Chicken Burrito Bowl
Updated Dec 12, 2025
Chipotle-inspired, this Chicken Burrito Bowl served over Cilantro Lime Rice, has 52g of protein and all the flavor! It's great for meal prep!
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Better than Chipotle!
This chicken burrito bowl recipe is one of my favorite meals when I’m craving a burrito but want something a little lighter. Inspired by the popular Chipotle chicken burrito bowl, I’ve packed my bowl with protein from black beans and chicken, and fiber from corn and avocado.
It’s also loaded with flavor from the chipotle pepper and adobo sauce and it’s so easy to customize based on whatever leftovers you have in your fridge or toppings you want to add! I also love prepping the parts and enjoying it throughout the week for lunches!
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Chicken Burrito Bowl Ingredients
- Chicken: I like chicken breast for ease, but you could use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, too. Cut them into cubes or strips so it’s easy to eat.
- Chipotle peppers in adobo: This add so much flavor, but leave it out if you don’t want the spice factor.
- Seasoning: I use garlic powder and salt to season the chicken, but you can also use my taco seasoning.
- Oil: For cooking the chicken, you can use olive oil or avocado oil.
- White rice: I like long-grain white rice, but you could use brown rice, too. Whatever you use, make sue it’s rinsed well before cooking. If you use brown rice, it will take longer to cook. Go by what is on the package.
- Cilantro: If you are not a fan of cilantro, use parsley instead, or leave it out.
- Lime juice & Zest: You’ll use this for the cilantrol lime rice but also for flavoring the chicken breast.
- Toppings: You can really have fun with the toppings. I like to use romaine lettuce, chopped tomatoes, avocado or guacamole, black beans, corn, raw red onions or pickled red onions in this bowl.
How to Make Chicken Burrito Bowls
Chicken Burrito Protein Bowl
Chipotle-inspired, this Chicken Burrito Bowl served over Cilantro Lime Rice, has 52g of protein and all the flavor! It's great for meal prep!
Video
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 3 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce finely chopped, plus 1 ½ tablespoon adobo sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breast cut into strips
For the cilantro lime rice
- 1 cup long-grain white rice rinsed
- 1 ½ cups water
- ¼ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1 lime zested plus 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
To assemble
- 1 head romaine lettuce chopped
- 1 cup tomatoes diced
- 1 avocado chopped
- 1 cup frozen corn thawed
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans rinsed and drained
- ½ small red onion chopped
Instructions
- To make the chicken, stir together oil, lime juice, chopped chilies, adobo sauce, garlic powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
- Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from marinade, and add to pan. Cook, stirring, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
- To make the rice, add salt and rice to a pot of boiling water. Return to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer until water is absorbed and rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork, then toss in lime zest, lime juice, cilantro, and additional salt to taste.
- To assemble, arrange rice and lettuce in the bottom of a serving bowl and top with the chicken, diced tomatoes, diced avocados, corn, black beans and red onions.
Notes
Storage: Cooked rice and cooked chicken will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. To freeze the rice or chicken for longer storage, cool it, then portion it into 1 to 2 cup portions in freezer-safe bags. Flatten bags, then freeze. Will keep for up to one month in the freezer.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bowl, Calories: 597kcal, Carbohydrates: 63g, Protein: 45g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 12g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 109mg, Sodium: 809mg, Potassium: 1592mg, Fiber: 10g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 14149IU, Vitamin C: 31mg, Calcium: 100mg, Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Recipe Variations
- Use a different protein. Grilled shrimp or ground beef taco meat work great too. Make them meat-free by using my tofu taco recipe.
- Make it a salad. If you are not in the mood for rice, you can quickly turn this into a salad by leaving out the rice and increasing the amount of lettuce.
Recipe Tips
- Marinate the chicken for up to 24 hours. If you have the time, marinating the chicken for a longer period of time will result in more flavorful meat.
- Make it for meal prep.I recommend storing the components of the dish separately. This will help to keep everything fresh. Keep toppings off until right before serving. To reheat these bowls, simply microwave them until they are warm throughout. You can also reheat them in a skillet over medium heat if you prefer.
Serving Ideas
- Serve with a different rice base: Basmati Rice or Brown Rice or try these low carb “rice” options: Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice or Broccoli Rice if you are looking to cut back on carbs.
- With chips: Pita Chips, Sweet Potato Chips or Oven Baked Potato Chips
- With salsa: Tomato Salsa, Corn Salsa, Black Bean Salsa, Peach Salsa
Comments
my boyfriend just recently went on a diet and needs to up his protein intake, but I struggled with where to start with that. This was the first recipe that popped up when I searched for protein bowl recipes, and this will be added to my recipe book! The food was absolutely phenomenal and we will be making this again. I highly recommend using the bag of fire-roasted corn from Birds Eye! 12,000 out of 10 would recommend!!
