Chicken Burrito Bowls

These chicken burrito bowls are better than Chipotle! With perfectly spiced chicken breast, cilantro lime rice, veggies, beans and an aioli of your choice, this is the perfect healthy and gluten free meal prep recipe.

I am a burrito bowl fanatic. They’re one of my favorite recipes to make when I don’t know what to cook but need something flavorful, fresh, healthy and easy. This chicken burrito bowl recipe does have a few components, but it all comes together pretty quickly and doesn’t require any elaborate cooking methods.

The chicken is cooked until crispy (while still being juicy!) and is seasoned with a perfect blend of herbs, spices and a touch of brown sugar to help round out the flavors. If you love this recipe, try my salmon burrito bowl or ground beef taco bowls next!

Tips before we get started…

• Instead of pounding the chicken breasts, you want to slice them so you end up with two thinner breasts. You need one pound of chicken here- for me that was 2 very large breasts.
• You can just do them separately, but I like to combine the onion and tomato and drizzle with a touch of lime juice and sea salt before adding to the bowls.
• If you don’t like cilantro, just use regular white rice or my spanish rice instead!

How to make chicken burrito bowls

I used my air fryer to cook the chicken, if doing so, preheat to 380 degrees. If pan frying, get a large saute pan out.

Slice each chicken breast in half so you end up with 2 thinner pieces for each breast. In a small dish, mix together the salt, brown sugar and all herbs and spices.

Add the chicken to a shallow bowl and top with half of the seasoning, press into the breasts, then flip and repeat for the other half.

If air frying, add the breasts to the air fryer basket, then drizzle with the oil. Air fry for 14 minutes, flipping half way or until the internal temperatures reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. If cooking on the stove, heat the oil over medium heat and cook for 7-8 minutes, flipping halfway, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 Fahrenheit. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing or chopping.

Prep your bowls with a base of rice, lettuce, beans, then add on the corn, tomatoes, red onion, cooked chicken, avocado, cilantro and the crema. My cilantro lime crema is also delicious here if you don’t like chipotle! Try my chicken shawarma bowls or gluten free chicken enchiladas next!

Variations

I obviously love these bowls as written, but there’s so many ways to spruce things up or modify based on what you have on hand! Here’s a few other things you can add in or swap with a different ingredient:

• Saute a red or green bell peppers with a sliced red onion with a bit of oil until soft.
• Top with my cabbage slaw from my salmon tacos.
• Use homemade or store bought guac instead of avocado to add some creaminess.
• Swap the rice for cauliflower rice for a low carb version and to get in some more veggies. I also like to do half rice half cauliflower rice so you still get the texture of real rice but have some added veggies.
• Add a scoop of salsa or my homemade pico de gallo.
• I opted to keep these bowls dairy free, but they are also delicious topped with your favorite shredded Mexican cheese! A dollop of sour cream also adds some creaminess to the bowl.

How to store

Once prepared, these chicken burrito bowls will keep in the fridge for about 3-4 days. I like to store all ingredients separately, to keep them feeling fresh for longer. Just reheat the rice, beans and chicken in a skillet, then add your fresh ingredients like lettuce, avocado and cilantro on top.

I haven’t tried freezing the chicken, but I do think it would hold up ok! You’ll want to let it cool completely, then transfer to a freezer safe bag or container for up to 2 months. You can reheat right from frozen in the oven until warm through the center.

Is it spicy?

As written, these bowls aren’t super spicy, but it will depend on how much of the chipotle aioli you add on top because that is where the spice comes from! You can add more or less chipotles to the dressing depending on your preferences.

If you want a super spicy chicken burrito bowl, you can add some sliced or diced jalapeno on top, or a sprinkle of crushed red pepper. These bowls are very customizable!

More bowl recipes you’ll love!

• Greek Chicken Bowls
• Chicken Teriyaki Bowls
• Mongolian Beef Bowls

If you try this recipe, leave a comment below and let me know how it turns out! Be sure to follow me on instagram and subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes.