Don’t let the long list of ingredients scare you away from making these Chicken Burrito Bowls. Almost all the components for these bowls can be made in advance. With a little preplanning all that’s left to do for dinner is cook up the delectable rice and grill the marinated chicken, and you’ll have this tasty meal on the table in almost no time. Not only is this an extremely healthy meal, but they have all your favorite Mexican flavors in each bowl. You won’t find any unpronounceable chemical additives, or preservatives here. Just flavorful, healthy ingredients that are absolutely fantastic! This delectable meal proves that healthy can be utterly delicious.
Step 1, prepare the chicken:
Cut each chicken breast into 4-5 slices. Use a meat mallet to pound each piece chicken to a ½ inch thickness.
Place chicken in a large ziplock baggie.
Gather together the marinade ingredients; chili powder, dried oregano, smoked paprika, kosher salt, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, cayenne pepper, olive oil, and white vinegar.
Stir together to combine the marinade ingredients.
Add the marinade to the chicken in the ziplock bag.
Close bag, pressing out excess air and seal the bag closed. Smush bag to coat all the chicken with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Make Ahead Tip: Place chicken in a freezer-safe plastic storage bag with the marinade, pressing out as much air as possible. Lay the bag flat in the freezer. When ready to use, thaw the marinated chicken overnight in the refrigerator before cooking it as directed in the recipe. When chicken goes on sale, I make up several batches and keep them in the freezer.
Step 2, prepare corn salsa:
Place frozen corn in a colander and rinse it with cold water to thaw. Drain off excess water.
Place thawed corn, diced red onion, diced jalapeño, lime juice, Kosher salt, and chopped cilantro in a mixing bowl.
Stir to combine all the ingredients and set aside.
Make Ahead Tip: Corn salsa can be made up to 3 days ahead. Store covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Step 3, make the guacamole:
In a medium bowl, Place avocados and lemon juice, in a medium bowl.
Add red onion, diced jalapeño chopped cilantro and salt to the bowl.
Mash together all the ingredients, leaving some chunks, and stir to combine.
To keep the guacamole fresh until ready to use, place a large sheet of plastic wrap over the top and press the plastic wrap down against the surface of the guacamole and all the way out to the edges of the bowl, so no air can get in between. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Step 4, make the cilantro rice:
In a saucepan heat a tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.
Once the oil is hot, add the rice and cook until rice is lightly toasted, about 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
Add water and salt to the pan. Increase heat and bring mixture to a boil.
Once the mixture comes to a boil, cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and reduce heat to lowest setting.
Cook on low heat for 20-25 minutes or until the rice has absorbed all the water. Remove pan from heat. Set aside, covered.
When ready to use, stir in the lime juice and chopped cilantro.
Fluff rice with a fork.
Step 5, cook the chicken:
Heat a tablespoon olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the marinated chicken and cook for 4 minutes on the first side.
NOTE: Discard any excess marinade.
Flip chicken pieces over and cook for another 4 minutes on the second side or until the chicken is browned and cooked all the way through.
Transfer the cooked chicken pieces to a cutting board and allow them to rest for 5 minutes. Use a sharp knife to cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.
Step 6, assemble bowls:
Prepare preferred toppings; shred the cheese, chop red onion, lettuce and tomato.
Place cilantro lime rice, diced chicken, corn salsa, and chopped lettuce into four bowls. Top each bowl with chopped tomato, shredded cheese, guacamole, and a dollop of sour cream if desired. Serve each bowl with a wedge of lime if desired.
A HUGE shout out to The Kitchn for providing the inspiration for this phenomenal recipe. It’s a copycat Chipotle recipe, sans the black beans, my guys aren’t big fans of beans so I leave them out. Be sure to head over to The Kitchn and check out other delicious recipes on the site, and there are a lot of them! ❤️
Once you taste how delicious these bowls are, you’ll want to do a little preplanning so you can serve these bowls of yummy deliciousness for dinner tonight. Yes the list of ingredients is rather long, and there are several components to make, but when you break it down into manageable, easy to do parts, you can easily make this meal anytime the mood strikes! It’s well worth the effort, I promise!