This is so sweet, thank you so much for sharing this!! I love that this was the first protein bowl you tried and that it’s going in your recipe book. When you’re trying to increase protein, it can feel overwhelming at first, so I’m so glad this gave you an easy place to start. 12,000/10 is the best rating ever!
Hello! Can this chicken be made in a crock pot? I am making for a large crowd and it would make it much easier!
I haven’t tried that myself but I think it would work fine! You may want to add some liquid (water or chicken broth) to make it more tender.
Hi, how many grams of protein are in each serving?
Hi there! Each bowl has 52 grams of protein.
Can you serve cool?
Yes, definitely!
Was looking for a Burrito Bowl recipe and saw this one. It is absolutely delicious!! I love everything about this recipe. Followed the instructions except, I don’t eat corn, so I omitted it. It is one of the best recipes! Thank you so much for this deliciousness.
Aww, so glad you love it! Thank you so much!!
This recipe is delicious! I absolutely love the marinade. We grill the chicken and use tenderloins. I also make a homemade tomatillo ranch to pair with this and it’s been my go to meal prep recipe for 3 weeks straight. I also just use canned corn because that’s what we buy.
Aww, love that!! Your homemade tomatillo ranch sounds so good! Glad you like the recipe, Kayla. Thank you!
The adobo chilis provide a subtle smoky heat, and the cilantro rice is amazing. I decreased the amount of oil in the marinade to 1/8 cup (personal preference) and grilled the thawed corn. This was an easy, no-fuss recipe that is easily adaptable and very flavorful.
Aww, so glad you loved it!! Thanks so much Melissa!
How many servings is this for? I don’t see that information unless im overlooking it.
The recipe makes 4 servings! You can find that information in the recipe card at the bottom of the page. Hope that helps!
It was sooo yummmm. And fresh. My whole fam likes it. Definitely will do again 🙂
Yay, I’m so happy your entire family liked it! Thank you!!
My family loves this recipe. Thank you! Its been a busy week and wondering if you can freeze the marinated chicken?
Hi there! I haven’t tried it myself but I think it would freeze well.
OMGGGGG ITS SO GOOD. I started eating healthy and took up meal prep during the weekend. And the recipe was simple, but so very good. THANK YOU for this
You’re so welcome, Destiny! So happy you loved it!!
I LOVE this recipe!! Tons of flavor, packed with protein and easy to make!
Yay!! So glad you love it!
Is this 761 calories per serving???
Yes, it is 761 calories per bowl. The recipe makes 4 bowls.
Kera, I omit the avocado oil and avocado, it reduces the recipe by 750 calories or 188 calories per bowl.
My husband and I loved this dish. Super delicious!!
Aww, so glad you both like it!! Thank you!
Amazing!! It was a huge hit! I made it exactly as written and the kids are already looking forward to having this in our rotation! Thanks for sharing a tasty recipe!
Aww, yay!! So happy you and your kids love it! Thanks, Melissa!!
Hi, do I have to use avocado oil? Or can I use olive oil?
You can use olive oil instead, if you prefer!
Am I understanding correctly that this is for one portion once? For example, 1.5 pounds of chicken alone for one person once?
Hi Dave, this recipe makes 4 burrito bowls!
Great but only used 1/3 of the peppers and sauce since I tried it from the can and it was way spicy. I also used Cilantro Lime dressing
Good idea checking the spiciness of the peppers first for your taste preferences! Thanks, Denise!
Haven’t eaten yet but it’s super annoying that there’s no printable version of this recipe.
Hi! There is a way to print the recipe. Scroll down to the bottom of the post or click the ‘jump to recipe’ button to see the recipe card. There, you’ll find a printer icon above the photo of the burrito bowl. Click on it for the printable version of the recipe. Hope that helps!
easy & delishhhh
Thank you, Jodi! Glad you liked it!
Very nice recipe
Thanks, Manoj!
This recipe is outstanding! I do the chicken on the grill and it is so delicious!
Yum, that sounds so good! Glad you like the recipe, Jeannie!
When it says 3 chipotle chilis is that 3 cans or just 3 chilis??
Hi Ashton, just 3 chilis!
Thanks. That was my question too thanks Yumna 😘
Hello, My family and I adore this recipe, it is so unbelievably tasty!
Can you please tell me, the macronutrient breakdown below the recipe states –
Calories: 7681kcal, Carbohydrates: 82g, Protein: 52g, Fat: 27g
Is this for one serving or for 4 servings?
Many thanks.
Hi Trine, I’m so happy you and your family love these bowls! The nutrition information is for 1 serving.
My family loved these, including my five-year-old with special compliments for the chicken. My kiddo requested extra avocado, and. Enjoyed dipping her chicken in sour cream.. The cilantro rice was also a big hit. we used organic sprouted brown rice. Washing rinsing and chopping. Everything up took a while, but isn’t that always the way with fresh produce.
