Description
These homemade chicken burrito bowls are easy to make at home and taste just as good as store-bought. Best of all, you can add however much you like of each component! This recipe is also perfect for meal prep, as each component keeps well in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- ~5 chipotles from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce + all of the sauce
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, toasted
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 teaspoons kosher salt (less if using table salt or fine sea salt)
Cilantro lime rice:
- 2 cups long grain white rice
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 2-3 tablespoons sunflower oil (or another neutral oil)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (less if using table salt or fine sea salt)
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
Guacamole:
- 2 ripe avocados
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
- 1/2 of a medium jalapeño, finely diced, including seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Corn salsa (adapted from Culinary Hill):
- 2 ears of fresh corn
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- 1/2 roasted and peeled poblano pepper, diced
- 1 jalapeño, seeds removed, diced
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 tablespoon lime juice
- pinch of kosher salt
Fajita Vegetables (optional):
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1.5 cups green bell pepper, julienned
- 1/2 cup red onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Prepare the chicken marinade and marinate the chicken. Add the Mexican oregano and cumin seeds to a small skillet over medium heat and toast for a few minutes, until fragrant and slightly browned.
- Add ~5 peppers from the chipotles in adobo can to a blender, then add in the rest of the liquid from the can. Add in the oregano and cumin, garlic, honey, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth then pour over chicken thighs and toss well to combine. Marinate for 4 hours or up to overnight.
- Cook your rice. Add water, bay leaves and rinsed rice to a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover with a lid.
- Set a timer for 10 minutes, then turn off the heat, keeping the pot covered, and let the rice steam for another 10 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork, then mix in oil, salt, cilantro, and lime juice.
- Make the guacamole. Mash the avocados with a fork and then stir in red onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and jalapeño.
- Make the corn salsa. To prepare the poblano pepper, roast it over an open flame on your stovetop for several minutes, turning it occasionally with tongs, until the skin is blackened and blistered. Transfer to a cutting board and cover with a bowl. Let it steam for about 10 minutes, then peel the pepper (the skin should come right off) and remove and discard the seeds.
- Cut the corn off of two ears of cooked corn (you can also use frozen), then combine corn, red onion, citrus juice, poblano and jalapeño, cilantro and salt in a bowl and toss until well combined.
- Cook the chicken. We would strongly recommend doing this on your grill, as the cooking process will release a lot of strong pepper smell into the air. Cook for 4-5 minutes per side over medium high heat, until thighs reach an internal temperature of 165˚F.
- Assemble your bowls. Start with a base of rice, add a scoop of black or pinto beans (we used canned and rinsed beans), a scoop of chicken, some corn salsa, a scoop of guacamole, a dollop of salsa, and some cheese. Enjoy!
- To make the optional fajita veggies, heat 1 tbsp oil in a skillet. Add in the bell pepper, onion, salt and oregano and sauté for 10-15 minutes, stirring often, until browned.
Notes
Cook the chicken until it reaches an internal temperature of 165˚F.
For maximum flavor, let the chicken marinade for at least a few hours (or overnight) before cooking.
Store the components individually for easy reheating, since some components, like guacamole, shouldn't be reheated.
Storage: We use these vacuum sealed containers to keep our food fresh for extra long. These chicken burrito bowl components tend to last about 5-6 days in our containers (including the guacamole – the vacuum seal prevents it from going brown!).
Make it vegan/vegetarian: Try our sofritas tofu recipe in place of the chicken.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Marination Time: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Main Dishes
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl with chicken rice and guacamole
- Calories: 585
- Sugar: 1.9 g
- Sodium: 728.6 mg
- Fat: 21.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 45.2 g
- Fiber: 4.9 g
- Protein: 48.6 g