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This chipotle chicken burrito bowl packs in the flavor with minimal work, thanks to a great marinade, for an easy meal you can customize with your favorite toppings.
Copycat Chipotle Burrito Bowls
Whenever I make these copycat Chipotle chicken burrito bowls, I know I’m in for a major win at my house. My teens are obsessed with it, and I love that I can make enough to feed the entire family for the price of one restaurant meal. Bonus: the guac is not extra. When I don’t feel like cooking, I use a rotisserie chicken. They’re not as authentic, but no one complains.
Ingredients
You’ve got the chipotle marinade made with chipotle peppers, garlic, salt, and lime juice. You can use chicken breasts or thighs. For the bowls, you’ll need rice (plain or cilantro lime) and black beans (or pinto). Then you’ll customize them with shredded lettuce, corn, pico de gallo, shredded cheese, guacamole, and sour cream. Everything Chipotle offers, at home.
Homemade Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls
The recipe card breaks it down for you in detail, but essentially, if you want to make chipotle bowls at home, you’ll:
- Marinate the chicken
This is pretty straightforward. Let it marinate overnight (or all day), for at least 1 to 2 hours. You want the chicken to absorb the chipotle flavors. - Cook
Cook plain white rice or follow the recipe to make an easy cilantro lime rice. Meanwhile, cook the chicken in a pan. In the summer, you can grill it. - Assemble the bowls
Once everything is ready, build your bowls by layering the ingredients. Pretend you’re going down the line at the restaurant, you pick and choose what you want!
Chipotle Chicken Bowls
Watch how it’s made:
Ingredients
For the chicken & marinade:
- ½ can, 7-ounce can Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, about 3 peppers
- 2 cloves of garlic, or 1 teaspoon powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 ½ lbs chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
For the bowls:
- 1 cup long-grain rice
- 1 lime, zested & juiced
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped into shreds
- 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed & drained
- 15 ounce can of corn, rinsed and drained
- Pico de Gallo, or salsa, guacamole and sour cream, for topping
Instructions
Marinate the chicken:
- Place half of the chipotle peppers and some of the juices from the can, garlic, salt, and lime juice in a blender. Blend until smooth. Place the chicken pieces in a bowl, pour the marinade over the chicken, and toss to coat. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
Cook:
- Cook the rice according to the package directions, usually 1 cup rice + 2 cups water, removing 2 tablespoons of the water and adding the juice from 1 lime and the zest. You remove a little water to account for the added lime juice, so your rice doesn’t turn out soggy. When the rice is done, remove the lid, fluff it to let the steam evaporate, add the chopped cilantro to the pot, and toss to mix it into the rice.
- Meanwhile, cook the chicken and discard the marinade. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat, then grease it with a little oil and cook the chicken pieces for about 7 minutes, flipping them to sear all sides. I usually do this in two batches, so the chicken sears instead of steaming, which happens when you overcrowd the pan (cook too much at once). When the first batch is done, I remove the cooked chicken onto a plate or bowl and cover it to keep it warm for the next batch.
Assemble:
- Chop all the toppings and have them ready, assembly line style, for when the chicken and rice are done cooking. Warm up the corn and black beans, and set them aside.
- Build a bowl with a base of cilantro lime rice, topped with cooked chipotle chicken, lettuce, black beans, corn, Pico de Gallo, guacamole, and sour cream.
Erica says
Burrito bowls are my favorite and this Chipotle Chicken did not disappoint. Can’t wait to make them again.
Carla says
Yummy!