Chicken Burrito Bowls

We don’t eat much fast food these days, but when we do go out, hubby’s preferred place is Chipotle.  Yum right?  Also, a bit expensive.  Like most restaurant food, I love to try to make my own versions at home 🙂  So with some tweaking, I found a way to have a chicken burrito bowl that tastes very similar to Chipotle’s… plus there’s always leftovers 🙂

I have no earthly idea what recipe Chipotle uses, but this chicken marinade tastes amazing and is super easy to make!  The chicken marinates for about 6 hours or so, but you can grill or bake it ahead of time to make this chicken burrito bowl recipe come together really quickly.

Same thing with the rice… if you choose to, (and I highly recommend it) you can serve this chicken burrito bowl with a zesty CILANTRO LIME RICE, which can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.  Just microwave the rice before building your bowls, and you’ll cut down your cooking time tremendously!

That way, all you have to do before dinner is chop the ingredients you want in your burrito bowl.  In our house we usually choose black beans, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, salsa, tomatoes and a few scallions.  You can use any toppings you’d like 🙂  To make your bowl, simply fill the bottom of your bowl with rice, add chicken and black beans, then top with lettuce, sour cream, cheese, salsa, tomatoes and scallions.  These bowls are FILLING!!  You won’t need a side dish with this one… and you won’t need a snack before bed either 😉

Alternatively, you could forgo the bowl altogether, and make your own burrito.  Just place all ingredients in a large flour tortilla and fold 🙂

Here’s the breakdown for the process:

The magical marinade!

Place the bag on a plate in the refrigerator (just in case of a leak – then the leak is contained on the plate, not all over your refrigerator!), for about 6 hours or so.  Pull the chicken from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before you want to grill it (to allow it to warm up some, putting cold meat on a hot grill is a no-no).

Since it’s winter here, I opted to use my cast iron grill pan

Don’t worry if you don’t have a grill pan… a regular skillet will work, or you could also bake your chicken.  Cook your chicken around 5-6 minutes per side, then transfer to a plate to rest for 5 minutes or so.  This allows the juices to redistribute and when you slice your chicken, it will stay juicy 🙂

Bad lighting here – EEEEEK! But you can see those great, charred grill marks… love em!

Sliced, diced, and into an airtight container to be stored in the refrigerator until dinner time

Some of my toppings… I usually choose to let people build their own burrito bowls 🙂

Kind of looks like a jumbled mess… but once you combine those flavors… you won’t care what it looks like; you’ll just be amazed at how it tastes!

Chicken Burrito Bowls

Just like that classic burrito bowl from Chipotle restaurant!

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Prep Time: 6 hrs 5 mins

Cook Time: 12 mins

Total Time: 6 hrs 17 mins

Servings: 4 servings

Recipe Author The Chunky Chef

Ingredients

• 1 packet of Mojito Lime marinade
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp . water
• 1 Tbsp . lime juice
• 1/2 Tbsp . orange juice
• 1/2 Tbsp . apple cider or white vinegar
• Dash of ground coriander

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients in a large ziploc bag. Seal and shake vigorously to combine.
• Place chicken inside the ziploc bag with the marinade, place on a plate and refrigerate for several hours (I usually do around 6 hours or so)
• Allow chicken to come to room temp while you heat up your grill pan or outside grill. Grill over moderate heat for 5-6 minutes per side or until cooked through and nicely charred.
• Allow chicken to rest on a plate for 5 minutes to allow the juices to redistribute before slicing.

Notes

To make your bowl, simply add whatever toppings you prefer! I suggest the cilantro lime rice I linked to at the top of this post, black beans, romaine lettuce, shredded mexican blend or monterey jack cheese, sliced tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, and a few sliced green onions. I usually garnish with some cilantro leaves as well.

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