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Home » Dinner » Mexican and Tex-Mex » Burrito Bowl

Burrito Bowl

Created: April 18, 2022 Updated: April 19, 2022 by lyuba Leave a Comment

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These flavorful chicken burrito bowls feature the best parts of a burrito like juicy, seasoned chicken, cilantro rice, your favorite vegetables, and avocado ranch dressing. Next time you want easy and delicious dinner, don’t bother with take out at Chipotle and instead, make some at home!

top view of the burrito bowl with limes and cilantro near

Burrito Bowl

Need a quick and easy dinner idea this week that the whole family will love? Burrito bowls are just the thing! When you make these bowls at home, you can completely customize the toppings you want, and no… the guacamole isn’t extra.

I have plenty of topping ideas that I think you’re going to love. They’re all family favorites that go perfectly with the seasoned chicken and cilantro rice! With that being said, feel free to completely customize your bowl just as you would at your local burrito joint.

One thing that you simply must try, though, is my favorite homemade avocado ranch dressing. It’s freshly flavored, creamy, and I always end up drizzling a ton of it on my bowl. Feel free to make a batch or salsa and salsa verde as a side, additional topping, or an appetizer!

How to Make a Burrito Bowl

chicken, seasoning, lime and oil on the board
ingredients for the burrito bowl on the cutting board

Ingredients You Need:

For the rice:

  • Rice – use your favorite long grain or medium grain rice.
  • Chicken Broth – Use this in place of water for more flavorful results.
  • Salt – Just a pinch.

For the chicken:

  • Chicken – Boneless, skinless chicken breast will work best but you can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. If using frozen, make sure it’s completely thawed prior to cooking.
  • Taco Seasoning – One package of original taco seasoning mix works just fine for this easy recipe.
  • Olive Oil – Avocado oil also works if preferred.

For the avocado ranch dressing:

  • Avocado – ripe avocado with pin and skin removed.
  • Sour Cream – Use a full fat sour cream for the thickest consistency.
  • Mayonnaise
  • Buttermilk – use 1% low fat buttermilk.
  • Garlic – for best results, always use fresh garlic.
  • Worcestershire Sauce – This adds a subtle umami flavor to the dressing.
  • Herbs – Freshly minced parsley, dill weed, and cilantro create a great herbaceous flavor and aroma.
  • Black Pepper
  • Salt

Topping Options:

  • Black Beans – Make sure they’re drained and rinsed prior to putting in your bowl.
  • Sweet Corn – use canned, frozen, or off the cob.
  • Red Onion
  • Bell Pepper
  • Tomatoes
  • Cucumber
  • Avocados
  • Butter Lettuce
  • Cilantro
cooked seasoned chicken for the burrito bowl
cooked cilantro rice in a pot
cooled and prepared ingredients for burrito bowl

Cooking Directions:

Cook the rice.

Cook the rice of your choice according to package instructions. Add if some cilantro and lime juice, fluff, and set aside.

Cook the chicken.

Split the chicken breast in half, width wise. Once split, season with the taco seasoning mix.

In a pan preheated with oil, cook the seasoned chicken cutlets for approximately 3-5 minutes per side.

Remove the cooked chicken from the pan and let cool for a few moments. Chop the meat into small cubes.

Whip up the dressing.

Combine all of the ingredients for the dressing in a blender or food processor and pulse until smooth.

Assemble the bowls!

Divide the rice evenly amongst your bowls, then top it off with the cubed cooked chicken, beans, corn, veggies, cilantro, and a generous amount of avocado ranch dressing. Enjoy!

closeup of chicken burrito bowl in a white bowl

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I prepare burrito bowls ahead of time?

You can easily meal-prep, but be careful with storing some of the toppings together. Here are some helpful tips!

Make the chicken and rice ahead of time. Cook the chicken and let it cool to room temperature. You can chop it and store it or leave the cooked chicken breasts whole and store it. Make sure to store it in the airtight container, in the refrigerator. Cooking rice ahead of time is another time saving step. Just make sure to reheat the rice with a splash of chicken broth to re-hydrate it.

