Forget the fancy taco shop and it’s high priced burrito bowls. You can make your own — better and for less! Pack these Chicken Burrito Bowls with Chipotle Crema for lunch this week.
For years a fancy pants taco shop has been my go-to for Sunday lunch. I can order online and pick up a variety of burritos, bowls, and quesadillas to bring home to my family. For a price. A pretty hefty price.
And while I can easily justify it that it’s Sunday, my day of rest, etc., etc., I can also just as easily make aforementioned burritos, bowls, and quesadillas at home. For less. Instead of paying close to $60 to feed our family of 8, I can spend $10 or $15 and have leftovers!
But, you say, I want a burrito bowl and my husband wants a burrito! And although a burrito really isn’t that hard to make, I don’t want to make two meals. The beauty is, you’re not! When you stop to think about it, you’ll realize that burrito bowls, burritos, quesadillas, and tacos all share the same ingredients. Once you get that bar of ingredients ready, everyone can have exactly what he or she wants! If you batch cook and freeze your proteins, you can all have a different meat, too. This is just one way that your freezer can be your BFF.
For the sake of this post, however, let’s say that everyone wants chicken. Because I said so. 😉
Is A Burrito Bowl Healthy?
It definitely can be! This recipe for each bowl is about 530 calories with the crema. You could definitely lighten it up a bit by using low-fat sour cream and cheese.
Or skip the cheese and crema all together to really lighten it up!
What Can You Put In A Burrito Bowl?
These Chicken Burrito Bowls are super delicious. You can choose
- white or brown rice
- add cooked chicken
- black beans, corn
- tomatoes
- cilantro
- scallions.
Stir up a sour cream sauce spiced up with chipotle pepper and lime juice and you’ve got a super tasty supper!
–> Pro tip: Assemble a few extra bowls, minus the crema for easy, economical lunches the rest of the week.
How Long Do Burrito Bowls Last In The Fridge?
When it comes to leftovers, you might want to remember the 2:4 rule from The Kitchn.
Leftovers should be stored within 2 hours and then consumed within 4 days.
How to make this good and cheap:
Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. Chicken is your big ticket items here. Stock up when you see a good sale.
- Shop at Costco. When I did my big grocery store showdown, I learned that Costco has the best price for a lot of the things I buy, plus they sell all the ingredients needed for this recipe. Yes, shopping at Costco really can save you money. I love their rotisserie chickens and buy my rice in bulk from them.
- Cook your own beans. It’s super cheap to cook beans at home.
- Shop at ALDI. When I’m not of the mind to cook my own beans, I buy our canned beans by the case at ALDI. They are the cheapest deal in town and I love the convenience of opening a can.
How I make this recipe easy:
This recipe really couldn’t be easier than it is, but having the right kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs.
Here are the tools that I use for this recipe:
- plastic cutting boards – I have blue boards for veggies and white boards for meat.
- Ergo Chef chef’s knife – I’ve had my set for several years and they work well.
- Instant pot – I love cooking rice in this thing!
Forget the fancy taco shop and it's high priced burrito bowls. You can make your own -- better and for less! Pack these Chicken Burrito Bowls with Chipotle Crema for lunch this week.
- 4 cup rice (cooked) for serving
- 2 cup chicken (cooked and cubed)
- 2 15-ounce cans black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels thawed
- 2 tomato diced
- 4 oz pepper jack cheese (shredded) (1 cup)
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
- 3 green onion chopped
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce from a can
- Juice of 1 lime
- salt
- black pepper
- 1 jalapeno thinly sliced
Divide the rice among four dinner plates or, if packing for take-away, dishes with lids. Divide the chicken, beans, corn, tomatoes, cheese, cilantro, and green onions among the four dishes.
- In a small blender or food processor, combine the sour cream and chipotle pepper. Blend until smooth. Add the lime juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Divide the chipotle crema among the four dishes and serve the bowls with the dressing on the side. Top with sliced jalapeno.
- If packing for take-away, cover and refrigerate the bowls and sauces until ready to serve.
Leftovers should be stored within 2 hours and then consumed within 4 days.
Laurie Gaither says
I think this is our dinner tonight. We have everything except cilantro on hand.
Jessica Fisher says
Let me know what you think!