Healthy Chicken Burrito Bowl

Lunchtime hits and you’re starving. Sure, you could pop over to your favorite Mexican fast-food restaurant when you have a hankering for a chicken burrito bowl. Or you make your own in less time it takes you to get in the car, drive over, and drive back home.

By meal prepping some staple time-saving ingredients ahead of time, like pre-cooked brown rice and chicken, you can have a quick, healthy, and balanced lunch or dinner ready to go any night of the week.

This chicken burrito bowl recipe has a whopping 35 grams of protein per serving, thanks to the combination of brown rice, pinto beans, chicken, and Monterey jack cheese. That, thanks also to the 10 grams of fiber, makes this dish super filling in all the right ways, without weighing you down. And it’s excellent fuel to help you build muscle when you’re training hard!

It’s also packs in some veggies, like fresh tomato salsa, chopped romaine lettuce, and sliced avocado (which is technically a fruit, but we digress). And while you can use any salsa, we love topping our chicken burrito bowls with fresh, chunky salsa (look for the pico de gallo type rather than the saucier, jarred type).

While the ingredients in this bowl don’t veer far from the mainstream, fast-food versions, you get to control each and every addition to reduce any excess salt and oil used to season and cook the rice, chicken, and beans. Plus, when you make burrito bowls at home, you can load up on extra veggies and you may be less tempted to go overboard with the guac, queso, and sour cream. And if you’re looking for a healthier sour cream alternative fix, try plain Greek yogurt! It’ll add roughly eight calories and three grams of protein per tablespoon for the non-fat version.

Ready to get cookin’? Read on for our quick and healthy chicken burrito bowl recipe.

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Healthy Chicken Burrito Bowl

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword chicken burrito bowl

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 404 kcal

Ingredients

• 1⅓ cups cooked brown rice warm
• 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice fresh
• 8 cups romaine lettuce chopped
• 1⅓ cups canned pinto beans drained, rinsed, warm
• 12 oz. cooked chicken breast shredded, warm
• 2 cups tomato salsa fresh
• ¼ cup Monterey jack cheese shredded (1 oz.)
• ½ medium avocado sliced

Instructions

1. Combine rice, cilantro, and lime juice in a medium bowl; mix well.

2. Evenly divide lettuce between four medium serving bowls.

3. Top evenly with rice mixture, beans, chicken, salsa, cheese, and avocado; serve immediately.  

Recipe Notes

The Nutrition Facts box below provides estimated nutritional information for this recipe.

Nutrition Facts

Healthy Chicken Burrito Bowl

Amount Per Serving (1 bowl)

Calories 404 Calories from Fat 90

% Daily Value*

Fat 10g15%

Saturated Fat 3g19%

Cholesterol 80mg27%

Sodium 707mg31%

Carbohydrates 44g15%

Fiber 10g42%

Sugar 10g11%

Protein 35g70%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Openfit Blocks:

1½ Fruit & Vegetable
1 Protein
1 Fat
2 Other Carbohydrates

Photography by Anguel Dimov, AB Creative