If you've been a big fan of the Chipotle Burrito Bowl for as long as you can remember, here's how to make it at home! As you all know I am a huge fan of making delicious bowls for lunch. So much that I dedicated an entire section to bowls in my easy lunch ideas roundup. In short, I love all bowls. I love Poke Bowls, I love fish taco bowls, and most of all I love this DIY Chipotle Burrito Bowl. It is legit a weekly go-to in our house.
The Chipotle Burrito Bowl
Why I love this recipe
We've always been big fans of Chipotle in my family. We would stop at various locations in junior tennis days between matches! That continued through college, where I ate at Chipotle on a regular basis because it was a fast option, and there was guacamole. These days, I still want all the goodness of a Chipotle Burrito Bowl, but I'd rather make it at home!
The DIY Chipotle Burrito bowl is a delicious nutritious bowl and easy to make. They are ready and on the table in 30 minutes, which means they are the perfect meal for a busy weeknight, and you can always count on them being a crowdpleaser. Bonus points for how easy they are to customize to each individual persons preference.
Chipotle Burrito Bowl Ingredients
Ever wonder what is in a burrito bowl at Chipotle? Well here you go!
Variations and Subs
If you're cooking for a group that has different dietary restrictions or for picky eaters, this copycat chipotle chicken burrito bowls Is going to be your best friend. You can serve the chicken, rice, and all toppings separately and let everyone assemble their bowls with whatever they like. They are truly one of my favorite easy dinner ideas that allows everyone to recreate their go-to chipotle burrito bowl order from home!
For the Chicken
- Vegetable Oil
- Chipotle Peppers
- Garlic Powder
- Ground Cumin
- Dried Oregano
- Black Pepper
- Kosher Salt
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
For the Rice
- Vegetable Oil
- White Basmati Rice
- Water
- Lime
- Chopped Cilantro
- Kosher Salt
For the Toppings
- Pinto Beans
- Frozen Charred Corn
- Guacamole
- Pico de Gallo
- Monterey Jack Cheese
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and substitutions.
How to Make a The Chipotle Burrito Bowl
Step 1: In a heavy saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the white rice and lime juice and sauté for 60 seconds to toast the rice.
Step 2: Add the water and bring the rice to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to low and cook until the rice is tender and all the water is absorbed.
Step 3: Once cooked add the cilantro and fluff the rice with a fork. Set aside and get started on the chipotle chicken marinade.
Step 4: Combine the vegetable oil, chopped chipotle peppers in adobo, garlic powder, cumin, dried oregano, and black pepper in a small bowl.
Step 5: Place the chicken in a large zip top plastic bag and add the marinade. Zip the bag and mix the chicken into the marinade. Place it into the fridge and let it marinate for at least 1 hour.
Step 6: Grill the chicken 5 to 6 minutes per side, until the chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken from the grill and let rest for 10 minutes to lock in the juices before chopping.
Tips & Tricks
Chicken Pro Tips
Let's talk about the chicken in this chipotle burrito bowl recipe, which is bananas. It's THAT good. The secret to how it's so flavorful is the marinade. I recommend letting the chicken marinate for at least an hour, but you can also prep the chicken the night before or the morning of when you plan on cooking it by placing the chicken with all the marinade ingredients in a zip top bag and letting it marinate in the fridge until you're ready to cook it. Seriously don't skip this step. It makes a world of difference.
Then when you're ready to cook it, throw it on the grill or on a cast iron skillet to get a nice sear on it. After it's finished cooking, let it rest for 10 minutes to lock in the juices before cutting it up into small bite sized pieces.
Rice Pro Tips
Next up is the rice. This is the base of our bowl, so we're adding a little bit of pizazz to some basmati rice with a garnish of cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice to take it to the next level. This cilantro lime rice is the key to building all the flavor and where all the magic happens. I promise once you try it, you'll never go back to plain rice.
The Toppings
For toppings, we've got all our favorites on deck pinto beans, charred corn, guac, pico, and shredded cheese, but feel free to throw in whatever you've got on hand into the mix. And just a suggestion, you might want to make a double batch of guac because can you ever have too much guac? And if you make my Chili Lime Creamed Corn, that would be epic in this as well!
Everything combined into one big bowl makes the perfect quick and easy meal during the week for lunch or dinner.
FAQs
What is in a burrito bowl at Chipotle?
Cilantro lime rice, pinto beans, grilled chicken, charred corn, pico de gallo, guacamole, and shredded cheese.
Would the marinade work for steak too?
Absolutely yes!
Does this recipe call for two cans of Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce?
Each can of chipotle peppers has about a dozen or so peppers in it – so the measurement just means 2 individual peppers. You’ll have some leftover so you can pop them in a container and keep them in the fridge.
Storage
The beauty of this dish is that the main components (chicken and rice) can be made ahead of time and all the toppings can be prepped in just a couple of minutes.
