Easy Chicken Burrito Bowl Recipe — Registered Dietitian Columbia SC - Rachael Hartley Nutrition (2024)

Is there anything better than a Chipotle bowl? It’s one of those staples for me when I’m feeling seriously hungry and don’t feel like cooking or on the road or in the airport and need something dependable. God bless Chipotle and their extra scoops of guac that being an adult, I now can afford.

This easy chicken burrito bowl recipe was inspired by Chipotle, and the best part is the guac is homemade so you can scoop on as much as you want for FREE!! Or at least for the price of an extra avocado. It’s so simple to make, and uses mostly freezer and pantry ingredients so you can whip it up whenever you like.

Chicken Burrito Bowl Recipe Freezer Ingredients

What I love about this chicken burrito bowl recipe is that it’s made with mostly ingredients you can keep in your freezer, so it’s easy to make any day of the week by just adding chicken and homemade guac. While this is delish with fresh summer corn that’s been grilled on the cob, frozen corn is just so much easier. It’s extra tasty if you can find frozen charred corn, which is sold at Trader Joe’s. I also use frozen peppers and onion, sauteed with olive oil. While I cooked my brown rice from the pantry, brown rice is also sold frozen and this would be the perfect recipe to use it in.

How to Make the Best Homemade Guacamole

Homemade guacamole is just so superior to store bought - but we’re talking guac here so store bought is good too and no shame if you end up swapping that to save time! My favorite recipe is really simple, with fresh, ripe avocado fork-mashed with diced red onion, cilantro, and lime juice, seasoned with salt. I also know there’s a contingent of people who like cumin in their guacamole, but I really like the fresh creaminess of the avocado brought out with herbs, citrus, and bits of crunchy onion.

The first key to the best homemade guacamole is using really ripe avocado. Make sure the “button” part of the stem is still in, which prevents it from browning. If it looks brown under the stem before cutting up the avocado, then the avocado inside will likely be browned too. Make sure your avocado feels firm, but with some give when you press down on it.

The other key to really good guacamole is keeping it a little chunky. There’s where mashing it with a fork comes in. Mash the avocado lightly first before stirring in the other ingredients.

I like my guac to have a hit of lime without being too citrus-y, so I usually start by adding juice of half a lime and tasting before adding more.

To store this homemade guacamole, keep cold in a plastic or glass container, and cover the top with a spritz more lime juice and plastic wrap to keep out air.

Chicken Burrito Bowl Recipe Adaptions

To make this easy chicken burrito bowl recipe even easier, make it with rotisserie chicken and store bought guacamole. My favorites are Wholly Guacamole and Hope Green Chile Guacamole. If you’re a Trader Joe’s shopper like me, I HATE their regular guac (the spicy one is pretty good!), and actually prefer their Reduced Guilt Chunky Guacamole with Greek Yogurt, but hate the name for obvious reasons.

Swap out the grilled chicken for any of your favorite Chipotle proteins. Try barbacoa, sofritas, carnitas, or grilled skirt steak. You could also use the same marinade with shrimp, but just quickly marinade so it doesn’t turn to ceviche. For a vegetarian/vegan recipe, use black beans, a crumbled veggie burger, or crispy baked tofu.

If you like this chicken burrito bowl recipe, follow my healthy chicken recipes Pinterest board for more inspiration.

This chicken burrito bowl recipe was originally posted May 2016. Recipe, images and text have been updated to give you the best possible content.

Serves 4

Ingredients

Chicken:

• 1 lb chicken breasts, cut into bite sized chunks

• Juice of 1 lime

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 teaspoon oregano

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Guacamole:

• 2 ripe avocados

• Juice of 1 lime

• 1 small minced garlic clove

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion

• 3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

• Salt, to taste

Burrito Bowl:

• 1 cup brown rice

• 2 scallions, chopped

• Olive oil

• 1 cup frozen corn

• 1 1-lb bag frozen peppers and onions

• Shredded sharp cheddar cheese, for serving

• Salsa verde, for serving

• Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together lime juice, olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper. Add chicken and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

2. When ready to cook, first prepare rice. Bring 2 cups water and rice to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to simmer, and cook 40-50 minutes until water is absorbed and rice is tender. Let sit, covered, for 5 minutes to finish steaming, then stir in chopped scallion and fluff with a fork.

3. Next prepare guacamole. Scoop flesh out of the avocado and into a bowl. Add lime juice and garlic and with the back of a fork, mash into a chunky puree. Stir in red onion and cilantro and season with salt to taste.

4. Set grill to medium high heat. Place chicken cubes on a skewer, and grill about 4 minutes per side until chicken is cooked through.

5. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add corn and cook until corn is lightly charred, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from skillet, wipe clean, and add a little more oil to the skillet. Add peppers and cook until tender and lightly charred, about 7-9 minutes. Remove from skillet.

6. Divide cooked rice between bowls. Top with chicken, corn, peppers, a healthy scoop of guacamole. Garnish with cheddar, cilantro and drizzle with salsa verde.