Grilled Chicken Burrito Bowls
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp cayenne red pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp white vinegar
For the Corn Salsa:
- 16 oz frozen corn, thawed
- ⅓ cup red onion, diced
- 1 large Jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 1 lime or lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
For the Guacamole:
- 3 large ripe avocados
- 1 lemon or lime, juiced
- ¼ cup red onion, diced
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
- ½ tsp Kosher salt, or to taste
For the Cilantro Lime Rice:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup long grain rice
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 2 cups water
- 1 lime, juiced
- ¾ cup fresh Cilantro, chopped
Toppings to serve:
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 2 cups lettuce, chopped
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- ½ cup sour cream, optional
- 1 lime, quartered
Instructions
Prepare the chicken:
- Cut each chicken breast into slices.
- Use a meat mallet to pound each piece chicken to a ½ inch thickness.
- Place chicken in a large ziplock baggie.
- In a bowl combine marinade ingredients; chili powder, dried oregano, smoked paprika, kosher salt, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, cayenne pepper, olive oil, and white vinegar. Stir to combine.
- Add the marinade to the chicken in the ziplock bag. Close bag, pressing out excess air and seal the bag closed. Smush bag to coat all the chicken with the marinade. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Prepare corn salsa:
- Place frozen corn in a colander and rinse with cold water to thaw. Drain off excess water.
- Place thawed corn, diced red onion, diced jalapeño, lime juice, Kosher salt, and chopped cilantro in a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.
Make the guacamole:
- In a medium bowl, Place avocados and lemon juice, in a medium bowl. Mash with a fork. Add red onion, diced jalapeño chopped cilantro and salt to the bowl. Stir to combine.
- To keep the guacamole fresh until ready to use, place a large sheet of plastic wrap over the top and press the plastic wrap down against the surface of the guacamole and all the way out to the edges of the bowl, so no air can get between. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Make the cilantro rice:
- In a saucepan heat a tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the rice and cook until rice is lightly toasted, about 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
- Add water and salt to the pan. Increase heat and bring mixture to a boil.
- Once the mixture comes to a boil, cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and reduce heat to lowest setting.
- Cook on low heat for 20-25 minutes or until the rice has absorbed all the water.
- Remove pan from heat. Set aside, covered.
- When ready to use, fluff the rice with a fork and stir in the lime juice and chopped cilantro.
Cook the chicken:
- Heat a tablespoon olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the marinated chicken and cook for 4 minutes on the first side.
- NOTE: Discard any excess marinade.
- Flip chicken pieces over and cook for another 4 minutes on the second side or until the chicken is browned and cooked all the way through.
- Transfer the cooked chicken pieces to a cutting board and allow them to rest for 5 minutes.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.
Assemble bowls:
- Place cilantro lime rice, diced chicken, corn salsa, and chopped lettuce into four bowls.
- Top each bowl with chopped tomato, shredded cheese, guacamole, and a dollop of sour cream if desired.
- Serve each bowl with a wedge of lime.
Notes
- Place chicken in a freezer-safe plastic storage bag with the marinade, pressing out as much air as possible.
- Lay the bag flat in the freezer. When ready to use, thaw marinated chicken overnight in the refrigerator before cooking as directed in the recipe.
- Corn salsa can be made up to 3 days ahead. Store covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Did You Make This?
Be sure to snap a pic and tag it #naturewayblog I love, love, love hearing from my readers! Please, don’t forget to leave a comment and a review below, and be sure to follow me on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, TELEGRAM or TWITTER for all the latest happening here at Nature Way!
May I ask a small favor? If you enjoyed this blogpost would you be so kind and like the page? Just click the “like” button down at the very bottom, at the end of the post. It lets me know what you are enjoying the most. It also helps me focus my attention on creating content that will be most meaningful and beneficial to you, my readers. And don’t forget to subscribe:
When you sign up you’ll never miss out on all the latest that’s happening here at Nature Way. I promise to never spam you, ever! Cross my heart. Thank you and God bless!
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
John 6:35
Remember…Jesus ❤️’s you!