This recipe was AMAZING. I skipped out on the tomatoes and the chiles cause I don’t like tomatoes and I literally cannot handle spice! I also like sauce so I used the avocado lime ranch (chick-fil-a) and it was awesome!
So happy you enjoyed it!
The recipe was pretty good. Five mins at medium was too long for the strips – they were quite overdone. I enjoyed the flavor, but my partner didn’t like how “tangy” it was. I added extra garlic powder and cilantro. We thought it needed more spice, so we added some hot sauce as well. All in all, it was good.
Thanks for the feedback!
This recipe was great! We are following along with the weekly meal plan and thought this was wonderful!
Yay! So happy to hear this
This looks great – all the comments are positive. Could you share the marinade that you used for the chicken?
Hi there! Thank you! The chicken marinade is listed within the recipe. If you click “jump to recipe” it will take you to the full recipe.
This recipe is so delicious!
I topped it with a homemade zesty avocado cilantro dressing !!
Yum!
I see the nutrition facts under the 1x recipe. Is that 1 serving or does the 1x make multiple bowls?
The recipe at 1X makes 4 servings. BUT the nutrition label is for 1 single serving as the ingredients get divided by 4.
Made this for dinner and it was delicious!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Is the rice and chicken served hot or cold?
You can eat it hot or cold, whichever way you prefer. Hope you enjoy!
Power bowls are the best!!
So glad you liked it, Jacqueline!
Prepare el chicken bowl, delicioso lo seguiré preparando es una delicia 😋
I’m making this for a baby shower and cooking 15 lbs of chicken on the Traeger. What is the best way to reheat both the chicken and the rice without drying out?
Thanks!
Hi Lori, I would probably make the rice the day of to avoid drying it out. The chicken you can reheat in the oven on a low temp, around 300 until warmed through and it should not dry out. That being said there is always a risk of chicken drying out in general when reheated depending on how long it’s cooked on the grill. Hope you and your guests enjoy!
Oh my goodness!
I made this tonight for my boyfriend and I. Absolutely a hit!
Thank you. Will definitely be making this again and again.
Yay! So glad you both enjoyed it!
I like the idea of everything in this recipe…except the cilantro. Is there something you would suggest instead? Or, is, as you say, the component that pulls the recipe together and should not be substituted? Thanks!
Hi Jan, you can skip the cilantro completely or you can use parsley in it’s place. You’ll have to let me know what you think of it when you make it.
Can there please be a listing of how much tomatoes, corn, lettuce , avocado, black beans, and red onion? (In cups) I’m lost looking at this part. It’s not in the list or instructions on mobile…I was standing in the grocery confused and now I’m standing in my kitchen, still confused.
I apologize for the delay in response!! That is such a great point! I updated the recipe card to reflect what I usually do. You can really use as much or as little of each as you’d like, but having the measurements is helpful, I agree!
Hi sunshine!! I’ve been following your page for a while now.. I’m so happy to find you have an actual site for your recipes!! If you had a book I’d buy that as well!!
Today I made the chipotle inspired dish and let me tell you, it was a hit!!! My family loved it!! You have no idea how hard it is to get my kids to eat healthy, they even asked for seconds!! Thank you so much for sharing your dishes!! Definitely “good food”! Can’t wait to try more dishes. Much love❤️
Thank you so much, Jasmine! Happy to have you here! My cookbook will be out next spring!
Each component of this bowl is perfect for making ahead and having in bowls all week. I subbed tofu for the chicken and grilled it on a panini press.
Yum! Love that idea!
Would a tortilla work on this recipe?
Hi August, great question. You can absolutely use a tortilla to make it an actual burrito! Enjoy!
This recipe is absolutely delicious! It’s a keeper.
Thank you so much, Mary!
Instead of the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce could you use something like a serrano pepper?
Sure! Though I do like the added bit of smokiness from the adobo sauce itself, but a serrano pepper will work if that’s what you have on hand.
Another favorite added to the weekly spread! Everyone loved this and way better than eating out.
Awesome! So glad you liked it, and flatter to be added to your rotation!
The chicken marinade was delicious! I doubled the recipe and was worried that almost a whole can of chipotles would be too spicy but it was perfectly seasoned and full of flavor. It was very easy and a great meal prep dish. Thank you!!!
So glad you liked it, Kathy! It does make a great meal prep meal!
Can’t wait to use at our next family get together. 😊
Hope everyone enjoys!
Looks delicious! Can’t wait to try this protein bowl recipe.
Thank you! Hope you’re satisfied!
Could you use ground chicken?
That should work fine!
My family loved this dish!
That makes me so happy to hear! Yay!!
Any dressing ideas that would go well?
