Fajita Chicken Burrito Bowl is packed with juicy golden chicken, cilantro lime rice, avocado and a delicious dressing! Perfect for Meal Prep!
Healthy, filling and a good-for-you Burrito Bowl comes together in minutes! Full of fresh ingredients and incredible flavour thanks to your favourite dressing, these burrito bowls are the perfect example of a healthy, hearty meal without sacrificing your taste buds.
WHAT GOES IN A BURRITO BOWL?
A good burrito bowl can really contain anything you like. Don’t let the long ingredients list daunt you! Just imagine all of the flavour in one bowl.
For this recipe, we used
- Cilantro lime rice — or cauliflower rice. You could also use quinoa, brown rice or minute rice.
- Black beans — substitute with red beans, chick peas, or refried beans
- Corn — fresh, canned or frozen
- Red onion — or green onion slices
- Red and yellow pepper (capsicum) strips
- Avocado slices
- Chicken
CHICKEN FAJITA FLAVOUR
Taking a note from the Best Chicken Fajitas, we used that recipe as a base to make these burrito bowls! The marinade is so incredible, you don’t need to marinate the chicken for long at all! 5 minutes or overnight, customise it to your specific needs, then sear or grill chicken until beautifully charred on the outer edges, while juicy and tender on the inside.
BURRITO BOWL MEAL PREP
Prefer to meal prep instead of serving your burrito bowl as a main meal? No problem!
- Have all of your fresh ingredients divided into 4-6 containers.
- Cook your chicken, peppers and rice — allow to cool and divide into containers.
- Prepare your dressing and pour into smaller salad dressing containers to avoid your burrito bowl going soggy.
- Save your avocado until ready to serve.
ARE BURRITO BOWLS HEALTHY?
Yes, they are! Well-balanced with protein, carbs and healthy fats. You can make them lower in carbs by swapping out the rice for Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice and leaving out the corn.
Looking for more? Try these!
Steak Fajitas
Grilled Chicken Fajita Salad
Pico De Gallo
Guacamole
Fajita Chicken Burrito Bowl
Ingredients
For The Chicken And Peppers:
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1/2-1 teaspoon ground chili, (adjust to your desired spice preference)
- 1 teaspoon each ground cumin and salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro, (optional)
- 4 large chicken thighs, skinless and boneless (1 pound or 500 grams)
- 2 large bell peppers (or capsicums), cut into strips (I use green, red and yellow)
For The Rice:
- 1/2 cup long grain white rice, (or Jasmine)
- 1 cup chicken stock (or broth)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1-2 tablespoons lime juice, (juice of 1 lime)
- 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro, (or parsley) -- adjust to your taste
For Burrito Bowl:
- 5 cups Romaine lettuce leaves (or Cos) washed and strained dry
- 7 ounces (200 g) can black beans, washed and drained
- 7 ounces (200 g) corn
- 1/2 a red onion, chopped
- 1 avocado peeled, seeded and sliced
Dressing:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro, (or parsley) -- adjust to your taste
- 1 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground Cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2-1 teaspoon red chili flakes (optional)
Instructions
For Chicken:
- In a large shallow bowl, combine lime juice, oil, garlic, cumin, salt, chili and cilantro; mix together. Add the chicken thighs and If time allows, let marinate for 30 minutes.
- Heat a large skillet or pan (12-inch | 30cm) on medium-high heat until smoking. Add a drizzle of olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Sear the chicken on both sides until golden, charred and cooked right through (about 8 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of your fillets). Flip them a couple of times while cooking so they get a nice even char.Transfer chicken to a warm plate, loosely tent with foil and let rest.
- Add the peppers to the skillet (drizzle with a little extra oil only if needed), and cook until soft and slightly charred. Season with salt and pepper.
For Rice:
- While the chicken is marinading or cooking, cook rice: Combine together the rice, chicken stock (or broth), and garlic in a pot over high heat. Mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover with a lid until the rice is cooked through.
- Fluff up rice with a fork and mix through lime juice and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if needed.
Dressing:
- Whisk dressing ingredients together to combine.
Assembly:
- Combine lettuce, beans, corn, onion and peppers into 4 bowls. Slice chicken into strips and arrange into bowls. Top each with avocado slices and drizzle with dressing.
Nutrition
Alison Jones says
This is the most delicious recipe! We loved every mouthful. I stuck to the recipe apart from adding some diced Tomatoes that needed using up, and substituted Soya Beans for my husband and daughter as they don’t eat Avocado (which meant more Avocado for me!). Scrumptious, can’t wait to make it again!!
Karina says
Hi Alison, I’m so glad to hear you loved the recipe! Your additions of diced tomatoes and substitution with soya beans sound like delightful personal touches. I’m also all for more avocado! Can’t wait for you to make it again too! If you ever try more twists or have questions, feel free to share. Happy cooking!
Madondo says
Amazing!! I regularly make this bowl, and it never disappoints!!
Kelly says
Made this tonight. The flavors were outstanding! I substituted brown rice. I also made a Pico de Gallo to go with it. Will definitely make this again.
Mandy says
The BEST recipe for “burrito bowls” including the cilantro rice! I do marínate my peppers with the chicken. I sauté them up with some purple onion after the chicken has been cooked and set aside. Everything is so flavorful and healthy. My kids love it too! I always make double the rice for leftovers, and double the dressing.
