These Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls are filled with corn salsa, pico de gallo, marinated chicken and sautéed veggies – extra guac included!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Cooked rice – use any variety of white or brown rice that you like.
- Bell peppers – choose any or all bell pepper colours of your choice.
- Red onion – white onion or yellow onion can be used instead of red onion.
- Jalapeño peppers – try using serrano peppers or leave these out if you don’t like spice.
- Chicken breasts – use chicken thighs in place of chicken breast. It may even be a juicier cut of meat.
- Adobo sauce – you can usually find this in the grocery store with canned chipotle peppers. You can also try using minced pickled jalapeno with smoky BBQ sauce but the flavours will be different.
- Chipotle peppers – use fresh or canned chipotle peppers.
- Paprika – cayenne pepper or chili powder can be used instead of paprika.
- Garlic – use fresh or jarred minced garlic. Garlic powder or garlic salt will work in a pinch.
- Lime juice – use fresh or bottled lime juice. Lemon juice will also work if you don’t have lime juice on hand.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Plum tomatoes – any other tomato can be used here.
- Cilantro – if you’re not a fan of cilantro, use parsley or basil instead.
- Lime juice – use fresh or bottled lime juice. In a pinch, lemon juice will also work.
- Yellow onion – red onion, white onion or sweet onions can be used if you don’t have yellow onions.
- Corn kernels – use fresh or canned corn kernels.
How to make Chipotle chicken burrito bowls
- Marinate the chicken.
- Cook the rice.
- Make the salsa, pico de gallo and guacamole.
- BBQ or cook the chicken.
- Stir fry the veggies.
- Assemble your bowls and dig in!
Making it in the oven or on the BBQ
The chicken for this recipe is super versatile and can be made either on the BBQ or in the oven. I highly recommend the BBQ, because you’ll get that nice crispy finish.
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Whether you’re making it on the BBQ or in the oven, the chicken will need to cook for about 20-25 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165° Fahrenheit. Make sure to flip halfway through.
Frequently Asked Questions
You get to choose your own toppings at Chipotle, but toppings typically include white or brown rice, black or pinto beans, fajita veggies, shredded cheese, salsa, lettuce, sour cream and guacamole. The best part of this recipe is you don’t have to pay extra for the guac! 😉
This recipe has 527 calories per serving. The Chipotle chicken burrito bowl with white rice, guacamole, roasted chili-corn salsa, fajita veggies and lettuce has 725 calories, so you’re saving about 200 calories by making your own version at home.
Depending on the toppings, yes! Burrito bowls generally have less carbs and more veggies. That being said, make sure you don’t go overboard on the unhealthy toppings, or your burrito bowl can easily become super fattening and high in calories.
Storing and reheating
These burrito bowls will last in the fridge for up to 4 days, making them a great meal prep idea for lunch and dinner!
They taste great eaten cold, but if you want a hot meal, make sure you store the salsa, pico de gallo and guacamole separately from the chicken and rice. To reheat, sprinkle some water over top of the chicken and rice so they don’t dry out and microwave for 1-2 minutes. Add on your fresh toppings and dig in!
I recommend making your guacamole fresh, but you can put a thin layer of lemon or lime juice over top to prevent any air from getting in and turning the guac brown.
Freezing the chicken
If you have leftover chicken, freeze it! You can either freeze any extra chicken raw and marinated or cooked.
For cooked chicken: Keep frozen for up to 4 months. Thaw overnight and then microwave it or bake it in the oven until warmed.
For raw chicken: Freeze the marinated chicken in a freezer bag or an airtight container for up 4 months. When ready to enjoy, move from the freezer to the fridge overnight and then follow cooking instructions in the recipe card.
More healthy lunch bowl recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this recipe into leftovers.
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls {Oven + BBQ}
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 3 bell peppers sliced, any colour
- 1 medium-sized red onion sliced
- 2 jalapeño peppers sliced
Chipotle Chicken
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp adobo sauce
- 1 tbsp finely diced chipotle peppers
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp lime juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Pico de gallo
- 2 plum tomatoes diced
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1/2 tsp salt
Corn salsa
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 tsp salt
Guacamole
- 2 avocados
- 2 tsp lime juice more if you want
- 3/4 tsp herbamare or salt
- 1 small red onion diced
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven or BBQ to 425 F (I highly recommend BBQ). Toss chicken with seasonings and let marinate for 15 min.
- Meanwhile, cook rice according to package directions (should be 1 cup rice and 1 1/2 cups water) and prepare vegetables, make salsas and guacamole.
- Throw the chicken on the BBQ or in the oven for 20-25 min until cooked to 165 F internally, flipping once halfway through.
- Meanwhile, stir fry bell peppers and red onion over high heat in a large skillet.
- Add all desired ingredients to each bowl once everything has finished cooking and enjoy!
Chris David says
Great recipe and really a nice one. Will surely try this
Damian Woolf says
Delicious
Aubrey says
So yummy! Everyone loved this! It even makes a healthy lunch for work the next day. I made a few changes 1. I added tomatoes & serranos to the Guac. Also topped it with Feta cheese! 2. For the corn salsa, I put the corn on the BBQ, grilled it with some bbq butter, and then cut it off to put in the corn salsa.
So yummy! Thanks for the recipe!
Patricia says
Hey Taylor,
What a great little recipe we have here! Although I am not surprised you always seem to come out with some of the most delicious stuff! I will definitely be trying to make my own version of a burrito bowl some time in the near future!
Also congrats on making some new contacts in the industry you are slowly growing your business into something special!
Patricia xo
Taylor Stinson says
Thanks girl!!!! They’re so fun! 🙂 Speaking of contacts and connecting we need to go for a coffee date soon – or you can show me some more foodie hotspots in Hamilton. It’s been too long! <3
Karly says
Uh, wow. I think I would eat this for dinner every night if I could! Looks sooooo flavorful and pretty healthy, too!
Taylor Stinson says
Thank you so much Karly! This is literally my version of Chipotle at home haha