Chicken, black beans, brown rice, tomatoes and cheese, Southwest Chicken Bowls have everything you need for a healthy meal. And it comes together really fast and reheats well for leftovers the next day. We started making this meal regularly in 2004 after Aunt Kim served it to us, and later noticed a clear similarity to Chipotle. The boys now call this dinner “Chipotle”, and turn their noses up at the restaurant because we already eat the same thing at home. You could substitute pico de gallo for the tomatoes to make it even more like the restaurant, but we like it better with just chopped tomatoes. Lately I’ve been using homemade taco seasoning to flavor the black beans instead of the little envelope of seasoning mix. One word of caution about the black beans. Bush’s black beans have some salt and the seasonings already, so if you use some other brand be prepared to add more salt to taste, maybe. I always buy Bush’s because I know they work well in this recipe. You could add chopped green onions on top too if you like onions.
The cost of this meal is pretty budget friendly too, especially as compared to Chipotle. I estimate the cost as just $2.02 per serving, compared to $7.75 at Chipotle. And it’s really easy and quick too. You know you’re going to take Chipotle food home to eat it, so why not just cook at home from the beginning? My calorie count is also lower than the restaurant version, but that’s likely because my serving size is smaller. Add a buttered tortilla on the side, and it adds another 240 calories or so, depending on your tortilla.
For leftovers, we put the tomatoes and cheese into the microwave along with everything else and it turns out really great. So now you’ve saved money on dinner, and on lunch the next day.
Chicken Burrito Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs chicken tenderloins
- 2 cans black beans we like Bush’s brand
- 2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning or 1 package of taco seasoning mix
- 3 cups instant brown rice
- 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Southwestern seasoning blend
- 3 chopped green onions
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package directions.
- Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and stir fry over high heat, using the southwestern seasoning blend to season to taste.
- Drain one can of the black beans and leave the other undrained. Heat both along with the taco seasoning mix in a small saucepan.
- To serve, begin each plate with a scoop of rice. Add a scoop of blackbeans, followed by cooked chicken, chopped tomatoes, and a topping of cheddar cheese.
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