and cubed chicken, fresh salsa, black beans, avocado, lettuce and a bit of light sour cream.
I buy my fresh salsa at the store if I’m in a hurry, and simply open up a can of black beans to save some time. You can customize your burrito bowl by using pinto beans instead of black, adding roasted veggies, or using some light shredded cheese instead of sour cream. I often set out all the ingredients at the table and let each family member assemble their own bowl, my kids think that’s so fun!
Recreating healthier versions of restaurant favorites at home has been a great start to my goal of eating out less in 2017. With less visits to restaurants, more exercise and extra fruits and veggies at every meal, my family is making strides towards living a healthier lifestyle.
More Mexican food favorites
Burrito Bowl Video
Burrito Bowls with Chicken
Ingredients
- For the chicken:
- 1 1/4 pounds NatureRaised Farms Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup lime juice
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ cup water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1-2 tablespoons chili powder depending on the heat level of your chili powder. I use a mild chili powder so I do the full 2 tablespoons.
- 3 cups cooked white or brown rice or quinoa
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro leaves
- the juice of 1 lime
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 15- ounce can of black beans drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup salsa or pico de gallo
- 1 avocado thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup light sour cream
- 1/2 cup shredded romaine lettuce
Instructions
- To prepare the marinade, pour the lime juice, olive oil and water into a large resealable bag. Add the garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, smoked paprika, onion powder and chili powder.
- Seal bag and shake to combine. Add the chicken to the bag of marinade, seal and place in fridge - marinate at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.
- Preheat a grill, grill pan or skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side or until cooked through.
- Chop the cooked chicken into bite sized pieces.
- Place the rice or quinoa in a large bowl; add the cilantro, lime juice and salt and pepper to taste; toss to coat the rice evenly.
- Divide the rice between 4 bowls. Arrange the chicken, beans, salsa, avocado, sour cream and lettuce on top of the rice. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of NatureRaised Farms Fresh Chicken. The opinions and text are all mine.
Sarah says
Would it work to cook the chicken in the crock pot in the marinade?
Sara says
Yes that should be fine!
Molly says
Delicious and a real family favorite!
Ana says
I skip the water and the sugar in the marinade and it’s still a 10/10. Beyond good.
T says
Great recipe, the marinade is fab
Christine says
Is the lime juice on the rice the juice from one lime? Then the 1/3 is what your marinade the chicken in?
Sara says
Yes that’s correct!
Heidi says
I made this recipe last week for my friend visiting.
I am vegetarian, so was not going to eat the chicken. I just had to have a small bite just to check the flavor.
Well, I ended up eating half of the chicken. And I didn’t even feel bad.
It’s that good.
Marilyn Singer says
Cook chicken cast iron pan. Fast just as good as grilled. Love bowls. Thanks.
Katelyn says
I love making this on the bbq,
But I’d like to make it in the oven since it’s cold now to bbq. Any idea how long to cook it in the oven?
Thanks!
Sara says
You can bake the chicken at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes or until cooked through!
Diane S says
We love these bowls! I make it at least twice a month. We had leftover flank steak and grilled chicken so tonight my bowl had the chicken and my husband’s had the flank steak. Thanks for the great recipe!
Keelin K says
Tasted better than Chipotle!
Julia says
delicious!
Amy says
Wow, this was great! Very easy to make. Husband is a pescatarian and the marinade is also good on shrimp as well as chicken. I recommend this recipe 100%. Delicious!
Marilyn says
Hi this sounds great! I am thinking of making a few dinners worth the of the marinated chicken , grilling and freezing. What do you think?
Sara says
That should be fine!
Maureen says
Delicious!! I cooked the chicken in the marinade in a saucepan and then made it into pulled chicken.
Melissa says
My family absolutely raves over this dish! Sometimes I’ll switch it up and use skirt steak instead of chicken. Grilling the meat over a hot charcoal grill give it that extra burst of flavor.
Kayla says
Delicious
Sara says
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for reporting back!
Tiffany says
The recipe never says when to put sugar in?
Sara says
The sugar is listed in the first step 🙂
Jerry says
This is a really good recipe as flavor goes. I did make a few changes to suit my tastes.
I used chicken tenders, since breasts can be a bit tough and dry.
I don’t like avocado so I left that out.
I don’t like black beans so I used chili beans (rinsed).
The flavors were most excellent!
Sara says
So glad you enjoyed it, thanks for reporting back!
Marisa says
The marianade is SO yummy. I let it marinate for about 5 hours and then cooked it on a grill pan over the stove. In another comment, someone mentioned making extra marianade to pour over the finished dish for extra flavor and I’ll try that next time!
Christina says
I love this recipe! Made it a ton last summer and just fired up the grill yesterday to make it again for the first time this year. I enjoy making extra marinade and using it as a dressing over the burrito bowl to add a bit more flavour to the rice. Delicious!