Jen says
So tasty ! Will make again for sure
Jane says
So yummy! My husband and I both loved it. The only thing I would change would be to have more dressing. Will definitely make it again.
Amaya says
This is not your average burrito bowl. It’s on another level!!!! All of the flavors together meshed so well, I was gushing the entire meal. This meal is so amazing and I will be making it over and over again.
I only marinated for 10 minutes before cooking, and I used cubed chicken breast cooking in batches and then storing the cooked chicken in the oven at 170 F to keep warm.
I used “seasoned” black beans, canned, and cooked them on the stove with a little bit of diced garlic and a lot of garlic powder.
I also used fresh corn on the cob, sliced it off the cob, and then pan roasted it!
I topped everything off with a bunch of shredded smoked gouda cheese. OMG!!! So good!!!!!!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I will be making again!!!
Carolyn says
The chicken was absolutely amazing. I am very grateful for your recipe. This really made my day!
Taly says
I make this recipe semi-regularly because it’s so delicious! I love that if you don’t have something on hand, like chicken, you can leave it out and it’s still amazing! It’s the dressing that does it for me. Super flavourful!
Candice says
This was really good! A flavour explosion in my mouth as I ate it. I was skeptical if I’d ever make it again because I was not very organized so it took awhile to prepare it, but now I am determined to make next time easier and to master this recipe. Definitely recommend to anyone! I made one dish with chicken and one with just the beans so it was vegetarian and both were delicious.
Court says
This is a gem of a recipe. It’s a bit of work but I ate about two servings singlehandedly
Shawn says
This was a truly AMAZING recipe. The blend of salty, sour, sweet and savoury were a party in my mouth. The only modifications I made were splitting the chili powder between Ancho and regular chili powder at a ratio of 1 part ancho to 2 parts regular. I added about 1/8th teaspoon to the broth that the rice was cooked in. I substituted honey for the brown sugar in the dresssing.
Parul says
This is so delicious and healthy! I’ve prepared it twice now and is definitely a keeper for us. Thank you for sharing xx
Noella says
Do you marinate the peppers in with the chicken?
Meg says
No. In the instructions you marinate the chicken, cook the chicken and then in step 3 you cook the peppers.
Jane Saunders says
I made these over Christmas and we all loved them so much that my teenage daughter has since made them for a friend. Top marks.
Cami says
This was really tasty and simple to prepare. I chose to use the cauliflower rice and it was fantastic! This kind of meal leaves you feeling very satisfied.
Shannon says
I love this recipe – I have made it several times and it has always turned out great. The chicken recipe would be great for tacos or wraps too. I make it in a large bowl and put it in the fridge and we just help ourselves to it – it usually only lasts a day or two. It has kept well in the fridge with the dressing straight on top for 2 days. I put lettuce on the bottom and it surprisingly it has never gone soggy and the chicken is just as good. Thanks for the recipe!
Liz Kolbinson says
This. Was. Amazing. My family of 4 loved it. I modified it for my 10 year old (left out onions and black beans for her) but my picky 13 year old said “this is happiness in my mouth”. Amazing. My only “but” is that anyone who can prep this in 15 min… I bow to you. Took longer to cook and even longer to prep (admit to not being so quick with cilantro) but seriously, worth the extra time. And I made extra so lunch tomorrow is done and delicious! SO GOOD! Try it!
Sandra says
Excellent dish!
Sandra says
I’ve been making this dish second day in a road. Everyone loved it.
Diana says
This was amazing! I made the cauliflower rice to go with it as well as using 1 scant teaspoon of real maple syrup -instead of the brown sugar- in the dressing. They were both superb (and I don’t even like cauliflower)! Thank you for the great flavors!
Pebbles says
Made this last night (with roasted chicken I made the night before) and it was a major hit! My husband had to ask if I had secretly picked up Chipotle for dinner lol will definitely be making again!!!
Lauren Cunningham says
This is the best meal I can remember having for a LONG time. The flavours are out of this world! Thank you for sharing.
Gena says
You show rice but don’t add it during assembly. Does it go in before the chicken?
Karina says
The rice is cooked while the chicken is being cooked separately. Hope that helps! Enjoy! XO
Susan Williams says
I made this for dinner last night and it was a great success! It’s very flavorful and I like the fact that you can adjust the heat according to your taste. The only change I made was deleting the lettuce, only because I was out of lettuce. Will definitely be making this again and again!
Michelle. says
made this tonight and will definitely make it again! i changed a couple little things… i fried the onions with the peppers and added some honey and sour cream to the dressing to cut the acid a bit and to make it creamy. so happy to have come across your site a while ago…have made a few recipes already and they are always outstanding! beautiful food photography too 🙂
Kathy says
I made this tonight. It was absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing.
Ivory says
Yum, yum, this dish looks amazing.
Karina says
Thanks! I hope you can make it soon!! So good!
Anne Webb says
What a delicious plate of food l must do this ,soon!!!!
Lori says
Would love to try this recipe. It looks so good. Is there anything that can be used to replace the brown sugar that is in the dressing? Although I love sugar it doesn’t love me.
Karina says
HMM! You can do sugar and molasses. I am not sure if that helps with the intake though.
Jen says
Just delicious! If you’re looking for a burrito bowl recipe, you should choose this one!