Burrito in a bowl recipe with chicken – healthy, easy and quick

Burrito in a bowl is a healthy and easy meal that everyone could make. Yes, it is easy as that! Even if you don’t like spicy Mexican food, you won’t have any complaints about burrito in a bowl. What is good about this meal is that it is packed with all the nutrients you need for a healthy lunch or dinner. Whether you are a vegetarian or not, you can eat a burrito bowl with chicken or without. This burrito in a bowl recipe is packed with fresh crunchy peppers and cucumbers, cooked rice and corn, grilled chicken breast, and a scoop of sour cream. Cooking time is minimal and you can make ahead most of the ingredients and just put everything together at the last minute. 

What to put in a burrito in a bowl?

There are so many ways to make easy burrito bowls, that you can eat different combinations every other time. But whatever your choice is, there are some must-have ingredients for every burrito in a bowl recipe:

Rice– the first choice is white rice, but you can also use brown rice or quinoa. A burrito bowl with cauliflower rice is also possible, if you want to cut carbs. 

Corn– Sweet frozen corn is better than a canned one, or if you have time you can cook fresh corn. 

Black beans– Black or red beans, but also refried beans. If you don’t have time to cook fresh beans, just use the canned ones but rinse them through water before using.  

A sauce or dressing– avocado sauce; simple olive oil dressing with garlic, chilli flakes, lime salad dressing; sour cream (optionally with chipotle or any similar sauce, garlic and lime); yoghurt sauce

Red pepper– Ok, maybe pepper is not a must-have ingredient for burrito in a bowl, but for me it is. The flavor of red pepper is simply necessary. 

Other optional ingredients for burrito in a bowl:

Tomato– You can mix tomatoes with some vinegar and olive oil, and stir in some cilantro in it.

Green salad– any type of green salad goes well for burrito in a bowl but for better taste put more sauce or dressing on it.

Cucumber– I like using cucumbers in a burrito in a bowl, it is fresh and it goes well with sour cream.

Green or yellow pepper– Burrito in a bowl should be colorful, so bring on all the peppers. 

Chicken– Burrito bowl with chicken is a classic, light and healthy lunch. Whether fried or baked chicken breast or thighs, you won’t make a mistake. I personally don’t like to put beans when I eat a burrito bowl with chicken, but that’s up to you. 

Ground beef– Another classic, ground beef. Again, you can omit beans and possibly cucumber, and add the tomatoes. 

Avocado– Use fresh avocado slices or make avocado sauce.

Cilantro– Fresh cilantro or cilantro lime rice instead of simply cooked rice.

Burrito in a bowl meal prep

Burrito bowls are a good choice if you need to make meals ahead of time. You can cook rice and corn, bake or fry chicken or beef, and chop all the veggies in advance. Depending on how much time you have during the week, you can do this meal prep in 2 ways:

1. Combine all cooked ingredients together. In a separate container keep fresh ingredients. Mix everything just before eating and add sour cream. 
2. Keep chopped, fresh veggies in a separate container. In a second container keep only meat and in the third container keep rice and corn. Put everything together in a bowl and add the sour cream.

Burrito in a bowl recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of sweet corn
• 6 cups of rice
• 4 cups of fried or baked chicken (or ground beef)
• one cucumber
• 1 big red pepper (or 2 small)
• 1 yellow pepper (or 2 small)
• 3 full tablespoons of sour cream

1. Cook sweet corn in boiling water for about 4 minutes. If you use fresh corn and not frozen or canned one, the cooking time may be longer. I always use frozen sweet corn.
2. When the corn is cooked, rinse it and put it away. You can use the same pot to cook rice. I use white rice, but burrito bowl will be nice with other types of rice too.
3. Prepare the chicken or beef any way you like. The quickest way is to grill chicken breast or to pan fry it. You can also use leftover chicken. When you roast whole chicken, there are usually some leftovers. 
4. Chop green and red bell peppers, even yellow ones if you like. Chop cucumber as well. 
5. Stir all ingredients in a bowl, put as much as you like of each ingredient. Don’t mix all ingredients in one bowl if you won’t eat everything at once. Put a scoop of sour cream on top. Voila! 

Burrito in a bowl calories

It is hard to say how many calories are there in a burrito bowl, because it all depends on the ingredients you choose. Everything counts: the choice of rice, whether meat is fried or grilled, how much beans and sweet corn you put, what sauce or dressing you add. Vegetables have the lowest number of calories, but if you fry pepper with chicken, it will have more. Also, fried rice has more calories than simply cooked white rice, but if you want to cut carbs you can make burrito bowl with cauliflower rice or quinoa. A spoon of sour cream is a better choice than a sauce with sour cream, chipotle sauce, lime and garlic. The more ingredients you add, the more calories.

This burrito in a bowl has a simple sauce, grilled chicken without oil, no beans and only fresh veggies. The cooking time is minimal because you don’t need to stir fry the veggies and to prepare the dressing. You can prepare most of the ingredients ahead of time and still have a healthy lunch or dinner on the go.