Prepare the toppings. You can prep almost all the burrito bowl and divide the toppings among several food storage containers as individual portions. There are some toppings that I highly recommend cutting fresh, and that includes fresh vegetables.

When you cut vegetables, they will only last a day or two before wilting and going bad. So, you can prep ingredients like cooked chicken, cooked rice, corn, and beans about 3-4 days ahead of time. Fresh ingredients like diced tomatoes, bell peppers, avocados, onion, lettuce, and herbs, are really best cut fresh.

Store the dressing. When it comes to avocado ranch dressing, you can definitely make it 3-4 days ahead of time. Store it in an airtight glass jar with a lid in the refrigerator. To help prevent the darkening of the dressings on the top, you can add a drizzle of fresh lime juice over the top of the dressing.

spooning some chicken out of burrito bowl

Chicken Burrito Bowl Recipe

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closeup of chicken burrito bowl in a white bowl

Burrito Bowl

These flavorful chicken burrito bowls feature the best parts of a burrito like juicy, seasoned chicken, cilantro rice, your favorite vegetables, and avocado ranch dressing.
Print Pin SaveSaved! Rate
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken, rice
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 (serves 4-6)
Calories: 1071kcal
Author: lyuba

Ingredients

Rice:

  • 1 1/2 cups dry long grain or medium grain rice
  • chicken broth amount per rice package instructions
  • 2 tsp fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
  • pinch salt

Chicken:

  • 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast meat
  • 1 oz package taco seasoning mix
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Burrito Bowl:

  • 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
  • 15 oz can sweet corn drained
  • 1/2 red onion thinly sliced
  • 1 bell pepper thinly sliced
  • 1-2 tomatoes on a vine diced
  • 1-2 ripe avocadoes peeled, pit removed, diced
  • 2-3 oz butter lettuce
  • 2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro

Avocado Ranch Dressing:

  • 1 ripe avocado peeled and pit removed
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup mayonaisse
  • 1/2 cup low fat buttermilk
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp fresh minced parsley
  • 1 tbsp fresh minced dill weed
  • 1 tbsp fresh minced cilantro
  • 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
  • salt to taste
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Rice:

  • Check the package instructions for the recommended liquid to rice cooking ratio.
  • Cook rice according to the package instcructions. Once cooked, add lime juice and cilantro, fluff and set aside.

Chicken:

  • Split chicken breast in half, widthwise, and generously season each cutlet with taco seasoning on both sides.
  • Preheat a large cooking pan over medium heat and add oil. Cook seasoned chicken cutlets for 3 to 5 minutes per size, until done.
  • Take them out and let them cool enough to be able to cut them. Chop each chicken cutlet into small cubes.

Avocado Ranch Dressing:

  • Combine all of the ingredients for the dressing in a blender or a food processor and pulse until smooth. Trasfer into a dressing jar or a glass jar with a lid.

Burrito Bowls:

  • To build the burrito bowls, divide rice amond the serving bowl and top it off with chicken, beans, corn, vegetables, cilantro, and drizzle some dressing on top.

Nutrition

Calories: 1071kcal | Carbohydrates: 116g | Protein: 56g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 21g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 133mg | Sodium: 1356mg | Potassium: 2064mg | Fiber: 20g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 3210IU | Vitamin C: 72mg | Calcium: 166mg | Iron: 5mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles and tag #willcookforsmiles
collage of chicken burrito bowl and ingredients for the bowl

LYUBA

ABOUT LYUBA

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read more...

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Filed Under: Chicken, Cinco de Mayo, Dinner, Dressing, Gluten Free, Mexican and Tex-Mex, Rice

All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.

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Well, hey there!

I’m Lyuba Brooke, mother of 2, the cook, recipe developer, photographer, and author behind willcookforsmiles.com. I share many classic and original recipes, cooking tips, and tutorials. My passion is sharing delicious meals for everyone to try. Read More.

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