I don’t think it needs a dressing, but maybe my Cilantro Yogurt Sauce or Cucumber Yogurt Sauce?
Is so delicious I love chipotle peppers I use it on shrimp and I really loved this recipe
Thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear that!
This is a delicious idea for a meal – thanks for sharing. Just personal preference, I didn’t use corn but did include all of the other ingredients. Also made an avocado crema to include as an topping.
Happy to have shared! This recipe is super customizable, so I’m glad you were able to adjust it to your preferences!
Need this recipe
Hope you enjoy!
Curious as to how much of the tomato, corn, beans, avocado, lettuce you put in each bowl?
I divided the recipe and components of the bowl by four for each portion!
I made this for dinner this evening. My two adult sons and I really enjoyed it, they went back for seconds. I usually fix my 87 year old mother a dinner plate 4 to 5 days a week. She lives next door, my son took her a plate. When I go over there later tonight I’ll ask her if she liked it. My husband ate it but he refused to add the lettuce and the black beans. He didn’t care for the rice, he wasn’t fond of the lime or the cilantro. I will make this again because three of us thought it was great. The husband can eat cold cereal next time!
That is amazing to hear! This recipe is super customizable, so each person can personalize it to their liking. Hope you mother enjoys this meal too.
One word: AH-MAZING! Made these last night for my family and I sooo wish I would’ve doubled the recipe because it is so delicious!! Your recipe puts Chipotle to shame. All 3 of my kids are picky eaters and they all had 2 servings and scarfed down the leftovers for lunch today. We used tortillas and made Chipotle burritos with the ingredients & topped it with a creamy chipotle sauce I made with the leftover Adobo peppers. This is going on our weekly meal rotation!
Thank you! That is incredible! I’m so glad to hear the kids enjoyed it too. Hope you all continue to love it!
So delicious and a total Chipotle dupe!
Glad you enjoyed!
Easy, healthy, and filling without feeling bloated 😃
I used chilli flakes to marinade the chicken and added honey after cooking
Thank you so much! Yum!!
This was so yummy! The chicken turned out delicious and was a hit with fam!
I ended up making a simple sauce to add with plain greek yogurt, lime juice, chilli powder, and a bit of taco seasoning and it was a perfect addition! I do think that the bowl is flavourful enough on its own but the sauce was a nice touch. I’ll be using this as one of my meal prep ideas from now o for sure. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear it. The sauce can really make a difference!
Would you suggest a sauce to drizzle on it? Or is it fine without?
I think it is fine without because it’s loaded with flavor from the chipotle pepper and adobo sauce.
Awesome! Will be trying it out tonight 🙂 thanks!
Yay! Can’t wait to hear what you think!
This was so good and so easy to make. I used quinoa instead of the rice. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much! I love that!
This looks so good because i love chapotle so i will love it
Thank you! Hope you do!
I am going to try this it looks so good!!!
Can’t wait to hear what you think! Thank you!
I just wanted to reach out and say thank you your recipes are awesome please keep up the good work you’re awesome
Aww, that is so kind of you! Thank you so much. It means a lot!
Very good but it was a little dry so next time I think I will add some guacamole
That’s a great idea! I love adding guac to mine too!
Just tried your chicken burrito bowl for dinner. It’s amazing! Cant recommend it enough!!!
I couldn’t be any happier to hear that! Thank you!!
Wow your recipe is amazing. We had this tonight for dinner. Instead of burrito bowl, we had tortilla bowl with all the ingredients you listed. My dad who doesn’t have an adventurous palette absolutely loved it. I enjoy spicy food so I added some seasoning mix to the fried rice. Turned out beautiful. Thank You!
Yay, so glad to hear it! Thank you so much for the awesome feedback!
This looks so delicious and I’m super excited to try this! Do you cook the black beans and thawed corn?
Yay, I hope you try it! There’s no need to cook the beans and corn, but you can heat them up.
Ihre Rezepte sind wunderbar. Dieses hier ist auch super und hat sehr gut geschmeckt. Liebe Grüße Selma
How long do you marinate the chicken
At least 20 minutes, but you can marinade it overnight too if you’d like!
How exactly do you prepare the chicken??? You show all prep for everything else except chicken.
Good point. The chicken preparation was mentioned very briefly, but I just elaborated on it to make the instructions more clear. Hope that helps!
Feel like I’m in Mexico ????
love this recipe
easy dilicious recipe, my husband loves it. I’ll be making it more often.
Awesome! Thank you so much! 🙂
Hi Yumna,
What do you use to marinate the chicken? I want to try to make this today.
Sorry for the delay! For the chicken, I used a type of taco seasoning that I have from Spice Cave. You can use any taco seasoning of choice or keep it simple with salt, pepper, olive oil, cumin and paprika.
Thank you! 🙂