If I am making the chicken and rice ahead of time I will store them in one of my glass lock containers. The rice will stay good in the fridge for about a day. After that it dries out and gets kind of hard. The chicken can be stored for up to 5 days in the fridge.
More Easy Dinner Ideas
If you are looking for the copycat chipotle burrito bowl calories and chipotle burrito bowl nutrition information, check out the recipe card below.
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
DIY Chipotle Burrito Bowl
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 chipotle peppers in adobo finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (or 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
For the Rice
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup white basmati rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro
- kosher salt to taste
For the toppings
- 1 cup pinto beans warmed
- 1 cup frozen charred corn warmed
- 1 cup guacamole
- 1 cup pico de gallo
- ½ - ¾ cup finely shredded monterey jack cheese
Instructions
For the Chicken
- Combine the vegetable oil, chopped chipotle peppers in adobo, garlic powder, cumin, dried oregano, and black pepper in a small bowl and stir to combine.
- Place the chicken in a large zip top plastic bag and add the marinade. Zip the bag and mix the chicken into the marinade. Place it into the fridge and let it marinate for at least 1 hour.
- Heat an indoor or outdoor grill to about 400 degrees F (medium high heat). Remove the chicken from the marinade and season with salt and pepper. Place the chicken onto the grill and grill 5 to 6 minutes per side, until the chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken from the grill and let rest for 10 minutes. Chop the chicken into small bite sized pieces and use as needed.
For the Rice
- In a heavy saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the white rice and lime juice and sauté for 60 seconds to toast the rice.
- Add the water and bring the rice to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to low and cook until the rice is tender and all the water is absorbed.
- Add in the cilantro and fluff rice with a fork.
To assemble
- Arrange equal parts of the white rice and chopped grilled chicken in 4 bowls. Top with equal parts of the pinto beans, corn, guacamole, pico and cheese. Season with salt and pepper as needed and serve immediately.
Notes
- Let the chicken marinate for at least an hour, don't skip this step. It makes a world of difference.
- You can also prep the chicken the night before or the morning of when you plan on cooking it by placing the chicken with all the marinade ingredients in a zip top bag and letting it marinate in the fridge until you're ready to cook it.
- If you're cooking for a group that has different dietary restrictions or for picky eaters, these copycat chipotle chicken burrito bowls are going to be your best friend. You can serve the chicken, rice, and all toppings separately and let everyone assemble their bowls with whatever they like.
- Rice Pro Tip: This is the base of our bowl, so we're adding a little bit of pizazz to some basmati rice with a garnish of cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice to take it to the next level. This cilantro lime rice is the key to building all the flavor and where all the magic happens. I promise once you try it, you'll never go back to plain rice.
- Chicken Pro Tip: The secret to how it's so flavorful is the marinade. I recommend letting the chicken marinate for at least an hour, but you can also prep the chicken the night before or the morning of when you plan on cooking it by placing the chicken with all the marinade ingredients in a zip top bag and letting it marinate in the fridge until you're ready to cook it. Seriously don't skip this step. It makes a world of difference.
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking
How many servings does this recipe make?
4! it's in the recipe card
I tweaked a bit & just roasted corn in air fryer. Soooo good. U can't go wrong with this recipe
I forgot to do the cilantro lime rice, and it was so yummy!
delicious!
I made it tonight and my SIL said it was better than chipotle! We are not “hot” food folks, my SIL is, how can I tone down the heat?
It was delicious and not hard to do.
I will see you in NYC! Can’t wait!!
Thank you,
Mary Ann
I’m looking forward to trying this. Wish you had included instructions on cooking the chicken on the stove for those of us who don’t have grills.
the recipe is written for an indoor or outdoor grill pan. A heavy bottom skillet is easily substituted if you're doing it on the stove 🙂
For Thanksgiving, our family picks meal options that we are grateful for. The eldest child requested a Chipotle chicken dish. Happy to say that this delivered! I marinated the chicken overnight and didn’t bother with the outdoor grill, just using our middle griddle. The chicken was moist and flavourful. The rice was great (I overcooked slightly). Coupled with a fresh pico I made, it was great. Highly recommended!
Absolutely delicious! I substituted the chicken for steak and was not disappointed. The chipotles in the sauce give the meat so much amazing flavor and spice. I made my own spicy pico de gallo as well. This was the most satisfying meal I've had in a long time, and all whole foods- Win! Granted I was in the kitchen for awhile it was absolutely worth it! I will save this recipe for the future.
I don’t ever leave comments on recipes but when I say RUN to make this…. You won’t regret it. The only suggestion I have is to double it for leftovers, otherwise there won’t be any left and you’ll be disappointed when you want a second helping!
We hosted our church’s youth group at our house, so I decided to make this recipe. It was such a hit! I used chicken and steak with the same marinade - both were so delicious! My husband flipped out over the marinade! I had a salsa bar, plus multiple cheese and bean options, so it was truly customizable. We barely had any leftovers! Definitely making this again. Thanks!