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Chicken Burrito Bowl

Wanna know the secret to sticking to your diet?

It’s quite simple: make sure that your diet includes foods that you love to eat.

When you don’t feel like you have to choke down boring diet foods, sticking to your nutrition plan becomes a whole lot easier. That’s why when I’m looking to add some variety to my diet, I start by thinking about what kinds of meals I would enjoy if I weren’t on a diet.

And that’s how this recipe came about.

I always love stopping by those fast-food-ish Mexican places like Chipotle or Qdoba and ordering a chicken burrito or burrito bowl with rice, beans, cheese, and guacamole.

For some reason I never thought to make my own burrito bowl at home for dinner…

But why not?

It’s naturally high in protein because the main ingredient is chicken, and it’s also packed with nutrients due to highly nutritious foods like brown rice, black beans, and avocado.

This recipe is essentially just a higher protein, more nutritious version of the burrito bowl you would get at Chipotle with the added benefit of sourcing all your own ingredients. I’m using chicken but you can make this recipe with any lean meat including steak and pork.

Also, if you’re on a cutting diet and want to make a lower calorie version of this dish, feel free to omit the cheese and/or the avocado to trim off some of the calories.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, thinly slicked into cutlets
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup black beans
  • 1 avocado
  • 2 cups salsa
  • 1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Instructions

Start by cooking the rice according to the instructions on the bag. The rice will likely take around 20-30 minutes to cook, which gives you time to prepare the rest of the meal.

Put a large skillet on medium heat with 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil. While the skillet is heating up, salt and pepper the chicken cutlets on both sides.

Once the skillet is hot enough, add the chicken cutlets to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes each side until they’re cooked through and browned on both sides.

Remove the cooked chicken cutlets and put them aside on a plate, add the remaining oil to the pan, and cook the rest of the chicken cutlets. When the second batch of chicken cutlets is cooked, put them aside with the original cutlets.

Check on the rice at this point – if it’s finished cooking take the rice off the heat.

Next, cut up the cooked chicken cutlets into small pieces (like you would get in a Chipotle bowl, but you don’t have to chop it up that small unless you want to). The easiest way to do this is to cut the chicken length-wise into half-inch strips, and then cut it again the other way.

While we’re in the mode of cutting things up, let’s take care of that avocado and cut it up into cubes. If you don’t know how to prep an avocado, don’t worry because it’s super easy – just follow the instructions in this video.

Now it’s time to put the bowl together!

First, split up the rice between 2 bowls. Then, imagine splitting up the bowl into 3 even compartments… fill up each of those compartments with half the cut up chicken, half the cut up avocado, and 1/4 cup of black beans.

Put a big hunk of salsa – 1 cup each – in the very center of the bowls, then top each with 1/4 cup of cheese. Finish it up with some hot sauce if you want to add some heat to the dish.

Nutrition Facts

Recipe yields 2 servings. Nutrition information is for 1 serving.

Calories: 800
Fat: 30g
Carbohydrates: 64g
Fiber: 14g
Protein: 72g

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